Jeff H

NICE!! I like'em! Glad Shimano finally got it right.....again.

Most of the good stuff has been mentioned. Don't forget the Beetle Spin either, they can be deadly.

My favorite is not a "jig". My favorite is a 3/32 oz Gopher Mushroom head with a 4" Producto Spring Worm. I have never tried this technique in shallow water. I have not used this type of presentation very often, actually....only a few times in my entire life but the more I think about it........

You should do well with the Crucial CRCX70H. You will get it all, power,action and sensitivity right for the job. I also think the TAS Big Boy series might be worth considering.

Likely. But I've seen these isolated incidents on a number of different brands. It is kind of sad these things escape quality control of any company because some are VERY obvious. On the shelf they should at least be discounted for someone willing to live with the glitches. It is up to us to make a "good" selection I guess. I played a game with this one day while I was shopping for some plastics. I hit 3 different stores and looked at all the Premier and Triumph rods in each place looking for "glitches". Premier being made here in the USA and Triumph being made in China. I found more Premier glitches than I did on the Triumph's. Actually, about twice as many as best I remember. I wasn't real happy about that. Next time I'm going to do Crucial vs Avid. China vs USA again.

Muddster, Neither do I to be honest. I have tried to learn a little bit about rod components this past year and David G has helped me there a lot. I have read posts on other sites where people absolutely shredded the credibility of those Batson guides and I've seen them praised too. All I know is I see people having problems with them occasionally and I'm just hiding behind the "not yet" tree with mine. Give me my choice and it will always be Alconites.

As I understand it, the Premier has Batson guides, not Fuji. But so does the Triumph. I don't know why they choose Batson. I had this problem a lot with Berkley Lightning rods and know the frustration. Hope I don't start having this problem with my Premier's but the truth is I'm not using them much anymore.

Thats an interesting combination of length/power/action. One I would like!! Excellent price if it suits your needs!!

Several have griped about their Premier's having this problem. Mine have not had this problem.....yet.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1219634850/20 Check Davids last post on this page. Should be exactly the answer you are looking for.

I have 3 of those old greenies that Reel Mech serviced for me last winter. Still work great!! Next time he see's them I am going to ask him to replace the spool support bearings with ABEC 5's. I like these reels so much that I think some simple bearing upgrades and maybe even drag washer upgrades are probably money well spent on them.

Wow. Don't know about other regions but up here Sept is transition time. BAD time to be stuck on only one lure. Won't do it, won't even think about it. If I really HAD to, or was forced to make that choice it would be a black 1/2 oz jig/#11 Uncle Josh pig.

Thank you sir!

No Powell experience here, but fish Avids and Crucials. While I love St Croix rods, I'd choose Crucials. They are everything Avids are in performance, cost less and are easily replaced if the need arises. There is a Shimano Crucial for everything and everyone.

Give me at least 5 and I'm happy. Mr David G, If a guy has a reel with 10 ABEC 3 bearings (stock), how many of those would you recommend upgrading to ABEC 5's for top performance. All of them, or just the "important" ones? And the important ones are which?

My local Wal-mart completely sucks in the fishing dept, nothing worth the drive, ever. They also quit selling guns this summer, but remain one of the best places to pick up shotgun ammo

I am lucky to have some really nice stuff, but one certainly does not need to spend $100 on rod or reel to effectively fish bass. I do, in fact, have and fish with some of the products mentioned here. My favorites... Cabelas Prodigy baitcaster and spinning reels. Absolutely great stuff, watch for these on clearance in the fall/winter for some of the best deals. Cabela's Tourney ZX spinning reel. This one took me by surprise, nice reel! Mine went for a swim early season yet continues to perform great. Shimano Convergence rods. WAY under $100 and great performance. I honestly can find a bunch of spinning reels under $100 I can live with (none of mine cost me over $70), but with baitcasters I do prefer to spend more (with the exception of Prodigy which I feel is incredible).

I think it's hype. I bought some 2 years ago and tried them and in my one little comparative test to black nickel they made no difference at all. I don't think they are a deterent, but they are no advantage either. When the red wears off you have a gold hook. I don't care for gold hooks either.

I like the burnt. Everybody has light cork on their rods, burnt is unique. It yells out "custom" at even a micro quick glance. It is the first thing everybody looks at on my DG rods, even before they notice the spiral wraps.

Color me dumb, but the Mojo series doesn't make much sense. SCII blanks with Batson guides sounds just like Premier performance at the same price. Ok, I missed the bit about splits and apparently no foregrip either. Still, should have put better guides on these rods.

Sept 17th 1994. Shimano Castaic spooled with Berkley 17lb XT mounted on 6'6" Berkley Lightning Rod B-50. I still have both and still use the reel, which Reel Mech serviced over the winter and works like new. The rod, which I loved back then, is retired.

I love lite tackle bassin' too!! Growing up on a clear water lake made finesse fishing a way of life that I rely heavily on all these years later. It is sooooo much fun and so effective at times, it should almost be illegal. It is the proverbial "flip side" of this sport that far too many over look. I have 4 finesse rigs. 3 are spinning and one baitcaster, all are 5'6" M/F except one spinning rig that is 6'3" M/XF. I don't really favor one over another.

I'm aware of the negatives of Fireline (for me it's just the casting problem) and the stuff may not be the ideal choice for every situation but it does have it's merits. The 4/10 is excellent stuff for finessing inside weedlines on gravel flats. Fish bury in those weeds with light mono and you are screwed to the hilt. For as well as Fireline slices vegetation, it tips the odds in your favor there. I love the stuff and hate it at the same time. I will never choose to use it if I can get away with mono but I'm not going to ignore it where I know it can help.

I usually do not use braid for finesse, but I also know there are times when it can be beneficial and will use it. When I do, I prefer razor thin Fireline and no leader. and yes, I know Fireline is a fused "superline" and not a braid per se. Cuts through weeds best of all I've tried though.

I use 8 lb XT with mine for bass and if I'm fishing carp I use 10 lb XT.