FishinChris

I own both as well, and both are outstanding reels. I do feel like I can hit tough targets better with the Ci4, but the Curado I is not far behind. Since I fish a lot of docks, cables, and hard to reach places at Lake of the Ozarks, the Ci4 is worth the extra money to me.

St. Croix Avid 7' MH w/ Chronarch CI4+ = $460

Thanks guys!!

I have 2 rods to trade in at BPS and wanting to get 2 high quality rods. I am stuck between the Avid and the $200-$250 G Loomis rods. Just want to here the different opinions on these. I have the new Curado I and Chronarch CI4 for these rods as well. Thanks!!

I do not see anything on Shimano's website about an over-the-counter warranty. It says you have to ship it to them. Where do you guys see this at? Thanks!

That's a good question and something I did not pay attention to. I do know the crankbait did not fall to the ground but I am not sure it was because the reel re-ingaged or if it was still in free spool but just locked up. I am at home now and do not live in an area where I can go out and cast has hard as I can to recreate it. Please share any ideas either way on what you think could be the issue.

I have the original Revo Winch that I bought about a year ago when they went on sale because the new Gen 3 Winch was coming out. I always have had all the pitch brakes off and 2 out of 3 spring loaded brakes on. I have used this on a medium action Abu Garcia winch rod for mainly square bills. This weekend at the ozarks I was using it as usual and I was fishing a point from the bank. I was casting it as hard as I could over handed and then one time I heard this load clunk noise like the reel jammed up and it didn't cast. Following that incident it makes a pretty bad zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz sound when casting any speed for the entire cast, instead of just at the end of the cast when the brakes kick in. The reel still feels great and smooth as usually when reeling it back in. To test this it all out, I tried casting as hard as I could again and twice it made the clank noise and jammed up and did not cast. It still casts when not slinging it as hard as I normally do....but no matter what it makes that singing noise the entire time the spool is letting out. When I got home I opened it up and did basic maintenance to it...and put a little oil in the normal spots. This did not fix the issue. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks, Chris

I agree with everything said above. One note though, if you use the A-rig in Missouri it can only have 3 hooks on it....not 5. Good luck!!

Veritas 6'9 or 7'0 MH - jigs, worms, and other slower presentation baits. Veritas Winch 7'0 or BPS Cranking Stick for your cranks and fast moving baits.

I have an Abu Garcia Revo Winch 5.4 reel - (not the gen 3 version) that I use for crankin and it is by far the best real I have used. I use it on my Abu Garcia Revo Winch 7'0 M rod and my BPS 7'0 MH Crankin Stick and it works great. Actually, there is a great deal at the TW sale since you are looking for left handed retrieve - you can get 20% of the already reduced price of $159.

What hooks are you guys using to replace the original SK crank hooks?

x2 8lbs is considered huge in the midwest/ozark country. I really do believe this question greatly depends on your location. Since my personal best is about 5lbs,I would be pretty excited for anything over 6lbs!

Lake of the Ozarks would be my top pick, the bass should be feeding on a buffet of shad by then to prepare for the winter. I would stay away from Truman - I just fished a tournament their with 132 boats in it and the winning weight was 14.13lbs...tough tough bite. If this tournament was on LOTO winning weight would have most likely been over 20lbs. Just my 2 cents.

Veritas all the way - 6'9 MH or 7'0 MH.....and if you can, slap a new revo S on that bad boy!

Veritas for sure!

I am mainly an Abu Garcia guy, but I am interested in other suggestions other than the Revo Winch reel. I just purchased the medium action winch series rod and need a reel for it. In the end I probably will get the winch reel since they are on clearance or maybe even wait for the new model, but please -- lets here some other suggestions. Thanks in advance, FishinChris

Abu Garcia is a way of life for me as well.

Veritas is $99.99 or if you do not want to spend that much Vandetta's are on clearance.

Veritas is the way to go - I have 3 of them. But if you don't want to spend $100, Vandetta's are like $59.99 at bass pro since the new models are coming out.

I love my BPS Crankin Sticks!!

Interesting, not sure if maybe I got a bad batch of line or not. I did run up to Bass Pro today and purchase some KVD line conditioner. Looking forward to seeing how it performs.

Thanks for all the great replies. Yes, I am using baitcasters and yes I have a backlash once in a while. I will try some of the KVD line conditioner to see if that helps and try to be more careful fixing backlashes.

I have started using XPS fluorocarbon line for the past year now, but it seems like it gets kinks that feel like little knots in the line quite frequently. Am I doing something wrong? Has anyone else experienced this issue? Just wondering if this is normal with most fluorocarbon lines. I would think this would weaken the line. Thanks, FishinChris

Was up there last Sunday, but it was kind of slow. Lake is pretty low and with the heat/drought this year. We caught about 12 keeper crappie and a couple largemouths and whites. This was all while it was cloudy, and when the sun came out the fish stopped biting completely.

All my rods are in the 6'9" to 7' range, but like most folks said...its personal preference.