Capt.Bob

I prefer one piece if at all possible, but regardless which I have to use 1 or 2 piece,,,,,,they will always say St. Croix and made in the USA on them!!! Any Avid rod will be a great choice and compare favorably to any other rod of the same type (one or 2 piece) in their price range! All Premier and Avids are one piece handles and reel seats,,,,,,,,,

In my opinion the premier is the best rod on the market at this price, no frills but solid St. Croix performance. I would suggest at your price quest, spend a little more and get an Avid, the best bang for your buck over any rod, after over 25 St. Croix rods in my cabinet I would buy nothing else, and with all the quality rod models from St. Croix made here in Park Falls, and the track record for customer service,,,,,, I would never look anywhere else for any of my fishing rod needs!!

I love my Moderate action Avid MM and Extreme MHM, for grass ripp'n In light grass the MHM with lipless works pretty well, but dont run it trying to fish heavy grass. I agree with Chris at Tech, the moderate actions kinda defeat the purpose of fishing in grass, the stiffer fast action is more likely to rip clean, glass would be even slower and have more trouble ripp'n clean.

I use abrazx and Invisx both from filler spools, they both have been descent with abrasion resistance and that so that works me. I doubt you will see a great difference on bass tackle using leader material except at the cash register.

Yes RM good history on where the term came from, there are many Bantam baitcasters in the line, it is not a specific model rather a series.

I am old school and won't have a rod without a full handle and it has to be cork! If you really like the rod any quality rod builder can put a High Quality cork handle together for you. I scored a real deal on a set of St. Croix Extreme Rods in lengths and actions I wanted, over 1/2 price and a free rod to boot. I liked the rods with the exception of the split grips so I took em to my rod builder and let him work his magic, $50.00 bucks a rod and I couldn't be happier!! If you really like it and want cork, make it happen!!

I would pair up a St. Croix Premier 6'6" or 7' MHF since Northern Pike can be a handful at the size you run into when targeting them in your area of the world, The same rod in MF if not chasing pike. The Premier is still made in Park Falls Wisconsin for me this is important when buying a St. Croix Rod, I want mine built where they were from day one. For a reel Shimano Symetre 4000 since Northern Pike are in with the targeted species you will go after, if not for that the 2500 would be plenty. Either one will stand the test of time, plus in the case you ever want to upgrade to the top end equipment, both the Shimano Symetre and St Croix Premier hold their resale value better than others, but then I handed mine down to grandkids, they are better equipped now than most adults, still smooth as silk!!

Have heard plenty of complaints, never heard much in the way of praise,,,,,, this is all I know about them. I would look elsewhere,,,,,,,,,,,

I believe the BB1 Pro was designed for med. and heavier baits in mind and a heavier drag system for peak efficiency,,,,I think the very lightweight C14 Chrony was designed and made with finesse and lighter to med weight baits for it's intended use for peak efficiency??? I own a Lew's Team Pro and it is Super Tuned to the max, the reel is sweet and super smooth, cast like a dream the drag is polished to a level unbeatable for a reel this size and uses the Lew's Team Gold's main gear and drag system which is as heavy duty as the BB1 and Super Duty, I would be kidding myself if I thought it would be a better frogg'n or swimbait reel than my Super Tuned Super Duty or BB1, they are both designed for this kind of fishing they cost half as much but do a better job for this kind of fishing. Would the Team Pro do the job,,,,sure but why would I want it to when I can use a real made for that application, just as trowing weightless plastics and 1/4 oz jigs would be ridiculous to use the BB1 if you own both these reels. The Chronarch is no different and no better reel than the Team Pro is. Folk's it is like the F-350 Super duty 7.3L PS I owned, at the same time I had a 4X4 S-10 4.3L , I would have looked like a fool pulling my 12" aluminum boat around with the Diesel Dually, at the same time it would have been even more stupid to try (and it could have done it) to drag my 27' Lake Erie Hardtop around,,,,,,,,,,get my drift. Both reels were made to do different jobs more efficiently, I like or try to be efficient. Not to try and be a fan boy, I would use the reel designed for that application as both reels do what they were intended for quite well!!

Global what whiner?

My money would be on these depending on what you want, !000 sze for lightweight finesse or 2500 for heavier work. 65.00 Shimano Sahara, $85.00 range Shimano Symetry, $135.00 Shimano StradicFJ, $200.00 stradic Ci4+ $240.00 Shimano Sustain, these reels can all be had atr these prices if your patient. Personally the best bang for the buck is a Stradic FJ, these reels all have better resale value than any other reels period, I have a lot of friends that prefer other reels,,,,,,,,,till they try one in real life fishing, Just my experience! My spinning needs are all covered by Stradics and Sustains today, even a couple 4000's for big trout salmon and pike, they stand the test of time!

6'6" is a great rod for cranks, more accurate than 7', with a little less distance, 6' is a little more accurate with less distance. I think 6'6" is a compromise rod that does everything well, to me this makes it more versatile. Like was already said, just don't go to stiff for the treble hook rigs. If distance is a priority then you may not be happy, otherwise enjoy!

Like was already said, learn the proper technique and practice, practice, practice,,,,,,,when you want to get good at anything, the saying their a natural is BULL!!! they practiced, that was why they are good at whatever,

I only know on permanent fix, St,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,well anyway there are cures. I own many different brands, most produce more than one type of equipment, but most all only are really good at a certain type, I think Shimano should stick to reels? just say'n

Steer clear of the really cheap reels, the easiest to cast are the better reels and the better reels are more money. I would never suggest a used reel to a beginner, it is to easy to buy someone elses problem child, and spend hours finding out it's the reel not you that has the problem. I would suggest a brand new Lew's Tournament, if you shop around can be had for around 125 bucks, maybe a little less, and I have never had another reel from any manufacturer that was as adjustable and well mannered for near the money!! Plus you can grow with it, as it has proven to take a beat'n and keep on runn'n they are very sssmmmoooooooooottthh, great resale value too!!

Casting would be my Custom St Croix Extreme 6'10" MXF with a highly Super Tuned Lew's Team Pro. My favorite Spinning rod would be my St. Croix 6'3" MXF with a Shimano Stadic 1000FJ with a highly tuned drag. This rod will loose some of it's duties soon as I build a more specialized rigging rod. My new favorite will be my soon to be complete (at my builders now) Custom St. Croix Elite 6'6" MLF with a Shimano Sustain 1000FG on it and complete outfit will be right at 8.5 oz. I built this rod for mainly a Walleye rigging rod, but will double as a weightless plastics rigging rod for Smallmouth in open waters.

I use a Custom St Croix Extreme 7'2" MHM rod with a Super Tuned Lew's Team Gold 6.4:1 on 30 lbs. Sufix 832. Really big 20+ and dredges I throw on an older St. Croix Avid 6"10" MHF T with a Super Tuned Lew's Super Duty 5.4:1, some Bass duties on a few lakes known for big fish, but mostly Northern Pike duty.

If you have an opportunity to buy either of the Lazer speed spool's for 79 buck's and are in the market for a reel in that price range,,,,, grab it!! You won't find a better reel close to that money!

The Lazer can be had for very little money and is a good reel for someone on a budget and in my opinion the best bang for less than 100 buck's. But this is simply out of the category of best bang for your buck, way to many 130 dollar reels that are a much better choice. For the money the Tournament MG (W/mcs mag casting system) is much better, or spend a little more and get the Tournament (W/mbs multi breaking system) it gives you a better spool for lighter lures as well as heavier, and better braking, a real benefit for most, plus the Tournament MBS can be had for around 130 bucks street price you just have to look around, and at that price the Tournament W/ MBS is in a league of it's own!!

I would get the St Croix Avid 7' Medium power Moderate action, one sweet crank'n rod for medium crank'n with lures under 3/4oz, I also have the Extreme in 7'2" MHM very versatile rod, and great for big deep crank', but a little over your budget!!

all up to you, like DVT said, run em dry or they are just a waste of money, and all reels I serviced loose their shields. I have installed ceramics on mine and went back to SS I personally don't think the noise is worth the barely noticeable gain. If you run them wet there is no gain over quality Stainless Steel bearings properly lubed, your choice but if you want quiet and smooth, well lubed stainless is the way to go!

X2 What he said,,,,,,

Not sure about the new Ci4+ but the older model Ci4 and up to the Stradic FJ and Sustain FE all used the "Dartanium" drag washers I believed is what they called them, anyway mine all have Carbontex washers as soon as I get them. I run all mine wet, from 1 lbs. to 20 lbs. smoooootttthhhhh as silk! I also, when servicing customers reels that don't use them, it is the first thing I ask them to upgrade to, very inexpensive and even if not needed, it is only a couple bucks to know you have the finest drag available for your reel, and standard part of any Super Tune!! As far as needed,,,,,,a Sienna is a better than the reel than I had years ago, but I still prefer the Stradic's and Sustain's today,,,,,like I said, very inexpensive to go first class with a carbon drag!!

22 Avids, Legend Tornament's-Extreme's-and Elite's, I would only say the longer lighter Extreme in 6'10" MXF was noticeably tip heavy, with only half a handle and a lighter blank than most any rod close to 7' you should expect it, I cured that with a real handle instead of the half a handle split grip craze, now she's pretty and pretty well balanced!!!! It's a S. Croix premium USA made rod, buy it you'll love it, most do!! you can always add the rest of the handle if your like me!!! These were both split grip Extremes my rod builder charged me $50.00 a rod to make them one piece and balanced to the bone!!

"Light" reels are designed for finesse, light spools start up quicker and slow quicker to match the lures that are lighter and easier to start a light spool, but slow in the cast quicker as the spool has less weight it's momentum slows with the lure more evenly, this makes both more efficient together. The light weight is nice also because most rods designed for finesse are lighter weight and the less total weight you have in your hand the more efficient vibrations can be picked up, and the easier it is to keep balance in the system. My 6'10" Extreme in MXF is quite at home and d**n hard to beat for a finesse setup with the 5.9 oz. Lew's Team Pro on the seat. but I would find another rod for the BB1 which was designed more for medium and heavy weight lures for it's designed efficiency. PM sent,,,,,,good luck in choosing your reel, there are many that will satisfy, I don't believe the BB1 is one of them??