Lard_Bass

Bilgerat, I broke my Avid two weeks ago while pulling up some slop. Go on their website to get the address to ship to and mail them a $20 check (to cover the shipping costs). Write them a letter and tell them what happened. Within days, they will call you and let you know about replacement and if you want to upgrade. I decided to upgrade to the Legend Tournament line. My new rod should be here today. Also, if you have any older St. Croix's in your house, you can talk to customer service about upgrading those as well. I have another Avid that I use for finesse fishing that I will mail back when I receive the tube with my new rod. FYI, finding a tube to ship is difficult. Go to UPS, they'll tape 2 tubes together to mail your broken rod to St. Croix.

Thanks for the clarification.

lol. I have noticed that more chicks have been checking me out lately with my new CI4. Nuts, and I thought it was my new haircut. ;D FYI, go with a Stradic FI or Saros in that price range. Great reels. The CI4 is awesome but I think the Stradic FI is also solid.

Thanks for the tips guys. I have a 7'0" Triumph spinning rod that I have no problem casting but wanted a shorter stick just for variety. In terms of applications, the Tube would be used for more general purpose but with a focus on spinnerbaits and cranks. I will try to find a place with the rod in stock and get a feel for it.

Recently, one of my Avids (AS66MF) broke and St. Croix is going to replace (very nice and now I see the value of a lifetime warranty). However, I have the chance to upgrade the rod. The rep is suggesting I go to the Legend Tournament rod (LTBS70MF) called the Tube. Anyone have experience with this rod. I was using my Avid for Cranks, Treble Hooks, and Spinner Baits. I was hoping for a 6'6" instead of a 7'0" rod but there are limited spinning choices in the Legend Tournament line.

I have been catching a ton of bass lately on a 1/16 oz jig head with a senko style worm and deadsticking it for 20-30 seconds. I think this is my new favorite finesse tactic. Also, a finesse worm on a 1/8 shakey head / spot remover has been working well for me. What are your favorite finesse tactics?

The Compre is a very good rod. I would've bought one if they carried a 2 piece 7'0" one at Cabelas where I had gift cards. If you are willing to spend $100 and its almost the end of the fishing season, one suggestion is to wait and see if there are any clearance sales. Reeds fishing for several years cleared out St. Croix rods and I picked up a couple of Avids for only $95. I have also seen Carrot Stix (and no, I am not trying to start a debate here about that rod but I do like mine) and Shimano Crucials for around $105-$115 at the end of the season. If you are willing to wait another month or two, I bet you could get a killer deal on a high end rod. Heck, you might even get the Clarus around $60.

I recently bought a 2 piece 7ft MF Clarus spinning rod for travel purposes. I have to say it is a very sensitive rod and better than the BPS Bionic Blade I returned (guide broke). The Clarus line won the best new freshwater rod award in 2008 at ICAST. Also, with a limited lifetime warranty, it makes it a tough deal to beat where other rods have only 1 or 5 year warranties in that price range.

Thanks for all the input guys. The salesman felt that fluoros have less stretch than copolymer lines. When I got Invisx, I was actually surprised to see how "springy" or stretchy it was next to YZ US. Yeah, I have been fishing with YZ US for over 4 years now but for some reason (aka. bait monkey), I just want to make sure that I am not missing out on trying something different.

Guys, I have been a loyal Yo-Zuri Hybrid US user on my spinning reels. Recently, I have reading a lot about other lines and their application. I mainly use Hybrid but one buddy is telling me that I should switch to braid (with a flouro leader) to get more sensitivity. A salesman at Cabelas also pitched me on this setup when I was checking out line. What do you guys think? I am mainly going to use the setup for jig worms and t-rigged worms. Thanks. PS - Same Cabelas guy got me to spend money on Invisx. Not a bad line but I think I like Yo-Zuri better. The salesguy kept telling me the lack of stretch in fluoro would improve sensitivity for me if I didn't give braid a shot.

Just found out from Bantam1 on the Shimano forum that the Stradic FI spool will fit the CI4. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1252429973

I agree with the Symetre but it does not have a waterproof drag (which starts on the Saros line).

Stradic 2500FI, hands down. If you want to save some money, the Saros also has a waterproof drag.

Good point RW. Maybe the product managers at Shimano figure at a certain price point, the enthusiasts will pay $$ to get the best equipment. At the end of the day, the CI4 is a great reel. A minor con (which I said from the start) is a lack of spare spool but one can easily buy a comparable Stradic if that is a main concern. One thing that came apparent to me is Shimano's consistency and quality. I recently bought a 2 piece Clarus rod for travel purposes and I am quite impressed. Toss in the Curado, Stradic, Symetres (2), and Scimitar rod that I have, I am in the Shimano groupie camp.

Matt, I have to agree with you on the spare spool. At $200, throw it in. With a spare spool, the reel would have been $225+. Shimano is very price-point conscious. I find it hard to believe they would have to mark the reel up $25 to make enough money for it to be worth selling just because they included a spare spool. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that they could include the spool, not change the MSRP one bit, and still make money. Well being a business major in both graduate /underagrauate studies and in the business world for a couple of decades, there's no doubt they are still making money. Every company is trying to make a profit. I originally was thinking this (but did not post it) and will say it now, the lack of a spare spool smells of someone's decision not associated to the fishing world. Someone in CI4 marketing saw a way to keep costs low but wasn't consistent with other product managers (who saw a spare spool as a way to get more sales). The guy in charge of the CI4 line should have included a spare reel because fishing enthusiasts like myself expect it. Whoever was in charge of the Stradic FI line got it right where the guy in charge of the Stradic CI4 line caused unnecessary controversy. As one professor taught me, pound foolish (referrring to the British pound) and penny wise is not a good thing. Is the CI4 reel a good reel? Yes. At $200, do customers expect more benefits like a spare reel? Yes. When you still have older lines or comparable products out there (Stradic FI and Stradic Mgfb) at lower price points, you jeopardize the successful launch of a new product if it's not competitive. The lack of a spare spool makes it less competitive to the aforementioned. Plain and simple.

burleytog, I understand about Shimano being price point conscious but they threw in a spare spool with my Stradic FI 2500. So, if you take the spare reel out of the Stradic FI 2500 and say the reel is only worth $135 (versus current price of $160), then the reel is only a handful dollars more expensive than a Saros. I would argue the Stradic is much better than a Saros. The point being, Shimano threw in a spare spool with my Stradic 2500 FI not to simply bump it up in price. If that's the tactic Shimano wants to do, then take away all the spare spools from the other lines and mark the price down.

Thanks for the help. What's interesting is that I have used a weightless worm and switched to other applications using Yo-Zuri Hybrid US and no issues. Just interesting that this fluoro line twists up easier.

Matt, I have to agree with you on the spare spool. At $200, throw it in.

It feels sturdy and not some piece of plastic junk. I actually was thinking to myself that it feels a lot like the FI but lighter. Here's one other thing I forgot to point out. The reel is very light so I am not sure about how it pairs up with certain rods. Given its lightness, my rod is more "tip heavy" now. The CI4 was made for "finesse" presentations according to Shimano so I didn't use it with any treble hook lures (maybe another con is its possible lack of application flexibility). However, I was deadsticking jigs and worms for many hours and my rod/reel setup felt very lightweight. Maybe pair this up with a carrot stick and you'll feel like you are fishing with nothing but air (but one ugly combo with red, black, and orange). ;D

On the Stradic, I used a 1/16th jig head with a worm. On the Symetre, I originally used a weightless worm but I decided to switch to cranks, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits (I also used a Johnson silver minnow at one point).

Guys, I recently got gift cards for my birthday and decided to use it on the purchase of a new Stradic CI4. I went fishing a couple of days this weekend and here are my first impressions. Reel: Stradic 2500 CI4 Rod: St. Croix Avid AS68MXF Line: Seagur Invisx 10lb Main Lure: 1/16 jig head with Senko Pros: -Extremely smooth drag. First fish caught was a 3+ lb on the jig head. The drag was set for a little over 3 lbs on the 10lb test. The CI4 drag worked extremely well on the first fish which put up a nice fight (gave a little but not much for what it was set for). -Casts extremely well. After 2 days of heavy usage, no issues with line twist, bird's nest, etc (actually none to report). Compared to the Stradic FI 2500 (which I also have), I didn't notice a comparable difference in casting and that could be partially due to the different lines I was using (Invisx vs. Yo-Zuri Hybrid US 6# on the FI). -Very lightweight (barely noticeable versus the FI, but more noticeable to a Symetre I have) (EDITED: See below, rod will be more tip heavy given the lightweight but overall setup feels very light - big plus when fishing a long time). -Overall, very smooth casthing and reeling experience (feels sturdy). Cons -Doesn't come with spare spool. I was surprised since the FI came with one (minor con). (Note: As found out on the Shimano forum, a Stradic 2500FI spool will fit on the 2500CI4 reel). -Handle a little undersized. I don't have big hands but the handle seemed small to me. It doesn't have the same turnkey handle like the FI has but a foam (maybe another con for some people) knob. I got used to it but I am sure some people will swap it out. Shimano probably used foam and kept it smaller to keep the weight down. Overall: -Great reel. That's about sums it up. Marginal improvement versus the Stradic FI in terms of weight and feel. I'll be curious to see how it handles when I land some bigger bass and pike but was very impressed on my first 3 lb'r. I will probably switch the line out to Yo-Zuri Hybrid to make a better comparison. One thing that was impressive was the lack of line issues which is a great thing I have noticed about the Stradic line (I am still confused how the same line on my Symetre gave me headaches but on the Stradic none - anyone that has insight please respond to the Line Twist Thread that I started: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1252376501). Hope this helps.

So, I spooled some Invisx Fluorocarbon on 2 different spinning reels (Shimano Stradic & Symetre). The Stradic is fine but I have major line twist problems on the Symetre. How could this happen if I spooled them the same and any suggestions to correct the line twist? Thanks.

Same advice, just another way: An example using 12 lb line: put a 3 lb free weight in a plastic grocery bag and tie it on to your line. Gently lift the bag off the ground an set your drag so it begins to release at that point. After measuring your drag weight, you will get a feel for where it needs to be set. Still, it's fun to do and I always like an exact setting when I get new gear. If you measure your drag setting properly as J Francho, Reel Mechanic and I have suggested, you will never adjust your setting during the fight. 8-) x2 on the grocery bag trick. I learned this method here on the forums about 3 years ago after losing a good size fish on a lousy day of fishing. Since then, I have never had a line snap due to a good fish fight. Everytime I fish with someone who has a line snap, they complain about their line being garbage. I ask about their drag and they tell me they set it "by feel." I then recommend the garbage bag trick but, most of the time, it falls on deaf ears. It always amazes me when people ignore their drag and let it go even after losing a big fish. As for the Yo-Zuri 6 lb line, I have set it at 2 lb (1/3 of 6 lbs) and 4 lbs (1/3 of 12 lbs - the line strength). I also set it at 3 lb (split the difference). I shy to the 2-3 lb side based on nothing more than personal preference. Hope that helps.

The sensitivity is fine. I haven't used it much for jig or worms but I can give you a better assessment after next week. I was curious to see if anyone else have some recommendations on another rod.

I currently have a 6'6" BPS Microlite Medium 4 piece rod that is great for a travel rod. I have caught plenty of fish traveling the country. I am looking to add another one for those camping, plane, and car trips. I was thinking of using this BPS rod as a crankbait rod and was looking to pick up another travel rod (hopefully 2-4 piece as well). Any suggestions? I am leaning to buying the same rod but wanted to see what you guys thought.