philsoreel

Basically the same reasons Hookingem said, more versatile, line cap. I'm actually going on up to a 4000 or a Daiwa on my next reel to get a larger overall diameter spool so I can throw less manageble 8# fluorocarbons on my shakeyhead rod. On my Stradic CI4 2500 there's only a couple of fc lines I can throw and they still don't excel. Not saying the 1000 can't handle your 5,6+lb fish, but I think the 2500 will have a stronger, beefier feel when you get tied into a good one.

You'll be fine 95.314159265% of the time. I myself prefer a 2500, but 7 lbs. of drag is plenty for almost anything I can think of except punching, flipping/pitching heavy grass, etc.

I have a 7'2" Cumara Medium Extra Fast and I definitely will not be doing any texas-rigging with it. I was looking for a shakeyhead rod and went off the advice of others (shouldn't have) and got the medium, but it's too light to me. I've since bought a GLoomis Shakeyhead Mag-Med for that. I use the Cumara for drop-shotting now, what it was designed to do. With Shimano rods, you cannot compare the power and action ratings to other rods. You have to go off of their recommended uses rather than the ratings. I'm not saying they're are absolute, just use them for a frame of reference. Their recommendations of course aren't going to be spot on with everyone, but it's fairly close. A good example would be two of my cranking rods. One is a medium heavy, the other is a heavy. In comparison to other brands they would be more like a medium light and medium. In that series of rods the recommendations are... Medium- Shallow cranks hard cover Medium heavy- Medium cranks soft cover Heavy- deep crank baits open water Buzz baits Large lipless cranks Those are the Reaction series and they are spot on IMO. The bottom contact Cumara series recommendations aren't as close to me, but not terribly wrong.

I found a couple of models that felt good for a rod in that price range. In fact, I'm seriously considering buying the 6'6" Med Hvy Fast combo, but it being superior to those three rods is almost comical.

Does anyone know if the water is up enough in the spillway for the striper fishing to be good today? I don't wan't to drive 2 hours for nothing.

Fluorocarbon transmits slack line bites much better than any superline IMO. Add a little tension and the roles reverse.

It's not magical sinking braid. Dyneema still floats and it makes up 87.5% of the material in 832. It sinks a little better, but nothing spectacular.

Will do. I've got to graduate from 5" hollow bodies to the big boys. Just got a new rod and reel Friday and I've already found an excuse to buy another. Sorry about jacking your thread.

The Alberto is the strongest, not the easiest to tie. To me the albright special is smaller and easier knot to tie. Those finger savers really help to.

It's actually not that bad a deal if you use your rod as a running board or do like I did once and run over 12 of them with a Ford F-350 dually. It's alot better than paying $400 for a new GLX, where other companies would say, "hey, you broke it, not us". It's a get out of jail kind of free card. That's not their only warranty option.

Yeah, I really don't think it will be any problem for you.

I was wrong about that. Gloomis rods are covered by a limited lifetime warranty...for one year. Very limited lifetime. The expeditor service is a service you can pay for to basically do a quick, no questions asked rod replacement. You send them the rod and pay $100 to get a new one. On some models the service is not available. They also have the "wild card". It's kind of confusing. I would think in your case, regardless of what model, they should replace your rod at no charge. They probably will. Good luck.

Good thing it wasn't 29 days later. Doesn't the expeditor service kick in after 30 days?

HOLY CRAP Batman! If I paid $150 for a lure I'd use a net to boat it after each cast.

Yeah, those factors didn't come to mind. 25# CXX is some pretty hefty stuff. I can't pony up the nads to buy a $100 lure yet.

A Curado 200E5 doesn't have enough line cap? I don't think I've ever gotten down past half a spool tossing 1-1.5oz. baits with it.

You have no idea. Balance was the single pro the rod had. Everything else was junk to me, but you get what you pay for. I'm sure the Champions Extreme is a different animal.

In my experience, a die-hard Shimano guy, Shimanos are generally very tight all around from the factory. They usually do free-up with use, but I've never noticed one being tight in that respect. I bought two of them from the Americanlegacy sale. I just picked them up and felt of them, yeah they are tighter than normal. I have a new Core coming in today or tomorrow. I'll compare them and see when it gets here and get back to you. Probably will loosen up with some use, I don't think it's anything to be concerned about.

I've tried both and by far prefer 832. I've even given Samurai a second chance and still don't like it.

I thought I was the only one that could find the lone tree limb on a 300yd dam. Wal-Mart has a set of Stanley picks for about $5 that are nice and slick, won't scar your line. Works wonders for picking out a braid bird's nest...be patient though. Take a machete and chop that limb down.

Best of Show and Best in Line Awards go to the Nano stuff. Anyone tried it yet?

I'll do them for $50 a piece if you pay the shipping, supply the line, and send a buddy to hold the spool.

It would be awesome if all companies did that. I wanted to also include a choice like....I prefer different styles for different applications, but I didn't want it to get so complex that a clear opinion couldn't be formed. JF- You're dang right about some U-40. My Gloomy shakeyhead cork still looks like the day I bought it because of that stuff.

Yeah, they started piling in when I dared to say something negative about Dobyns.

Me too. There's a break-in that happens after three or four trips and you're like...dang I really like this line now, but it's not over. It just seems to get better and better the more you fish it. I like the 40# but I love the 10# on spinning gear. It's alot stronger than it's rated.