The Yankee Fist

I LOVE that avatar! ;D ;D ;D Stay thirsty my friend! 8-)

Once you have one GLX it's pretty much over. Sounds like hype, but it just isn't. When you are the only one around you, all fishing the same lure and techniques, catching fish and you are the only one with a GLX, you realize at that moment, it really is the benchmark. The sensitivity is astounding. You will not break one on a fish. I have the BCR803GLX and the Bronzeback GLX. Two more versatile and useful rods for my needs(shore fishing) I couldn't have asked for more. I have a full season on that smallie rod and anyone would be hard pressed to tell me it isn't the finest all around smb spinning rod ever made. It also is great for many many species. The BCR is fantastic, large or smallmouth. Accurate, sensitive and really quite powerful. I have used it with cranks, spinnerbaits, jerks, soft plastics and topwater lures. I have striper fished with it as well. It's just killer. Can you get more technique specfic? Yeah, but I'm hiking. I need lots of versatility out of 2-3 rods max. Buy a GLX, you will be SO happy. Oh yeah, the REC guides, they work great. They are noisy with braid but I rarely use it so no issue with me. VERY durable and sensitive IMHO.

I grew up on McDonough...tough place...try the where the drinking water supply overflow heads in, those flats, this time of the year should yield well for you. Plastic jerks. Also, the NW corner of the lake when chilly but the sun is out. West Hill...well, it's West Hill ;D Dog Pond is good, really good. Mudge Pond in Sharon is very good but weedy and they have a limit on vessel/motor size. Wherever you end up around here this time of year, try soft jerks, S-L-O-W. If it's smallies you are after...from shore, Canaan all the way down is really good if you are patient....especially the Stanley Tract Bass Management Area.

YZH 6 for spinning, 12 for casting...green. Thanks RW for speaking so highly of that line. 2nd season using it and I absolutely love it.

Hi, I got these three 'lil guys last Monday plus another on the Housatonic River from shore. Sadly, the last was the biggest fish and the camera decided it would die : The water is still very high and it's a tough row but if you are patient they are there, look for sun, structure and shallow depths, especially along the shorelines themselves. Top fish caught on a Yama craw..others on Green Pumpkin'black flake 3.5" tubes.

I bought a Curado E7 this year and have been VERY impressed with it. It is sitting on a BCR803GLX(Thanks Bronzefly). I wish it had a clickable cast control and a little better drag but all in all, I really like it for the money. It's a solid performer and palms well. Casting is really really nice as well. I think the next one will be one of those 50MG reels.

On the river from shore where I live, any conditions: 3.5" tubes, green pumpkin, black flake(CENTER weighted) 4" Yama DT grub, same color as above, jig head in the tentacle end, weedless jig. Small grubs, white and black Mepps, etc. Black hair jigs early in the season, like now.

I use the green 6 and 12 as RW posted. He turned me on to this line last year and I have never been happier(Thanks Kent). Tough, nice line lay, no memory problems(fish mostly in current) and casts very well. Great "feel" too. I just went and got this year's supply last night. 2 small spools of 6lb will get me through the season for the spinning rig and usually one spool of 12 will do for the BC rig. There was a nice older genleman in Cabela's last night looking at the line selection. i could see the look on his face.."wow, what in the heck do I pick?" I felt as though I could help him out. I showed him a big spool of Ande's and said "this is what I used for YEARS." He said "me too!". I showed him the YZ HS and said "this is all you will ever need...please, give it a shot." We got into a little chat about what he fishes for and such and he ended up buying the YZ. I gave him my # to tell me if he liked it or not.

Loomis GLX Smallmouth rod. 2500 Sustain FE. (Will be sold to get the Stella) YZH 6, green

Over a lifetime Loomis rods are a great value. If you don't think so, buy a crap combo every 1-2 years at Wal Mart and see how it adds up. I really think anyone who rants about the price is just whining because OF the price alone. Go to Wal Mart, get the rod you can afford and leave us the hell alone. I am so sick of getting judged by what I own or have bought. I busted I disagree saving to afford those Loomis rods I have. It was a childhood aspiration to own them, I love how they fish and you know what? I'm catching more fish than ever in an area known to be a ***** to catch bass of sizeable nature on a regular basis in terrible conditions this year. It ain't me, I still cast and retrieve the same way I did as a kid 30 years ago, it's the gear.

The BCR803 feels much quicker and crisp than the MBR783 and also feels about a 1/2 power stronger than the regular 3 power. It's an AWESOME rod and performs amazingly when you need to "feel". It's sensitivity is quite ridiculous IMHO. I compared these two side by side before making my decision and I went with the 803 GLX. Just remember to slow it down on moving baits, it's that fast but if you slow it down, plastic jerks, cranks and spinnerbaits can be used very effectively. It has A LOT of power, deceptive actually. 8-)

That's what I meant...those actions/sizes are THE baseline and my point was that you can get something pretty nice for low dough as a starting price point but the baseline is always there regardless of the fiscal outlay. Mine: Kinda all around stuff for me because I'm always fishing from shore and hiking to and from the spots. G. Loomis SMR 822S-SP GLX Great rod! Really, a great all around spinning rod. Handles just about anything and is a phenomenal river smallmouth rod IMHO, which is where the bulk of my time is spent. Shimano Sustain 2500 FE Large waste of money. Will be replaced soon. G. Loomis BCR 803 GLX Great rod, fishes both "bigger" and "smaller" than it's capacities may say. Very accurate casting even in windy conditions. WICKED sensitive. It river fishes 1/8 oz DT4's with ease...it's great in tough current and if you slow down when you get used to it's speed, you can run cranks and plastic jerks pretty well. Quantum Iron Old horse.( Haven't decided on what new reel to put on there yet.) Hasn't stopped running in 15 years so it's good in my book. Yo Zuri Hybrid US 6 and 12.

This post should get permanently stuck up top in bold letters. It would be nice to leave the thread open so people could post their rigs that match or closely match this criteria, what they paid and how they perform. Those really are the "baseline" and I bet one could combo some pretty nice rigs up for 150 or less each including the line.

IMX from Nodaksports701 on eBay, or the Avid. Or, the flea market here.....there are some as others said, fantastic deals,