fishballer06

What did you own before? And what is your price range (per rod) moving forward?

I don't plan on returning my reel as of now, because there is nothing wrong with it. However, I will be following this thread to see what the rest of you gentlemen receive. I highly doubt DSG would really be able to do anything as far as a return/exchange because these reels have been discontinued and I knew that when I purchased this reel. If anything, the best they would probably do is give me an in store credit, or they would probably swap me for whatever size they have left in a Stradic FJ, which is probably only the very large 4000+ size reels. I just don't like being deceived, because I assumed I was getting a new in box reel, and not an open box (er... no box) special.

I just checked my tracking. Mine shipped out of Wadsworth, Ohio. Was it a store model display? I don't know, but I'm doubting that it was. I've seen and even bought a few floor display models from DSG before, and most of them do show/look slightly used. However, the Stradic I received looks flawless. It still had the little paper "C" clip on the handle, as well as the clear rubber elbow cover as well that Shimano puts on all their reels from the factory.

I've got to say I'm disappointed with DSG on this one. I got my reel in last night. The reel is new, but it didn't come with the box or warranty papers. Just got the reel, reel bag, schematics card, and those little metal disks. If you're going to sell something as an open box special, then advertise it as so.

Search this website for Abu Garcia Ike Series. I wrote a pretty thorough review on the 7' M spinning rod a few weeks ago. These are great rods for the price point. I highly recommend them.

I'm a big fan of 832 and TCB 8 as well. I just picked up a spool of the new Diawa J Braid this weekend. It feels similar to Smackdown, so I'm curious to see how it does on the water. In the spring. On soft water. You know?

I use two different knots. The Seaguar and the Alberto knot. The Seaguar is a little quicker for me, but the Alberto is a little more compact.

Find a local club and join as a co-angler. I live right down 79 from you and I can tell you there are a number of different clubs around western PA.

I ordered one yesterday because the bait monkey wouldn't let me pass up such a good deal.

I'm going to see what my local Field and Stream has in stock. With the suggestions here, I'm leaning toward Costa 580G's.

Oil on the brake drum every 3-4 outings and you'll be sure to never have this problem.

I would bump that cranking rod up to a MH if that's the only cranking rod you're taking, but I'm a guy who throws alot of cranks, so maybe I'm biased.

Lets take a minute to talk about sunglasses. I'm looking to upgrade my optics for next season. I have always been one to just use cheap $15-20 polarized glasses from wherever I could find a pair that said "Polarized" on it. This past season, I stepped up a little bit and bought the Strike King S11's, which put me in the $40 range. I could definitely tell a difference between using this glass and a cheap pair from WalMart. Clarity under the water was noticeably better and I was pretty happy with them. However, I feel like there is still room for improvement. Now that this season has basically ended, I'm considering taking the final plunge into high quality optics for next season. What I want to know is will I see an even bigger improvement going from my S11's to something along the lines of Costa, Oakley, or what have you? I have no problem paying $150-200 for a good pair of glasses if I am going to get a big upgrade in my vision and clarity on the water. So my question is for the guys who are using high end glasses, is will I see an improvement? What are some things to look for when choosing a glass? What do you recommend?

There are 27 different Avid rods. You want us to tell you what each and everyone would be good for?

InvisX

I prefer the standard Avid over the Avid X (I prefer the reel seat better), but I gave my vote to the Avid X. You'll be hard pressed to get a Dobyns Champion for under $200, but if you can, my vote goes to the Champion.

Lakes. I hate river fishing.

The local PA trees love a good topwater lure.

A swimbait rod, a few S Wavers, and maybe another Gantarel.

While they do look nice, I think the reason you don't see much on them is because of the price point. At $250 retail, there are some great reels out there from "The Big 3". Okuma just doesn't seem to have the same stronghold on the freshwater market as Shimano/Daiwa/Abu does. Please let us know how you like it. I was tempted to buy one of the regular Helios reels about a year ago whenever they had one on sale at my local shop. In the hands at the shop, they didn't feel bad.

DT10 is probably the thoroughbred of the medium diver range. However, those bills will break if you smack them on the water to remove weeds.

I've got one. They're good for walleye fishing, trolling, and working baits very slow along the bottom. I wouldn't recommend one for buzzbaits

I prefer the reel seat on my standard Avid's over the Avid X. My current X has a stripped thread and has to be sent back to the factory.

Blade baits, jerkbaits, swimbaits, lipless cranks, jigs.

Curado or Citica get my vote.