Smallmouth Hunter

There are better options in that price range than the veritas for bottom bait techniques IMO. Look at the falcon bucoo, denali jadewood, ***, daiwa tatula, and even carbonlite. Get a medium for all around stuff. MH is far too heavy for dropshotting. A medium can easily handle texas rigs or shakey heads though. For line, I'd go with 10 lb sufix 832 braid or 6lb copoly. 8 lb fluoro does not handle well on spinning reels that are not 3000 size or bigger. For copoly, I like gamma, but also check out Yozuri hybrid which seems to be very popular here.

I see people buy curado 50e's for 150-175 on forums and it drives me crazy.. Then I see the curado 200e for like 110-120..

x2tgm, I don't think anyone can really talk like that about the curado until it has been tested.. Heck, It hasn't even been released yet. Lay off with the hate until we see whether it is an expensive curado G with x-ship and svs or if it is a refined masterpiece like the curado D/E. Wait and hope.

Between 12 lb YZH and 12 lb big game, which casts better and is more limp?

Berkley big game is stiff and tough IMO. Is YZH tough and non-limp or is it more limp and smooth-casting?

I thought moderate fast was just a slightly faster action than a moderate.. So bend starts farther down the rod with a moderate verses a mod-fast?

Thanks that was what I was looking for!

The lure rating on that rod (Medium Moderate) is 3/8 to 3/4. Is that anything to be worried about or is that a BS rating? I will be using 1/4 oz rattletraps quite a bit and I want the rod to be able to load up nicely for those. I am guessing that the rod doesn't matter too much with rattle traps since those things fly like bullets.

Yes, I know -- one is mono, one is copoly, but that is not the reason I am comparing these two. These two lines seem to be the most popular of the bulk style of lines, or budget lines if you will. Which line do you prefer? *** Please vote ONLY if you have used BOTH lines. This is not a poll about which you have used. This is about which you prefer, having used both. I have not used YZH; therefore, I will not be voting. *** Thanks

Classic sales or is it for something else? I like sales.

I need a cranking rod under 100 specifically for square bills and lipless cranks ranging from 1/4 - 5/8 oz. 1/4 ounce is only for lipless; I don't use any 1/4 square bills. I would prefer it to be under $75. Oh, and it must be graphite. I don't like the feel of composite rods at all. Thanks

I have heard that if you drill it out with a drill bit that is smaller than the screw itself, and just go down the middle of the screw that you can pull the sideplate off with a bit of force and then remove what's left of the screw. I have never tried this before so can't comment really.

Pbizzle, it all depends on height. Go for a rod that is your height plus about a foot or less. When standing on the boat, you will be about a foot over the water. This is for skipping however.. If you are just going to be pitching and casting towards a dock, which is not as effect IMO but still worth the time, I would go with a 7' regardless.

Yeah they released 162,500 hybrids.. Haven't been there in quite a few years though.

What's a cuda snook?

I would wait on the curado.. The tatula isn't all that big, but it is kinda clumsy in the hand, for lack of better words. The curado could turn out to be a curado G that has x-ship and svs.. There is no way to no yet, but I think shimano will do it right this time around because they will lose a lot of market share if this curado I is subpar.

Just do a quick search.. You will find everything you need to know.

Free spool obviously doesn't mean much, but I do feel there is some value in it.. If you spin your spool as fast as you can and it only spins 2 seconds, there is (in most cases) something slowing down the bearings. This would also slow the spool when casting, and therefore requiring the bait/lure to have to pull more on the spool throughout the cast since the spool wants to slow down, but the lure wants to keep flying. I think that comparing 2 different reel models by their free spools times is ridiculous. There are many variables, and these don't have a direct effect (most of the time) on castability. My farthest casting reel doesn't free spool as one or two of my mid-distance casting reels of different models. Comparing 2 of the same reel models is a different story, but not drastically different. Say you had 2 curado's of the same series/size, both without line on the spool, and both have stock bearings. Let's say the first one free spools for 5 seconds average, and the second for 35 average. Obviously something is slowing the bearings whether it be bad tolerances or thick grease or over-lubed, etc. The casting distance would probably be right about the same on these two reels (with same line, conditions, lure, rod, etc), but the effort needed might be different. Or maybe the pitching effort would be different.. It varies between reels. I have found that with the same reel models, if one freespools drastically better than another/the others, that will usually be better for pitching and effortless shorter distance casting. In long range casting, the one the freespools better normally casts slightly better just because the bearings don't require the extra energy to keep them spinning. Again, I have only found this when comparing reels of the same model.

The curado G's will be on sale for probably $80>.

Looks very nice! If I were you, I would send the CC knob, drag star, and possibly handle nut to hawgtech for anodizing. Now that would look sweet!

The mg and super duty have linear magnetic braking which is less advanced compared to daiwa's mag z which is dynamic, and --- nevermind you all know how mag z/v works.

jig

Doesn't seem to lob it out there like a catfish rig. He just whips it's out there.

I will never buy another lew's reel in my life unless they get rid of that darn dual braking. I can't stand it.. The tatula on the other hand is one heck of a caster, and is not finicky at all on the cast.