Tywithay

I use backing and get 3 fills out of a Tatsu spool.

I use Tatsu and Shooter without issue.

8lb mono or fluoro. I don't use the real cheap stuff either, as it only causes problems. I like Sniper or Tatsu for fluoro. Mono isn't as big of a deal. I like Super Natural most of the time. My favorite is Toray Bawo Polyamide Plus, but it's pretty pricey.

Honestly, I don't feel anything else is even close. I've used the Pflueger Patriarch and Supreme XT, Daiwa Ballistic and Procyon; the Stradic just feels smoother, more solid, and more refined. I ended up selling all the others and keeping all Stradics, except for one lone Daiwa Fuego.

I'll have to check my local walmart. I don't feel the Bucoo's are worth $100 at retail. The $65 price tag isn't bad. They're nice light rods. Not overly sensitive, but they're tolerable considering the price. My biggest gripe is with the split grips and they have a lot of exposed threads above the reel seat. Wouldn't kill them to trim off a few. Otherwise, for $65, that's a heck of a deal.

7'm/f Tatula rod is pretty versatile for me. Depending on the size of the baits in question, I'd consider a MH though.

I'd buy a Steez Limited SV and another Edge Mag Bass, or a Shimano Antares HG and Megabass Destroyer Phase III.

I have the 7' M spinning rod. It's slightly overpowered for dropshots and shaky heads, but would make a really good weightless plastics rod; like 4" senkos and the like. It has a fairly light tip, but it's not flimsy by any means.

It's the best balanced and most sensitive rod I've ever used. Unfortunately, they raised the price to $575 at the first of this year. For that price, I'd probably just build a custom on one of the blanks.

I think you'd be pleased with 6lb or 8lb sniper. I personally prefer the 8lb because, for whatever reason, big catfish like to eat small jigs in these parts. A little KVD Line Conditioner helps if by chance you do have some manageability issues. I've had the 8lb on my Stradic 2500FJ for almost 8 months though and haven't seen any unmanageable memory issues to this point.

Was that Kistler your club member had a KLX? To me, the newer Kistler's built on NFC blanks are far and away beyond anything ever to come out of that company before. I've had a handful and every build has been immaculate and the Loomis blanks are among the best on the market. As far as lightweight, the 7'0" MH weighs 3.7oz. By comparison, an NRX 843 weighs 3.6oz. The only Aetos I weighed was a 6'8" MH and it weighed 4.2oz.

For ease of casting, mono is hard to beat. The others have their pluses, but mono is the easiest to use; in my opinion.

The new Curado is on my must buy list for early this year. I already put in my preorder for a Daiwa SS SV. Also, been eyeballing one of the *** Concept reels, though I'll wait for reviews. Definitely going to throw a Curado into the mix though.

True, you lose sensitivity regardless. Fluoro atleast has SOME slack line sensitivity. The better quality and stiffer the fluoro, the more sensitive it will be; even when slack. Braid gives you zero slack line sensitivity. The lack of stretch makes it extremely sensitive when the line is tight though. Plus you have the added strength, which can be a plus if that's something you value.

I've been around the <$200 block a few times. I'm sure I don't remember all of them, but off the top of my head: Elite Tech, HMG, Aetos, KLX, Tatula, Micro Magic, ***, Recon2, M1, Avid, Premier, Mojo, Bucoo, Lowrider XG, Cara T7, GSX Titanium, GSX Elite, Platinum ZX, Carbonlite, Gold Carrot Stik, Crucial, Max, Endurance, Savvy....I think there may be a couple others, but that's about it. They all have their pros and cons, but the KLX has less cons than any other rod at the price point. I liked my KLX more than my *** and Champion, even though it costs nearly $100 less. I liked the Aetos, but it has some fatal flaws for my personal preferences. The first was the guides. They're noisy and cheap feeling, especially when using braided line. That's just something that bugs me when I am out on the water. It's not as bad with mono or fluoro, but definitely more noticeable than a rod that features guides with ceramic inserts. The other thing I didn't care for was the SK2 seat. That's not just an Aetos thing though, I've hated that seat on every rod. Of all the Fenwicks I have used, I actually felt the Aetos was the least bang for your buck. It fishes about like it should for a $180 rod. I kind of liked my Elite Tech better, to be honest.

Out of those choices, I'd pick the Lew's. I do agree with looking at sales and what not, try to get up to the MG. Don't know if you've consider it, but I'd put the Daiwa Lexa or even the Tatula above anything you mentioned. They can be found right at $100, or a few bucks over.

The Tatula 100H has a gold magnetic dial, maybe that's why? I agree it doesn't match all that well though.

Gary Loomis sold his company to Shimano in 1997. He had prostate cancer, 18 months to live, and wanted to be sure he would be able to have money to pass down to his family. He stayed there for about 10 years as a consultant. After he left, he got into some legal issues with Shimano over using his own name on other products. He now has no affiliation with the G. Loomis brand. He started North Fork Composites in 2009 because he really wanted to get back in the blank business. They've made blanks for a few other manufacturers and lots of custom builders. Edge Rods got going last year after a couple years of testing. Their blanks are amongst the highest quality rods available today. In reality, if you want to fish with a real G. Loomis rod, you have to buy an NFC blank or an Edge rod. Kistler seems to have a good relationship with Gary Loomis, he uses a lot of NFC blanks on his rods as well.

If you use braid as a main line, you lose sensitivity when the line is slack. That doesn't always work for me.

KLX is the most sensitive rod under $200, period. You can use a coupon code to save 15% as well.

If properly stored, it'll last a long time. Keep it out of extreme temps, sunlight, and moisture.

Toray has some good stuff overseas. Megabass Dragoncall is extremely good, better than Tatsu, but it's about $50 after shipping so I'd never recommend it.

I use a 7'4" H ALX Custom Dragger. I like my c-rig rod to be fairly long, so I can pull up a lot of line when I am moving it, plus better hooksets. I also like a fairly stout rod so I can use them in, around, and near cover. A rod that's not tip heavy is much more comfortable since you'll be fishing tip up. I have a 7'M Tatula rod and it balances quite well. I think either the 7'2"H, or the 7'4" Frog rod would both handle c-rigs pretty well. I would also consider a Kistler KLX. They have several models that would be good. They balance quite well and are very sensitive.

I prefer the Symetre. I've had Pflueger Supremes and Patriarchs, but I switched back to Shimano. I like the features and light weight of the Pfluegers, but they weren't nearly as solid-feeling, or refined, as the Shimanos. I guess it's like buying a Mercedes vs. a Kia. You can get an entry-level Mercedes with little options or a Kia packed to the gills; just up to you I guess.

That bearing can be abec1 if you want. If you upgrade it and the pinion bearing, you might be able to freespin the handle for 10 seconds, but out on the water it wouldn't aid in performance at all. It's only working at slow speeds, far slower than any bearing is capable.