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Aint no bail arm of any brand spinning reel gonna last if you throw your outfits around like you say you do.

It takes all of 20 seconds. The three slotted thumb screws on the right sideplate. Dont tighten them more than hand strength so you can pull the sideplate off when needed and there they are on the right side of the spool.

Sounds too big to me, probaby perfect for those Lanier Spots you have. I dont understand why everything is made so stupidly heavy and large now. The one knocker would be great in a super spook jr. size.

Alvey reel from down under.

I think thats a smart pick. Proven. Very little plastic parts. Capable of handling many different species. I palm one often and catch tarpon and cobia without any trouble.

For mutli species fishing that you are talking about a Abu round reel would be fine, but the 6500 is way overkill. You'd be holding enough yards of 15# braid you plan on using, to fish for Marlin or Tuna. No low profile is going to have a bait clicker alarm. For pike and bass a 4600 C3 or C4 would be fine but for any baitcaster you might want to rethink the line you plan on using, 15# braid is a bit thin for a baitcasters best performance.

A St. Croix Classic Cat rod? Oh man I kick myself for not buying a couple of those before they discontinued them. Thats top of the line catfishin' gear there. My 'old' gear wouldve been Shimano Curados and Daiwa Emblems. Now Im going real old school and getting a few custom made 4500c's from Jerry Foran. Looking to put them on either fiberglass or pistol grip rods.

When the curados first came out in 7 to 1 I jumped all over them and got a few revos in high speed ratios too. Nice for getting the bait through unproductive water quick, shoot out a second cast. Now Im not so thrilled with it. To me it makes a reel feel weak. Im getting a reel made this coming week that'll have a 4.7 to 1 ratio. Talk about culture shock! We'll see.

In the old days they did. I think they use a denser foam these days, maybe they wont pick up fish guts as easily. I fish out of a jon boat alot and notice that the eva on my Vendettas, Veritas and Cumara rods do get burnished in the spot they rest across the bench seat. I wont buy more rods with foam. ALso I was looking at the weird foam on the St. Croix Rage at bass pro and found two with cuts in the foam.

I remember when IM 6 was the top of the line Loomis rod. Actually it will be stronger than most of todays wonder rods which are quite brittle and delicate compared to IM 6, no matter all their claims of wonder resins and such.

St. Croix LTB Skippin' speciific rod. Med 5'6". A killer skippin rod. For alot less, the Shimano Clarus 6" Med. has just the right amount of tip flex to make it a great skippin' rod too.

Shimano Beastmaster EX. Those little graphite Shimanos fit the hand perfect. Always wanted one of those jumpsuits. But I did have one of those pro's basket weedguards over my trolling motor prop.

Mono for everything on a baitcaster. Braid for everything on a spinner.

I dont know...... Yeah spend $200+ on a reel. Near $200 on its rod. $10 for INOX or Corrosion X to maintain them. Whats another $15 for a 125yard of braid?

I use a TFO spinning rod for texas rigs and using braid I stick with the Med.. You said you want to use finesse baits too? I'd think a MH would take away alot of casting performance and feel for light or average texas rigs and especially finesse rigs.

Nothing. straight braid and dont bother with backing anymore. Youtube The Spanish Fly's channel and see how he spools up a spinner, very easy and it works.

Ive got an early made Mojo, before they were made in Mexico. The rear grip, what there is of it, is too small for a comfortable grip and I have small hands. Like all St. Croixs their MH is everyone elses Hvy. I can only imagine what the swimbait rod would be like. I'd go after tarpon with less rod. It is very well constructed though.

I use them when in a buddies jon boat and all the rods get stacked together. Its helped keep his lures from tangling in my lines. I always use them on my rods over $200 just like I always use reel covers.

Still better than that stupid hole Shimano put in the Cumara's grip!

Their finish comes off even with kit gloves! Their customer service is fast, some say excellent, but all they do is send you a new reel and usually the same problem pops up again. Every spinning reel I bought ended up with cracked ceramic drag disks. On my Accurist Inshore and an Energy baistcaster, just palming it discolored the sideplate and wore off the decals. Every baitcaster also lost its line guide eye from a uni to uni knot going through it.

I have 2 of the sig. series spinning rods. A bit heavy by some welterweights standards but they offer two things most manufacturers dont. A reasonable length rear grip and 6 ft models. The guide eyes are larger than most rods. A plus for inshore fishing and using the med hvy model and I want thick knots using heavy leader to pass through.

Ultimate to me has to be custom made, not off the shelf. The rod would have to be all purpose in nature so med hvy but with a bit of tip flex. The reel would have to be custom too. A Jerry Foran custom made Ambassadeur 4600 maxed out w/ 5 bearings, ceramic pawl, hand honed pinion and crowned shaft. Because ultimate means it would last forever and not be subject to Shimano's inability to have parts available for more than a few years.

I just lost out on a N.I.B. 300 at an auction last week. But I managed a N.I.B. Abu 7000c. I know guys who still swear by the Zebco Cardinal spinners.

hookless.com. He makes custom Abu round reels and has many parts and advise.

I'll always have a truck and to me a truck never has more than 2 doors. More than that its a SUV. I mainly shore fish and made a pvc rod rack that holds 6 rods evenly spaced allowing the reels to hang safely. I never transport reels without their being covered even on the deck of friends boats. I dont normally haul dirt etc but if I do I simply hose the bed out immediately after. I never let debris accumulate in the bed.