centxfisherman

Thanks so much for the feedback. Looks like I've narrowed it to Sunline Sniper and/or Shooter or Seaguar Tatsu. Maybe Sniper on my spinning reels and Shooter or Tatsu on the baitcasters. Thanks again for taking the time to offer your suggestions.

Looking to go to a 100% flourocarbon line on a few of my reels and was leaning toward Seaguar InvizX or possibly BPS XPS Signature but now considering Hi-Seas or even Hi-Seas Quattro (sounds interesting). Anyone have experience with Hi-Seas flourocarbon lines and can offer an opinion? In fact, any opinion on flourocarbon recommendations would be appreciated. I'm looking at probably spooling 8lb on spinning reel and 12-15lb or possibly 20lb on baitcasting. Thanks for the input.

Cabela's is offering a limited selection of rods online at significant discounts and I couldn't resist (well I guess I could've of, but why?) and ordered one last nite. I selected the 6'9" MH-Fast Quantum Superlite PT (QTC696F) casting rod that listed for $219.99 ($229.99 on Quantum website) but was on sale for $109.99 and with the $30.00 immediate rebate for web purchases over $150.00 (I bought some Yo-Zuri line too) I got the rod for $79.99. Has anyone fished these rods? I purchased it as a good multi-purpose rod...Quantum website describes it to be such. Thanks for your input.

I have a 2004 Nitro 288 (same as the 2010 289 from what I can tell...little if any changes) and really like it. If you can spend the extra money to step-up to the 20' 289 model I would. It offers a 8' beam and you will find when fishing on either front or rear casting deck there is virtually no sway when stepping or kneeling at the edge of the boat. Mine has the Mercury 200HP 3.0 litre with a 4-bladed stainless prop and will top-out around 62-63 mph. Not super fast but fast enough for me. As we all know when you get a hybrid type boat it does neither (fish or ski) perfectly. I'm the first to admit that mine pales in comparison to a true bass boat (I've owned a Champion bass boat) as it pertains to size of casting decks, rod storage (although mine holds 8 or more easily and 7 footers too) and windshield interference (but very nice to duck behind on cold, damp mornings). Mine does offer live wells fore and aft and the same for fish finders and offers a lot of storage space. It does a really nice job for pleasure boating and sking/tubing. It has really heavy-duty ski pilon that anchors into the floor for sturdiness. It offers padded seating in the bow for two that like to lounge and stretch-out and comfortable padded seating for 5 possibly 6 in the back. I have to disagree that a true bass boat offers enough comfort to be used as a family and ski boat. Will it do the job, sure. With my Champion bass boat I tried to convince my wife and friends that when we took a late evening boat ride that sitting on rod storages and casting decks was comfortable enough...wrong! You have to decide which purpose is most important and most frequently used. If you are a serious bass fisherman first, get a bass boat and try to make it as comfortable as possible when used on a family outing. If sking/tubing and family time is most important, get a pleasure boat with an open bow and you can rig it to fish out of on the few occassions you go fishing. But if you are like me, where both are equally important (and keeping the wife happy is Very Important!) the Nitro 289 I think does a very nice job of doing each pretty well. Now as far as quality goes you get what you pay for and the Nitro delivers a pretty good bang for the buck. Does it have the quality of a Ranger, Champion or Triton fish/ski boat, honestly, no. I thought it did the best job however of addressing both needs (fish/ski) equally while saving a few dollars as well. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it...lol.

Nathan T, I believe Tackle Warehouse had the Stradic MG $100.00 off list price of $229.99 as part of their Father's Day specials. I see that Tackle Warehouse still has the Shimano Stadic MG on sale for $169.99. This is still a good buy, just not quite as good as the $129.99 price I was able to enjoy. This is a great reel btw. Kevin

I went ahead and purchased this combination as a result of the positive feedback given. Thanks to all that took the time to respond. I was able to fish with this combo for an hour late this afternoon and I'm very happy with my purchase. To think I only paid $39.00 for a rod I'm this impressed with is just silly. I'm equally happy with the reel. It is not going to replace my Revo SX but there certainly is not $95.00 difference in the two reels...IMHO. This is clearly the best $115.00 I've spent to date on fishing equipment.

I have 8lb cx on two spinning reels and Gamma 8lb on two other spinning reels. I've only fished with the Gamma for one trip so don't have much of a frame of reference. I like both lines but it seems to me, initially anyways, that the Gamma may sink a little better. Other than that I didn't see a noticeable difference. Anyone else using Gamma, and if so, what do you think of the line compared to Pline cx?

I just recently purchased the Revo SX paired with a Powell rod and love it but would like to have another BC rod and reel as a spare. I see Cabela's has their XML MH-Xfast 6'6" rod reduced from 139.99 to 39.99 and their Prodigy reel reduced from 99.99 to 74.99. This seems like a good value ($115.00 total) especially for my purposes. Thoughts?

Thanks for sharing your experience with XML rods and offering your opinion. I went to Cabela's today to get a 6'6" XML M with F or XF action for the $69.99 online price. Unfortunately, they did not have my model in-stock. I needed a rod by this weekend and decided on a Shimano Compre CPS-X66MB (medium x-fast). The rod was priced $89.99 instead of the $100-$109 it should have been (no one knew why). It was then the bait monkey pounced on me and told me to go ahead and purchase the other one that was mismarked too....ugh. So weak I am...lol. I really do like the feel of the rods and think I will be very happy with my choice. Thanks again for the help.

I see they are on sale for $69.99 which is half their SRP. I am leaning toward getting a St. Croix Premier for $99.99 or possibly the Mojo for $90.00. Does anyone have experience with these rods, and if so, would you recommend them over the St. Croix's I mentioned? BTW...the rod will be in the 6'6" to 6'9" range, medium power with fast to extra fast action and paired with a Shimano Stradic 3000 MgFB. Other suggestions in this price range are welcomed. Thanks!

I took advantage of the $100 off promo but by the time I placed my order all the 2500's were gone (at both online stores mentioned in the thread). I went ahead and ordered the 3000 because besides additional line capacity and .2 oz extra reel weight, I didn't see any other differences. All my other spinning reels (2 Team Daiwa Tierra's and a Shimano Saros) are 2500's. Will I notice much of a change fishing the Stradic MG 3000? Thanks!

Ok, granted all I've done is go to the back yard and cast it with a weightless senko, but I really like it! It doesn't hurt that the black with gray trim of my new Revo SX matches perfectly the black and gray of the rod. I know, simple pleasures for simple minds...lol. Thanks to everyone that gave suggestions as to a good first bc reel and all around good bc rod. I really think this set-up is going to work nicely for me. The learning curve for my first bc rod and reel is actually ahead of my preconceived time-frame. Whoever suggested that the release point is about 2ft before that of a spinning reel was dead on. After making that adjustment things began to fall in place. So after about 3 hours of fishing and a little practice this afternoon with the Powell rod, I'm actually gaining confidence and dealing with limited overruns and backlashes. Many thanks again for all of you that continue to offer advice and share your vast experience. This is a wonderful site and my wife wonders if I'm ever going to sit and watch TV with her again...lol.

Not sure why, but Cabela's had this rod marked $90.00 (salesman was shocked too) yesterday so I didn't pass it up and purchased it to go with my new Revo SX. I was prepared to order a Powell 683c for 139.00 and might yet, but was wondering if this rod will serve as a good all purpose rod until I master fishing with a bc (fished spinning my entire life)? Will the moderate action of this rod limit me fishing worms, senkos, jerk baits, etc. effectively with not as quick a hook set, or should I be ok with it for now?

Based off the feedback (thanks for all the great input!) I received with my previous question of a general purpose rod in the $100 - $150 range to match with a Revo SX reel and I'm seriously considering the Powell Max 683c. Can this rod only be bought online, and if so, what is the best online store? Thanks!

Big Country, your input was very helpful, as have been all responses. Thanks so much. One final question. Since I'm initially looking for a general purpose rod, would you recommend a 6'6" or 7' and as Big County suggested, M or MH? I was leaning toward the MH unless it will significantly increase the learning curve. I see where Cabela's has their XML Ti casting rods that list for $189.99 on sale for $109.99. Thoughts?

Ok, thanks! Looks as if I have some nice choices. BTW...I'm partial to 6'6" length if that makes any difference. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

I voted for Daiwa spinning if only because I believe the sealed drag makes it a little better for inshore saltwater fishing as far as corrosion resistance goes. Although my primary fising is fresh, I do make a trip to the Texas coast a couple of times a year. centx

Thanks Roger! Great advice and I'll certainly put it to practice. I have no doubt I will be happy with my purchase. Now, I just have to be patient and wait for delivery...ugh!

Thanks to all that took the time to respond to my question. I really appreciate all the excellent inputs. I think it's safe to say that both reels have many merits and one would not go wrong with either selection. Having said that, I just purchased the Stradic 2500FH last nite at Cabela's. It was on sale for $99.99 and that seemed too good a deal to pass up. In fact, they were already out of stock and will ship my new reel to my home address at no extra charge...a nice touch. In comparing the two reels, I mentioned to the Cabela's associate that I wish the Stradic had the same 5 year warranty as the Okuma did. He said that since I purchased it from Cabela's I could bring the reel in for repair as often as I like and Cabela's would repair or replace. He seem to imply they would do this as long as I owned the reel. This seems to good to be true, anyone have experience with this? I'll give an update once I have a chance to fish with my new Stradic. I have no doubt I will be very pleased. Many thanks again for all the help!

I'm looking to upgrade to a better quality spinning reel. I fish primarily for blacks but do make a couple of trips a year to the Texas coast for some inshore Red and Trout fishing. I like the fact the the VS is all metal and it appears it will fend off corrosion better. But given that 85% to 90% of my fishing is freshwater for blacks, is that the VS is all metal not that important? Is there another spinning reel I should be looking at as well? BTW, I typically fish with 8-10 lb test. Thanks,