GReb

He fished the Elite series for years before MLF.

Thought Poche was about to go on a James Watson level MLF rant there for a second.

I hear you. $200 is kind of the sweet spot for a great rod. However there are certain rods under that mark that are great for certain things. For example the ALX Ikos Buzz is an amazing top water rod and the Falcon Lowrider cranker is all you need for 10ft divers and the st Croix mojo 6’8 mxf is fantastic for jerkbaits etc

The dragger is a good buzz bait and swim jig rod Most every 7’4 heavy power rod is going to be tip heavy unless they add counter weight to the rod. The dobyns is probably an ounce plus heavier but Gary made his rods to balance not be light weight. The Cara is around 4.2 ounces from my memory. I’d bet the Sierra is 5.5. Comes down to individual preference and reel choice can play a factor. But if you’re comparing the Cara and Sierra it’s no contest. You’d have to bump up to Champion Extreme to even have a legitimate discussion.

One brand would be so boring. Current box: Shimano - 5 Daiwa - 5 Lews - 4 Abu - 1 Quantum - 1

FFS separated the field the first 3 days. The guys who caught them on it the best easily advanced. I think that changes tomorrow because most all of the top 10 will probably catch about the same weight on FFS. The other two periods will be the difference maker

Theres about a $5k difference in finishing 10th and 11th. You take the guaranteed top 10 if you can get it. Most of these guys $5k is huge not to mention points, standings, and qualifying for red crest

I think the Kaden has more of an XF tip too which will not help casting

Now that the minutes with and without FFS are equal for all I am very interested to see the final breakdown of fish caught in the ffs period vs the other two. Based on period 1 it’s gonna to be a gigantic margin.

Lews LFS is great for squarebills and small cranks. It’s small handprint make it easy to roll cast and the magnetic brakes work well for that bait. If you want to spend more the SLX mgl and curado 70 mgl are also an amazing unit for that style fishing.

I don’t know the name of the color but it’s black with red flake. GP works in every pond ever created.

I’ve owned about a dozen Tatulas and my one issue with them is quality control on gears. You either get a smooth one or not. I’ve chosen to replace several gear sets. They do not fail though and are workhorses. I have a love/hate relationship with my Elite. It’s a great performing reel but I have to tear it down about 3-4 times a year to keep it running smooth

6.3:1 I tried higher gear ratio but found myself spacing out and reeling too much slack in dragging the bait.

I actually really like the IVCB6 brakes in the SX and STX. Also find the Abu drag to be really good in lock down situations. It’s what I run on my frog rod Under $150 I don’t think you can beat Lews right now. If you shop around you can find Tournament Pros and BB1s for $140-150 and dicks marks the LFS way down several times a year it seems. Last one I bought was $52 I think Ive never owned an Abu rod but every one I’ve picked up felt funny to me

$69k for a tracker? Not a chance. I see nice used fiberglass boats still under warranty for much less I just saw a loaded out brand new Cougar for $79k that had Helix units, Ultrex, power poles, mega live, etc.

In my opinion the Cara is superior to the Champ XP and KLX. Those are more in the Expert ballpark and I’d still prefer the Expert in most models. I think Kistler and dobyns makes a better squarebill and crank rod. ALX and Cashion are really making push in that price range and make great rods. ALX and Falcon fish very similar. The $200-279 range is just stacked.

I’ve been at fault for two broken Caras and they replaced each for $100 or so. I believe each model has a different warranty length for any defects. You just mail them the label part of the blank with your check and wait a few days for the postman

You are probably right as I’m sure they are still Chinese made but maybe new composite. Probably a supply chain issue on components. I think they should have left the expert at $199 and raised the price of the Cara if necessary. At $279 it would still be a good buy

Just noticed the Expert redesign. Looks like a new Japanese blank?

Nobody pays full retail for an Abu or Lews. You can usually get them at least 20% off year round from certain retailers. The STX at $160 and SX at $120 are good buys. I’ve had more problems with Shimano and Daiwa in that price range over the last 5 years. Now if you’re talking over $200 then I agree. Just get a zillion, met, or bantam.

Make a post in marketplace. I’m sure a few of guys here have a large inventory of “take off” factory hooks that have never seen the water.

“Made in Japan” reels are typically the most expensive models using the best quality parts so of course you’d expect it to be a great product. I’m not sure the origin of the plant or assembly line worker matters a great deal. However I would expect a worker building a $500 reel to be more skilled and experienced than one making a $100 reel.

They are still popular here in the Deep South. Very good river bait. Great color selection. Affordable. I used the 200 the most

When they first came out the US model had a deeper spool and different handle and knobs. I assume that’s still the case today.

Mississippi winter is too cold for me. I don’t know how you guys up north do it. Personally anything less than 55 degrees is considered too cold 😂