Eric 26

I’m certainly not trying to tell you which one to buy as I have zero experience with either the Tatula or the Tatula XT and my Premier I’ve had for a long time but I purchased a St Croix panfish series rod and a Avid panfish series rod last season and I couldn’t be more pleased with the quality of both rods which were used quite a bit last season. As far as their customer service the gentleman I talked with to register the rods was friendly and extremely helpful and assured me there would be no issues if the need arose for a warranty claim which thankfully hasn’t happened yet.

@Huckfinn38 If it were me I’d return the reel to Bass Pro explaining why I’m doing it, they have an unusual grace period on returns in my opinion and they may even understand why you’re doing it and let you take advantage of the sale at the time of return. It’s worth a shot in my opinion.

@CaughtMeABiggun What year/years was the reel available?

Although I’m not going to give a direct answer I can say our very own @bulldog1935 has taught me a lot about the different ways 2 piece rods are connected and why it makes a difference and can definitely explain it better than myself. I will add though that St Croix still has some 2 piece rods for what I would consider “bass presentations” in off the top of my head the Black Bass series, Premiere series and even the Avid series. Although I’ve been fortunate to not have to use the warranty/replace any damaged rods from them in recent years I did have to replace a top section of my 2 piece Premier rod and there was no issues other than supplying the model number and the appropriate amount for shipping and it was sent promptly and in a heavy cardboard tube to boot.

I’ll chime in and say that the Tica Cetus @bulldog1935 gifted me has been an absolute joy to use, I have it paired with an older 5’-6” bps bionic blade ultralight and it’s a great pairing. I will also add if you’re not opposed to an off brand reel I have 2 Piscifun Carbon X 1000 sized reels that I absolutely love and have recommended on here. They also sell a 500 size version but truth be told I think it’s a 1000 sized body with a smaller spool but with that said the 1000 size is pretty small to start with.

Although I don’t own the rod you shared the link to I do own a few Lews rods including 3 speed sticks 2 carbon fire(DSG exclusive) and a Hank Parker (Wally World exclusive) along with a first generation TP1 which is a 7’-2” moderate fast “crank back” rod. The rod you shared looks really similar to my TP1 which was touted as an excellent bladed jig rod and I’m sure it would be but I tend to throw smaller sized bladed baits on a 7’ rod although I probably could throw them on my 2 6’-10” speed sticks. I bring this up only because I was at my local Wally World last week and a store associate was unloading the latest speed sticks which I shared information about in the Falcon Evo thread on here and they’re priced at $59.00 dollars, and although I don’t know exactly where you’re at I’m pretty sure there’s a Wally World around you to see if they carry them. I would also suggest looking at the 7’-0” Lews Carbon Fire at DSG which are on sale for $56.00 currently. The blanks are IM-8 vs HM45 which means nothing to me but outside of that they seem pretty similar in all other aspects although the speed sticks are a tad heavier but I feel you don’t need the most sensitive rod for bladed baits to feel the blade moving. My last suggestion would be if you can wait until next month BPS is having there annual spring classic sale and if you have a trade in you can save I believe $10.00-$15.00 on the Lews purchase and then buy a few BPS bladed baits which should be on sale at the same time.

Welcome Mike from New Lenox Illinois 👋🏻

Ah yes @Swamp Girl you are correct. But just think of the possibility of him catching the world record sheepshead on that spinner bait🤯

The only person who will be jealous of your world record will be @TnRiver46 😆

I’m going to second this for the rod. Heck Dicks sporting goods has a hem for around $56.00 currently and Tackle Warehouse is showing the LFS for $67.00 putting you well under $200.00 leaving enough for the 50 pound braid and a

@Bazoo Have you looked at telescoping rods? I haven’t used any but Amazon sells quite a few of them for around $50.00 and below and although I’m like you and would like to handle them in person Amazon has quite a good return policy so for your budget you could try a few and return what you don’t like.

@NorthernBasser I’ve been contemplating giving my thoughts on here but the above quoted has made me feel compelled to share a story about my MIL who had a brain bleed caused by a fall 18 years ago give or take. They drilled 3 holes in her head to relieve the pressure and drain the blood and didn’t give her a great chance of beating the odds. I’ll never forget my former boss receiving a phone call from my wife and coming to get me to send me to the hospital to say my final goodbye only to find out my MIL had not only made it through the night but is still with us today and her chief surgeon coming to my wife and FIL saying it was a true miracle and he had no other explanation medically or otherwise to provide. My wish for you is that you’re given the same miracle that medicine has no explanation for. Don’t give up.

I just stopped into my local Walmart and there weren’t any Falcons whatsoever, heck to be perfectly honest there weren’t a whole lot of rods period. But what there was in the fishing rod aisle was a really cool associate who had a whole flatbed cart of rods that he just started unloading and the very first box he unpacked had 2 Lews speed sticks that had Wynn grips in grey with a grey blank that led into a black remainder with bright orange wraps on the guides. I didn’t stick around very long as he told me he placed a handful of fishing gear in the clearance section a short time ago but either it was way earlier or what he placed there was a handful of low end combos with line counter reels that I almost bought one of for what reason I have no idea, 2 lightning shock rods (orange) that have poor reviews and 2 bags of Berkeley gulp and max scent along with some Berkeley gilly soft plastics that were a bit too large for my tastes but I did end up with the aforementioned bags and a reason to go back to my local Walmart.

Sorry to hear about your mom.

@C.Rig21 Do you own any other casting reels? I only ask as you should be able to find a bait cast reel somewhat cheap on this sites classified section or another site of your choosing and be able to find a bfs spool that will fit your purchase or an existing reel check the selection on Amazon, they have a bfs spool for $20.00 that fits a Abu Garcia Black Max gen 3. Either that or check out the offerings on Ali Express in the BFS category that have been spoken of on here by at least a few members.

Hello from New Lenox Illinois 👋🏻

@AlabamaSpothunter I couldn’t agree more with everyone else, that is one of the prettiest bass I’ve ever seen. Congratulations 🎉

Well the fat lady has sung and I for one am happy. Three things I’m grateful for from this Super Bowl, #1 referees let the players play, #2 the NFL didn’t go overboard with the Taylor Swift coverage and #3 as I said to my wife and kids although I have zero idea who Kendrick Lamar is I appreciated not seeing his pants halfway down his butt and no outlandish behavior during the halftime show. Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles 🦅

🤐I’m staying quiet until the fat lad sings either way.

🤯

I’m wondering if they’re replacing the Lews Carbon Fire exclusive rods with these?

@Crankin4Bass I’m not sure if you’re opposed to ordering from overseas but our fellow member @bulldog1935 has shared some terrific finds in quite the broad price range on both here and in pm’s with me and I know he can definitely help you find what you’re looking for.

@MN Fisher I know you haven’t used the Kastking reels yet but I sure hope you share what you think about them when you do. I have a few Piscifun spinning reels along with 1 casting reel I like along with a Kastking Royal Legend 2 casting reel that although is a cheaper reel it’s still useable.

I’m going to suggest 3 rods for starters that all can be found at BPS/Cabelas. The first is an Abu Garcia Vendetta but I will say I find them a bit stiff for my liking, the second is a Daiwa Ardito travel rod 3 piece and the 3rd is a St Croix Triumph travel rod. The Abu is below your budget and both the Daiwa and St Croix are above your budget but BPS is getting ready for the spring classic sale and if you’re not opposed to trading in one of your current rods the Daiwa would be within budget. The only caveat is the Daiwa is shipped from Daiwa which could be a problem, I have had BPS order me 2 different rods during the spring sale but I also checked with the fishing department manager not store manager first to make sure that I would be able to use my trade in and pre pay so I received said trade in value. I will also add I haven’t used any of the above rods so no opinion at all but @Crankin4Bass mentioned using the Daiwa on this site.