Poolshark

Calcutta d and st croix legend. I splurged this year and bought it.

They are right, there are plenty of rods for 100 dollars that will fish well. I'm still using a spinning combo that has been excellent for the last 12 years. A shimano stradic 3000 and a 7 ft med fast st croix avid. I absolutely love this setup and if has held up well for me after all this time.

My hookup ratio decreases with jigs, plastics and frogs as well when I'm far away. But I've found a heavier rod and braid will help. When I'm fishing from a boat I'm not usually shooting for distance. But when I'm fishing from a canal bank, a good long cast helps immensely. I bought a seven six casting rod just to fish some of the canals here in south fl. And it's helped me to cast the opposite points and legdes I couldn't reach with shorter rods.

Sounds like you've got distance down. Your are smart for practicing accuracy. I find a bait nicely placed and quietly executed are the most important things you can master when casting... And distance can be important as well. Good luck practicing!

I'm roughly the same with my curados on a 7ft mh rod and 14 pound flouro. With my calcutta d 201, I am able to chuck 3/8 of an ounce a few yards further on the same line and rod. The other day I was using a stick bait in two colors. One on a curado e and a carbonlite 7 mhf, the other on a calcutta d and a 61/2 ft mhf avid. I was achieving identical distances between the two. Odd.

You'll be happy you did! Like own many versions of st croix medium and medium heavy and I think without a doubt that this would be the way to go!!

For spinning, I throw these on an avid 7 Mf spinning rod and stradic 3000 8lb mono For casting I use a 7 medium fast avid and a chronarch 51e. 12 to 14 pound mono In heavier cover I'll pitch them with a weighted hook on a 7 ft mh carbonlite and my old trusty curado bsf.

What type of problems did you have with them? I've been interested in buying an energy pt for some time now and would love to know how they've held up for people.

There are so many good rods at the 100 dollar price range. My personal favorites are the bps carbonlite, ducket ghost and ***. These rods are light, balanced and will be a joy to fish with. My advice is if you can, mount them on a reel you like and feel them out. I like st croix a lot in the upper end range, but at the 100 dollar price range, I feel like there are a lot of good rods to research that you might enjoy even more.

I'd stick with a medium fast in the st croix line up. It will have enough backbone for plastic, be ok with treble hook lures, have enough backbone get fish from medium cover and will be less tip heavy than the mh version.

But in addition to that... I try to use the lightest line I can get away with and in most situations it is 10 to 15 pound test line.

The heavy braid is usually reserved for flipping vegetation and punching heavily weighted lures through mats. The heavier line will prevent your line from being too badly frayed or damaged by the elements and give you the power to horse a good fish out of the mats or grass without risking your line breaking. Lighter mono or flouro just isn't the right line to use in those types of fishing. When I was first starting out I lost a few because I ran into cover with 12 to 14 pound mono and didn't have the power to pull them away and out. This I hate because I catch and release and hate releasing a bass back into the wild with a large lure and screwed in weight still in his mouth. I use heavier line as well for fishing snook around bridge pilings.

Depends on the size and how balanced the setup is for me. I use penn ssv 4500 and 5500 in the salt with 71/2 ft rods....I'll grip the rod by the top handle above the reel. For bass, If I'm using a61/2 foot rod with smaller lighter 2500 sized reel...I'll grip the rod at the reel seat with the reel handle in between my middle and ring finger. So for me.... It varies based on the weight and balance of the setup.

A used curado b, bsf, d and, if you are lucky, you can nab a mint curado g in new or slightly used condition. In all seriousness if I were spending 80 I would aim to find a good quality used reel in decent shape then replace any parts or service it as needed. Just an opinion though.

I don't hear to much noise when reeling. I have only used 14 lb mono on this reel. I heard a whine when casting one trip, but a small drop of oil on the brake drum solved it. I think the noise you hear migh just be braid running through your line guides. Try spooling it with mono or floro and see if the noise is still there. I'll bet it goes away... But if it doesn't I would think something isn't right.

Jealousy. The fact that most higher end equipment is less fatiguing is in itself justifacation for acquiring it. Especially if you are fishing tournaments. I'm also one to Beleive that higher end reels tend to last longer and perform better all around, probably saving you money in the long run. I would simply ignore the water cooler talk at your local shop and stay focused on what you love to do. Catch fish!! And enjoy the gear you are using to do it. You sure don't NEED higher end gear to catch fish, but it sure is a lot more enjoyable when fishing for long periods at a time.

You will get better accuracy and control. It's much easier to play bigger fish with baitcasting gear, and you can use heavier line to fish cover. I think that for bass, you need a quality spinning outfit and at least one quality baitcast outfit. I would start with a 6 1/2 ft med fast spinning setup and a seven foot fast action baitcast setup with a rod rated for 1/4 to 3/4 ounce lures. If you decide to progress later... This is still a good place to start.

I've been waiting to hear he 51e was on sale. Last time I checked they were still 199. Good deal!

In the avid series, a seven foot medium fast action is a fantastic multipurpose rod.

The curado I / carbonlite combo starts at 249 on the bass pro shops website. That would be a killer combo for your price range.

Depends on what you value most for your dollar. Are you looking for performance, durability, parts availability? I think the Revos are solid choices for all around comfort and performance. If you like simplicity, durability and parts availability, as Maximus said, the c series reels are the way to go. You can keep them going forever. Abu marked parts for life on those reels.

St croix is very good with that. Excellent company.

If you need help deciding further.... Tackletour did reviews on some of the lews reels which were pretty in depth. If you haven't read them, they might come of use to you. Hope that helps

I don't own both. But I have fished with the bb1 extensively. My opinion is that it is one hell of a reel. It casts 1/4 ounce lures extremely well, has good cranking power and is glassy smooth. Performance wise, I'm sure that you wouldn't be disappointed if you purchased one.

I own a bps extreme travel rod and it is fine for what it is used for. There is also the browning travel safari rods for 79 I think that might suit your needs.