Raul

Because I 'm mean. ;D

You haven 't seen the pretty spinning reels

Ok, I 'll put it the other way around: Biomaster - Stradic Biomaster S - no domestic equivalent Biomaster Mg - Stradic Mg Biomaster Mg S - no domestic equivalent Twinpower - Sustain Twinpower Mg - no domestic equivalent Stella - Stella Now there are others with other denominations: Denomination "HG/PG", for example: Biomaster 1000 HGS; HG/PG indicates a heavy duty reel. Denomination "S" after the reel number indicates SHALLOW SPOOL, which means the reel has a spool designed for thin lines between 2-5 pound test ( Japan ), therefore the spool capacity is limited if you exceed the line diameter. Denomination "DH" indicates DOUBLE HANDLE, for example: Sephia 2500 SDH If you don 't know these denominations when ordering a reel from a Japanese source and you only look at the price you are getting into trouble, the day your reel arrives and you open your box ..... ..... dang ! it 's not what I wanted. Are they better ? some are just the same reel with different name, others are really different ( for ex Scorpion 1000 vs Curado 100B ) with better upgrades, or lighter gearing ( lighter alloy ) or lighter frame or better cosmetics. Also, in many of them you can enhance the feel or change the cosmetics with aftermaket spools, handles or knobs. Let 's say you don 't like the "T" shape knob in your domestic reel, in most cases you are screwed, the knob is riveted to the handle; in Japanese reels the knob is not riveted but it has a screw, you can change the knob for an "I" shaped knob simply because you can remove the knob. Do they feel better ? some of them feel the same, others feel a lot better. Words of advice when purchasing Japanese reels: 1.- Line capacity.- the line capacity you see stamped on the reel is FOR JAPANESE LINES, it does not apply to american lines, if you are using american line reduce between 10-20%. 2.- Read the denomination before you jump all over it and be sure to understand it or you will get a nasty surprise when you open the box. 3.- Shallow spool models DO NOT COME WITH SPARE SPOOL. 4.- Shalow spool models have two line capacities: nylon monofilament ( Japan ) & PE = Poliethilene = braided. 5.- Japanese reels usually have lighter drag. 6.- #1 line means 4 lb test JAPAN.

Actually Marty I 'm familiar with that natural phenomenon, it snowed about 1/16 th on an inch down here in paradise about 11 years ago, December the 13 th, 1996; the "snowstorm" last from 6:00 AM 'til 6.30 AM. ;D Kidding aside, due to the height above sea level it 's noy uncommon that up in the sierra ( about 40 min drive from home ) it snows every other year if the during the winter there 's enough moisture. As you may imagine, as soon as the word gets out that there 's snow in the sierre the entire city flocks and travels up the sierra to see the snow. Something that 's quite a stoopid thing to do since none of us are used to drive on a frozen road. :

SATAN

Jigs should also be in the non accountable class, specially flipping jigs, I loose quite a few of those when they see action. Lures like crankbaits, 1 or 2 per year, spinnerbaits ...... I don 't remember when was the last time I lost a spinnerbait.

17 lb mono, no matter what type, is as user friendly as wire is; the only time I use 17 is when flipping and swimbaiting if you are planning to use that reel exclusively for that purpose it 's fine. With 12 lb test you can fish anywhere. I know it for sure, I use 10-12 lbs in my local lakes and one of them is choked with tough mesquite trees and huizache brush.

On the contrary, crankbait specific rods are far from having a fast tip, slow ( moderate ) action is what they have. Power depends greatly on the type and ammount of cover existing where you fish.

Hey ! that 's not nice, letting all know who are the ones that have nothing else to do than to post in the forum all day long. :-/

The ProQualifier rod is an very good rod, just a step below BPS ' top of the line JM rod. ProQualifier reels, I can 't say anything , I don 't purchase BPS brand reels.

Combo 1.- regular reel, junk rod Combo 2.- so-so rod, junk reel. Don 't think it too much, get a Sahara/ Bionic Blade combo, yeah you 're going to spend 3 times more, but that combo is going to last you 20 times more and you 'll be 20 times more satisfied.

Forget my previous post, looking at my count I think I just stepped on my tongue. : Or should I say my finger tips ?

I wonder who are those with more than 1000 posts. :-?

Gurgle - gurgle - gurgle - WHAM !! That oughta bring some warmth into somebody even with ice cold water in the veins.

Well so much for the burning burner question. Ok, I know the Zillion has the same size and frame the old TDZ had, I know that it has wet drag system, it really looks KILLER with those red accents over the silver, I know it weights a lot less than the Curado ( about 1.5 ounces less which is a lot of weight ). Quantums ? not even as a gift I want them. Curado burner ......... the only thing that would stop me from getting one is the weight. Tough choice between a Curado and a Zillion. Funny, Zillions were on sale at GinRin......the baitmonkey eyeballed them for a month but never decided to get one, after all, we already have a burning burner Stradic for that purpose. Which one looks better for you ? just for the weight issue i would go for the Zillion ( and the Shimano posse look out cuz I have one foot on one and the other foot on the other, yeah, )

After water temperature and ammount of light, not before.

Not only the metallic washers flatten out, the pads loose thickness. Overnight it won 't happen anything to your reels, for an extended period of time it will.

Well RW, he said he was on the look for a burner reel, he just din 't say which type.

Get a Shimano Stradic 2500, it will burn out "burner" baitcasters in an eyeblink with an IPT of 33".

Where do you keep your rods when not using them? Each rod inside it 's rod cover and 6 rods to a hard rod tube case, no way I 'm going to leave my rods on display where my 4 year old can grab them. Want to hear something funny, down here south of the border we begin Christmas celebrations with other festivities called "Posadas", you invite friends and neighboors to the posada, part of the party includes breaking piñatas filled with candies and fruit and sugar cane is part of those fruits, the word in spanish for sugar cane is CAÑA de azúcar, but to make it short everybody refers to it as cañas, my wife and kids went to a posada and my son came home with his bag of fruit and candies. So there we were while my son inspected his bag of goodies, grabbed a chunk of sugar cane and asked me: " what 's this daddy ", "that 's a piece of caña" I replied, he placed it aside and said " this one is for FISHING ", something that brought a good laff from my wife and me, the word in spanish for fishing rod is also CAÑA de pescar, to make it short ---> caña; see the point, the only "caña" he always hears about are cañas de pescar ( fishing rods ) so when I said caña he immediatly assumed it was for fishing.

There 's a point ( hard to describe with words ) when I don 't tie the bug anymore, when the water has enough ripple on it that makes the bait dive under the ripples when you retrieve it, obviously I don 't tie it when it 's windy and with waves. As long as I can hear the bait gurgling when retrieved it 's fine and I prefer a very slow steady retrieve, the doctoring of the lip makes the bait ride with the head facing slightly upwards which creates more sound and a larger wake. Which color I prefer ? any color is fine .... as long as it is black.

The Chronarch 100 B handle fits the Scorpion 1000, if you want to get a lil bit more muscle you can order an 84 mm handle with oversized knobs from JapanTackle for 25 dollars more, or if you want to make it XTRA SMOOTH you can go for a 84 mm handle with 4 ball bearing in the knobs for 65 dollars more.

How much are you willing to spend before I say Stella ?

Shimano Twinpower 2000 NIB + Free Shipping to your doorstep for $143:

Matt, why don 't you go Japanese ? you can get a Twinpower, equivalent to the SUSTAIN for about $150.