Capt.Bob

I personally wont take anything away from Lebrons talent. I personally will always feel he should have been removed from basketball after his last game in the playoffs with Cleavland. I understand everyone can have a bad game. But anyone who watched that whole game 7 when Cleavland was in there last year with him, is ether incompetent, or star struck to believe he didn't lay down and throw that game. I am sorry I hope the so called "king" never wins another ring!!! Being what I said I bleed Celtic green!!! anytime the Celtics aren't there the Spur's are my next choice, and quite frankly I don't think there is a franchise in basketball with more class, or better roll models from owners to the bench than you will find throughout the entire Spur's organization!! With that said, I'll be pulling for the spur's, GO POPI !!!!!

I have to agree, Avid is a very good rod, but the LTB is no slouch!! I own both and the LBT6'8"MXF is not only meant for topwater, but is great for weightless plastics T'riggs and jiggs, very sensitive, I say go for it!! get what you want, I buy elites because I like the handle better than the split grip of the Extreme, I own both and will assure you that either one will bring a smile to your face, I mean who needs an extreme for crankbaits,,,,,,me,,,,because I like it!! Go for it and let us know how happy you are after you use it, my money say's you will be smiling while your typing!!!

Yep Hootie ALF in Indiana is the only place I would buy a G.Loomis rod. My IMX was replaced 3 or 4 years ago after 8 or 10 years use when I broke accidentally,, but it was my fault and I was abusing it, and American Legacy didn't care what loomis policy was. They replace any loomis rod regardless of age, or how you abuse it, for free, as long as you bought it from them you deal directly with them!! When you are the largest G. Loomis dealer in the country you call the shot's!! If I was going to buy another Loomis rod (which I have no desire to do) I would never buy it from anyone but American Legacy Fishing, they will upgrade any rod also much like the St. Croix upgrade plan, only they do it with any rod make to a G. Loomis, great people to do business with! . Dicks may do this now, but I want to see what they do 10 years from now and when the rod has changed over that period of time!! Wall Mart will replace a Berkley the first year, but time will tell how Dick's handles them 10 years later.

This is what a few have said about the reason they don't like the hollow empty feel of the Lew's, and how the connected feeling of the ------reel they are using made them prefer those reel's, same goes with the new Sustain, Curado, probably Stradic Ci4+, if you don't like reels this smooth, stick with the older models, or you could always add a little sand??? or fill them with axle grease???? Seriously maybe this is bad to a few, I personally think it is the answer Shimano needed to make after the introduction of the "G". Now they give what most want, a reel so smooth you can hardly feel there is anything there,,,,,,and now we have those that liked the "not as smooth" feeling of the older reels??? I for one, think they made reel I quit using, in favor of better smoother reels, a reel I am willing to use again. Some people just like reels this smooth I guess. I think Shimano made a statement, they told the consumer ok, you made us what we are today, and if this is what you want, here it is,,,,,,,the ball is in your court how did we do?? I for one think they did what most of us wanted, and I expect the Curado I to put that model back where it was before the "G" time will tell!!!

O. K. your words last week!! Do you know where Quantum/ or Penn are made??? or even who owns them??? Maybe you ment best made for the money in Malaysia, China, Help me here your loosing me??? QUOTE: [lol i just believe that stradic FJ is the best spinning reel shimano makes. (In that price range) but the verano reel is a Daiwa reel. but to be honest, I am a Quantum/penn freak. i only use reels that never let me down. so those are the only brands i use] But I agree with your post last week, the FJ is the best made spinning reel in its price bracket!!

Took the Grandson out yesterday evening to catch a few catfish, we only had about an hour and a half, but after 5 fish with two of them being these blue gill one 9 1/2" and one 10", we put the night crawlers up and rigged up with redworms and slip bobbers for the gill's. That was the end of the bluegill and we started catching Perch 11 over 12" and none under 10 1/2". Some days you just takes whats you gets!!

Way to much weight is put on the Japan made reels over the newer Malaysian reels. There was a lot of complaining on the SustainFG's and StradicsFJ's also, I think anyone who has owned both would take the new reels over the old Japan made reels in a heart beat,,,,,,key word "OWNED BOTH!!" I believe the same will hold true for the new Curado I !!

Wow warrior, sorry to here about the "pop",,, it's just hard to believe what some guy's will do to justify new gear,,,,,,

for bigger baits the BB1L is hands down the reel I would choose without hesitation.

Yep part of topwater fishing, I have had mornings where most fish were lost, and the ones that weren't were all hooked anywhere but in the mouth! But I still love watching them blow up on em!!!

The Tournament MG is the Low end entry level aluminum framed Lew's casting reel which comes with Magnetic only braking. The BB1 is the entry level medium framed Lew's with centrifugal only braking. Both of these reels are entry level for their particular style. Personally I would go with a Tournament MSB which offers mag and centrifugal braking and the lighter shallow wiffle spool @ around $110.00-$125.00 if you shop around. It will handle all baitcasting needs light to heavy with very good results. Personally for their small frame reel I would spend a few more buck's and get the Tournament Pro, witch is a great reel and unmatched at it's price range of $199.00 and it can be had for $150.00 with a little shopping, but is not available in the 5.1:1 gear ratio. The anti reverse on the 5.1:1 BB1 is multi stop on the first reel's, such as all reels used before instant anti reverse most reels use today, the 5.1:1 is the only Lew's reel in there lineup with this kind of anti reverse, and all other speeds in the BB1 use the instant anti reverse roller bearing. Now you have your choice with the BB1's. I have no experience with the 5.1 in the BB1 as i want instant anti revers and went with a 6.4:1 to get it it cast anything over 3/8 oz better than most reels at any price,a great carolina and shallow to mid crankbait reel. For my flipping pitching and large lure and deep cranking reel I wanted the instant AR and 5.1:1 gears so I went with the Super Duty, a much smoother and durable reel that is a step up with the mid frame size using mag only breaking, it is a fabulous flipping and pitching reel and also cast amazingly long distance with heavier lures. It is available for around $145.00 if you shop around. With a lot of patience and shopping around all these reels can be found even cheaper.

The grip may be similar on all the Avid Premier and eycon but the Avid is a far better stronger more sensitive and more precise taper, not to mention the only one with a lifetime warranty!! The Eyecon is the only one that is not built by American craftsman.

Like you said in open water it will handle about anything if you have enough line and know how to use it!! Most think reels are made to run 20lbs line and locked down drags and on MH rods???? Oh how they don't get to enjoy the thrill of the fight!! This was caught at Dale Hollow a few years back using a Saros 1000F on a Tennessee handled 5' UL BPS Micro light and 6lbs fireline w/4lbs test mono leader,,,,, made for a great catch, even though we were after Crappie,,,, Only about an 8 pounder but when fishing for Crappie it becomes the big fish of the day. This would have been just another catfish fish on a 6' or 7' MF w/10lbs test, but instead it was worth taking a picture and becoming a memory, as a matter of fact it was the only fish I remember that particular day.

I kinda like the sound, and think it only get's better with a big ol fish adding to the music!!! It get's even better with the recoil guides!! Yep different braids and different guides can very, but if you like braid, get used to that sweet sound some if us love!!

You will see little performance difference in the ceramic over the stainless steel, and if both are run wet (oiled) the difference is not noticeable. Stainless bearings need to be oiled. If you have a new Chronarch and the bearings feel rougher than 10 year old Morrum bearings I would say they are not clean or you have not lubed them properly. You may want to remove the side shields and give them a good flushing. Ifa new Chronarch will not cast as far, and the bearings are properly cleand and lubed, my guess is you have a better match with your rod for the lure you are throwing on the Morrum, than you the rod you are using with the Chronarch for that same lure??

If you want to tackle it yourself there are many youtube videos to help you. One has to realize one part broken can easily cost more than the small fee reel services charge for an annual service, which is way to little, trying this job yourself will make those in doubt realize just how little one get's for these services!!

I always use mono backing, all you need is 10 to 15 feet to avoid slipping, I then fill the spool with ,,,, in my case 832 Sufix, when the line starts to get a little less than full usually this will be before wearing out, I simply tie on mono to the end I have been using and run enough to totally fill the spool again, then turn it around and start all over again, this usually last 3 or 4 years on my reels, more on those that get little use. I have had more than one person tell me they dont need tape or backing with braid, that their line never slip's,,,,,,only to later finally get a fish big enough to put enough strain on the line that they just don't understand how it could have slipped!!!! Then they put backing or tape on after the fact,,,,I would never spin a panfish reel without backing, but I always spool any reel with braid.

Sound advice, the abec-5 bearings being the bearings I recamend for all baitcasting reels if needing replaced or super tuning, there is a lot of hype about abec-7 and less expensive than realistic abec-9 bearings, which baitcast reels simply will never reach rpm speeds capable of gaining from them. That said I to have found little gain in changing good factory bearings over properly serviced bearings in Shimano reels or most other quality reels, even though I am no fan of their ARB bearings, if they are not damaged I doubt you will see much change in replacing good bearings that are as I say,,,,properly serviced,,,,,

The only carbon the TP has the Tournament doesn't is the Handle, the TP uses a stronger and lighter Duraluminum Drive gear and brass pinion to maintain the smoothness even longer than brass, the Tournament uses an all brass drive and pinion, they both use the same Carbon drag and same shallow drilled spool, and the TP uses one more ball bearing. Yes the TP is a more refined reel, and you can expect better performance than you get from the excellent Tournament, but it will cost you about 35 bucks more street price.

The rear handle can be converted from the rear without dissembling the reel seat by a good rod builder. I did this on these two St. Croix Extreme rods which were originally split grip with eva foam and cork over a year ago, and they get used a lot. while we were at it we internally permanently balanced the rods perfectly with the reels that were going to be used on them, and they are much more sensitive than before the rear handle conversion. My Builder is very good, he is an instructor for a Nationwide rod building supplier. These were both built with 1/2" rings and but pieces. There was a lot of contour work which was very time consuming as you can't just spin and sand rubberized cork (the dark rings) and natural cork and keep the transitions smooth and even without a lot of extra attention to details. The $50.00 per rod was a bargain in my opinion. If I would have went with pre made cork handles I would have been able to get them done for $30.00 buck's a rod. The front cork can be built and installed also with a little extra bench work without removing the handle. Just talk to a reputable builder. Good luck and let us know what you find. It may not be worth the cost on the Shimano rods, but I got both of these at 60% off, and would have sold them if I had to have a split grip, I just like full cork, luckily it was very cost affective on these two rods as they are very sweet!

I own one a second gen. 6'8MXF split grip but still uses the one piece reel seat, with a Team Lew's Gold it balances great and is pretty light weight in the hand. It is the Top Water rod but works great for jig's in the rivers for small mouth,,,my main rod for tube's and jig's under 3/8 for small mouth, in all but heavy current.

I would prefer the MF action for anything under 1/2 oz, I prefer MXF jigging, but the MF would be better all round for your purpose. The fact that you like the St. Croix already I would look at the Avid which is available if you shop around for 150, lifetime warranty also, a huge benny if you have a mishap, or later want to upgrade!!.

The original HMG was no where near the same rod as the HMG made today. The first rods were a lot heavier than the blanks and material used to build them today although in the day we thought they were very light. They were also very stiff blanks in the but as well as the tip's I mean extremely fast compared to today's XF rods. If I remember correctly, 20 years ago I paid $79.00 so today they are a huge bargain @ 100 buck's and better everything. I had a couple and hated them, but these rods like all other rods today are huge improvements, lighter blanks better components, and much better tapers. The new model HMG's are very nice for their price, an excellent choice in this price range.

I never email when I want a part from anyone. You hear all the time about different companies not responding to emails, I never once haven't got a response on a phone call during business hours with any manufacturer!!! Call me old fashioned but I only conduct my business with others after a phone call or in person,,,,just how an old grouch does it, and it works!! You have to realize how much time you waste with an email wanting parts or service, if he reply's, you have to get back with him anyway, one phone call and weather you buy it or not all details are taken care of and done deal in seconds, or minuets!! They pay someone to send emails all day, and hours of no return profits, and all business have to make profits, time is money, and this is probably why I have so much better results than those wanting to text back and forth for hours maybe days when they get to them.......Just say'n

Fenwick makes some nice rods in the 100 to 150 price range. But I would think if you buy the HMG as good as it is,,,,it's still nowhere near the over $400.00 NRX, and not even reasonable to compare the two. I know if I was torn between the two and got the HMG I am sure I would not get the NRX out of my mind and wouldn't rest well. It would just prolong the wait for the NRX???just say'n