Randy Price

Nice set up!

I have way too many rods. As a kid I only had one and determining what rod and reel I was going to take fishing was a pretty simple process. Now I have to think what fish species am I going to target, what type of lures so on and so on. With the exception of my musky rods and reels I have 11 or so multi species rods and reels. Most of them are spinning. I find myself grabbing a 6'6"-7'0" spinning rod either ML or M power with F or XF action the majority of the time. Truth is I could reduce my gear to 2 Musky outfits and 2-3 multi species rods and reels and be just fine. What was the OP's question again???

I used to really enjoy shooting Trap in the late 90's. Shot on a couple of different leagues and had fun but like many things in life the group of guys I shot with started to fall and drift apart for different reasons and then the cost of the birds and the shells were beginning to become an issue so I haven't shot my BT-99 for several years. Kinda blows.

I own 6-8 2500 Ci4+ that are on various St. Croix rods. I have been very happy with them!

4" GY Pumpkin w/Blk & Grn 9S-10-196

I have the Curado DC 150XG. On the back of the box it says i-DC4

I agree with @J Francho100% "Plain Stradics are bullet proof." I've been using them hard since 2000 and they have never let me down!

I haven't had very good luck buying reels on ebay. People would list an item as NIB but when I received it it was more like EX/VG+ condition. The reel would have minor scratches and be missing things that are supplied with a new reel.

Stradic without a doubt. I've been using Stradics since 2000 (FG wooden handle model) 2000. Most of mine now are 2500 Ci4+ now but I have NEVER had an issue with any of them.

I used to work with a pilot that knew him. My friend said Chuck had brass balls!

I replied to this post earlier but I will elaborate further. I have been very pleased with the Revros and Sahara's. For the money they are reliable and smooth reels. I'm a Stradic guy (have been for over 20 years) but a few years ago I bought a Revos and was very impressed. Now it's not a Stradic but it doesn't cost anywhere near one either.

I will concur that the Revros and Sienna are great spinning reels for the $$$

If you were looking at a spinning setup in the $ 500.00 range I'd recommend a Shimano Vanford 2500 and a St. Croix Avid in ML or M. IMO at this price point you're getting a good ROI. I have several top of the line SC rods and they are better than the AVID but IMO not 2X as good as what they cost. On the high end rods you're paying for lighter weight, higher end components, and yes they are more sensitive but again IMO not 2X more.

Earlier this summer (based on praise from this site) I purchased a Fury 703C. Just for clarity I'm normally a St. Croix guy. I fished the next weekend pretty hard with the 703C and was disappointed with the rods sensitivity. I thought it was well made and looked nice but for the money didn't think it was near as nice as the Mojo Bass series that was just $ 10-20.00 more. To me the Fury line was more like the Triumph line from SC. IMO for the $$ the Mojo Bass series is a nice rod. If you can swing it the AVID series are very nice but then you're getting into the $ 200-220.00 range, however, you are also getting an American made rod with a 15 year warranty.

My buddy and I were walleye fishing on Trout Lake in ON, Canada and having a good day. Mostly catch and release except what we kept for our shore lunch. I asked "I wonder if were catching some of these fish multiple times?" About that time I catch a decent walleye that has a weird growth above it's right eye. I let it go and not five minutes later I catch it again. I think we both caught that same fish 3-4 times over the next hour.

I'm sure this happens often but several years ago a friend and I were late season musky fishing on Lost Lake in St. Germain, WI using sucker minnows. His bobber went under and he set the hook and told me to grab the net. He thought he had hooked into a large walleye but as he got it closer to the boat he realized it was a large musky. Now he had two nets and I originally grabbed the smaller when he thought it was a large walleye. He looked at the net I had and told me to grab the big one. I netted a mid 40's musky and we brought it into the boat for CPR. Funny thing is after getting it into the boat we realize what happened. A 18" pike had attacked the sucker minnow and while it was struggling getting brought to the surface the large musky attacked the pike and wouldn't let go. Great memory.

I have a good friend that is a single mom and she lives in a rental home she swears is haunted. Shortly after she moved in things started getting so bad she had a heart to heart talk with the ghost. She said out loud "Please stop what you're doing! You're scaring the **** out of my kids!" She never had any issues after that. This is hunting related but 40+ years ago we were pheasant hunting with one of my Dad's employees in a new spot that he had permission to hunt. We were walking across a farm field and right in the middle of it was a "newer" looking tombstone which was weird enough (being where it was located) but when we got closer we both looked at the name and said "whoa" The surname on the stone was the same as ours! Now Price is a pretty common last name but it was sort of freaky!!

I have never owned a Triumph but have owned several Premiers. I would say the Premier is worth the extra money primarily because it is American made. It may even have a better warranty (not sure. I know the Avid and up do). SC had fantastic CS. Two years ago I purchased a B -Stock Legend Elite spinning rod and accidently broke it the next day . I was honest with them (I was fishing near their plant) brought it in and I was able to get another rod for no additional charge. Now they did not have the exact same rod in B-Stock so instead of a LE I got a Legend-X which is the same rod just with a split grip. I did have to pay a few buck more because the LX I got retailed for a few bucks more. Always been pleased with my SC rods!

I've been fishing for 50 years primarily in IL,WI, and AR and all of my fishing buddies use spinning gear for everything BUT musky. I have a couple of BC bass rigs but find myself still using my spinning gear. Habit I guess.

Really hoping for a COVID vaccine in early 2021 so we can get beyond all of this. 2020 has certainly been a Annus Horribilis!!!

I own both Daiwa and Shimano spinning reels and use them a lot. IMO Shimano makes a better spinning reel. I'm fond of the Stradic/Ci4+ series of reels in the 2500 size. I have a Daiwa Fuego and HAD a Ballastic but returned it after a short fishing trip. Both companies make good reels but to me the Shimano's are smoother. I also like the fact that Shimano makes their reels in Malaysia and not China as Daiwa does. IF you like to back reel then get a Daiwa as Shimano reels no longer offer this feature. I never have back reeled in 40+ years so that isn't an issue for me. I have the Daiwa BG and it's built like a tank but it seems heavy to me and better suited to saltwater fishing (IMO).

I'm 100% with @FishTank on this one. Others may/will disagree with me but in the $ 200.00 price range I think for the money the AVID series rods are the best bang for the buck when you look at built quality, sensitivity, length/action options, CS, and warranty this series of rods has it all.

I have said many times that for the $$ I think the AVID line is the best bang for the buck.

I stopped at one of my companies quarries Friday afternoon and caught 2 smaller bass (1.5-2.5) but they aren't biting like they were earlier in the year.