Zeeter

Thanks Darren. I already put the reel in my cart Now I'm looking for a good matching rod. You'd really go Fluoro? I realize that it sinks so is better for getting to the bottom, but I'm already using a weight, and the fact that Mono is more buoyant would make me think it would be better for drop shotting. If I'm using fluoro then wouldn't the bait tend to want to sink?

Thoughts on the Shimano Stradic CI4+ Spinning Reel? I want to get into finesse fishing this year, using 8# test, drop shotting, and using much smaller lures with spinning gear. Looking at this reel as it comes highly rated. I guess Mono would be the best line to use as the sinker will get it to the bottom and I want the bait to sit up higher - maybe 18-24". Thoughts on the type? I was going to go with Big Game, but maybe Smooth Cast would work, too.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'll probably throw one if it seems right. My real concern was that it's tournament day. Everyone is focused, concentrating, envisioning how they're going to catch their limit, and then I go throwing a buzzbait out there, ruining everyone's mojo.

Looks like Southwestern has the best price. Thanks everyone!!

No - I might use a zara spook or something like that. I love poppers but in a boat where we're moving along the shore I don't see them as viable. Buzzbaits are just very, very loud. I get what everyone is saying - don't get me wrong. It's just me.

I've searched the entire internet (you don't want to know the things I've seen...) and have yet to find a shop that sells spools for reels. Specifically, I am looking for a spool for a Shimano Chronarch CI4+. Anyone have any ideas?

Depends on the tournament and the club. In my case I'm talking about a situation where the boater and the non-boater are not a team. Sometimes the tourney has boat teams, sometimes they separate scoring for boaters and non-boaters, so a non-boater can only win the non-boater rewards while the boater can only win the boater award. Other times I've seen both the boater and the non-boater are on their own, competing against themselves and the rest of the field. Thanks for everyone's input. I am about to join a new club, but I think I'll keep my buzzbaits stored away until I earn some pond-cred. Just something about being that annoying, loud, new guy that I'm worried about being.

I disagree with this. I've paid my entry fee. I've paid my club dues. I'm about to pay half the expenses for the trip. He will always be on better water than I am because he's driving. But that's where it stops for me. If he's fished out an area and then moves a few boat lengths up then I'm fishing water where he's either caught everything or spooked everything. Maybe throwing something different will help, but chances are he knows what he's doing and if there was a fish there he'd have done something about it. Yet if he moves just a few couple more boat lengths up then I can get some fresh water. That's not too much to expect. If this was a Pro and Amateur situation that would be one thing, but for the purposes of the local club tournament we have equal stakes. If he's putting me on used up water all day he's not getting his half of the expenses. I don't expect this to happen, by the way. I expect that my boater and I will discuss strategy prior to the tournament and come to an agreement.

I usually chip in for gas and a bit for general usage of the boat. I'll pull the boat out and back it down, though I will not launch or retrieve someone else's $30,000 boat. Heck, I may even buy the coffee and doughnuts. In general, I believe that is all that should be expected of the rider - other than having a general respect for his boat. On the other hand, what is the etiquette for the boater? What can I ask of him? I have asked in the past that he be aware of front-ending me (sometimes they get excited and don't realize they're doing this), that he leaves me some fresh bank to fish when moving along, and that he let me know what he's using so I don't use the same thing. I've also asked that he remove the rear seat to give me more room. The first one - front ending - is probably an offense worthy of discipline by the club. Leaving me unspoiled bank is a bit of a grey area. However I have paid my entry fee and should be entitled to fish unspoiled water. What if he isn't getting us into good fishing and I know where some hot spots are? If I tell him and he refuses to move, despite not being on the fish all day, is that a violation or is he just being rude? I'm not suggesting all boaters are bad, or even most of them. I have had some great boaters who kept me on the fish and suggested ways to help me - even admonishing me (rightly so) for leaving my tacklebox open. A couple of times I had guys who had no idea where the fish were. They expected me to be their ****** for the day. Far as I'm concerned, I split the finances including some extra for wear and tear on the boat. I help out wherever I can. I respect the boat. That is all that is required of me and I'll treat the boater like he treats me.

I've always been curious about this. Buzz Baits are great, but they are noisy. I have never used one in competition as usually I'm the new guy in the back of the boat and don't want to cause a ruckus. Is it bad etiquette to use such a loud bait in a tournament setting?

Great to hear! This will probably be my go-to reel on my best rod. A little disappointed about the spool as I'd like to be able to interchange them, but if that's the worst thing about this reel then I'll be a happy man.

I got a good deal on a Chronarch and went ahead and bought it. It's the 6.2:1 model. I did a lot of research on this reel, but a lot of it is mumbo-jumbo. Can anyone tell me why this is a $260 reel versus a $170 Curado? I got it for $199. I also got a Curado 71 at 8.2:1. Only difference I can see here is the higher retrieve rate. I plan to use this with my flipping stick. Are there any other benefits for this reel that don't require me to read a 3000 page manual to understand?

I'm looking for 10 or so anglers to help start up a club based in Northeast Maryland. We would likely fish the tri-state, MD/PA/DE area. I want for this to be a mixture of beginning to moderately skilled anglers. Men and women are both welcome. The intent is for this to be highly organized, but friendly and low stress. I'm not looking for people who have been fishing tournaments all their lives. More for some people who want to have some fun, catch a few fish, and maybe win a few bucks every month. I don't want people to feel intimidated by the other anglers. I guess this is more for the people who like to fish but really don't have the time to put in to commit to a full-on club. We'll have a president, VP, treasurer, secretary, and all of the other offices, so it will be official. I'll preside over the first meeting just to get things started but we will vote on the positions at the end of that meeting. We will have bylaws, job responsibilities for the officers, but mostly just have some fun while fishing by official B.A.S.S. rules. If you are an experienced tournament angler you are still welcome. Just remember that this is for moderate to beginning anglers. We don't want any know-it-alls or Joe Fishermen who have been there and done that. If you have then great - but be respectful others who don't know the difference between Mono and Fluoro. Age is not a factor so long as you are 18 and over. I am almost 50 if, if that makes a difference towards you joining. If you are interested just respond here or private message me.

I'm looking at getting a 6.3:1 Curado for cranking (because they don't make the 5.5:1 for lefties). Some of my applications will use deep diving cranks while others will use shallow. I want mono for shallow and fluorocarbon for deep. First, can the Curado spool be changed out without any more difficulty than re-guiding the line? Second, do they sell extra spools? Third, for those who compete do you find it worthwhile to change out line like this or does it take too much time away from fishing? Let's assume you have one rod dedicated to crankbaits and your other rods need to stay with their purpose.

So from the sounds of it, I think when I'm doing general worm fishing in clear water I will try to use a leader, but when flipping I might go without. Thanks for everyone's input.

Ok, so I did something VERY bad. While shopping on the Tackle Warehouse G. Loomis page I noticed that the GLX Cranking Stick is on sale for $199. As we all know, this is a $400 rod. It's cheaper than the IMX even is!!! So I was bad. I just bought two (2!!!) G. Loomis rods (that and the flipping stick)!! Plus I got on Amazon a Curado CU 71 8.2.1 reel. Now I need to get a cranking reel or just use a 6.3:1 curado as they don't make the left handed 5.5:1 for some reason. It's only .8 inches per turn so I guess it's not that big a deal. Would I have gotten a cranking rod at some point? Maybe. I certainly wouldn't have gotten a GLX and certainly not today, but at that price???!!! You don't often see a GLX at that price new. Now I'm set for the year. Two worm/general purpose rods in the 843c and 853c, the IMX Flipping Rod, and the GLX Cranking rod. And now my kids can't go to college. Thank God for tax return time!!!

I use 40# power pro. Not because I expect a 40# fish, but it's got the same diameter as 10# mono and so is easier to cast. If I use a leader I put use fluorocarbon leader material - not the spool type.

All good points. Yet what of the time to tie the lines together? End to end knots aren't easy - especially in a boat with even a little wind. I buy my braid in 500 yard spools, so while I may be using more of it due to abrasion it doesn't seem so bad mentally. On the other hand, I'm only talking about fishing out on the lake with my son. When I get a snag I can just move the boat there and get myself loose. I can't ask a boater to do that for me during a tournament, so having that leader as a beak point would come in handy as opposed to snipping the line at the rod and losing 25 - 40 feet of braid. Yet another factor is in casting. Unless your leader is entirely past the tip you will get more distance with only braid. That knot running through the eyes will reduce casting distance. By the way, I usually use the double uni-knot, but saw today the Alberto knot. What do you guys use?

Kind of my thoughts on it, too. If what he's using to win tournaments is relatively inexpensive versus similar products I may get what the pro used. If he's using a high priced item and there's almost the same exact bait made by another company for half the price I'll probably go with the lesser priced item. To this day I think the BPS senko clones are just as good, if not better than the Senko brand.

I started using braid years ago and would always start out with a fluorocarbon leader. More times than not that leader would come off at some point during the day as I my rig got stuck on what-not. Do I bother tying a new leader on? Nope. Yet I never saw a drop in bites when going straight braid. Reading a lot of articles today, I'm finding that this is becoming a trend. Some folks go as far as to use a Sharpie on the first three feet or so of their braid, but many don't even do that. What's everyone's thoughts on leaders with braid?

Thanks for all the replies and I'm getting some good feedback. Here's how I look at it. When I get a rod I intend to use it for years to come. So do I want to get a less expensive good rod or a very expensive great rod? It's not that money isn't a factor; it's more that should I get an inferior rod because it is cheaper rather than wait a month or two to save up for the better rod. This is why I lean toward the G. Loomis. The point in asking the original question was that I wanted to know if the Okuma was as good a rod. Not a better value. I would agree that the lower end models may not have the same quality, but the IMX and above are just as good as they've always been. They're made by the same people who made the rods when Gary Loomis ran the show and in the same place. Some of the lower end models have moved production to Asia. Interestingly, Shimano rods have seen a big increase in their quality since taking over Loomis.

Thanks for this. Given the budget, would you take this rod over the equivalent G. Loomis IMX rod?

Yeah I don't like to listen to the pros when it comes to gear. That's why I'm coming here - to see if anyone has first hand experience with Okuma. The only thing I like about them is that they are rated for a slightly heavier lure and have a $150 price break on the G. Loomis. Yet the G. Loomis is a G. Loomis, and it's rare that would ever fail me. I think I would have more confidence fishing the Loomis than the Okuma unless someone came on here and said that the Okuma is actually a better rod than the Loomis for this application (flipping/pitching).

I wouldn't say never. If it makes sense to use it and I'm not familiar with another brand of whatever they are using then I'll get it. Obviously if it's a high ticket item I'll do some additional research.

Anyone know where I can get a power handle for a Curado 200i? Left handed, if that matters.