Beetlebz

I second that. I'm curious to see how you like it. I have a favorite balance 7'3" M/L moderate that I absolutely love. I was looking at that exact rod for a companion for dead sticking presentations on the bottom (bed, drop shot) so I can dedicate the balance for river and crappie fishing. I tend to like faster tips for bass.

On my topwater rod I went to 15lb big game. I feel like it has a little more memory than the XL that was on it last season but man, the difference in abrasion resistance makes it worth it. That stuff is tough. Maybe not whopper plopper in pike water tough... but tough I'll throw a c-rig on it all day without any sign of any kind of wear from the tungsten bullet weight even. Stuff is ok in my book. I didn't have many issues with XL but I did find occasion to retie my c-rigs from time to time from the weight (including a couple break-offs on casting).

Well, I'm a weak, weak man. So a little update, I found the SV TW 103HS on the eBay deals section. Needless to say I bought it. And because I'm a terrible person and (apparently) lied to the wife, I'm going to try making the citica work when it comes back. Why not both i suppose. I'm a bad person. But I'm a bad person with a citica and a TW SV 103HS coming my way.

To be clear, I cast with my left hand but I cast from the grip with my index finger on the trigger. The difference is when I do this with my left hand, my left index finger rides right along that latch, or very close to it. I honestly didn't notice if the latch clicks or not. If shimano repairs the reel instead of replacing the reel I will give that a try. It pains me but I think I've decided to cut my losses and try a diawa tatula SV TW and sell the citica. maybe get another casitas shortly for my flipping rod. I'm still up in the air.. I don't know if I'll trust myself not to hit that latch by accident.

Honestly the brakes are the reason I decided to switch to shimano after I bought my first casitas. Those SVS brakes are nearly idiot proof once you're in the right ballpark with only enough spool tension go minimize movement. I can pitch a country mile, then without touching a thing bomb a crank bait out of sight. Having only mag brakes means you still need some spool tension (or a pro thumb which I lack) to keep the spool docile. My casitas is spooled with mono and it's my topwater reel, finesse bottom contact (t-rigs and finesse jigs), chatterbait reel and swimbait reel. I can bomb a belly weighted swim bait out of sight and then without touching the brakes throw a bulky chatterbait or c-rig just as far. It will be hard for me to concede that regular mag brakes work just as well but perhaps I'd be doing myself a favor to find out. Diawa reels are always coming up in eBay sales.

Naw, I cast with my left and reel with my right. Essentially I'm casting left handed with a right handed reel. Us leftys are odd. When I cast my index finger is right along the little slide latch. If I can't figure this out I might just switch everything over to the casitas. I have one and the side plate isn't an issue... I wouldn't be heart broken buying a few more

You know, right after I ordered my citica they had a sale on the curado k. I almost cancelled my order... Oh well. The only reason I was curious is because I was so sure it was locked down when I left the house and it opened up in transit before I got to the lake 10 minutes away. Hopefully shimano covers it under warranty, worst case I'll sell it and pick up a curado k. These sausage fingers cause all kinds of havoc.

So I have spent the last few weeks replacing all my garcias and kastkings with shimanos. Why? I suppose that's a topic for another post... I got my new citica I spooled up this morning and hit the reservoir to go play. When I got there the side plate on the citica was open. I was pretty sure I latched it, but who knows. A quick check to make sure it's locked down fully and away I went. On cast 5, and of course in mid cast, the side plate popped open and the spool partially shifted out to the left. The brake shoes got ripped completely off and wound up in the drink, and the crown that the shoes attached to shattered and half of that is in the water too. I shipped it out to shimano for repair (hopefully replacement) this afternoon. (Also the line got wrapped around the spool shaft and made quite the mess) My question is this... that little slider is awfully close to my hand while casting... is it possible it's my hand hitting the little latch or is this a thing that's happened before? I can remediate myself if I need to, I don't want any more plastic shrapnel spewing into the water while I'm trying to fish.

I have never had my hands on a Spartacus specifically but I've had a few of their other reels apart, no surprises or wonky business going on in there. I own a stealth and fish it every day. They are decent enough. The ONLY reason I don't own more is because for the money (save for the royal legend) you can start getting into shimanos lower end main line stuff like the caius and caenan if you keep your eyes open for killer sales and eBay coupons.

I am currently switching to shimanos but for a reason that nobody has mentioned yet. I have a kastking stealth that I love and a few garcias, all baitcasters. What i love is the way the thumb bar on shimanos positions my thumb in relation to the spool but It's different enough that I have issues on the first cast when I switch from reel to reel. I enjoy the brake set up on my casitas so I'm sticking with shimanos for mindless transitioning from reel to reel. It may sound silly, but it works for me ?

I just endured a similar conundrum. Without having the opportunity to out my hands on either one I took a chance on the casitas. Absolutely zero regrets. It took about 10 minutes to get her dialed in. I regret spooling up with big game (it's a finesse jig / t rig / Carolina rig / topwater set up for a kayak) but really the reel did a fantastic job considering big game is almost as stiff as abrazx. I will absolutely be buying more, the 150 spool is a great all around size.

I grabbed a Favorite Defender on a whim last year, so far they have been my go to for rods. Their shipping has gone WAY down from what it was, for what it's worth. I had an HMX and a few different AG and BPS rods prior and I much preferred the defender. So much so that I just ordered defender #3 in fact, and I have a Balance series 7'3"ML spinning rod too, all are fantastic. I had an issue with the spinning rod and their customer service was absolutely stellar. Their big, loud YouTube marketing doesn't do them justice in the die-hard angler market. The reels, not so much. They aren't horrible but they're a little over priced for Chinese OEM reels. That money is better spent elsewhere IMHO. OH I almost forgot to address the original question. The sick stick. A buddy of mine bought last year's model spinning rod before they changed it up (a little). Tons of backbone, great arch, if it's not the most sensitive rod in the world. For the money I think I prefer the defender or even the lunkers (the 7'5"MH/F is my #1) but the sick stick is a really nice rod. In the MH it isn't quite supple enough to throw anything under 1/4oz or so, great for swim jigs, chatter baits, Texas rigs, etc. That's the only specific one I have fished personally.

I fish exclusively from a sit IN kayak, it helps keep the cold out in the winter. The downside is I can carry 4 rigs max with 2 holders built in and two between my legs, so I have a few I swap out depending on the time of the year and location. This time of year I run a 7'3 ML spinning rod with copoly for finesse, a 6'6M caster with copoly for jerkbaits and heavy drop shots, a 7' MH with mono for topwater and finesse jigs (and tubes, light T rigs) and 7'5 MH on copoly for moving baits. After the spawn I swap out the 6'6 M caster for a 7'6 H caster for flipping and pitching. Tackle in a flambeau backpack and plastics in a binder behind the seat. It keeps it simple enough, I haven't had issues losing the extra rod over the side. Yet, anyway. I installed a scotty last year just forward of the cockpit, I wind up not using it 99.9% of the time.