Stephen B

While I do believe the T wing does improve casting. The casting distance improvement is minimal.

For the most part anything, I recommend going with Diawa and Shimano reels. In general most people regard them as the two top companies. I've always been impressed with both. They are all I own.

SLX easily!

I doubt Lews perfected anything haha. Not a fan of Lews at all. I'd look at Daiwa and Shimano.

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They are more fragile, but nothing to worry about. The benefits offset the disadvantages by a long shot.

Regarded as one of the best rods ever made. You'll be extremely happy as it excels at bottom contact presentations!

New2BC4 is correct. Higher end rods are way lighter, way more responsive/sensitive; however, they are a bit more fragile due to their nature. However, high end rods have much better warranties to offset this. I wouldn't be concerned with buying high end rods at all as the additional performance is to die for.

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I love the ACS too. ECS is ok, but I prefer the ACS reel seat much more. We are in the minority haha

vv

Nathan and Jbrew bring up good points. I would consider going with a ML from St Croix for your application and consider a longer rod which aids in longer casts.

I understanding preferring another reel more but I am referring to you saying it feels like it will break in your hand on a hookset.

Yes I do think the Curado K would be a nice upgrade. Shimano and Daiwa are the kings of fishing reels for a reason.

That is the first I have ever heard that. IMO the Shimano is far superior than anything Lews has built for them as they don't even make there own reels. The Shimano Curado K is an aluminum reel with an oversized brass drive gear and pinion gear for increased power and dependability. The Curado is known for its dependability and is a work horse of a reel. Something isn't adding up. Are you sure you have an authentic Shimano reel? Are you sure its a Curado K?

I can't name a company with bad customer service in the fishing rod/reel business that I've dealt with which is a good thing. I call and talk to Trey at Kistler a good bit, St Croix is a small family run business and are a pleasure to work with, Dobyns is a great family run company and talk to Gary a good bit, as well as talk to Kenichi at Megabass. I also have had great experiences with G Loomis, Shimano, Phenix and Daiwa. All the guys/gals have been tremendous and are helpful and friendly. Luckily I have always been treated well by all the companies that I support ?

Not a fan of anything Lews personally but Woody brings up a good point the Tatula Type R would be a great option as well as the new Shimano SLX.

I prefer different rod characteristics for each technique so I use a few brands to find my desired rod. I have fished a few IMX Pros and a ALX Zolo Powerbolt. While it's hard to compare rods from companies that were designed for different applications, I would go with the IMX Pro from my experience. It seems that you prefer to spend around $300, if that's the case I recommend taking a look at the Megabass Orochi XX rods also. The build quality of Megabass is arguably one if not the best I have ever seen and are great performers that perform well above their price point. Megabass offers a bunch of great rod models in the series that would fit whatever you needed in a rod. The biggest thing is that it appears you live in Canada, so international shipping with hurt. Im not sure what it would cost but I would likely buy locally to avoid the added cost if possible.

My addiction to the next cast could be the ONE makes me never give up regardless of the outcome. Keep on pushing on. Trying new techniques, lures, etc may be beneficial.

I've been skipping docks for a LONG time and it's by no means new. Hard to imagine no one was skipping docks in California. It's been super popular in my area for as long as I've been fishing. The ones skipping in California must have been winning all the tournaments and keeping it on the down low haha.

Looking forward going back to Venice, La!!

With the amount of retired and active duty military in my town from Fort Benning, I don't think that homeowner would be pulling any weapons out on my home lake. I always suggest moving on for safety, but I also don't recommend engaging with a weapon as someone out there won't back down which I know a good bit of ?

The SLX is a sweet reel! IMO the best $100 reel on the market. It's an awesome reel and you'd be surprised at the reels feel and performance.

Please! haha. That stupid tomahawk thing they do drives me nuts. A few years ago the ACC was a good conference with Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Clemson, FSU, Miami, VT, Louisville are being great programs but it's losing some steam. Clemson is the only major player in the conference and gets a cakewalk of a schedule every year regarding conference play. I'd like to see Clemson play in the SEC or Big 10 with the big boys.

Dan Mullen is a great coach and should help turnaround the program. Jim McElwain was a step back for Florida and will take some time to recover.BTW all Florida fans should despise Urban Meyer for what he did to the program as well as what hes done at Ohio State. At one time the SEC East was stacked with Florida reigning supreme. But over the last decade, the SEC East has been a joke. The SEC West specifically (Alabama, LSU, Auburn) have carried the conference for a long time. I would love to see the East come back and help strengthen the overall conference.