backcast88

I have had great luck with Sunline Sniper. The only problem is I cannot find it around my house with any consistency. Some places will have it one week and not get anymore for 6 months. Others get it in every lb test except what I am looking for. I have found Trilene XL Pro (new stuff in the red package) is great on a spinning reel. I am tempted to try in on a casting reel once I need to respool a couple reels. My old faithful is BPS XPS fluoro. Its cheap and works really good. I tried Sunline Super Fluoro. It was ok. Abrasion resistance was decent but it had a lot of memory very quickly.

I fish 5" and 6" Zoom Lizards. I stick to Watermelon seed or Pumpkinseed. I will either throw them TX rigged with 1/4 weight and 2/0 hook or on a Carolina Rig. Watermelon seed seems to do the best for me but I still keep Pumpkinseed in the boat for those rare occasions that the Watermelon isn't catching fish. My setup for both applications is the same. 6'9" MH XF Carbonlite and a Shimano Curado 201G7 with 12 lb XPS Fluoro.

1. Big Bite Baits Squirrel Tail (Chartreuse pepper) 2. Zoom Deadringer (Pumpkinseed, ) 3. Zoom Z Hog Jr (Watermelon seed) 4. Zoom Baby Brush Hog (Watermelon seed) 5. Spro Fat Papa 55 (Nasty Herring) 6. Spro Little John MD (Cell Mate) 7. Rapala Clackin' Crank 53 (Helsinki Shad) 8. War Eagle 3/8 oz Heavy Finesse Jig (Pond Scum) 9. Roboworm Fat Straight Tail Worm (Bold Gill) 10. Zoom Super Chunk Jr (Watermelon seed)

I use Owner 85% of the time. The other 15% I use Gamakatsu's I always use offset round bend hooks unless I throw a Z Hog or Super Hog in which case I will use a EWG. I prefer 1/0 or 2/0 because I feel it give the baits a little more action and I rarely miss a fish b/c of the fish not getting the whole bait.

I have had a chance to use the Trilene XL Pro fluoro several times since spooling it up the other week and I really like. It handles very well and is rather abrasion resistant. The other day I was fishing around a lot of rocks and got hung up several times and managed to unstuck every time. I had to retie several times but it wasn't needed each time I was stuck. Today I was fishing docks and channel markers and only had to retie once after getting stuck between a submerged brace on a dock. The XL pro seems to be as abrasion resistant as Bass Pro XPS fluoro and Sunline Sniper. If you have used either of those lines before then you know what to expect. Sniper handles as good as the Trilene XL Pro and is far more available in my area and is several dollars cheaper. As of right now this line is a valuable tool in my arsenal and when I use the last of my Sunline Sniper I will spool my other Symetre with 8 lb XL Pro.

I have 2 Shimano Symetre 2500's and each is on a BPS Carbonlite rod (6'6"MHF and 6'8"MXF). Both have 8 lb fluoro and make great setups.

I use the SD jam on mono and fluoro all the time. Neither have broken at the knot. My testing has shown that the SD jam is just as good on mono as it is for fluoro.

Shimano Symetre.

BPS Tourney Special. Its an IM-7 rod that $10 off right now which makes it $39.97

Will do.

When I went to pick up my Shimano reels from a local shop I was browsing the tackle and picked up some Trilene XL Pro Fluoro in 8lb for my spinning reels and several Spro crankbaits. I already have several Little John's but I picked up one in Cell Mate to add to my other colors. I also picked up a Fat Papa 55 in Nasty Herring. The Trilene XL Pro Fluoro is great. I put some on my Symetre when I got home. It is very very thin. I have some Sunline Sniper in 8 lb and it seems thinner then that. From my limited time fishing with it seems to handle as well on spinning gear as the Sniper. Abrasion resistance appears pretty good but I'll know more when I am around docks and more structure then the small pond has. So far it seems like it will work very nicely, especially on a spinning reel. I made a couple casts with the Fat Papa at the pond and had several follow it. It took me a little time to figure out what the fish wanted but once I did I managed to catch 2 in 2.5-3 lb range. It has a very tight wobble and a one knocker sound. I have been reading about how it is a good cold water bait. That appears to be the case on my limited testing. I was going to take the boat out tomorrow but the motor is still acting up and dad and I need to get it sorted out before going to the lake. But when I make a trip to the lake I will have the Fat Papa tied on.

The reels came in Thursday and I picked them up this morning. The Symetre is great. Very smooth drag, casts great, lightweight, and smooth cranking. I already took it to a small pond at work and caught several bass on a drop shot. Most were 1-1.5 lbs. I did catch 1 that was 3.5 lbs or so. The Stradic on the other hand isn't so great. Its a beautiful reel but its making a weird noise and isn't smooth at all. Its totally opposite of every other Stradic I have handled. The place doesn't stock Shimano reels so they will have to order me another one and I will swap them when the new one arrives.

Not a braid fan at all. I picked up some Trilene XL Pro Grade Fluoro in 8 lb. My reels should be in Friday. I plan on hitting the lake Sunday so I hope to be able to try the new line.

What do you all think about the new Trilene XL Pro Grade Fluoro? I see its designed for spinning reels. It looks like its worth a try.

I use KVD Line & Lure in all my fluoro's and haven't had any issues. I might go ahead and try the AbrazX and if it doesn't work I'll use it for leader material for Carolina rigs.

I ordered my Stadic FJ 2500 and a Symetre 2500. I plan on using the last of my Sunline Sniper 8 lb for my Stradic. I do not have access to Sniper locally and don't really want to order any right now. I have used InvizX and didn't care for it. Lots of stretch and low abrasion resistence. I was thinknig of trying 8 lb. AbrazX on the Symetre. Anybody have any experience with AbrazX on a spinning reel? What about 8 lb Red Label on a spinning reel?

I went to Bass Pro and looked at all the reels nad put them on the exact rod the reel will go on. Here are my finding: 1. Revo SX is out. It looks great, the foam grip is pretty nice. It feels pretty sturdy but it wasnt that smooth. For $159 I wasn't really that impressed with it. 2. Saros is out. I like the Saros but for the money I don't think it offers anything more then the Symetre. So your probably thinking the Symetre is what I will purchase. You would be correct had the girl behind the counter not handed me the Stadic FJ. I know her very very well and she knows I use a spinnig reel mos of the time and did a great job explaining the difference between the Shimano's I was looking at. It is more then I wanted to spend but dang its nice. It balances very well on the rod and is rock solid. Luckily I have some rewards points saved up so it won't really cost me anymore in the long run. Now I have to sell a couple reels and a rod to help finance the new purchase. Then a Stradic FJ 3000 will be mine!!

I like the Shimano's the best and will try each of them on the exact rod I will be using to see which feels the best. I'll also look at the Lexa. I have several Daiwa's now and they work great. I had a cheap Shimano years ago and had a few issues with it but I'll give their higher end reels a try and see how they work.

I am looking to get a new spinning reel this year. I have narrowed it down to the Saros, Symetre, and Revo SX. The Revo SX is more then I really want to spend but if it is worth the extra money then I could probably swing the extra money. I have handled the Shimano's the most and really like the Symetre. I can't decide if the Saros is worth the extra money. Anybody have some input?

Update: I want fishing with my dad this past Sunday and the Sunday before that. The line has worked very good. I caught most of my fish on a Carolina Rig dragging Brush Hogs through brush piles and rock piles and the abrasion resistance has been very good. The sensitivity is on par, maybe a little better, then Bass Pro XPS and it doesn't seem to have as much memory as the XPS but it still has a little memory. Sunline Super Fluorocarbon has been great for the price (sub $15 per spool of 200 yards) and I feel is slightly better then Bass Pro XPS. So far I have been more then impressed by Sunline products and plan on buying a spool of Super FC Sniper in the near future to see how it handles.

Fluoro: Sunline Super Fluorocarbon, BPS XPS, and Sunline Castable Fluorocarbon Mono: Sunline Super Natural Braid: Don't use it.

I never peg, heavy or light cover. If I was punching grass I would peg, but since I don't fish any water where that is necessary I don't.

I really like the Carbonlite rods (especially the Mico guide version) but would not own the reels. I know people that work for Bass Pro and they have informed me the newer Carbonlite reels have some issues. They say the Pro Qualifiers are a better choice for reels. I would reccomend a 7' or 7'6" MH for jigs and flipping and pitching. For crankbaits I would say the Crankin Stick in a 7' or 7'6" MH would be a better choice since the Carbonlite isn't really made for crankbaits.

I have 12 lb Sunline Super Natural Mono on my crankbait/topwater rod and love it. Its very soft but a lot more sensitive then all other mono's I have used in the past.

I did a little research last night and the line seems to be pretty good for its price. I went ahead and bought a spool and will be putting it on my reel in a day or so and hope to go fishing soon to see how it performs.