LCG

My stradic FL is all I could ever ask for in a reel. Lays line absolutely perfect, solid build, butter smooth drag and retrieve under load is powerful. Should last a very long time. Fished mine all spring, summer, and fall. No issues at all. Perfect out of the box.

Call Shimano directly, they should be able to hook you up with the knob.

Owned both. SLX MGL is my choice. Don't have the fuego anymore. The MGL is very smooth and cast light weight baits very well. Both are good reels, I just feel the MGL is better.

I picked a used Shimano compre 6'10" MH-XF casting rod, 2 piece for travel a few years ago, Works great. Think I only paid $40. Check out used rods, you will find something decent for your price range.

I use 832 20lb braid to 6lb mono leader on my BPS Carbonlite 2.0 6'8" M-Xf spinning rod paired with a Stradic FL 2500. Works like a charm for me. No wind knots at all last year, line diameter is similar. I tired 10lb braid for awhile but had some issues, just too thin for me.

For me it's all about comfort and the rod action when casting and fighting the fish. Unfortunately, it's usually a trial and error thing. But the more you do it, the more you learn what you like and what you don't. It's such a personal thing, really no right answer.

Hello and welcome. Fellow Ontarian here. St croix makes a nice rod. If you are fishing more open water the medium light will work well, especially for more finesse techniques. If your fishing around more cover or weedy areas and other species besides just bass, then the medium would be better suited. I fish mostly in Southern Ontario, and use a 6'8" M-XF spinning rod rated 1/8-1/2oz, paired with a Shimano stradic FL 2500 spooled with 20lb braid to a 6lb leader most of the time. Mostly fish small lakes, rivers, and ponds. My other rods are baitcasting combos for crankbaits, spinnerbaits, texas rigs, etc. Mainly fish for bass, but will target catfish, carp, Walleye, pike, etc before the bass season starts, but use medium heavy rods for those. Be sure to read up on the MNR rules and regulations, they are extensive. Being that you are wanting to do a lot with one rod, I think you should steer towards a medium power rod.

Canadian here, Ontario to be specific. We have tons of largemouth bass here. That reel will do you just fine for more finesse techniques like Ned rigs, weightless plastics, top water poppers, etc. Spinnerbaits and Frogs can be done but that would be a totally different rod. I personally prefer baitcasting setups for spinnerbaits and larger texas rigs. I have caught plenty of 4-6lb smallies and largemouth on my 6'8 M-XF and a Stradic FL. Use that rod for senkos, light texas rigs, and Ned rigs. 20lb braid to 6-8lb leader. A buddy uses a Stradic Ci4+ for Frogs and spinnerbaits, but on a Medium-Heavy/heavy rod. He does very well with it.

Not really a wrong choice. Both are excellent reels. I own the Curado K and SLX MGL, like both of them. My next reel will be the Bantam MGL probably.

I have the SLX MGL, it will throw a weightless trick worm and 3/16oz spinnerbait well. Your good to go

I have the curado k and slx mgl in the HG gear ration 7:1. I debated the gear ratio thing for awhile. End of the day it really has to do with ipt. Your looking at 5 inches difference really. My Curado reels in 31" ipt, the slx mgl is 28", by comparison my stradic FL (spinning reel) is 36" ipt. That's full spool, minus a 40yd cast and the ipt changes. Spool size, line choice, and retrieval speed all come into play. I went with the middle ground of the HG because I can slow down or speed up as needed. And 5 inches either way isn't that huge of a difference to me in reality.

Owned a Fenwick hmg 6'9"ML-F. It was good, sensitive, action was good, so was balance. Never owned a triumph, but did have a st croix Mojo Bass 6'8" M-Xf, it was also good but a bit stout for what I wanted. Replaced both with a BPS Carbonlite 2.0 6'8" M-Xf rated 1/8-1/2oz. It's the perfect blend between the hmg and Mojo Bass. Not too light, not too stiff, action is faster than hmg and slower the Mojo Bass. It's now my only spinning rod. Highly recommend you check it out. Have it paired with a Shimano stradic FL 2500 and it balances well, not perfect but close enough for me.

I recently found a good deal at Walmart. Suffix 832 braid 10-40lb braid on sale $9 vs $21 normally (Canada). Too good a deal to pass up so picked up a few spools, even though this year I am experimenting with big game mono for my baitcasting setups. Have used kastking in the past and yes its a 4 carrier braid, abrasive, and thicker than most, but I paid $13 for 550 yards on ebay so not a bad deal, I have liked it but in the end prefer smooth 8 carrier like suffix 832. Here in Canada there hasn't been too many fishing deals so I take what I can get. Walmart of all places, go figure.

Hello all, I have two carbonlite 2.0 rods that have become my favorite rods. The 6'8" MXF spinning and 6'9" MH-XF casting rod. I recently purchased a used Dobyns Fury 703c for use with 3/8oz spinnerbaits and squarebills in light to moderate cover at large ponds and small lakes. I bought the rod as I have read many good things about it. I have not fished much with it, but I like the action and power. But it's labeled as a medium heavy fast actin, however it feels like a medium fast to me. I like the rod, but I really do prefer the Winn grips of the carbonlite rods. Making me second guess the Fury purchase. Does anyone have experience with both the dobyns fury 703c and the carbonlite 2.0 7' M-f casting rod. Looking to see is the action and power are similar. I know @OnthePotomac highly recommend the rod, which I completely trust as he steered me towards the carbonlite rods in the first place (thank you by the way). Just looking to see if they have the same handling characteristics. Thanks

Impressive advertisement. Peeked my curiosity

The more I learn, the more I realize there are no "rules", some rough guidelines at best really. Fishing can be very different from one person to another. Rods, reels, line, technique, location, etc. I say use what you feel most comfortable with.

Big bite baits yo mama (4" beaver style bait) and the big bite baits 4" Creature bait (baby brush hog) are right up there with a senko and trick worm for results for me. Very confident in them. Always texas rigged, weightless-3/16oz weight ,always pegged, shallow water under 10ft mainly.

In that case I would stick with the Nasci. Don't own one myself, but after buying the stradic FL, I will not be using any other reels. I am sold on their quality and craftsmanship, very smooth drag, powerful retrieve.

If anything they won't be used to seeing it, so it might get some attention. Worth a shot

Probably not solely creeks as I assume you are throwing light lures. Baitcasting setups excel at power fishing techniques like spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, jigs, texas rigs, crankbaits, swim baits, Frogs, etc. Spinning is much more geared to light lures and finness techniques. I fish rivers, ponds, and lakes so use both for most outings.

20lb suffix 832 braid to 6lb mono leader, that's really the diameter of 8lb. I prefer the 20lb braid as it easier for me to tie knots and I have not had a single wind knot since switching to higher pound test, also changed the reel at the same time, but I am not going to change it when it works well. No issues with leader knots either. I think it's because the diameters are very close to the same.

A baitcasting set up will really open a few more doors for you I think. Most people find certain techniques better suited to either a spinning combo or baitcasting. It's worth learning if your interested in it. It's not mandatory by any means, but it's another tool. Ie hammer and screwdriver.

It took me a full season to catch a single fish. After I caught that smallmouth bass on a horribly rigged curly tail grub on a jig head, I knew I would enjoy this sport. I had no idea how to rig it up back then. That one fish led me to research how to fish and all the little things that go into this sport. That's when I found this site and the YouTube channel. That was a game changer for me, I had no idea what I was doing at all. After a few years now of learning and actually doing, I feel grateful for the knowledge shared here by more experienced anglers. It has become a huge part of my life and how I spend my time. It's still amazes me how simple, yet complicated fishing truly is. I love that you never truly master it, it's always learning. But that bait monkey is for real ?

I think if you want to throw light baits the Shimano SLX MGL is worth a look. Love mine, and it's more equal to the Daiwa Tatula Sv, as both excel at lighter lures. The DC would be better for something like spinner baits on a windy day. Don't own any DC reels as I don't see the need for them, rather keep the thumb sharp. Either way, they are both good reels, just prefer Shimano. Had a Tatula and a Fuego, both gone now.

Figure might as well take the time and boredom and do some organizing, sorting /planning for next summer. I find it helps unplug from everything going on, call it therapy