Hulkster

post pics of the new bantam. show us the full frontal

oh yeah the Escape Series are/were awesome. I have two of the Spinning models. I will never part with them unless they break

awesome! what rod is that with the trout ? GCX inshore?

I like the looks too. for instance, I love the look of the IMX Pro rods. the black blank with the green trim is sharp. I hate the purple look of the older Mojo Bass rods. The new ones are almost black I think lol with each new upgrade the Mojo's get less purple lol

yup. look around on here, reddit and Facebook. its bad. reel seats falling apart on the Victory, BassX and Legend Tournament rods and breakages galore. to be fair to SC though, they have released new Bass X lines and Mojo lines that hopefully have all this corrected.

how's that trigger? one thing I have noticed with some of the Seaguide handles is the triggers are super short. like a little nub. does it feel ok in hand with a reel on it?

really cool! I'm still chasing my first muskie. so far I have only caught pike lol

The Nasci FC is amazing. Because of the screw in handle design it is a massive jump over the older model. it is butter smooth and casts amazingly. I have the 1000 size.

ya they need a drop of oil on the brake drum every now and then. Thats about the only negative to them. In terms of performance though they are top notch and didn't have a lot of the issues that the K version did, like tight brake dials and thumb bars falling apart.

Ironically, the model it replaced, the 200i, had glowing reviews. they went a step down after going 3 steps up. I have one of the 200i models and its amazing. no idea why they changed the whole thing with the K models. http://www.tackletour.com/reviewshimanocuradoibaitcaster.html

ya based on the reports on Facebook and Reddit rods are breaking at an alarming rate compared to other manufacturers like Loomis etc. they have to make them more durable their reputation is dropping like a rock.

I like longer rods, over the last few years I have slowly upgraded all my rods to longer rods. My main baitcasting rod is 7'6 and my spinning rods are now 7'6 and 7'5. you can really notice the difference in casting distance as compared to standard 7 foot rods.

its such a shame. Facebook and Reddit are a graveyard of SC posts lately with broken rods and reel seats coming apart across multiple lines. People are saying all brands have broken rods but I have argued not like this. I am on Loomis fan groups on Facebook and its nothing like the St. Croix one. Loomis rods seem way way more durable. St. Croix pages are nothing but a sea of broken rod and reel seat posts lately one after another. its brutal. its not just this stuff either. People are disappointed that they 'upgraded' the Avid line only to basically do nothing but downgrade the guides. No lengths over 7 feet etc. so what was the point of upgrading then?? I don't get it. I'm a Loomis and SC guy but I am down to one SC rod (a premier Musky rod that was purchased prepandemic and its awesome)

both SVS's usually the dial, I have the first generation of SVS the curado 200i and it has a dial. the SVS infinity second generation I believe had more brake shoes, thats the only difference for my curado 200i, I leave 2 shoes ON, the dial at 3 and never touch them. I only use the tension knob for adjustments for one without a dial, I would try doing the same, 2 or 3 shoes ON, and just use the tension knob when changing lures. start with that.

I don't know why any manufacturers do this. not only can you get a hand full of hooks, your line is across the reel which can damage your line. its so stupid.

I believe its only with the recent lines (post pandemic?) if you go on reddit fishing gear forum and Facebook St. Croix Rod Enthusiasts pages its absolutely brutal. people are posting pics to verify and getting frustrated as you might imagine because there are so many warranty claims its getting backed up etc. one good step in the right direction is they already came out with an new Bass X line because of the reel seat issues with the current line. Look at the reviews on TW on the old line: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/St_Croix_Bass_X_Casting_Rods/descpage-TCVB.html?from=basres I'm sure SC will rebound from all of this. They are a great company. its just a shame because their reputation is taking a hit from all this.

I hope this line works for them. St. Croix has been getting dragged through the mud on facebook and reddit because reel seats are falling apart or coming unglued in the BassX line, Victory line and Legend Tournament lines. my local tackle store (Sail) even has 2 legend Tournament rods discounted because the reel seats turn 360 degrees (obviously the glue failed there too).

One thing you may want to consider if you mainly fish from shore is to get longer rods, as long as possible. Over the last few years I have slowly been upgrading all my spinning and baitcasting rods to 7'6 and 7'5 inch rods. The difference in casting over the 7 foot versions is noticable. Loomis makes 7'6 and 7'5 models in several lines (IMX Pro NRX etc)

oh yeah the IMX Pro rods are incredible. i have never fished with anything higher level than this but there was a post the other day on Youtube talking about how the IMX's are a lot of bang for the buck when you compare them to NRX+ rods that are a lot more money.

I use Sufix Siege mono on all my rigs, baitcasting and spinning. on a 3000 size spinning reel I use 8 or 10 pound test

my IMX pro combos, the MBR 903c with Curado 200i and SJR 901s with Nasci 1000 FC I love them lol

I use 12 pound Sufix Siege. its amazing.

just another sexy angle of my new rig lolol

I guess it depends on the setup. I have a tranx 400 that I can use all day no issues. but it is on a balanced set up (an 8 foot musky rod). ya if you tried a 300 or a 400 on a typical bass swimbait rod (still much less beefier than a musky rod) it might feel too heavy

Isn't the Curado K 300 a much better choice for this? the 300 and 400 reels are a lot beefier than the 200 sizes