Capt.Bob

I would highly recommend other methods and products for topical treatment for stinging insect bites on your body than WD-40, and as with fishing gear, I recommend you find something else to bathe with!!! I don't believe WD-40 has any use as a topical treatment for humans!! but that's funny!!

The problem of more effort required to crank a load with a 7.1 reel is not reeling in one fish, any baitcaster will and easier than any spinning reel, but more rod pumping and a total different retrieve is used. Anyone who has thrown deep diving crankbaits that run 15-20+ feet, will tell you there is a huge difference winding for 2 or 3 hours non stop with a 7.1-1 gear ratio reel, and doing it with a 5.0 or 5.4-1 gear ratio, weather it is my Calcutta or Lews Tournament, the 5.4-1 or 5.0-1 is much easier on you than constant winding with a hard pulling crankbait and a high speed 7.1-1 reel. That is when you will appreciate the difference in a power gear drive to a high speed gear drive. Both will work but the older you get the more you appreciate doing things the easy way (efficient)!!

Like mentioned use the same diameter of braid you are with mono and you will be happier with the braid, and I always use a leader! either fluoro or mono.

Like said, lot better for quick line recovery, I fish deep a lot and this helps big time. the only time I prefer the slower 6.4 or 5.4, when I am throwing crank baits, if I was limited to one quality outfit I would then choose the 6.4 good all round speed.

Stradic 2500 FJ Smoothest reel on the market and it only gets smoother under a load. Plus there bullet proof, and can be had for around $125.00 to $135.00 if you keep your eyes open and don't buy on instinct. I have 1000, 3000 w/2500 handle, and 4000, they are smoother than my older Sustains!

I think you can find this for less than 100 buck's and is a great worm rod on a budget, PS70MF for heavy wood, weeds, and rocky bottoms maybe a PS70MHF, both great choices for the dollar.

!00% agree, you may use it and see no negative affect, if so you are very lucky! I too service reels commercially, and have been doing it along with my Charter Business for 30 years. I have seen negative affect's using it as a cleaner, it does work fast, but when I seen the stuff take the lettering off of an early model Stradic Aero I was cleaning 20 years ago, it was obvious it maybe wasn't the best thing for use on reels where the use of some synthetics are used. I also know from a fellow fisherman's experience, if used on the eye's of your rods, it will penetrate under the thread wraps and coatings such as Flex Coat and will eat away at there adhesion after repeated use with time. Trust what Francho and R.M. are saying, it has NO USE in fishing applications!

Well since you just said best and didn't specify type, I have to say Shimano Calcutta! If you specify Low Profile----then I would say Lew's Team Lew's Gold. They just keep gettin better! The very best bang for your 300 bucks with money left for other thing's. Compare anything else to the Gold for about $200.00 with there 20% off sale and I am sure you will agree!

Lews, they just work better!

A 79 buck St Croix Premier is a steel, what a bargain!!! That would be the best buy, do they make counterfeits?? If not thats to good to pass up, even if you don't need a rod!

your favorite Braid and Fluoro leader again!

I would never get worked up over any company, I think enthused is the word for it, and yes it would!! As for being on back order, I have that all the time anything from terminal tackle to car parts, I just had to wait over a month on O'Shaughnessy jig hooks, and over a week on a 2006 Pontiac catalytic converter! S--- Happens, part a life, but not worth getting worked up over!! I won't sell my jig mold , and at 36 to 40 mpg I am going to keep my G6 also.

You can go to any fishing sight and you will find the same thing, Shimano is the most sold worldwide followed very closely by Diawa, they are the kings worldwide. It might be wiser to ask why, but then most won't listen to the answer to that anyway. I am not only a Shimano man, I have in the last couple years changed my preferance for LP baitcasters to Lew's, If I wanted to buy a better Low Profile reel from Shimano I could, but I am a cheap A$$ and for the same quality of a 200 buck Lew's would have to spend double that, so I use the Lew's-------for now------- as I will bet money the number one reel manufacturer in the world already knows they made a mistake, and the next model Curado they introduce will be a BIG step forward instead of backwards, time will tell. But regardless it isn't just the most popular on this sight, it is almost everywhere!! I owned and operated a Charter service on Lake Erie out of a Marina the had over 400 Charters operating out of their Home port, and I can assure you well over 1/2 of them were supplying their customers with Shimanos, and it wasn't because Shimano was giving them away, we used what was the most reliable for the money!

Using a reel that holds 150 to 250 yards of 20# braid and comparing it to a reel that holds 100 yards of 6# braid is senseless as the OP is not talking about this size reel for Cuda!! Kinda like what is the difference if you chase Cuda with a reel that uses 150 or more yards of 20# test Braid, or chasing Bass and large Walleye with a reel and rod that weighs less than your reel alone, and holds less than 120 yards of 6# braid!! As far as holding up to saltwater and fish that put Jacks and Cuda's to shame. I would ask myself "who can pretty much buy anything" he wants, I would ask myself why Jose Wejebe was so successful and why he used only Shimano's, and I assure you he could have afforded anything he wanted to fish with, and was one of the top Saltwater Fisherman in the world, along with many many other Pro's!! Larry Dahlberg for example, also no chump!! Yes Exactly! you just said it was available, for some reason you didn't make it clear enough what you wanted, or maybe the way you came across to the rep is why you didn't get your order, but as you yourself said, It is an available part, how dare them have it on back order????? But that does mean YES IT IS STILL AVAILABLE and will be in the future!! Shimano should have never had a reel selling so fast when it was introduced, that way they could have had the shelves fully stocked with spare parts before you ordered it, but it was a hot seller and one of many models they couldn't build quick enough at the time. Like you said in so many round about words, YES the part was is and will be available!! But sometimes we have to understand, when they are making the most demanded products out there, it takes time once in a while to keep everything available without stopping production of other parts and products!! When you are Using the most demanded reels available a new model, with the highest demand at the time, you may have a time now or then where you have to be patient for a particular item?? I am not saying this last senario about you, but it does happen, a lot to do with getting your part quickly comes with how you speak to the reps, when you order it. May be why some always have trouble and some never do??????? Just sayin!

The Lews WILL SPOIL you!! The BB1 is a great reel but I like the Tournament Pro and Team Pro, very lightweight reels with heavy duty construction. Only time will tell how long these jewels will last???? But they are what I have been using for Low Profile reels, and am very happy with my decision.

I agree with the 1000 for finesse setups, I would preffer the 2000 over the 3000 Stradic because the 3000 has that huge "T" handle, the 2000 has the smaller "T", mush more comfortable. I have a 6'3 MXF Legend Elite with a 1000 Stradic FJ that is killer but would love to have it on 6'10" MXF Legend Elite. my setup weighs 10.2 oz. and I can feel them when they start moving towards it!!

Bummer, I chase em all fall and couldn't get anything over 36" last year, just a baby. Only thing better than Walleye and Pike! Black Brown Yellow and Red Bucktail is my favorite!

Get the Tournament pro, you can thank me later!

If I could trade a MHM Avid for MHM Extreme or Elite, I would in a heartbeat! So if you can afford it, go for it, it is a nicer rod, and after all, if we only bought good enough, well, I would have much cheaper equipment than I do now, and less of it. But it sure is more enjoyable using slightly better equipment than is absolutely necessary, and like I said, it is a better rod!

spend the money on the better reel. It will stay that way for years of use, where the cheaper reels will loose their wow factor very quick as the less expensive parts and greater tolerances show up quicker! The other thing is why do so many come and go, when reels like the Stradic and Sustain keep improving, the older models are still performing and holding the resale value, the cheaper ones wont do either!

I have used Seaguar AbrazX for the past couple years but I have been thinking about trying their Tatsu if it is really better for leader line, And I to have found that Seaguar is hands down the best I have found, and have tried most.it is really not expensive when you are only using it for leaders, thats only 2 to 7 yards, In fact since this makes your braid mainline last a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time as the Fluoro takes the wear, very very cheap to go first class!!! Is it that much better than the AbrazX roadwarior

Got em all, tagged out on the last day at 8:30 am, doe #5. I thought I was gonna eat that last either sex tag I was holden out with. I saw three bucks I had in bow range but 2 - 8pointers and a 6, just none big enough to arrow, I had the one I wanted down South on public land but he stayed out, a little closer and I would a flung one at him, but sixty yards is just to risky on a trophy especially. But two years now without a quality buck, hopefully third time will be a charm and I'll arrow a giant next year. But till then the freezer is full and between the Walleye venison and perch, I can hold over till next fall, and it all starts all over again. GOD WILLING!!!

I would have to side with Shane on this one, not because of picking up dirt and debris causing excessive wear, but the fact that every single reel you can mention will run so much better with the proper amount and type of lube in them, they will not only cast better, but everything from the drag to the retrieve and the free spool performs so much better after degreasing and proper lubing! You pay good money for high performance gear, and like said, I want it to perform at high performance.

Mid range there are quite a few, the reels with a 5 to 5.4 to1 are a good choice from Shimano Abu Lew's Diawa would be what I would stick with, The Lew's would be my choice in the Tournament model! If you want the best get a SS super duty, for deep crankin Calcutta but that is a bit over kill for shallow running cranks.

Hands down is the Shimano Symetre smoothest operating of any spinning reel under 100 bucks, any reel will do the job, but with a drag that rivals a baitcaster, and is as smooth as butter, and a track record of durability above all the rest, it is your best choice, if all you want is the job done there are many lesser reels that will work for a while, just not quite as long or as well!