Capt.Bob

There is nothing wrong with a Spirex, many like that type of reel over the newer more advanced features offered on other types of spinning gear, non quick fire and instant anti-reverse and so on, along with other improvements in oscillation and spool design, and well they are simply a totally different model of spinning reel. The Stradic and up are truly Shimano's most feature packed reels. the Ci4 has most of the same features the FI model had, and it was a good reel also, and as stated, if lighter weight is a priority, the Ci4 is that.

Thankfully not everything YET!!,,,,,The point DVC made I will agree is a better design, the worm gear over the much less efficient camming action with a secondary gear built onto the main gear is a little less efficient and not as durable and smooth over time, and probably why we don't see it used on the Stradic, Sutain and Stella, I think maybe the same holds true for the bail and frame material and why we don't see them used on the higher end reels also,,,,,,,,,,but with Shimano don't surprised if next year,,,,,,,,,,,well time will tell,

Rotor and bail clearance.

I have never run into that on my St. Croixs?? Even my Shimanos worked great on them before I went to Lew's. It would be interesting to no if it is common to that rod with other reels, or just the Shimano reel's on the Shimano rod??.

If you want simple, as you been told work the bottom, spring a jig tipped with a minnow, slow worked on the bottom or as it gets into late spring early summer, a crawler harness as CoBass stated in deeper water and on the bottom. at noght the jerk baits in shallows, don't get much simpler than that.

The 6'10" MXF is a great rod, very very versatile!! I have 6'3" MXF, 6'8' MXF, and the 6'10" MXF, the 6'3" is hard to beat with really light rigs, and the 6'8" is a good all around, but when the target is bigger fish in shallow or deep, really hard to beat the 6'10" in my opinion!

Super reel + excellent price = BUY IT!!!!!!!

For sale!

6'3 to 7', my favorites are MXF, I use the 6'3" MXF Legend Elite in Shallow water >15' with a 1000 size Stradic, and the 6'10" Legend Extreme with a 7.2-1 Team Gold for deeper water <15'.

X2! very sound advice!! ML is limited is limited to lighter duties, and the MH doesn't work good for light finesse work, but the Medium Fast is a great general purpose rod and better suited to all purposes except the really heavy ones like punching! I think any of the reels mentioned would be good a choice. I personally would buy the Stradic FJ around $135.00 new, but that is my personal preference. I think it is a different story with the rod, ww2farmer gave very good reasoning.

OH how true, you hit that nail directly on the head! It is a shame but been there done that rarely comes into play! But the responses and mine is bigger than yours are offered anyway!!

I don't care which and own both. I can cast the Lew's Super Duty (mag only) as far and effortlessly as the BB1(truly hybrid centrifugal only) or the Lew's Team Gold (dual breaking), or the Shimano VBS (6 pin) I can cast any with no real preference. For most I would suggest the centrifugal because they are the most forgiving, aggressive and easiest to learn. The Magnetic on a good real are excellent but not as aggressive on the startup and that is where most beginners have there problem, as the technique is not refined and far to many try and whip the lure, or put way to much force into their cast, but when they turn on enough brakes to tame the backlash, they get less distance by dialing in more correction than needed with proper casting rhythm. The dual are the best for most to me, as they get to dial in with the centrifugal and when the wind starts to blow it is easy to make a fine adjustment with the mag to keep throwing as they had been without modifying their casting rhythm to account for it. As far as six pin four pin, auto manual so on and so forth with any breaking system, there are good and bad in both, I loved the VBS 6 pin Shimano used when I used them, they are excellent, the 4 pin auto assisted breaks the Lew's uses are every bit as good, and in over 20 years or so that centrifugal brakes have been around I have never needed 6 pins, if I tried that many I found casting distance suffered SEVERELY!! Out of every centrifugal I have ever used I rate the new Six Pin on the Lew's BB1 the very best, it gives you 2 manual with no auto assist springs and 4 with the auto assist springs, I have never had any reel that was more user friendly than this breaking system. When it comes to Magnetic only, it is more to do with the way the manufacturer uses them. I am not familiar with the many different reels that use the Mag only but am with the few older reels I have had and the new Lew's Mag only on the Super Duty, and it is as good as any. I will say I have not used them for lures under 1/2 oz as I bought them for big baits for Musky and Northern Pike, but it is sweet. I think the Old magnetic were very anemic, and the newer reels using the newer mag designs are excellent, and it is more a matter of you get what you pay for, "for the most part" there are always exceptions. I feel the same about the different 4 6 or whatever centrifugal, they are the most aggressive for the beginning of the cast and where most have trouble controlling a baitcaster, but there are good and bad in both, again these are the easiest to set and eliminate backlash for most. But the best drag of all is on the end of your own thumb!! and the better you learn to use it the better, and more trouble free your casting is going to be!!

X2 Since you have an excellent example with the Stradic, try an Abu and see for yourself, this is the only way to truly know the difference. As RW said you will only get personal preference here, and most have not compared all to really judge the difference.

Thank you for pointing out that they did change the oscilation system on the new model, but they do continue to distance it from the quality of the the reels I mentioned. I was disappointing in the Aluminum bodied F series, as it was the same dual gearing main gear operating a camming action, as they lowered the Symetre to a few years back, it is good to see them improve a reel, but at the same time they incorporated the cheaper bail and did away with the Aluminum frame, the old F models used the same bail as the Stradics with an Aluminum frame. But as you stated the worm gear oscillation is far better than the others mentioned.

I would sell the Boat and gear it came with pay the taxes, and the Rod Master would get a Huge Facelift. I might find a couple items for the Metal Miss-fit, it and the Rod Master would have plenty of gas money!!

I never had a problem with any braid causing backlash. But day to day conditions in general and different lures may require brakes and spool tension adjustment, not really any different than running mono like others have said. I do think Suffix is one of the best braids you can use, and as said 30 lbs. is light on a baitcaster.

The Saros and less expensive reels don't use the worm gear system and the Saros never did, but the Symetre used to until the FI series. The FH and older Symetre's use to use the more desirable worm gear system, which I use to feel was well worth considering over the Stradic as it was the same basic design minus a spare aluminum spool and one less bearing, but since the Shimano has made the Stradic a bigger improvement in spinning reel quality over the less expensive reels. This is not saying that the lower priced Symetre and Saros are not good reels, as they are very good, but there are many improvements and better internal designs that the Stradic and Sustain share with the much more expensive Stella which the others don't have!!! I am sure it is only a matter of time before Shimanos starts cheapening those two reel up to seperate those models from each other also, it seams to be the direction the company is moving. As for the Ci4, I would suggest the FJ at this time over the older less innovative Ci4 reel, which is basically a FI with different frame material. I say this because there is rumors of the "NEW Ci4" coming soon which will have all the newer innovations the FJ has, including the big one X-SHIP, and as I have owned every series the Stradic was ever made in, it is the smoothest and most powerful to date. The other thing which usually happens is the older series reel in the same model becomes much cheaper to buy when the new one is introduced. I would personally wait on the new model if I wanted a Ci4 over the Aluminum framed model, which is always the case with me as I feel more confident with an aluminum framed reel, and find they balance better on rods right off the shelf. It will be interesting to see how the new reel compares to the newer innovations found on the FJ and if maybe there are not some even newer innovations the FJ doesn't have??????

I would suggest the BB1, super smooth, cast a mile, and 6 pin auto and manual centrifugal braking. I don't think you would have any reservations and would almost guarantee you may have more Lew's, but wont be taking it back. I have never heard a single complaint on a BB1 from any owners. I know I am delighted. I have sold every other level wind reel I owned, (round and Low profile) and replaced them all with Lew's!

We usually hit a dozen or so lakes along the tri state lines, thru the seasons. I been buisy with Walleye on the Maumme and then river and creek Crappie here locally in Ohio. Great year so far with 10 lbs + Walleye already and several Crappie 13" to 14" no real hogs this year but got a late start as I was buisy filling the freezer with the Later than usual Walleye run. So yesterday on a windy western blow with lots of clouds and rain blowing in, we hit Clear Lake in Far NW Indiana. I had suggested Pike on another Lake, so when I showed up at my buddies house in SW Mich. with predominantly Pike gear, I was told he wanted to hit the Indiana Lake and see where it was at as far as turning on and weed growth. Naturally my huge selection of walleye gear was in Ohio but I did bring the new 6'10" MXF Legend Extreme that I had just had customized and gave in as I wanted to see how it would fish anyway. I was glad I did. We would have defiantly killed the Northern Pike if we had went on our favorite Mich. Pike waters, but had a ball and caught fish in Indiana. We started the day working some flats and after an hour or so and missing one bite, (probably a shore runner) we dropped out and started hitting drops off points, we got a couple small LM and marked a lot then we got to this one inside drop and started fishing it towards the point and first nice fish was a small Pike on a Rattlin Rogue on my new rod about 30 inches quite a battle on a MXF Bass or Walleye finesse rod. We then ran a long break separating the 2 main Lake basins and started catching everything from Rock bass to Pike and LM only to about 3 lbs. again the big one on the new rod and the Rogue , and finally when we hit the North end of the break started catching Walleye, no big's 10" to 18" but again a nice way on a nasty day to break in a new rod and the biggest of 5 on the new rod, This Lake is still a couple weeks from really turning on as it was still in the low 60 degree's but the shallower lakes that don't have the cold springs this lake does have to be heating up great. Got the new boat ready and after yesterday will be ready to hit em all, as soon as they settle down from the tree ring circus Memorial day weekend brings!!! Nice to be retired, Tuesday thru Friday are my favorite times to fish, But I hope everyone gets out in the tri state region and has a great holiday weekend!!!! and while your at it, THANK A VET FOR ALLOWING IT!!!! Tight Lines!!

I don't have that rod but had the same results with my LXC610MXF. The rod felt fairly descent, not perfect (yhey rarely do) but good with an almost 10oz Calcutta 200gtb on it, but I wanted it paired with the 7.1-1 Team Lew's Gold which only weights 7.0 oz. So what he did while removing the split corks and installing the full grip was added a finesse weight to the very rear of the blank and epoxied it in place, 3/8 oz. was added and it is custom balanced perfectly where I wanted it. I am sure any Custom rod builder could do this for less than the price of a balance kit, and will not change the exterior appearance of rod. It cost me $50.00 for the complete job with no charge for the balancing. To add the weight to the rear of the blank with no grip modification is only about $5.00 from my builder (takes the cap off the rear grip and epoxies the proper amount of weight inside the rear of the blank and reinstall the but cap) and you have no way of knowing it was done, cheaper than an add on kit, and will aid sensativity. This does not affect the lifetime warranty on any of the St. Croix rods!! I don't know how other manufacturers are. This can be done on any rod from a Ugly stick to a Legend Extreme, and is the best money you can spend in my opinion, 5 bucks and your rod is balanced to you perfectly! As far as feel of the rod it absolutely feels lighter, even though it is actually heavier. a definite lighter and better feeling setup, I have the the same rod ( Legend Extreme) in a 7'2" MHM, which was like 2 10th's of an oz. heavier, I could not feel a difference that slight before the full grip and balance, but with the 6'10" rod balanced, it feels noticeably lighter than the now lighter 7'2" rod. Once a rod is balanced it is amazing ho much lighter it feels. Sensitivity is actually better than before, this was already an incredibly sensitive rod and I don't know how but once balanced that is improved, I have done this with much cheaper rods, and it works. So you have a lot of choices, you can go with a heavier reel and maybe balance it, or with an add on kit, and some are adjustable if you want that look and ability, and if you might decide on a lighter reel later, like one weighing closer to 5 oz. you still have the ability to zero it, but some of these systems can make a rod feel less sensitive as someone already warned, and those that just hang on usually keep sliding back and getting loose and rattle and do cause sensitivity problems. Or go with the invisible look and I assure you the rod will feel more sensitive, and once it is perfectly balanced, much more enjoyable to use, and no one will ever know it is there. Lots of options but one thing is for sure, it is worth doing, specially since that is one excellent rod!!! If I liked the 2 piece grip my LXC72MHM would have the $5.00 improvement but is being modified to a full grip perfectly balanced with the 6.4-1 7.0 oz. Team Lew's. This way any reel from 6.5 oz. to 8.0 oz. the rod will be nearly perfect, so make sure you have your reel picked out or one close in weight to what you will be using on this rod. Good luck with a great rod!!!! If you don't have a good rod builder locally I can PM you mine,,,,,,he is as good as it gets, but there are many out there.

Sorry but I think we have different section for different species, but not for specific rods reels and lines????? maybe I am breaking a rule I overlooked and not allowed to discus a rod a line or a reel if I use it for something other than ..,,,,,,,,,,Bass???? if I am forgive me. I use most of my Walleye rods for smallmouth also, so maybe that makes me compliant?? I wont discuss my pike and Muskie gear. or trout and panfish, or the ones I use with the grandkids in the river for carp, catfish, sucker,,,,,,,,and as J Francho pointed out it is my opinion and WHY no one said these other companies don't make quality rods for bass, do they make better??????????????????? I am of the opinion that with St. Croix I can have the best of anything for anything all from one manufacturer. But my main point was the quality of their best rods is matched by their CS,,,,,,,,,,,,as good as it gets!!! But I am open to other options, thats how I bought my first St. Croix, and I was told they were tops, to find out I didn't buy there less than top of the line rod and expect it to perform like the best,,,,,,,,,,I haven't looked back, and 14 years later after beating the dog crap out of it and using for species and tactics it wasn't designed for, I am being rewarded with a brand new one for difference in the price of the two rods!! thats less than 4 bucks a year!!! I love it.

You have brought up a couple that make outstanding rods but just aren't the total package I mentioned!!! 1) Megabass very small selection and primarily bass only, excellent rods,,,,,what few they build,,,,,,,and terible warranty, rods from $999.00 to $300.00 are usually backed by more than a three year warranty, they don't seem to be as proud of them as those that buy em!! there quality may be considered subjective,,,,, but their warranty and extremely limited selection are FACT!! 2) Dobyns, as I said earlier they offer very nice rods to Bass fisherman only??? I think they are a very limited company as to who they service,,,,,,like I said no one is more diverse, Subjective is the word, do they really compare to the quality of the best Croix has to offer, I won't comment on that but definitely subjective but there is nothing subjective about the limited freshwater aplications they offer,,,,,no need to mention Salt Water!! that is FACT 3) Batson??????????? I think you are talking about a manufacturer of blanks not rods, they are a huge wholesaler though???? 4) G.Loomis, they are as I already mentioned subjective, I know lately their have been many of their dedicated fan base complaining that their quality is falling off, their selections and offerings have already downsized, and now they won't even offer their blanks to the public, Better?? I am sure to some but, again Subjective!!,,,,,as diverse Croix does, NEVER!! FACT! there warranty is questionable also as many have complained and I don't think it is transferable even on their high end???? don't stone me, as I said I am not sure. St. Croix does make provisions for this!!!FACT 5) I believe you were referring to North Fork Composites? BUT,,, Gary Loomis is a king in the rod industry and as I said before about Facts,,,only a fool would argue that, he is just getting off the ground and he is loading up for bear!!! but at this time he offering bare blanks, I am not aware of him offering a fishing rod, he manufactures bare blanks, and very very good ones!!! How do you compare him to a total rod company?????? FACT But I am glad you mentioned him he deserves recognition. 6)ST CROIX,,, lastly ,, I said I would be open to any suggestions to a Rod Company that could offer me BETTER,,,, MORE,,,,or take better care of me than them, I don't think there is one, subjective MAYBE???? but I have not seen one that offers anything near the total package they do. Why I said They are my Choice!! Debate is good, and if we were talking manufacturers of raw blank I would probably have to say NFC and Gary Loomis offers as good a total product as any, But that is all he is offering and I am sure it is a quality rod, from him or a SCV from Croix, I believe you could build the best rod possible with either one. and unlike Megabass when you got done I don't think you would have $999.00 in it but it would be backed for life, not three years,,,,Gary and St. Croix are much prouder of their product than to put a 3 year warranty on it!

I think from what I am reading your reel needs a complete take down, and cleaned and lubed, your comment on bearings makes it sound like you have not done this in a while, bearings need oil and if they start squeaking it doesn't take long to damage them, when I hear this it usually means it is time for a complete service If one part is dry and noisy others are probably close to the same condition, all moving parts should be lubed, I use Shimano or Cals light drag grease and a quality light reel oil, there are many. But as others have said only grease I use is on drag's and drive gears. With oil the lighter you use the faster things will run,,,,,,,and the more often they will need re-oiling!

I think your right Hootie, it looks like I aint gona be saved,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Team Lew's Gold, a little more than you mentioned, I have 4 and paid between 165.00 and $175.00 for all of them, these are very very nice reels and will compare the top tier reels from others. If you want to keep it under $150.00 the Tournament Pro is lighter and hard to beat for around $125.00 street price. or for around $100.00-$110.00 there is the BB1 super casting reel and very smooth with a large line capacity as is the Super Duty but only has magnetic cast control, this is an excellent big bait reel in any speed you want.These reels have all performed much better than their price suggest!!! You just need to decide what brand you want, If you want to keep it all Abu,,,,,,go with the Revo, but trust me the Lew's are SWEEEEEEET reels!