l3rd

Not sure I would go to a Stella, but a Stradic would be a good choice. I have 2 Pflueger Supreme XT's and so far I love them, but generally I have been a Shimano spinning reel buyer. If the Stradic or Supreme XT are really a bridge too far, the President might be a good choice, but keep it oiled, some have told me they do not have the better bearings of higher dollar reels. I would think the place you bought the Shimano should take it back if you have had it for 30 days or less. It could be you got a lemon and you might be happy with a direct replacement. Shimano, IME, is about the best there is when it comes to spinning reels., though I have to admit I have always bought upper end gear, a Symmetry is as low as I have ever gone in their current line-up, but I ended up trading it off, a friend had to have it...

If you live near a Bass Pro Shop, get one of the Carbonlite reels, the gold colored ones, they only have what is on the shelf, when those are sold, they are gone. If you check out their reviews though these are just awesome reels and as they are blowing them out for $89 you just can't beat them, it's the best deal going right now. Then you could go with an Abu Veritas, Bass Pro Shops Carbonlite, a St. Croix Premiere, Falcon BuCoo, lowrider, what ever trips your trigger, though I believe the Shimano Compre would have the best warranty of them all.

To further muddy the water, there are NO standards for power or action. Each manufacturer sets their own standard, and I am sure even on some of their lines you may find the standards to be less than standard. So, it gets pretty crazy sometimes trying to figure out what is what. The best bang for the buck rods I know of would be the Bass Pro Shops Carbonlites for around $100, and the Shimano Crucial rods for $150-$170 +/-. Shimano owns GLoomis BTW. Loomis had no distribution and nearly went under. Shimano had the distribution, and I suppose wanted the Loomis technology. It worked out well for both. BTW, Shimano currently has a no questions asked life time warranty. Officially it's material and workmanship, so some day they may ask questions, but for not, no matter how it gets broken, they tell their dealers to replace it. As Shimano owns Loomis, I suppose they offer about the same, but am not sure.

That's all I am hearing. I had planned on going with the new Johnny Morris Carbon Black, but when I was unimpressed with it, I began thinking about the JM Signature, and the Pinnacles as all I am hearing about the Pinnacles is how great they are. I just hope they are not like what I am hearing about some of the Quantums, they work well for a short time, and then fall apart... Anyway, I did go with the high gear ration Pinnacle, am thinking about getting the low gear ratio one soon too. Wish they would come out with a lefty for flipping and pitching...

Even if anyone does, it's likely the older one. The new ones are IM10, and are comparable to the 200.00 Cumara line as they use the same blank. It's more rod for the money than any rod that I know of. Beyond that, currently they have a no questions asked return policy. That can change at any time as in writing they have the normal materials and workmanship warranty. Even that though is lifetime, and not for a few months or a year. If you go to Tackle Warehouse and look at the reviews for the Cumara casting rod, which is now pretty much the new Crucial, you can get an idea of what others think.

Ok, but Tackle Warehouse is the only source I know, but they don't carry the 6'6" rods... Besides, the Pinnacles only go from 3/8 - 1 oz, while the others go down to 1/4 oz. I am sure the Pinnacle can cast 1/4 oz, but obviously it's not optimal which the others claim to be. It just seems to be a strange rang in 6'6" poles. I was ready to give up last night when I was looking just before I stumbled upon those 2. The Pinnacles are for sure the best looking rods though!

I think one of the biggest differences is going to be additives. Rapala's new Trigger-X is supposed to have pheromones which supposedly will increase your bites, Attraxx is supposed to be similar, Yum and Berkley make big claims. That said, years before any of these existed people landed tons of fish on more normal plastics. Buyer beware...

Our local BPS pro really likes the new RC line in general, but I don't about the jerkbaits, the square bills he compares to the old luckycraft RC line.

Ghoti, FYI, I decided to get a Pinnacle, now I have to find a rod to go with it... Using it for spinners, heavy as well as light, and as my boat's rod storage only holds up to 6'6" rods, I am thinking about something like Daiwa's Team Daiwa T Casting Rod 6'6" Med Hvy, or perhaps an Abu Garcia Veritas Casting Rod 6'6" Med Hvy... Anyone have opinions on the micro-guide Veritas? My son bought one, but the Cincinnati BPS local pro says he had a, or was it some micro guide rod(s), but had nothing but trouble with them, he said never again. Is that a common experience, was it because he got them early on, and perhaps Fuji has improved them now, or what?

Bearing issues? Sloppy/bad bearings could cause what you describe I suppose.

I was just revisiting them both, and you're absolutely right about the weight. I love BPS gear most of the time, but I am heavily leaning toward the Pinnacle.

I am thinking about adding a few more reels to my collection. These 2 are around the price point I am considering, but only the Pinnacle has 3 gear ratios which is something I am looking for. Does anyone have experience with these, preferably both?

Well, I sure hope they do!

The day I was there 2 of the 3 were quite underwhelmed with it. The third, and the one supporter, was the dept. manager who I understand is quite the tournament fisherman, but I was not impressed either. I have worked in machine shops and quality generally has a feel to it, and I thought it was lacking in the reel I was handling. YMMV. I think the same about the very popular Bushmaster AR15, it's just not tight IMO. Many just love em, but I think they are sloppier than they ought to be. I did buy one after President Obama was elected and if you wanted one, you had to take what was available. It shoots fine, but it's not as tight as others I have owned or shot. While I love light, I suspect my next reel will be something like a BPS JM Signature, or perhaps one of the new Pinnacle Optima? I have checked out the JM Signatures, and they are sweet, the Pinnacles I'd have to get from a place with a 30 day or so return policy. It would certainly be the bigger gamble. Anyway, I am glad you like the new JM Carbonlites. I was at the store the day they were first seen on line and the guys were really giddy about them then. I am just very skeptical. One in 5 failing is not too endearing to me either, though it could have been abuse that caused it fail, I really did not bother asking, that one in five failed was enough for me once coupled with how it felt. I personally wish they had chosen to build on the old Carbonlite design and had just improved it, it was an awesome reel, IMO. My son bought a Shimano Chronarch, and at a later time we were talking reels with the fishing dept. manager again, and I was talking up the old Carbonlite, and said something about it not being a Chronarch, and the manager took issue with that! The only drawback I saw in the old one was that awful gold color... Perhaps I need to learn to airbrush on those days I can't fish. :-)

I am not familure with the PQ, but I do have several CarbonLites. I changed out the bearings in one of them with the better Boccas, 7 I believe, and no change. The bearings in the CarbonLite are first rate. The PQ may, or may not be as good, caveat emptor (buyer beware). You may be spending a lot of money for nothing.

The Cincinnati BPS empolyees don't seem to like them. They got 5 in, and one was bad. They do not have the feel nor are they the same design of the older ones. The $135 Browning, now a BPS line, is the same design as the new Carbonlites. I picked up a couple of the older style reels before they sell out. The on-line selection is down to left hand only already, so what's in the stores is it. I was not impressed with the new ones. They seem to be far less smooth than the older ones. Time will tell, but I had been thinking I was going to buy a couple of the new ones, but after seeing them and tinkering with them in the store, I got a couple more of the old ones instead...

Match the color of your local crayfish to a Yum Crawbug, stick a shaky head jig up it's tush, so it is standing up trying to threaten the fish, and your done... Well, the smallies will be anyway. They also like crappie minnows, and if you want sine, or dig under rocks on the rivers edge, hellgrammites will slay them. Case makes a pretty good hellgrammite bait, and Berkely just came out with some as well if you want to use plastics. Others have mentioned some great baits as well.

The Stradic, IMO, is a nicer reel than the Soros. As for a rod, how about micro guides? I don't seem to be able to get the link to work, but Tackle Warehouse has a Lew's Tournament SL HM60 Micro Guide Spinning Rod for $119.

This is my baitcasting array, many set-ups can have multipal purposes. I am limited to 6'6" rods due to my rod locker size, so your options may be more varied, but this is where I am at currently: Shimano Castic flipping reel 6:2:1 gears 8 – 10 - 14 test Pinnacle flipping rod fast - heavy 14 - 30 test 1/2 - 3 oz lures 65 Braid flipping baits, flipping jigs, top water Revo S top water in weeds 6:4:1 gears 12 test CarbonLite top water fast - medium heavy 10 – 20 test 3/8 – 1 oz lures 50 Braid frogs/flipping jigs DaiwaProcaster 100 cranks on bottom 6:3:1 gears 12 – 14 test St Croix dragging cranks fast medium heavy 10 - 20test 3/8 - 1 oz lures 20 Braid dragging cranks (walleye fishing) Daiwa Viento larger lures 6:3:1 gears 12 – 14 test Shimano larger lures medium fast medium heavy 10 - 20test 3/8 - 1 oz lures 20 Fluorocarbon swim-baits, lipless cranks, Med/Deep diving cranks, football jigs, plastic stick baits, Vib-E, large spinner baits Daiwa Viento medium baits 6:3:1 gears 12 – 14 test St.Croix medium baits fast medium 10 – 17 test 1/4 - 3/4 oz lures 12 Fluorocarbon shaky head, jerk baits, wacky worms, football jigs, drop shot, small cranks and smaller spinners CarbonLite smaller baits 6:4:1 gears 6 – 12 test CarbonLite smaller baits fast medium light 6 – 14 test 1/16 – 1/2 oz lures 8 Fluorocarbon shaky head, plastic jerk baits, wacky worms, drop shots, small cranks and spinners

Thanks Jiggen. Even the good deals are only a bit less than the newer Curados, so it sounds like you would still recommend the Optimus XT... I sure wish I knew of a place near me that carried the Pinnacle line... I bought my rod based upon other people's experiences, I was not disappointed, but as you say, it's ALWAYS best to be able to check it out for yourself first!

I think I have pretty much narrowed my options down to your Optimus XT (OP10XTHS) and the Shimano Curado (CU200G7). I do like your faster retrive rate...

Look, I don't know you, other than the fact that you are a moderator, or this guy I had work on a couple or reels for me. You could be God's gift to reel repair Mr. Francho, you could be a fishing pro, I don't pretend to know you or your credentials. I have 2 Quantum Kenetic spinning reels I bought upon recomendation, I am not a fan, but they have not broken as yet. Other than that, I have been a Shimano buyer and fan for years, but this guy is not the only one I have heard say this about Shimano lately. Several BPS personnel in Cincinnati have said that Shimano's customer service has been lacking of late while Daiwa's has been increasing, in their opinions....Honestly I have never needed a part from Shimano, so this has never been an issue for me, their gear holds up pretty well, IME. Anyway, I had no intention of getting personal here, so I suppose it's best to let this thread die...

So, the best bet is to wait for the latest production gear rather than buying something that has been made for a number of years... At least then you have a shot at getting parts 8 or 9 years down the road.

AS FAR AS I KNOW, and my knowledge about this person is limited, his only ax to grind is keeping his customers happy as he does no warranty work for anyone. Good to know Pinnacle is so good about their gear! He said Zebco can supply parts from the glacial age (my personal embellishment), and that Quantum and Abu Garcia was also great about parts for antique gear. He did not mention any others, other than to slight Shimano for making relatively recent vintage high dollar reels obsolete due to a lack of parts. I had taken in 2 Daiwa reels, both less than 2 years old, because the bails would not close automatically. Apparently they used an assist spring that was of an excessively small gage, and he is going to make 2 new ones out of spring wire of a larger gage. One might think that a company which has manufactured reels for as long as Daiwa would properly size springs.... One I got on sale for about $100, and the other I previously paid full price for $135. Really? Just over one year of reasonable use before needing service? I have 30 year old Shimanos which I have maintained that have never needed repair... Anyway, I am shopping for a company that makes a good product and supports it. Sounds like Shimano may no longer be that company, though their track record of not needing serious repairs for me is compelling. I have purchased 3 new Shimanos this year, and 2 of them have now been replaced, so if they do fail, parts may soon no longer be available. Who have you had issues with?

If I get one like that every time I fish it, I am going to be a BIG time customer! How long do you stock parts for your reels. I like the Shimanos, but I understand they dump parts as soon as it's legal, making often pretty new equipment only good for boat anchoring if any part of the reel breaks. I was talking to a guy who repairs reels today and he told me he can get parts for 20+ year old reels most of the time, unless it's a Shimano....