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Yeah, a local store has a 3 power crankbait series rod marked down to $150, the only rod they have marked down. I have passed on it the last 5 times I've been in the store, so I think I might be safe.

Speaking of ultra soft....it sure seems to be much more difficult to find vs. the std hybrid. S-W doesn't have it, I didn't see it when I went through Gander, last time I was at Cabela's, they didn't have it either. Looks like mail order for it.

Nope, not going to happen. The only major purchase I have left is a new depthfinder, but that is a couple years away....I hope. The one I have should last a couple years, then when side imaging is advanced enough for me, then I will get one. Side imaging is fairly new, I see there being some bigger advancements in it, in the next couple years.

I just picked up a Loomis CBR845. What line works best with this rod, or is it a matter of personal preference? I used Mono for cranks with the glass rod, but I'm not sure if there is better line for the "modern" graphite rod. If it matters, the reel will be one of the Fuego's I picked up. That's what I bought the extra one for, this rod. The main use for this rod will be larger cranks that dive deep. 6ft plus. Lures like Rapala HJ 10's, #9 shad raps, even 1/2oz+ lipless cranks like 'trap's, ect...

It's a good general purpose rod for medium to large lures/rigs. It's not as good as an extra fast rod for fishing large spinners and large jigs/plastics, but it will work fine. On the other hand, it's not as good as a glass rod or moderate action graphite rod for cranks, but it can be used for them too. If I was forced to fish with only 2 rods, I would have a M or ML power, fast action, spinning rod, and a MH, fast action, spinning or casting rod.

After deciding I still wanted a "modern" crankbait rod, I kept my eye's and ear's peeled for a deal. Finally the deal came in, and I got a CBR845. The price was a little stiff, $190, but, I figured with the price increases coming, that was going to be about as good as it gets. So now I have all the rods I want, short of a Walleye trolling rod. I don't troll much where a special trolling rod is required, so I will just pick up a cheap $80-$120 combo some day if I find a real need for it. No more bait monkey for me. From now on all I should need is replacement line, hooks, some plastics, and terminal tackle. With a lure or two thrown in to keep the tackle box fresh.

I have the spinning version of that rod in GLX. It's perfect for throwing Senko's, other worms, various other plastics, light jigs, and small spinners.

For the baitcaster, I'll vote the Revo. For the spinning reels, I'm going to add a couple; Pflueger Asaro, and President. Otherwise, if I have to stick with the list, I vote Symetre's

"Corrosion resistant bearings in key locations" "Large stainless steel bail wire" and minor improvements to the drag. That is where the extra $$$ comes in. Oh, and you get a neoprene reel bag instead of the felt one.

Contact Berkley, there customer service has been very good in the past. Are these the new rods, or the older rods??? They changed the rods in the middle of last year. They have new grips, seats, and cork. Could be the new components are not as good as the older ones.

What model? BCR? BCFR? Ect...Mossybacks come in a few models with both fast and extra fast actions. The recoil guides suck on spinning rods with line that has memory. They have held up fine when I went to braid. That's all I have been using with the guides since I first got it and found mono with any memory sucked. I have the GLX rod, so I can't compare the Mossyback performance to the MBR other than the MBR has the fast action, making for a little more forgiving tip. Hooksets will be a little more abrupt, I guess you could say, with the BCR. A little better suited for jigs and worm hooks where the MBR, like most fast action rods, is more of a general purpose rod. That's why I got an MBR, I wanted a nice heavy duty general purpose rod to go with my SJR lighter duty GP rod.

If it was me, I would get something heavier than what you have. Something that will allow for, on the high end, 3/4 to 1 oz lures. Fast action. The actions might not be ideal for everything you throw, but you will not be limited to smaller rigs. From there, if you find in the future you really like throwing cranks a lot, then pick up a nice cranking rod. You can alway's use the same reel, just switch it between rods. If you find your really into spinners and worms, then picking up an extra fast action rod would be in order. If your set on picking up a specialized rod now, then you should either get a moderate action rod for cranks, or an extra fast action rod for jigs, worms, and spinners. IMO, cranks are a special technique that should have a moderate action rod. Same as above, a rod that will cover, on the high end, 3/4 to 1oz lures will cover most cranks you would want to throw.

I don't know if S-C makes them, or if someone makes them for them, but they have been out for at least a little while. Loomis has made their own fly fishing reels for a long time. Fly fishing is what got Loomis started. They have baitcasters and spinning reels sold under their parent company's name.....SHIMANO.

Bait monkey got me really bad last year. BSR 803 GLX $220 WJR 742 $168 SJR 783 IMX $176 CR 721 IMX $87 (Actually bought mid december '06) MBR 785 IMX $150 SJR 721 IMX $120 (got $50 store credit buying this rod with the matching reel) 3 Pflueger Supreme spinning reels $270 1 Daiwa Sol $109 (includes using $50 store credit) 2 Daiwa Fuego's $320 +free shipping 1 Pflueger President spinning reel $50 1 Minnkota Vantage trolling motor $900 2 batteries $168 Garmin 76CSx GPS $320 Software/maps $95 3 rod cases $95 Maybe $125 in tackle, worms, hooks, lures, ect... Everything was bought new.

FWIW, the Symetre is regarded as a real good "value" in the Shimano line. I think you'll find quite a few people will post suggesting that reel.

Wal-Mart was the only store open tonight when I went uptown to get something. I wandered through the fishing section and found they have quite a few different rods that are pistol grip. $10-$40. The rod you posted in the link is a pretty good deal too. I think the IM-6 is the older model, but none the less, quite a bit of rod for $13. Becareful not to get too cheesy of a rod, the rod might fail before you get enough time with it to see if you like the style. That happened to me when I bought a cheap UL setup to see what all the fuss was about using UL rods for panfishing.

Go to the Sportsman's warehouse website and use the store locator to find a store. Call them and have them check all the stores in the chain's inventory on the Avid rod you want. I bet one of the stores still has one. They still have a few to choose from at the closest store to me. They are $110 for most of them, I think. Some are a little more, and a few of the smaller/lighter ones are $99. That is how I got my Fuego baitcasters at the closeout price. Had them shipped to me from 3 states away.

Yup, Reeds still has the S-C, L-T, "mega" swimbait marked down. They also have the Avid AC710HF, which I would think could make a good moderate size swimbait rod.

So here I sit wandering around the 'net. I decided to see what is on sale at the various fishing stores. Nothing surprising until I get to the BPS site. I click on casting rods and notice Loomis crankbait rods are on sale. I click on it to find the rods are on sale marked down from BPS's "new" price, down to normal retail. Hmmmmm, what is going on??? BPS raise their prices too soon? Did Loomis/Shimano back out of the price hike??? Did they(BPS) raise the prices on rods that were not marked to be raised?? Strange... it's only the spinnerbait and crankbait rods "on sale", marked down to the old retail price.

If it was me, I would be looking for a faster action rod for the plastics, and using the rod you have for cranks.

Pflueger has the new Cetina's. Though only the high speed has been released, I have a feeling they have a 6.2:1 coming out too. With the 7.1 having 28 inches of line pick up, it is closer inline with most 6.2's. The Cetina has about the same line capacity as the Daiwa Sol, Alpha, Shimano Cronarch 50, ect... On a side note, I was in Sportsman warehouse this past weekend and the Sol's and Fuego's were still marked down, but they did not have more in stock. You could go to their website and use the store locator to find stores that might still have what you want. They do have free shipping if you spend so much. I don't know what the minimum is, I spent $300+.

You can do anything you want. For quite a few years I had 2 rods, a glass rod for cranks, and a graphite for everything else. Since I have gotten back into fishing more, like when I was a kid, I have found having better, and more purpose oriented rods, makes fishing more enjoyable, and seems to be more productive too. It's nice to find fish are not biting on one thing, turn around, pick up a different rod, and catch fish on something else. Nothing wrong with using just one rod, but there are trade off's, just like having a boat load of rods. A person can cover most anything with 2 setup's though. 1 lighter fast action rod, say 1/8 to 5/8oz and one heavier rod covering say, 1/4 to 1oz.

ReadyRig tournament series carrying cases. IMO, they are the best soft sided cases on the market. It's hard to find them in the stores, they are not on their website either. This link came up when I did a search for them. These are the exact ones I have. I have one 2 rod case, and two 3 rod cases http://www.readyrig.com/RR_pdf/ReadyRig_Tournament_Series.pdf

Most likely to try/buy: Steez 103 or 100 Loomis Crankbait rod Pixy-red Luckycraft Sammy Like to try, with no chance of buying: Calcutta TE DC or Calais DC I have no desire at all to have electronics on a rod or reel, but it might be a cool toy to play with at a show or something.

This is a pretty good thread IMO. A lot of buying tips spread out in various threads, but not a lot in one singel thread. Other than a few bags of worms, a few hard baits, a lot of my line, and all my hooks and terminal tackle, I have not paid retail for anything fishing. The most I paid for a Loomis rod was 20% below MSRP. I got my spinning reels 10% below MSRP (pretty good for a brand new line), I got my baitcasting reels about 25% off MSRP. I look for sales on hard baits, and I got the bulk of my worms on a year end inventory reduction. I recommend sitting down and having a long talk with the bait monkey. Let him know that you wish to buy tackle, but you want to be frugle about it. Being prepared to buy at the right time, having patience to wait for the right time, can pay off big time.