Hogsticker

D&M ARE MY FAVORITES. LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEC MEGABASS WILD HEADER

Owner rig n hook, Gammy skip gap.

The only time I broke a rod was to justify to my wife I needed a new one. I don't know what happened baby, it was weird. It was just a cheapy bps rod though

10 lb braid us fine, and I thought the original question was specific to the elite tech ml and medium....

The ml would be better served for light trout fishing. I flung one around along with a new ml Hmg spinning rod at Cabelas the other day. It would make a good stick for soaking some power bait, but those days are far behind me.

I label my boxes. 4 to 6,6 to 10,10 to 16 and so on.

The Scorpion weighs a whopping 6.7 ounces. I think you can handle it. You may already be aware, but after buying your 1st Jdm reel you'll want another, and another.

http://japaneselure.gostorego.com/reel/shimano/shimano-baitcasting/shimano-scorpion-xt-1000.html Killer price. I agree the Curado and Scorp are fairly similar, but the Scorp is a little better. It feels smoother, tighter, and less stressed to me. It's definitely noticeable in my hands. Could just be my reels though. I wouldn't spend the extra cash on a Core unless you're dead set on magnesium. You're going to want to upgrade the handle, and likely spool bearings either way, so use the additional funds for that. I know for certain MY Scorp makes less noise on the cast and retrieve than MY Curado.

If casting distance is a true priority, take a look at the Daiwa T3 MX. It will outcast my Shimano Excense DC. I put a 1016 spool in it and it casts further with little effort than any reel I've owned. I keep it on long distance with the dial at 2 for mainly 1/2 oz lipless cranks, and it flat rips with no thumb or line fluff. Great reel

Oops. Didn't pay any attention to the gear ratio thing. I'll still take a Tdz.

Best proven, hmm. Zillion for sure. Say reel on a Chronarch D frame. Core / Excense DC. However, with that said, I'm not sure anyone can argue the Tdz as the proven reel of all proven reels. It was introduced in the late 90s I believe and is still highly sought after. It kinda set the bar imo.

No custom rods yet Matt?

The John Day is an amazing smallmouth fishery with a lot of fives to be had. Ever fish the Columbia? I caught my personal best of 5.13 out of the sewage from the Willamette.

Love 10 lb Sniper. Using it for throwing half ounce traps on my custom Rx7. I switched from braid expecting not to be impressed. Wrong. Sorry to get off topic. You're going to really enjoy that reel. I have the jdm counterpart and a Curado 51E. They fit my mitt well and cast most everything great.

That reel is very light. Might want to look at titanium alconites. At least for the 1st three stripper guides before you get to the choker. Maybe a ss sic tip top. The polished guides look pretty close to titanium. It will put a dent in your wallet though. Will you be using braid?

Johnday eh....What a wonderful smallie world!! Put some 20 lb. braid on whichever rod sees the most use for any bottom contact presentations. Anything where your line will always be tight. Braid sucks for slack line sensitivity. Leave mono on the other reel. Whats the biggest bronzeback you've landed out of that river?

Aprw1..From what I've heard, you don't want to see St. Croix blanks without the paint.

It's like the 1st mention mentions St. Croix, and all the wagon riders jump on in. Many, many good options available to choose from. I'll take a KLX light years before the Avid. St. Croix blanks are good, some great, but build style on production rods keeps me away. Sorry Bob. Now if the rods looked like your custom I might get one.

Right. Cause that seems less time consuming than just "knowing" how much line to use, and spooling it on only one time. Different strokes for different folks.

The Rx8 popping blank is actually just a touch lighter. Though I prefer the look and feel of raw graphite, the paint on these blanks isn't half bad. I should have gone titanium guides on the Senko blank, but the gun smoke ss sic guides are pretty slick. Both rods balance right above the reel seat with a 6.7 ounce reel. The Rx8+ feels very crisp and alive. Looking forward to trying the new Eternity blanks.

Keep the diameters the same for the reasons above. Knot and especially math

Those guides are flipping sweet. Rod looks clean and sleek. Is that butt cap from Mud Hole? Custom built for Road Warrior. Doesn't get any better than that! Nice work!! How does the rod balance with the Stella?

T3 MX with Hedgehog dress parts and Air bearings, RX8+ Senko & RX8 Popping blanks / Customs......Oh Yeah!!

That's awesome. I have the same blank on order! Curious how these high mods fish. I went Fuji Vss, full cork. Good old tried and tested Fuji Ss/Sic guides. Torzites with titanium frames are to rich for my blood. Is the Stella a 1000? Rod sounds sweet and super light.

I would shop tackle trap. Pick up one Advantage handle, one Tatula handle. Less than 50 bucks for both. Plus one is silver, one is black. That way you have some variety and they don't look the same. Both are 90 mm, add knobs of choice.