ksfishinguy

Where are the sv103's in the $200 range right now? I'd like to pick one up.

In freshwater they have fished identically for me. I'm not 100% on this but if you fish in saltwater I think the anti corrosion bearings of the Curado are the way to go.

The pic you have there of the avid is a spinning rod, I think, but regardless they're both very good rods. The avid is a little heavier than its rating, the falcon a little lighter. Personally, the falcons I use are only for cranking, where I feel they excel. I use st Croix, jackal, megabass, and loomis for everything else. At the $200 price range, I think an avid x is hard to beat. That rod you're looking at is one of my favorites. They have great backbones and a nice taper. I find them to be a bit more durable than falcons. To me, if you're looking for a jig or worm rod, I'd choose the avid x, hands down, though I like the 7' a bit more if fishing from a boat.

Having owned both, and the new mgl's, I can say that almost without exception 08 met (DC or not)<13 met<16 met mgl. The difference in performance is greatest between the 08 and the 13. The newer models are moderately smoother and significantly better casters, especially with lighter baits. The DC is more fun than function in the 08 met, and is probably only useful on windy days, if that. I love DC because it's cool, but that's really the only reason. I sold all but my Exsence DC. If you can find a 13 met for a great price, I might go that way, but knowing what I know, I'd recommend an MGL. They're the cream of the crop.

Haha really? I've never waited more than a minute or two. Usually you're straight through. They'll be free to you as well, in case you feared that too ?

PayPal protects the buyer and so does eBay. If something's not right you can almost always send it back for a full refund. You might be out shipping costs, but that's pretty minimal compared to paying retail. That being said, support your locals whenever you can. Ask for a deal. They may not give you eBay's pricing, but for 10-15% more you may help local business stay afloat and add tax dollars to your local economy. You don't see immediate savings but if everyone shopped local when possible we'd have healthier commerce. There's a reason brick and mortar are going under and having much more limited stocks now, and as consumers we're the driving reason.

I'm always puzzled by this. There's more line than you can cast off by far. I'm not chastising, just wondering what scenario you'd need more line for. Maybe trolling?

Regardless, they'll send you brakes for free. I've called a couple times to pay for replacement brakes and have received them free of charge both times.

Ummmm.... Hmmmm....

I respect your feedback and opinion, so I'm curious why you say to ignore TT. Do you think their reviews are inaccurate or influenced by sponsors? Everyone has different preferences and reviews can't cater to that, but I find theirs informative and mostly accurate with respect to performance, quality, and features. I think it's a nice starting place if they've reviewed what I'm looking at. Granted, there are a ton of variables. You get wider perspective in a forum like this one.

Any. They all perform the same.

I have a JDM Aldebaran 50. You specified US; I was curious if there's a difference in the spool or something. I really like that reel as well, but the tiny bit of play in the handle bothers me a little. Maybe that's just my reel because I've never seen anyone else mention it. Fantastic reel, though. I have mine paired with a poison adrena. Light as a feather.

I feel like I might have reached the top of the mountain, owning a couple different retrieves in the MGL. Purely from a performance standpoint as a general purpose low profile rig, I've never fished something better. There are the DC reels that are pretty cool and fun, and I've only owned a Steez ex 100xs. It's close, but it's not quite up to snuff and to me more on the BFS spectrum. My question is, to those that own an MGL and other high end low profile reels, is there anything else that compares favorably? I'm always interested in trying the next rig. I have an Aldebaran BFS limited and a Pixy for BFS. Got stuff specific for cranking as well. I'm talking more general purpose. Maybe it's just time to customize.

I'm pretty handy with a Shimano reel, but for the life of me I can't remove the palm side side plate of my JDM Aldebaran 50 that I purchased last fall. The reel is in absolutely perfect shape and hasn't been damaged. I've tried opening the release and pushing the spool out, wedging a Shimano "tool" in the key hole at the bottom of the reel, and everything else just with my hands to get the darn thing off. No luck. It's like the release isn't working at all. Any suggestions? I'd send it in, but I don't think Shimano USA will cover it since it's JDM. Otherwise I'd say it's definitely a warranty issue.

So I have a Bass Raider 10e that I fish mostly on smaller lakes, usually state lakes with a no wake policy (we're talking 500 acres or less). That being said, having a chart plotter or gps maps isn't a huge deal to me at this point. My budget is $500-$600, and I think I'd really like to have side imaging, although I may be caught up in the hype. I've never used it before personally. For those who are knowledgeable, is there another unit I should be looking at rather than the Striker 7SV? Thanks in advance.