Jrob78

For a general cranking line, I like 12 lb fluoro. I do sometimes use heavier line if I'm throwing sq bills in heavy cover or lighter line if I'm trying to get a bait as deep as possible. If I could only pick one though, it would be 12 lb fluoro.

My income tax return will get here just in time

Good for you Bob! I hope you enjoy the heck out of your new reel.

Probably not the best pic to post unless that's on your property. lol

They aren't as refined as Daiwa's higher end reels but they have many of the same features. They are solid reels at their regular price and are a steal at $45. Like camman said, they are on sale because a new model is out now.

The rubber bobber stoppers work great.

I'm not a big drop shotter but I like the Roboworm Alive Shad and the GY Shad Shape Worm when I do.

I've used Otterbox's on all my phones and never had a cracked screen or any damage due to impact. The nice thing about the rubberized cover is it is very grippy, you are far less likely to drop the phone. I did lose a phone to water once though. Otterbox's are definitely not waterproof.

You are absolutely right. My post reads a lot worse than it sounded in my head, my apologies to the board. However, the baits the OP listed aren't really that expensive for baits in those categories. To call the prices "silly" isn't very accurate. People should fish whatever gear they can afford and whatever makes them happy. That's what it's all about anyway, right?

Nobody is forcing anyone to buy expensive gear. Fish what makes you happy and keep your thoughts on what other people use to yourself.

If you want an 11" glide bait or a 6" rat bait, your going to have to pay up for one. Most of these baits are hand made and hand painted in small batches. Baits like that cost a lot of money. I don't know about the Rago baits specifically but you can't compare a big swimbait to your average crankbait.

I don't have experience with either rod but for the techniques you mention, I would go with graphite. Like smalljaw67 said, I wouldn't use glass for jerkbaits.

I agree. The Exceler isn't nearly as refined as Daiwa's higher end reels but it is a very capable reel. I had one I used on a "truck rod" for years. It was used and abused but held up great and caught me a lot of bass. You can find the older models for $35 nib right now, you will be hard pressed to find a better reel at twice that price.

The 2 braking systems are different and effect casting differently but you won't have any trouble going from one to the other. Set your cent brakes with 3 on and 3 off to start and you will be good to go.

A rod with a broken tip isn't the same rod it was before. The action and power of a rod change dramatically when you lose much length off the tip. Hopefully it didn't lose more than an inch or 2, if it did you might not be happy with what you get.

Check out the Kicker Fish High Tail Hole Shot Shaky Worm. It comes in a 4.75" and a 7" and has holes in the tail end of the worm that trap air and float it. The worms are priced right and come with JJ Magic scent infused into the baits. Other than that, I use Elaztech baits when I need a floating worm.

That's too funny, I wondered if I was the only one who noticed that. It didn't look as big as some of the 6lb smallies.

This is kind of how I am too. I don't have a specific rod for swimming jigs and the jigs I swim are generally lighter and less bulky than the "regular" jigs I fish. I've got several MH F rods that I might fish a swim jig on.

I know you don't have them in Ohio but Academy's house brand (H20 Xpress) crankbaits are really, really nice. They are $3-$6 with most being on the $3 side of things. You can order them online.

That Chronarch/Dobyn's combo looks awesome!

I use a Revo Toro Winch 50 mounted on the same Okuma rod with 20-25 lb mono. It's a really good all purpose swimbait rod for not a lot of money. The build quality is really good and the rod can handle 6" and 8" Hudds.

I suppose they could but they're in the business of making money. I'm not sure what the B series originally cost but Curado's haven't been $150 reels in at least 10 years, maybe longer. Things don't normally go down in price, especially after they have been improved upon. Most people don't want a cheaper, watered down Curado. The Citica has always been a quality reel at the sub $150 price point.

Agreed, it seems like a bad time to be coming out with a new line of reels if your name isn't Shimano or Daiwa.

I don't imagine the Chronarch E will be around for much longer. It will be directly competing with the new Curado, the Ch CI4 puts the Chronarch back at the price point it belongs and the E series reels have been around since '09. That is purely speculation on my part though.

That's something we'll all have to decide for ourselves. That's the fun part