Chris at Tech

Seems to me the 7:1 ratio on the 200 would be helpful recovering line quickly after pitching into heavy cover.

I have that combo. Stradic 2500 and 7' MH Extreme rod. I really like it, but I've never fished a Loomis, St Croix, etc. For the price, I think it's great! Throws unweighted senkos and ikas a mile

Rooster tails.

But you do refer to yourself in the third person?

I'm no crankbait expert, but a little more info from you would no doubt help. What size/depth crankbaits are you talking about? Six feet and less? Six to ten? Ten to fourteen? Fourteen plus? I think the general wisdom is that the deeper the crank, the slower the reel ratio. With those deep divers, the lowest possible gearing makes them easier to reel in. I recently threw a DT16 for the first time on a 6.3:1 ratio and it was miserably difficult. However, with shallow cranks, you don't have nearly the resistance so you can get away with a faster reel. Since I'm not sure exactly the depth you're looking to hit, I'll recommend something in the middle. Go with an Abu Ambassadeur C3. Their ratio is 5.3:1, a friendly compromise between a 6:1 reel for shallow/lipless cranks and a 4.7:1 or 5:1 reel for deep cranks.

What are you looking to do with it? I know you said saltwater from boats, beach, piers and docks but are you talking about tossing 5 oz spoons/jigs, live bait rigs, plugs, surfcasting, etc...? Either way, you'll probably want to look at a higher line capacity reel. If you're looking for a baitcaster, perhaps an Abu Ambassador 5500 or 6500...

Watch your back man, I got a feeling the posse is about to trample you! B I like to live dangerously.

Split shot rig with a junebug Zoom ultravibe worm. Around 6lbs.

Of course you could also go something in the middle, like a 5.3:1 Abu Ambassador round reel...

For what it's worth, the one time I threw a DT16 was on a 6.3:1 reel and it felt like I was reeling in a car. Obviously, you'll get less resistance on an 8-10 ft diver, but this just supports Ghoti's opinion of trying one before you buy

I picked up a pair of those Browning pliers not too long ago. I like them a lot, but I often thought to myself that they would be even better if they had a longer nose. So what do I see when I opened my BPS X-mas catalog? Two versions of the Browning pliers. The one I have, and a new version that's more needle-nose So I'd recommend the Browning pliers in the new needle nose version.

Dude, you forgot the booze!!!

Hmmm...I always though the general consensus for lures with treble hooks (in this case, topwaters), that moderate action rods were the ticket...

It's always a tough call with the BPS combos... The Citica itself is $120. The combo is $140. For $20 extra, I say get the rod. Even if you immediately upgrade the rod, you'll only be out the $20 and you'll have a pretty good backup rod. Heck, then you can have a M and a MH to cover nearly all situations. Are BPS rods the best? No. But in my opinion, at the combo price, they're hard to beat. Also keep in mind that the Extreme is usually a rod in that target range of yours when it's not on sale

Just out of curiosity, why do you think that? Feel free to PM if you don't want the masses to see it

It would probably be easier to list what I don't want... ;D

So I'm considering upgrading one of my spinning rods to a St Croix Avid. This rod will be used for split-shotting, drop-shotting, jighead + worm, etc. Would you folks recommend the ML or M Avid for this? Going by the recommended lure weights, ML seems like a better candidate, but the M doesn't seem that heavy either. Thanks!

What sort of applications are you anticipating with this rig?

That Varner fish is just a touch smaller than the monster I got yesterday

I have last year's BPS Extreme baitcaster. I don't exactly fish 3+ times a week, so I'm probably not the best person to ask about durability. So far so good for me, especially for the $50 I paid for it. I have 3 Bionic Blades (6'6" ML, 6'6" M spinning rods and 6'6" MH baitcaster) and 1 Extreme (7' MH Spinning), and I like them just fine. I've never fished with a G Loomis or anything, but my rods do what I need them to do. Especially when the Blades are $50 and the Extreme are $70

Anyone have any idea if Abu is planning to release a 7:1 ratio Revo in left-hand retrieve? I was just checking out BPS and Cabelas and it seems the lefties are out, but the burners are only out in RH retrieve...

Thank goodness it wasn't Walmart. Someone would have bought a rifle just to go after that guy.

You guys seriously think USC can still play for the championship with a loss to a really bad team??? No chance. If they lost to a top 25 team, MAYBE. But as it is...no way. I just hope freakin' Notre Dame doesn't back into a spot in the Championship game. I've been praying for their second loss so I can watch ESPN Gameday just once without hearing a 45 minute ND segment.

If you really want to fish an X-rap, I would think you'd need a color that would stand out a bit more in muddy water. Perhaps the white color, or a bright one...

I'm pretty disillusioned as well here in GA. I'm getting tired of hearing why I shouldn't vote for the other guy, instead of why I should vote for you. I'm sick of politicians just trying to get re-elected instead of doing the right thing. I'm sick of issues being dragged out close to election times just to get a certain demographic to vote. I'm sick of the finger-pointing, filibustering, and rolling up a bunch of unrelated legislations added on to a major bill so politicians can use it as ammo later against their opponent when they can say they voted against some minor piece of the bill that will 'take money out of the schools', or some such crap. I wish politicians would let people live their lives without trying to legislate morality...whether it be what can be seen/heard on TV/radio, smoking in restaurants, same-sex couple rights, etc. Yeah, I'm bitter