EllisJuan

My new 785 arrived today. Feels much better!

This is awesome logic...and what I tell myself when throwing reaction bates. It is when I am throwing slow moving finesse that I feel iffy.

...I find myself self-conscious about the fish being able to see it...lol. Am I crazy? The castability and strength really floats my boat. I know the obvious solution is using a flouro leader. I have tried and hated it. I hate the way it feels hitting the guides. I thought "Translucent" Gliss would be a good solution, but I don't feel like it is really translucent. I have not really liked the way any flouro I have tried handled. I am about to try some Tatsu with KVD Line & Lure, so we will see how that goes. I also hear good things about Yo-Zuir Hybrid, so I am going to try that. I guess my questions are; Am I crazy for thinking a fish can see braid? Is there anything out there that handles close to braid that I should not be self conscious about a fish being able to see it? Considering what I have invested in Rods/Reels, cost of line is not really a factor in search of this solution.

Tell me about it. It seems like I get packages from Japan on a weekly basis.

Haha...super sexy setup man. Love the line color coordination...

Shimano fanboy checking it.

The internet/shipping manager Scott is a good guy to deal with. I have bought 5 rods from them in the last few months...I was not completely happy with one of them (GLX 873 CBR was a little soft for my application) and they let me exchange it no questions.

Lol...come on man. I have some St Croix Premiers I would gladly dive into the water to save!

One of my setups has a reel that is a good bit more expensive than the rod...it is hard to find a crankbait rod that out-costs my tuned Conquest 101.

Outdoor Pro Shop sells IMX, GLX, and NRX for ~30% under MSRP.

American Legacy is awesome. If you want a deal on IMX, GLX, or NRX look at Outdoor Pro Shop

I will believe it when I see it.

Yep. I have sold some like new reels for good prices here.

The Curado I is the best sub $200 real I have ever used. You can pick one up for ~$165 and you will not be disappointed. If you want a little more performance spend another $40 on carbon brakes and bearings.

Hawgtech makes a nice quality carbon handle at a reasonable price... https://www.hawgtech.com/product/Hawg-Handle%3A-Shimano Or you can dig quite a bit deeper into your pockets and go JDM with something like Studio Composites or ZPI.

I can not say for certain if the MGL handle would fit on a '13 Met (although I would bet mine it would), but there are plenty of high quality larger handles (carbon fiber or alloy) that will fit a '13 Met if not.

The '13 Metanium is a known commodity...and a spectacular one at that. I would scoop one up while they are still around to be had.

I haven't tried copolymer. I have heard great things about Yuzutu hybrid...I'm going to put it on my list to try. I went ahead and ordered a spool of Tatsu 12#. It may be a bit before I can try it, my rod is on back order.

Sorry. It will be going on a Conquest 101 on a GLX 785 CBR. I will be using it for shallow cranks, square bills, and lipless cranks.

Tatsu it is...I was thinking 12#?

I almost always use braid on all my setups with the occasional mono being the exception. I am putting together a new Crankbait setup and want to give fluorocarbon a shot. The times I ha e tried it, the memory drove me crazy. I am looking for the absolute most braid like performing flourocarbon. I Have heard good things about Tatsu with KVD conditioner. Would this be the best?

My desire for a Conquest 101 got me. I actually ordered one last night and sold my beautiful Chronarch CI4+ today. I still would like to replace my Curado on my spinbait with another Met, but that little Curado always impresses me.

Fish it as it is first. If it isn't broke, don't fix it.

Made by Studio Composites and available from Hedgehog Studios in Japan... http://www.hedgehog-studio.co.jp/page/78

Yes. I have owned them both and to me where G Loomis starts to separate from St. Croix is the GLX and NRX lines. Up to that point, I think St. Croix makes a better rod for the money. For me, from what I have owned, it goes something like; Loomis NRX > Loomis GLX > St. Croix Tournament Bass > Loomis IMX = St Croix Avid > Loomis E6X = St. Croix Premier The separation between the Loomis NRX and GLX and the rest is pretty large, both in performance and price.