Bass Pro

Man those salesmen are some greedy SOB's. Those are NOT Loomis blanks.. lol If you want a Loomis blank, you gotta buy a Loomis rod. Can't cut corners (or listen to salesmen hype).

Count me in as well. I haven't had any problems with the palomar knot.

Sounds like the magnetic braking is not working. Has he tried opening the side plate to see if anything came apart? If everything looks normal then I'd send it back to Abu.

Thats a good price! You can't beat the Sol, it has become one of my favorite reels.

I just don't care for the short "nub" of a rear grip right behind the real seat. It just isn't comfortable to me when casting. I guess if that isn't an issue then go for it. Going to be hard to be the CBR's though! Those scorpions would look good on the Airrus puls-r's

That really is a nice reel. In that price range I like the Sol as well.

Leave the carrots for the rabbits! The reviews that I've seen on those rods stated that they had a moderate action to them making them ok for crankbaits but not for a jig and worm rod. The IMX would be hard to beat in that price range. Shimano Crucial also has some nice rods with extra fast action for jigs and worms. Might also want to check out Powell rods too.

x2 on the shaky head suggestion.

I've used silver, red, and black. I have yet to see any difference in the amount of fish caught using any color. They all seem to work equally.

I wonder what those guys are casting when the camera's aren't running?

OP- Try the CX or the Floroclear and not the CXX. Plus, like the others have said, 20lb is overkill for bass fishing. I don't think I've ever used more than 15lb test.

Did you happen to see the Mag Strike series? I've only seen pictures of them online, but they look pretty nice. I'd be very interested in any reviews/thoughts on the Mag Strike line of rods.

Just some FYI that you might want to consider is that their rods have no warranty. Yes, I know it states they have a 1 year warranty, but it is very limited and it gets left up to them as far as what is covered and what isn't. And you will have to pay shipping both ways! >

Oh God here we go again.. Yea if you don't mind bias reporting, or if you have an insiders link into what the big companies are doing, there is nothing about an Airrus buy out on TT.I have the people I know in the rod building industry checking for more info.. Please point out where Tackle Tour has been bias in reporting the facts! Not only has Airrus been bought out, but Ken Whiting (former owner of Airrus) has signed with another company ........... WIZARD OF RODS SIGNS ON WITH CANADIAN BASED ELEMENT 21 Toronto, Ont. Canada Canadian based Element 21 announced today that Ken Whiting, dubbed THE WIZARD OF RODS by Field & Stream writer John Merwin, has been named Senior Vice President of Product Development and Vice President of it's newly formed tackle division, called E21 Fishing. In his new role Whiting will be responsible for the creation of several new rod lines to be marketed under the E21 Fishing brand as well as running the day to day operations of the new tackle division. Whiting, who is widely known and respected in the tackle industry for his innovation and technology brings to E21 some 27 years of successful product design and development experience. As stated by David Sindall, company spokesman for E21, we are extremely pleased to have Ken as part of our team. E21 has been interested in adding a tackle division to the company for quite some time, but we needed the right individual to head it up and we feel that Ken is just the guy to do it. Ken's designs are like a breath of fresh air, not only are they technologically solid, but they are also esthetically pleasing. With four Best of Show's in the rod category out of the five years he has been in the tackle industry, with three of them back to back, Ken's record speaks for itself. Sindall also said that in as much as E21 is primarily a golf company, Ken's extensive background in club head and shaft design is going to be of tremendous value to us as we move forward in the golf industry which is every bit as competitive as the tackle industry and like the tackle industry is always looking for something new. E21 Fishing will have a presents at ICAST 2007 where it will unveil its new product lines and will also be holding a pre-show press conference at which time media and retailers will have an opportunity to meet E21 principals and be afforded an overview of the companies plans for E21 Fishing in the future. Further details regarding the press conference will be released at a later date. Whiting said, in a closing statement, I want to invite everyone to stop by the E21 booth (2007) and find out what our new company is all about. We have some great things in the works and will be introducing what I believe is the most exciting technology for rod building I have ever been introduced to. I thought Nano tech was something else but this new technology beats it hands down. Stop by you won't be disappointed.

Just call Kistler. They will do any kind of custom mods that you want. I am sure they will spiral wrap any rod you are interested in.

First of all, I never said I was an expert nor do I claim to be one. What I did say was the FACTS and the truth about the blank. I have an LTA 6'9'' MH and an LTX 6'9'' MH and they both do in fact have different tapers. The LTA has a slower more moderate action whereas the LTX has a much faster action. I was also told by several people at Kistler, Trey included, that the LTX is higher mod graphaite. Fishing both rods side by side, I would say that they (Kistler) are telling the truth, due to the fact that the LTX is more sensitive and a lighter rod. Since you know so much about rods, you will surely know that increased sensitivity and a lighter blank usually indicates higher mod graphite being used in the construction of the blank.

Your prices are off because you are not comparing the same models. You compared fuji exposed to pac bay non-exposed reel seat. However, if you compare like models - exposed reel seat vs exposed reel seat, then you will see Fuji cost less. Here is a direct copy and paste from www.mudhole.com (comparing like models) Fuji ECSM Reel Seat: Your Price: $3.84 $5.27 Pac Bay Exposed Blank Reel Seat: Your Price: $4.94 $5.76 Bottomline is- if you don't like Kistler that is fine, don't buy their rods! But if you don't like Kistler, you shouldn't say they use cheap components when actually they do not. Kistler makes some fine rods, haven't you seen the pics of all those hogs Lightninrod AKA Dan has caught with his Kistlers?

"My only problem with them is that they were using Batson components and they are some of the cheapest components on the market!" Actually, the pac bay reel seats Kistler uses costs more than Fuji. Just go to mudhole.com and research it a little before you repete non-truths. That is exactly how rumors get spread around the net and folks start thinking it's the truth. Oh by the way, Kistler actually uses MORE thread wrap and epoxy vs other rods. Just compare them to any other rod, side by side, and you will see that the Kistlers have larger framed guides and bigger thread wraps, thus, more epoxy. So much for your theory that they use the bare minimun to make their rods light.

The Mossybacks are better suited for fishing plastics and jigs because they have an extra fast taper. I'd go with either the BCR803 or BCR804 depending on the size/weight lures you plan to use.

Just call Kistler and tell them what you want. They will do any kind of custom mods that you want.

I read somewhere that the cause of this isn't a defective reel. It was due to too much grease being in the IAR bearing. Once the excess grease is cleaned out and lubed properly, then the reel works fine.

The LTX and LTA use different blanks. The LTX has a faster taper and uses higher modulus graphite.

Sounds like that is what happened! ;D

That is incorrect. Dobyns rods are built overseas and do NOT use lamiglas blanks. Here is the info from Dobyns himself: "G.Dobyns: I'm a fisherman. I want to design rods and promote product. My partnership with Lamiglas gives me instant sales staff, distribution, and warranty support. They are basically going to help me with the business side of things while I concentrate on design, promotion, and management of my pro-staff. We remain two separate companies and my prostaff and warranty policies are completely separate from Lamiglas as are our production facilities. Lamiglass still makes their product in Woodland, Washington and my rods will be built overseas, but this partnership helps me concentrate on the things that are important to me. Out of respect and gratitude for Lamiglas and their agreement to help me with all the business dealings, there will be a "Lamiglas" label on my rods, but again, we are still two independent companies." You can read the full interview on Tackle Tour.com.. Just click on the 'interviews' section on the main page.

I agree!! Every Daiwa that I've owned has made some sort of noise. Shimano's are much smoother/quieter. However, I've really taking a liking to my Revo STX's.