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Thats why fishing solo is the best......

Yes the 1600/2600 are very rare. left handers are even more coveted by everyone except Americans apparently. Shipping will kill you from Australia and Asia. Ive had luck with Japan but am very fearful of many of the sellers from Taiwan. The Aussie's are great to deal with. I try to wait until a couple regular sellers from the US offer one such as Mr. Ambassadeur. Also google Don Iovino and check out the prices he offers on his site, very competitive and they are supertuned by a celebrity.

People are more dangerous than gators. Gators dont shoot back.

Your looking for gold. I have 2 2500's and a 1500 mint w/boxes that I fish all the time. I'd never get rid of them and also search for more. Ebay really is your only real choice other than searching estate sales and auctions. I suppose you know about Mr. Ambassadeur since you mention purple sideplates which are custom done. I search ebay daily, you might also try traderzip which will include some estate auctions. Good luck.....

They are in land locked waters that haven't seen salt intrusion for decades here. FWC says water birds transfer fish eggs from venue to venue. I never fully agreed with that. I've caught snook only 6 or 8 inches long in ponds that never saw a flood tide. There will be snook over 40"long in the same water. I suspect they can breed in fresh contrary to the biologists. Nature always has a way.

I enjoy the long pulls of reds more than the jumps of the snook. Jack Crevalle are my very favorite, nothing runs like they do. Before the commercial netters wiped them out of Charlotte Harbor, we'd have massive schools of 20lb.er's. Those fights lasted 10, 15 minutes easy. All gone now, turned into dog food.

I used to use Ambassadeur 5500's and ugly sticks. Now I use a PENN Spinfisher Liveliner with a set of the European bank sticks for a rod rest.

Killing mudfish and gar is very common in Fl. Sad really, I've always gotten a better fight from them than bass. I know a few cracker boys who shoot every cormorant they see as it's traditionally thought they along with gar kill bass fry and eggs. I haven't come across it in awhile but there was a forum all about catching gar mudfish and buffalo. I think it was called the gar forum.

Every single body of freshwater no matter how small probably has snook and tarpon in it. They sure do here across to the west. Snook have been caught in Lake O. I've caught both up the Peace almost to it's head waters. Even our ditches have small snook and baby tarpon in them. I use fly tackle and small rapalas with upgraded hooks as their prey is usually glass minnows.

So they say. But to get a truly sealed one your paying the price of new Stella/Loomis combo. It just makes me cry to see that kinda $ dunked into a river bed full of rock.

To me "Bang for the Buck" means durability. Cheap doesn't last long usually and throw away disposable doesn't bang my buck. A company that isnt going to obsolete my purchase quickly and will have parts when I want them means everything. The Penn Battle II is a great idea. Proven and it has a thicker double anodizing finish similar to what Solitude and Abel does to with expensive fly reels. Penn states they promise to keep parts available for at least 15 years after its discontinued. That makes your Buck Bang a lot longer than any other manufacturer out there.

I hate seeing pro's simply drop their rig on the deck but more than anything I hate to see folks foolishly dunk their reel just to get a trophy pic for the camera. Fly fishermen are the worst considering their super simple reels cost at least 3 or 4 hundred.

Even in gin clear water there is plenty of debris floating around throughout the water column. Fine braid must blend into that "field" of debris to a point especially when you are targeting a reflexive bite. Still it's a confidence thing. I have to admit re reading this old post you've brought back from the dead, there are plenty of points that make me think I ought top try braid again *gasp*

I enjoy using St. Croix "Skippin' Special" spinning rod. It's 5ft. 8" med. and it's a fun technique. Old docks are better than new ones, more algae growth brings in more bait fish.

Didn't say they existed here

I have a true love hate relationship with spinning gear. I prefer mono which can be a pain with spinning. I prefer short rods which are difficult to find in spinning. In my part of the state you'd be hard pressed to find baitcasting gear locally. Shops have no interest in fixing them either. Everyone here throws every kind of bait/lure on spinning without hesitation. A mile from my house in the Gulf they catch huge tarpon on very heavy jigs and even bigger jewfish on baits weighing pounds. All on spinning. I've been transitioning into more use of spinning gear because of a hand injury thats not going to be repaired. I'm enjoying not worrying about wind or is my lure heavy enough for my baitcasters. I've found I can control my line better during a fight with a spinners increased IPT. I've found accuracy can be just as good as with baitcasters. Not palming a casting reel, I feel like I have more control of the fight with a solid handhold on the rod and the butt end tight against my forearm. Enjoy what you use, avoid "internet experts" and remember Guido Hibdon won a Bassmasters Classic with spinning tackle.

Wait till you experience the change of turning 50!!!

So like I said, you could perform your own tests instead of finding fault in the work of someone else who's purpose was accomplished.

So then why dont you all conduct your own tests on the matter since you feel so strongly about it? With your own "parameters" and other hoy floy academic thinkin'. That way you can convince yourself that you opinion/preference is correct. (This is not directed towards any particular individual) As anglers, we truly make Chev. vs. Ford seem like an appetizer when you compare that ancient of arguments to even the slightest of differing opinions on tackle.

Shimano's I've had that didn't need much help in the shimming dept. My Daiwa Ballistic hates to hold mono and its shims don't seem to make a difference but its fine with braid. The Daiwa Lexa's I've had never needed shimming and Ive never needed to shim a Quantum spinner either. The Abu Revo isnt picky either. My fishing buddy uses Pheluger exclusively and claims to never have trouble with line lay. But when I look at his spools I gasp in amazement at the mess they are and understand why he has so many loopy tangles go through his guides.

hookless.com alantani.com the abu sub forum, for pic filled tutorials abu's German market web site, click what country at the upper right corner to change market area then let google translator work for english. Scan the blog section Facebook's "We who loves Abu" and "Ambassadeur Reels" realsreels.com

Thanks for your hard work and confirming to me that there is nothing new under the sun except the gimmicks they try to fool anglers with!

Oil in the ball bearings and worm gear(Level wind) Grease thinly on the gear, pinion gear and idler cog Drag specific grease thinly on the drag washers

Long rods are just chic as everyone thinks you only fish from a millionaires glittery bass boat. They suck sitting in a yak or even a small jon boat and your trying to walk the dog or twitch a prop bait. These days folks think they have to look like the "pro's" and high stick when they work the bait and literally fight the fish with the rod pointed behind their head. Great for looking gangsta and your sponsor has given you a garage full of free rods. Stupid for anyone else.