Hooligan

Most stores don't do it that way. They're at the reel counter and the only way you even get a coupon is if you find a reel you want to purchase. They then hand you a coupon with the value of your coupon circled and the reel your intending to purchase as you give them your trade reel. Nothing shady about it at all. JF I agree wholly, the amount of pure bunk that people were bringing was ridiculous. Then again, I saw a few of them being denied, too.

Absolutely. I also love that everyone is an expert on it because they own one reel. Cracks me up. Then again, the reason no one complains about Zillions is that only the educated are fishing them in the first place. Not every guy that buys a Citica is going to know just how good the Zillion is, ya know?

They're close to a Senko in rate of fall. They fish a lot better than most other fluke style baits, for sure. I dig the ehck out of 'em.

NRX 893 with a JDM 12 Antares HG.

The thing is, though, the Curado E series reels were WELL over-built for a Curado. If you take into consideration what the reel has always been, you're looking at nothing but an anamoly. Every other series of Curado is in line with what the G series is. To complain about downgrading isn't very accurate. People went ape when the introduced the E series, for many reasons, they said it just wasn't the same as their old Curado. You're looking at only one half of an equation.

I've fished them, and have fished the BPS version, the Pesky Perch. TBH, I prefer the BPS version.

Much could be written on your questions, a veritable encyclopedia. From what information you have given, a good rod to start is a generic 7' MH fast rod. The size depends on depth and fall rate. If you're in rock, a football head is often the way to go. If you're in hard bottom, other than rock, you can fish basically any style you'd like. My personal favorite is the Northstar Alien head. Experiment with retrieves and sizes until y ou find what works. Color is one of those things that you have to play with, sometimes you need to have three or four different colors on the same lake, other times you don't need anything but black and blue. In clear water start with deep greens and browns, experiment from there.

The "shimano rep" you were speaking with was most likely no more than a sales representative for a rep agency, they have no connection to the factory and no actual connection to Shimano other than they represent the sales of product to Bas Pro Shops, in this case. It most definitely wasn't info from Shimano, it isn't info from the source by any means. You want that, PM Bantam1, he'll set you straighter than I already have.

Leo, what Kent said is good advice. I used to go through a lot of plastics, too, but switched to the Owner TwistLock flipping hook and my bait consumption has gone down by over half.

That the E is built better is arguable, at best, unless you're speaking simply in terms of design. The two reels are built equally as well as one another. That the G was toned down to give the CHronarch the spotlight is completely incorrect. It's not a sales theory, it's fact, and it's a direct result of the exchange rate. The Curado was never, ever intended to be a $179 reel, it just wasn't. The only reason it stayed there is that Shimano had agreements in place, and didn't have to raise the price to the $199 mark that it should have been for the past five years. For years, dealers and consumers have been screaming for a quality reel, like the Curado, to be at that mid range price point, like the Curado used to be. The G series of reels really gets back to the state that the Curado should be., the Chronarch E series gets back, again, to what it always has been. It's not a matter of one stealing any spotlight, or shining brighter. That's a laughable assumption at best. It's purely that Shimano was faced with killing off the Curado or Chronarch in current form, and letting one of the best, most bullet-proof reel designs ever go to waste, or adjust the lines of reels and get back to business. For the record, there's no issue with quality of the reels, don't let the internet hype fool you. The Malaysian factory has higher tolerances and is filled with Japanese engineers and QC, the reels coming from the factory are every bit as high quality as the Japanese factory produces. It's that simple.

I'd really have to say the Alien is one of the most versatile heads there is. The line tie is very protected and doesn't hang very easily. It's very, very good in rock, and does better than average in grass. Keep in mind, too, the weight is often the most important thing about the jig. You really have to match the weight to the conditions, regardless of all other things. I don't really see the need to expand on the original topic, but I will say this, I will guarantee you that I have landed and weighed more fish after switching to Northstar jigs than I have with any other previously. They just work, the hook, the head, the skirts, the paint. They do just what they're supposed to do, and I like that. I could build my own, but why?

On a typcial outing I have at least three Northstar's on the end of my line, usually a Flip Swim and two Premiers.

The only paddle tail worm I fish is the Lake Fork. It's got a lot better action and is far better for pitching. I pitch them around docks and over grass, works a lot better than the Zoom variety.

Rage Craw Custom Swimbait #3 is a tie between Fat Ika and Space Monkey.

Two entirely different baits for different situations. I'd always have both.

That's outstanding, Chris. Look forward to what's to comee.

Huh, I've had good luck with S8S, and I hate braid to a T. The S8S is right up there with Kanzen in my book, and Kanzen is the best there is.

I changed all of the hooks to either Katsuage or Owner ST36.

The Caenan is a GREAT reel design. On paper. In production, it's a low price point reel, and that's all it is. They put some plastic parts on a plastic frame with cheap components and call it a Shimano. It's not worth the money you pay, particularly when you can get a Citica for a little more. I'd take the new Carbonlite over the Caenan. It's the one very dark spot in Shimano's current line, for me.

Yes, for the first time ever, both Daiwa and Shimano are participating in the trade in, on both rods and reels.

They come in 1/0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8.

THe trade is based on the purchase price of the new item. You can also only use one coupon per rod or reel purchased. The other thing, theyre on two separate weekends.

I'll buy all the hooks off your 110's. They're simply the best hook made in that size. Period, bar none. Secondly, the RCX doesn't fish as well as a 110, but it does catch fish. It's good in different situations. It suspends much more level, opposed to having a slight nose down attitude. It also doesn't have quite the flash and dart of a 110. I've caught fish on the RCX under various situations, and it is a decent bait. Will it replace any other jerkbait? No, most definitely not.

Dan Thorburn, from Shimano, has confirmed they are not the same. The resins are entirely different. The resin in the Cumara isn't epoxy, either. It's a different matrix.

They did have the ECS reel seat, I'll give you that. There's two seats in the casting rods. ECS and TPS. On the others, we'll have to agree to disagree.