Hulkster

the stickyness is the septon rubber breaking down. i believe shimano traced it to chemicals found in sunscreens and bug sprays that break down the Septon and cause the stickyness. i doubt there is a way to rehab them because of this. replacement is the only option. i believe the newer shimanos no longer use Septon for this reason. they are a different rubber now.

i love winn grips on reels, but i just cant get used to the barrel shaped handle knobs. i need flatish ones lol

i had a few classic IMX rods in the late 90s and the thread wrapping was done with black. they werent decorated much back then.

that look like a repair job to me as well. new or never used rods from the factory typically don't have glue looking like that.

the lower the better for those type lures. I use the 5.5:1 Curado 200i but shimano has abandoned the crank bait fishermen now so 6.2:1 is the lowest we get in a lower profile reel for the north american market.

i also have the plano tube that is mentioned above. it is very good. not sure how many rods i can fit in it, but i have put 5 or 6 in it no problem, i put them in their rod gloves and them bind them all together with pipe cleaners. . for that many rods you may need a few tubes.

i do the same. 10 on spinning 12 on baitcasting

i use Sufix Siege, with a palomar knot the stuff is tough to break and casts well.

not a fan of the mojo purple either. i just cant buy a purple rod. that said, the St. Croix Premiers and Triumph rods are great for the money. and black in color. for spinning reels, like many on this thread recommended, i would go with the Nasci or Sahara, 3000 size. more line capacity and nicer handle knob. same weight.

for a awhile i ran 10 pound sufix Siege on both my Spinning and baitcasting setups to keep things simple. I upped the baitcasting rig to 12 pound because it casts just as well as the 10 while being a bit stronger.

always lick it before you cinch it

I like Sufix Siege. I use 8 or 10 on my spinning gear, and 12 to 14 on my baitcasting gear.

i hear they are amazing. a friend who works at a local tackle shop has 4 of them in different models. loves them.

for what its worth when i ran 10 pound sufix 832 braid on spinning gear i got wind knots. I think heavier is better. maybe 15 or 20 (its still very thin)

if it were me i would go either a 2018 model Loomis E6X or a St. Croix Avid.

I have a friend who has used 10 pound sufix advanced on spinning gear and likes it. However, as this thread shows, people have had mixed results. I find sufix Siege so good I don't see a reason to change. Siege is amazing.

my favorite all around line for baitcasting is 12 pound Sufix Siege

they should feel exactly the same just one rod will be longer. i know both loomis and st croix tend the keep the actions/tapers true with blank length not really changing them

i know its only E6X but I love the 7'6 length in the MBR taper of my MBR903c E6X. I have it paired with a curado 200i, 12 pound Sufix Siege and its great. a shout out to the Loomis GL3 SJR700 mag light spinning rod as well, its a little gem of a rod, i have it paired with a 1000 size shimano. its awesome with 6 pouind test Sufix Siege.

the shimanos of that era and prior (mainly symmetres and stradics) were famous for binding up when wet. never happened to me, but I did have a symmetre bind up (wasnt wet) that when I took it apart the friction ring inside had fragmented and was causing the reel to jam up when retrieving. people used to call them 'shimbindos'

for me being shore bound, (no boat) I know I love the longer rods. my main casting rod is 7'6 and my main spinning rod is 7'5.

stradic 1000 in any flavor. as far as it being an UL reel, well, given the line ratings of 2, 4 and 6 pound mono, yes it certainly is IMO

for what its worth, I had the MBR843 E6X and didn't like it that much, yet I tried the longer MBR903c E6X and loved it, so I upgraded to the longer MBR E6X.. the extra 6 inches of tip makes it fish much better than the 7 foot version. go figure.

I have the longer MBR 903 E6x and love it, the 7'6 length with the multipurpose MBR taper is awesome for spinner baits crank baits, pretty much everything. that being said, everyone I talk to says the IMX Pro is a big leap up, so i would think it would be worth it to save.

The one thing I do like about the IMX Pro line is with the addition of the new SJR and MBR models, they now have 7'6 versions of both, something that the GLXs are missing (but yet both the E6X and Conquests also have). I like 7'6 rods big time.