kickerfish1

The OP states he has crucial rods in his lineup already and by all accounts is wanting to try something different.

I gotcha. The cores are very nice reels and bit nicer and refined than the curado 50e. A nice upgrade indeed. Those rods should be fine choices. If you could ever locate a 6'10 medium heavy cumulus casting rod it is one of the finest rods to pair a core with. Total combo weight is 8.5 ounces as the rod weighs 3 ounces. It is a good rod for weightless plastics and lighter jig and Texas rig use up to about 1/4 oz plus plastic. It actually fishes jerkbaits pretty well too. The rod fishes more like a true medium rod. Nice haul!

X2. The stradics are $180 at full retail but can be found for around $130-$140 pretty regularly. The elite techs are great rods and are $130 at full retail but can be had for about $100. If you found both on sale you are at or just under your target price by $10-$20. For balance sake, if you get the 6'9 medium rod get the 2500 series reel. If you want something more on the finesse side of things get the 6'9 ML rod with a 1000 sized reel.After re-reading your post the 2500 series reel and the medium xf elite tech rod would be the ticket. The ML is a good dropshot rod but I would not like it for flukes and it is a fair but not ideal shakeyhead rod IMO.

No problem... it happens to all of us from time to time. Is there a website for _____? I am not sure what you were looking for but TW will have more info on these rod lines and the models within each. The cumulus rods are excellent but just not the right rod for what you are looking for IMO. A Gen 2 red colored cumara is a love it or hate it rod, with reduced cork grips. Sensitivity and performance is there but the comfort will boil down to the potential buyer. If you can hang tight until close to Christmas or New Years there will be some more sales as well in the 10-25% plus you may seem some manufacturer start closing our rod models or rod lines as well at a deeper discount.

How about a budget for the rod? You mention a shimano cumulus? This rod line has been discontinued and now the highest end shimano rod is the Gen 2 cumara. Also the longest cumulus rod built was 7'1. The specs of the rod are MH fast and I don't think the rod could handle 3/4 oz baits all that well. These were meant to be ultra light in weight and very sensitive rods. I have the 6'10 MH fast casting rod and it fishes closer to a true medium powered rod. They don't fish as powerful as the cumara line. The cumulus rods retailed for $349 and now near impossible to find. If you look at dobyns a champion or champion extreme 734 would be a good bet but would likely struggle with 3/4 oz baits as the rod is really better with the 3/8 to 1/2 baits. The 745 would be too much rod for senkos but if 3/8 is the lowest you would throw it may just be the best bet for the techniques you mentioned. Ron, a forum sponsor can get you a deal on one. The best rod I have used for those techniques and weight ranges is megabass extreme mission type f @ $300. It is a 7'5 fast action rod that will fish all those techniques plus bigger cranks well. Perhaps the best and most versatile rod I have fished. I have several dobyns extremes but if I had to buy another rod for those techniques it would be the EMTF.

I would be too! Nice shipment. Can I ask with the frequency of the same item purchased (core and stradic) what rods will be these going on? I have both and they are outstanding reels for the price and even better when on sale!

While I would like to see this as well I just can't see it. Many other requests for sub forum expansion here has never came to pass. I know the recipes and cooking forum plus a bank fishing forum were recent examples. There are probably a few dozen members here tops that would be active in something like that and probably exponentially more that would read but never post. Most of the new members here are just getting into fishing or back into fishing after a period of time away from it. People here appreciate learning the aspects of bass fishing from rod, reel, like, baits, tackle accessories, etc. They also are looking for bang for their buck and quality items that produce and take a beating but typically want to do so in the most cost advantageous way. There are probably 20 threads asking about best rod or reel under $100 or $200 to every thread asking about what megabass or gancraft rod to use for x technique. While I would dig something like this wit a focus on international tackle, tuning parts, etc I just don't think it will happen. To me the member base here doesnt fit this kind of mold. I could be wrong and it wouldn't be the first time.

Terrific! I think Santa has lost my address for years now. Can't wait to see what the elves craft up this time for ya!

Wow! ... stellare lineup Tim! Digging the IZE handles and all the custom work both with rods and reels. Thanks for sharing!

Bass team tackle is where I get mine from. Custom painted in about a dozen colors or so and sold by the piece. I know a few guys on here fish them as well. Haven't heard any complaints.

I don't get the last sentence. Loomis and St. Croix makes some pretty plain Jane style rods and they seem to sell better than any rod that 'looks' different. You don't see as many as of the yellow Wright and McGill rods and to a degree the Veritas has kind of faded in popularity. I will agree that rods built on colored blanks area more 'identfiable' over others but I disagree that they are more marketable than 'normal' looking rods. I actually know many folks that will flat out refuse to use rods built on bright vibrant colored blanks. The appeal and marketability of classic rods or cutting edge rods with a few colored accent pieces is much greater among all ages IMO... Specifically the Dobyns line, Loomis line, or Croixs.

While testing a few new jerkbaits I had recently bought, I "caught" a 100 series pointer. It was a surprise for sure!

Difficult to determine for many reasons. First, if we draw the line at MSRP of $150 it makes this a bit more easy as it is a level playing field. Second, If used rods and rods bought at great discounts are included it gets a bit more difficult. For example...I picked up a few NEW Gen 1 cumara sticks for $100 even though retail is around $240. While such deals can be found from time to time, examples of 50% + discounts are not easily found on new rods. I don't have many rods that are under $150 MSRP but of those rods I do have the Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth series rods have been very impressive. Slightly outside of the $150 mark the Phenix Recon has impressed as well but can be had for about that amount during sales.

^^ What he said. No worries... 90% of my tackle has been purchased online. I haven't had an issue with rods being damaged while shipping or with any glaring issues in their craftsmanship. There is usually a 30 day period for returns at most places. As long as it is a reputable place you should be just fine.

First that is an excellent reel. The 50 sized platforms are great performers. They are certainly one of my favorites. I have 4 from the curado to the core. Would never sell any of them. Form the photos the reels shows some signs of exterior wear and tear. I would assume the inside may be a bit sketchy unless it has been maintained. Requesting maintenance info would be a good place to start. Also, it may not hurt to ask if the reel has any issues that he knows of. If possible ask to "test drive" it if you are skeptical as this should help bring potential problems to forefront. These reels retailed for about $200 when new and were cleared out for about $140-$160. He has it priced fairly IMO unless there are glaring problems with it. Worst case scenario is you buy it for $70 and discover it needs to be professionally serviced. Mike at DVT does outstanding work at a fair price. You could probably be into the reel no more than $100 or a touch more with shipping costs.

Chronarch 100sf. I purchased this reel used for $120. Smoothest and one of the furthest casting reels I have owned. The only downside was it was a bit heavier and difficult to palm compared to the other reels I own.

I don't really stick to the same brand of rod like I do reels. For reels I really like shimano and Daiwa with a few others sprinkled in. For rods I have them from the following lines: Daiwa light and tough Daiwa tournament gold Team Daiwa smallmouth series rod Powell endurance BPS extreme BPS prolite finesse Fenwick worm and jig Fenwick elite tech Phenix recon Shimano cumara Shimano cumulus Dobyns savy Dobyns champion Dobyns champion extreme Loomis imx Loomis nrx Megabass orochi Cabelas XML Cabelas XML ti I do have a few withing each of these lines if I really like that line. Some of what I have is older and discontinued but to me it serves a certain niche.

Sunline sniper or seagar invisix for the under $25 / spool lines. Both are outstanding though I lean a bit more on sniper of the two. If you step up in price Tatsu and Shooter are tops in my book for true jig and Texas rig lines.

Sweet new reels Matt! How about the rods for these. Possibly a match for the cumulus? And the other?

Umm... whether or not you have to enter a discount code when checking out or if they show the regular price and the discounted price it is the same thing at the end of the day. There is no false advertisement of deceiving. For example under this style when an excluded items is added to your cart like a Loomis rod you see no discounted price. Basically it allows them to pull the plug on the discounted brands by not showing any of the items at say 25% off, while others appear with the discount. Again have you seen their website? Just by scrolling down a bit on the homepage you can see a handful of examples.

The discount of 25% is already applied to most all products on their site. No discount code needed. You see the regular price and discounted price right below it..

For an under $10 jerkbait they compete favorably. I have a few that I keep on hand but it is far from a go to for me.

TW is just hard to beat on selection and color options. Plus they often take requests from customers on the forums for a product or color and report back if they can order it. With that said many of sponsors here are smaller and specialized. I have found most of their products and customer service to be outstanding. They respond to emails and phone call very promptly and do their best to get you the right product. Glenn and staff have done a good job of identifying sponsors in different product and service segments... reel service, rods, soft baits, jigs, etc... In addition The Hook Up Tackle caries some nice products and they even offer Loomis Rep sample rods for good prices. Good guys to deal with. The Tackletrap is also a smaller specialty shop. They are more on the high end of things but offer Rep samples of a variety of rods, used but often rare or upgraded reels, and lots of replacement parts for your reels. They ship faster than anyone I have seen and again great customer care. Lots of good options for tackle and good deals out there. Do some looking be sure to give the sponsors a chance when you can!

Good guys to work with and willing to go the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction. Prices are phenominal to similar international and domestic offerings. Take their swept handle at $59 and compare to a RCS swept handle in similar legnth ($140+). Anyone in the market for handles and bearings would be wise to look here first. With the sale at 20% you can't go wrong! Thanks Robert ands Mike!

Dave, You mention "light jigs" and "heavier t-rigs". Choosing the right rod will depend upon weights of both your jigs and Texas rigs plus plastic. Light jigs to me would typically mean 1/4 or 3/8 oz jigs unless we are talking finesse or hair jigs. Bigger Texas rigs I would think would be a 3/16-3/8 oz weight plus plastic. Depending upon the weights I think the DX703 would be fine. I routinely use mine for finesse jigs, hair jigs, and smaller brush jigs between 1/4 and 3/8 oz plus trailer. It casts and fishes these very well. The rod has also been used for its fair share of Texas rigs but again total weight not exceed about 3/8 oz or so. I tossed a 1/2 oz jig on it once and felt it was overpowered. If you think you will be using more jigs and Texas rigs from 3/8 to a 1/2 oz or more defidently step to a 4 powered rod or if you fish heavier cover. Way back when there wasn't nearly the shear number of rod manufacturers as there are today. Guys seeking the best cut their teeth on the Loomis IMX and GLX lines. For the longest time the GLX series was considered the gold standard to where all other rods were measured against. Today's GLX rods (new deep green version) seem to get overshadowed by the NRX line but from all accounts are still a great rod. Look for Rep sample glx rods that would be deeper discounted than your typical black Friday sales. These will include the wild card and full warranty support just like a new rod. You will pay more for a Loomis glx over the Dobyns dx rod. Both have loyal followings and are known to be great performing rods among their users. You will be happy with either brand.