Bass Pro

For $139 the powell's are hard to beat. 8-)

I don't see anything wrong with that. It looks like the typical quality of an all star rod. ;D

I've always heard good things about their service. I've never had to use it, but I do fish some of their rods. I've got one of the newer Cara T7's and it will hang with anything else on the market. One thing that is noticable about falcon rods is the fit and finish. The ones that I've seen/used always look to be in perfect condition- guides are straight, no excess epoxy, etc. I say if you are interested in a falcon then I'd give it a shot. They seem to make high quality products at a resonable price.

When it comes to light lures, the rod and line used are much more important. I can cast 1/8oz lures with my Citica 200E. Most folks would tell you that this reel sucks for light stuff, but with a softer rod tip and lighter line it casts great. Both of those reels can do what you want. Pick the one you like best. Just make sure you match up the reel with the right rod and line.

Which mg are you refering to- the 50MG? If so, that reel has a very light weight spool and minimal line capacity. All of that helps when casting lighter lures. However, I think the a very important factor in casting lighter lures is the line and rod being used. I have used the new 200 Citica E to cast some very light lures. I'm talking 1/8oz lures that most folks would say that you can't cast with the Citica E. However, I am using a medium powered rod and 10lb line.

I want to add another rod for fishing lighter soft plastics. I'd mostly be using 5" Senkos, 3/16oz T-rigs, 1/8oz - 3/16oz shakey heads and flukes. With Powell's new lower price point they seem like a bargin but I'd like some more info before pulling the trigger. I am concered about the balance point with this rod. I will be using a Steez reel and possibly a 50MG, so the reel won't be adding much weight to balance out the rod. Would this be an issue for "tip up" applications? How about sensitivity? Any other comments or suggestions? Thanks in advance!

It is a "Proprietary Graphite" and no one knows how it is done not even TT. You would have to contact Lamiglas® and ask them, and even then I doubt they will say. Lamiglas does not have anything to do with building those rods. They aren't even Lamiglas blanks.

The one that is properly maintained.

What he said.. The Zillion rods are better than the mossy back and puls r's combined.

How does the 6'9'' MH Zillion stack up VS the 683C Powell? I am mostly concerned with which one balances the best, and of course, the most sensitive. Any thoughts??

They do offer there blanks to the custom rod builders. The whole split grip design isn't about looking cool it is for better senceitvity. If your rod feels to tip heavy you just need to balance your rod by putting some weight in the back of the blank. They only offer SOME of their blanks to custom rod builders. You can't get the BCR GLX blanks and a host of others. Like I said, I think they should offer all their blanks or either offer the customer his/her choice of grips and components on the rod.

Just some food for thought... It's a little known fact that back in the '90's, Loomis went to a sprial wrapped guide design. But sales took a sharp drop as most customers didn't know what the heck it was. So, they went back to conventional designs.

I doubt it because they offer their blanks for custom built rods. However, I think we might see something different down the road. But I don't think it will be on the GLX lineup. They will probably do a split grip or something on the mossyback, crankbait or spinnerbait rods. Personally, I think they should do one of two things.. Either A, offer all their blanks to the custom rod builder. Or B, allow the buyer to select the type of grip, guides, etc of the rod.

G Loomis BCR802 GLX is the ultimate smallmouth rod.

They are coming out with GLX spinnerbait and GLX crankbait rods. I like Loomis rods, but I think they could have been a lot more innovative instead of adding the GLX crank and spinnerbait rods. The spinnerbait and crankbait rods they already make are among some of the best out there. I'd like to see them get rid of the foregrip and use something other than cork on the handle. A GLX with that new Fugi reelseat and black EVA grip would be sweet. Conventional gets boring after a while.

Silver Thread Excalibur. Tuff as nails, but very limp for easy casting.

I remember that "clear" braided line by Berkley also won best in show last year. I don't think I've ever heard anything good about it. Arrius also won a few, with those goofy lookin rods, before Ken jumped shipped... Not sure how much stock I put in those awards.... Just sayin. Quantum is a joke. I guess they had to do something to try and sell reels, I just wish they would have 1 original thought instead of copying Daiwa's reel designs.

Thanks for the info TT! Sounds like they are worth a shot. Anyone else have any input?

I noticed these rods were on sale for $69. Here's the link: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_73559_100002006_100000000_100002000_100-2-6 I am thinking about getting one for my brother who always fishes light weight soft plastics. Has anyone seen these in the store or actually used one? If so, is it worth it or is it total junk? Any feedback? THANKS!

Have you thought about having a custom rod built? The price range for a good custom would be about the same as a new Megabass. It's your money, but personally if I was about to spend that much on a rod, I'd go with a custom built one. With a custom you can get everything exactly like you want it. A custom rod on a GLX or Legend Elite blank would be the ticket.

I've used on my baitcasting reels for a couple of years now. As stated above, it is some of the best line out there. The price isn't bad either. You don't see too many people talking about it, but it is really an excellent line. I use the 12 and 14lb test for fishing T-rigged soft plastics, shakey heads, and any other finesse fishing. The 14lb is really limp and doesn't have any memory, but it is still very strong. It's nearly impossible to break it. I'd bet that you'd be very pleased with this line.

I don't see why they didn't get it right the first time. I mean their whole deal with replacing the old green curado's with the new ones is because they "claimed" to have been listening to their customers who wanted lighter reels, with better ergonomics and also wanted all the plastic parts replace with metal. All they did was replace the plastic parts with metal.. I guess now they are going back and doing what they should have done to start with.. but only time will tell if they get it right on this attempt or not.

Sweet reels.. I've got the Steez 100 and love it. Don't forget to post pics of those rods when they come in!

Your results may vary, but from my experience Sunline is highly over-rated.

Probably not many from this board as Shimano decided that helping less fortunate kids is not their policy and they did not take part in the event. BPS had some pretty harsh words for Shimano on the flyer that they sent out.