smallie.mike

The fk is not made from carbon fiber. It's made from the same materials as the fj. Side by side the build quality and look of the fk feels "cheaper" in my opinion. Not sure what other term to use.

Ok I just read this review and have an issue with it. They say the this new stradic has an all metal body which is not true. It's just like the fj, the stem half is aluminum and the other half that holds the internal gears and whatnot is composite. I like the fk but I don't think it's worth the price increase. It's feels and looks cheap compared to the fj in my hands anyway.

I have one of the new fk's and prefer my fj's. The 2500 and 3000 have always been the same size, only difference is the spool depth and sometimes the knob is different.

Neither of them compare to the old d's imo. Anyway between the e and I series I'd pick the I. I'd also go with the citica if you can find it cheaper. I have both and they are identical performance wise. I can't understand why anyone would pay more for the curado.

I'll second the shimano drag grease. I also really like super lube. Reel butter sucks imo.

The bait caster that will cast the farthest is the one with the most experienced fishermen casting it.

Lews team lite speed spool is another option. They can be found for 175 bucks on ebay.

Lews team pro mag. 279 bucks (can be found cheaper ) 5.3oz. 120yds 12lb

Chronarch 100d7, curado 100d, calais 100a Bulletproof reels! Some of the best reels ever made. I wish shimano still made reels like theese.

Sometimes creeks won't always hold smallmouth in the winter, if there's a larger river nearby they may move and stay in the larger flow until spring. If the bass are there it's hard to beat an Erie Darter jr fished SLOW. Also you need to be confident when fishing in cold water. I fish for river smallies around here in winter and a lot of the time the water temps are 34-38 degrees. In those conditions you may only get one or two bites a day. The second or third day of a warming trend is also a really good time to chase winter smallmouth, sunny days help too.

Almost any type of bait will work well for river smallmouth in the spring. Tubes, jerkbaits, crankbaits, jig-n-pig etc. Keep in mind that on some smaller flows the bass population can be seriously affected by fisherman targeting spawning smallies.

I wish I could find a few nib fuegos! Casting and spinning, they were both awesome reels.

Green pumpkin zoom finesse worm A close second would be a jig-n-craw

I'll just checked again and it's 271, I don't think you'll find one much cheaper than that. The 16 certate looks like it is an emerald green color, now I'll have an excuse to buy a new green legend elite to match it. I really like that they used the bail from the exist on the new certate!

Sure it's worth a little more than the ci4+ if you really want the aluminum drag knob. Just don't think it's going to be smoother or perform better than the ci4+ because it retails for 100+ dollars more, because it's not.

Japan tackle has the 2500 still for like 275.

I bought a new sustain a while back for 220 on ebay. I didn't think it was worth that let alone the crazy retail price. You can actually take a stradic fj and ci4+ and build a sustain minus the fancy aluminum drag knob and handle cap.

Huh? They're are a ton of rods marketed as a bass rod.

I was waiting for some kind of sale on the 13 certates, but now the model I want is out of stock everywhere. Just saw the new 16 certates and now I'm glad the 13s were out of stock.

Mine don't show any corrosion, BUT they've never been near any saltwater.

I wasn't fighting, I was just being a smart***.

They almost remind me of the old discontinued mister twister smoke sassy grubs. Those were killer little baits!

Zoom finesse worm in green pumpkin.

Looks sweet to me, I want one for sure. doesn't look like that t-wing will have grooving issues.