PatrickKnight

That is not surprising. Personally if I got something off Ebay I would not expect a company to warranty it.

Couple of things to keep in mind as well a larger spool will always cast farther and take up more line per turn of the handle all things being equal.

I use a 2500 or 3000 and I only use braid. I put 10lb on my 2500 and 15 on the 3000.

This is straight from the Dobyns site it doesn't look like the Fury 806 is out of your range. FR 806SB / 8'0" / $119.99

You can use spinning gear for everything period. For some baitcasters are simply more comfortable to fish with. If you can use a spinning rod to pull a snook out of mangroves there is no reason you cant use one to pull a largemouth out of anything they live in. I think its a preference thing not really sure one is "superior" to the other. That being said throwing large swimbaits all day on spinning gear large enough to handle them wouldn't be the most comfortable thing in the world imo.

The FK are amazing if I was told you may only have one reel it would be my FK 3000 without a second thought.

So for you hair jig guys what jigs are you using? I fished the Punisher brand hair jig last year with fairly good success but I am always looking to try new ones. The Punisher use craft hair but I am wondering if natural hair would be a good choice.

My go to for river smallies in Ohio is a hair jig fished as slow as I can tipped with some kind of low action trailer.

Also make sure your drag is set properly.

Braid with or without a leader for me.

The 2500 BG is the same size as the 3000 Nasci. The 3000 BG is the same size as the 4000 Nasci. Both are great reels but I don't think 3000 vs 3000 is a fair comparison on the weight. I forgot about that! Thanks for the correction.

The direct drive handle screws straight into the main gear. I hope your Nasci works well for you. We really are spoiled when it comes to 100 dollar reels now they really are impressive from all manufactures.

While I am an avid supporter of Shimano's higher end reels the BG is a solid choice at the 100 dollar mark. Honestly you wont get anywhere near 24 lbs of drag out of a Nasci until you do away with the felt washers, and I would put value in the drag curve more so than max drag. Both reels would be good but if I was going to be using it in tidal waters I would for sure want the aluminum body of the BG over the plastic body on the Nasci. Also apples to apples a 3000 Diawa is comparable to the 4000 Shimano.

I use a 6'9" ML HMG for my creek fishing (used it last year on the rivers too but was to underpowered) and it works nicely.

95% of my fishing is done with spinning gear: Reels: are all Shimano because the line lay is better than any other brand I have tried (I might give a high end Daiwa a try this year) Rods: I am not really loyal but I have been very impressed as of late with Fenwick they seem to give you a lot for the money Line: Power Pro Lures: whatever catches the fish

Have you ever contacted them about it? I have not had any experience with them but they seem to stand by the rods.

I have spoken to St Croix about the avid vs the avid inshore and the rep told me the inshore models blanks are powered slightly heavier. He said a ML inshore would be between a ml and medium freshwater model. He also said the inshore blanks are slightly slower in action due to the target fish. Keep in mind this is just about the Avid inshore vs regular Avid spinning models.

My experience with Dobyns is that the 703 will fish like a St. Croix medium. Dobyns run a bit light and St. Croix a bit heavy. If you have access to both rods I would take your reel mount it on both and see which balances better. Neither one will be a bad rod.

Keep in mind this is speaking from a fisherman in the Midwest but I would try a black hair jig fished as slow as you possibly can. As far as a trailer I would use something with very little action but would still add a bit of bulk to the profile as well as something that would slow the fall down.

I would love to see a 7'+ spinning rod in the Fury line.

I am curious what you think about the Avid Inshore. I want a 7'6" ml Avid but they don't have it in the freshwater. I would go with the inshore model but I haven't seen any reports on its performance as of yet.

I wish they would give the US market a lower gear ratio option. Japan gets all the cool toys

I love my HMG. Best $100 spinning rod I have purchased.

I personally wouldn't go with a drop shot rod for an all purpose rod.

I would love to have a 3000 or 4000 with a 5.0:1 or lower gear ratio!