Lucky Craft Man

I purchase a yearly licence for PA, NY, OH, and WV and a partial license (i.e., weekly) for MD & DE.

I loved you in Pale Rider. I know you only had a minor role, but I still admire your work.

Instead of saying it is like 8 lb. Mono, what is the actual diameter?

Now, these are encouraging words...as I mentioned many times before, I have never broken a rod and I hope I never do, but I want a company that will work with me if it happens. I also know there is discussion as to the fact that the warranty has never changed, but I would assume very few breaks are because of manufacturing defect, therefore, I never cared about the warranty. I cared more about the Service. If Shimano is willing to be fair and work with their customers (that are not abusers) then I have no problems.

Bantam1, Would you mind clearifiying the Xpeditor Service's role with the new NRX rods? Is the Xpeditor Service appliciple to the NRX if for some reason you choose not use (or lose) the Wild Card? Thanks.

I don't think you could go wrong with either. I have both the Steez and the Core and if you plan on just fishing open water to light/moderate cover, then the Steez would be a great choice. If you are planning to fish any heavier cover, I would get the Core 100MgFV. The Steez may have the power to wrench bass out of heavy cover, but I have never felt comfortable doing so (just didn't seem to feel as powerful as the Core FV)

In my opinion, this is a no brainer. The Shimano Core 100MgFV would fit perfectly on that rod (I know it does on my GLX version of that rod) and this version of Core has a brass main gear (instead of aluminum), which allows you to wrench fish out of cover without worry of stripping the gear.

Didn't know that. Elimination is that you had to run pass big costumes guys and then pick a door to run though hoping its not a wall?[/quote] That is the show. It was actually in Japanese, but English was dubbed on top of whatever they were saying. I'm sure what they dubbed in English was not close to what was actually being said, but it was sure funny.

WIPE OUT has been on for a while this summer. Last night was actually a repeat. The show I loved, but haven't seen in sometime, was that Japanese show called Xtreme Elimination. That was a great show.

I replace most of the hooks on the lures I buy. If I am unable to replace the hooks (such as Spinnerbaits), then I sharpen them as best as I can. Musky lures are notorious for having bad hooks and I have found that even after sharpening them, they don't stay sharp for long. As mentioned above, I replace them. The absolute best large treble hooks I found are made by Musky Innovations. These things are sharp and they make up to 8/0. http://www.muskyshop.com/modules/cart/products.php/nav_id/9/page/1/id/1818/name/MuskyInnovationsWideGapPlasmaPointHooks I have 6 set-ups that I use (all have 85 lb. Superline). G Loomis MUR933C-HB & Ambassadeur 5600-C4 G Loomis MUR786C-JB & Ambassadeur 5600-C4 G Loomis MUR826C-JB & Ambassadeur 5600-C4 G Loomis MUR915C-HB & Ambassadeur 5500-C3 G Loomis MUR946C-TR & Ambassadeur 5500-C3 G Loomis MUR966 & Ambassadeur 6500-C3 I love the older maroon colored G Loomis muskie rods, but since their new Xpediter Service no longer covers them, I will replace them with another brand if they happen to break (which I hope never happens). I hear the St. Croix rods are nice. When I troll, I will use line counting reels with heavy mono. Anything made by Bucher I have found to be good. I particularly like the depthraiders. I also like Llungen's DC-10 and Musky Mayhems Double Cowgirl.

A-Jays will be tough to beat. Here is one I caught fly fishing for trout.

I right there with you FourBizz...I calculated the retail value of all the G Loomis and Shimano equipment I own and I was amazed how much money I spent. I was planning on buying at least 5 NRX's, but I guess I will have to support my fishing equipment purchasing addiction with another company. As I said before, it is such a shame, because I really do think they make quality products. I just wish the "overall service" I thought I was buying into was still there.

Shimano is the reason for all this. They took over G Loomis a while ago and are now altering the service that made G Loomis great. I may do a total boycott on all Shimano products.

But if you break that replacement $500 rod because of your fault, you are out. They only offer the Xpeditor Service towards one replacement for one model owned by you.

I made the mistake of using the TroKar Drop Shot Hooks. The first 4 or 5 fish hooked up real easy. Lost the next 5 fish. The final straw came when I lost a 5 pound smallmouth on these hooks. Switched out to my old mainstay, Gamakatsu, and didn't lose a fish the remainder of the day. I traded the rest of my TroKar's for a pack of Gamakatsu's to a friend who hasn't realized how fragile these hooks are.

Wouldn't you want to send that to Isotoner? Haha...good one. ;D

There is a few pages about this on another forum. For years I have been a big G Loomis supporter and would recommend their products to others for not only being great rods, but because of their great Xpeditor Service. Now that they have changed this service, I won't be purchasing another G Loomis or recommend another one. It is such a shame, because they do make unbelievable rods, but I find having a company that will back up their product and customers as the most important quality a company can have. Sad day in fishing history.

I guess my point is if Dave L. said, hey I'm on my favorite lake that I've been to 1000 time and I am going to show you a few tips that help me catch fish, then I would have no problem. But to say that you are on a Lake you have never seen before, when if fact you have every contour memorized, perturbs me a little. The only reason you would say that is to try and show people how great of a fisherman you are by going to a lake you have never seen and pull in a 25+ pound bag. I just don't understand it.

This goes way past the "norm". The premise of the show is not watch the host catch tons of fish on the baits that he is paid to fish. The premise is watch the host/guest angler go through the process of breaking down a body of water that he's never been on. I'd call it a fraud and never watch it again. I watched a few "Day on the Lake" episodes where the anglers were launching their boats on the "lake" without a ramp (barely even a dirt area to launch). I agree with Tyrius, we've all been there, first time on a lake and you're going through a multi-step process to determine where to fish. I would much rather observe an angler going through this process than watching him haul in fish after fish in an area that he already knows produces. If you watch the show, Dave "finds" a real small sweet spot and starts ripping in 4 to 5 pound smallmouth like nothing. Lake Chautauqua in not a huge lake (just over 13,000 surface acres), but it is not a lake you could expect to find these sweet spots that easily, especially in a half of day.

Have you seen Senko77 avatar? Just submit that to your yearbook.

I saw an episode of "Lost Lake" the other day on WFN. For those of you who may not be familiar with the show, it is a lot like "Day on the Lake." They take an angler to a lake he/she has never been and shows their day as they try to figure out where the fish are. Well, the episode I saw had Dave Lefebre on a lake "somewhere in New York." Dave starts out the show by saying he has never been to this lake before and later in the show states that figuring out new lakes like this one are a great part of fishing. The lake he was on looked familiar to me and then they showed a map of the lake and I definitely knew it. It was Lake Chautauqua in Northwestern NY, a lake Dave used to guide on and also competed in many tournaments there! I was so disappointed, because these shows try to portray these anglers as being on brand new water (which would be a great concept), but instead they put them on lakes they know like the back of their hand. I guess these guys have too big of an ego to be put in a situation where they are truly on a lake they don't know for fear of failure. I hate to say it, but this make me lose some respect for Dave and any other pro anglers who may try to "deceive" their viewers (such as Italo Labignan getting caught snaggging whitefish and rehooking them to show them catching the fish on camera). Is anyone else disappointed to learn about some of these antics the guys pull to help enhance their image as professionals?

Well, my trips vary depending if I am fly fishing or fishing for bass or muskie. Here is how my last trip went: 3:00am Wake-Up and Load Car / Boat 3:30am Leave House 4:15am Pick-Up Uncle (he wanted to join me and he lived on the way) 7:00am Arrive at Lake (this particular lake is over 3 hours away) 7:15am Boat is launched and on our way to the first spot 11:45pm Load up boat on trailer 2:30am Drop of Uncle 3:15am Arrive home Most of my fishing trips are like this, because many of the places I like to fish are over 2 hours away.

He hasn't logged into TackleTour using the name "The Natural" since Dec of 2009. I'm sure he still visits this site and tackletour, he just doesn't log in.

I am the same way. I am not a big fan of split grips, because my second hand grabs onto the nub at the end of the rod when I cast. I wish I did cast one handed (I've tried, but casting two-handed is just so much more comfortable to me), then maybe the split grip wouldn't bother me as much.

I feel your pain. My car was broken into as it sat behind my house in my driveway. I was lucky, because all the guy took (after going through everything) was my GPS. The police officer said that these drug addicts will walk through the neighborhood at night and break into cars looking for something they can pawn. It is such a shame. They should institute the death penalty for these guys (I know it sounds harsh, but something extreme should be done with these clowns)