kickerfish1

The fenwick elite tech rod that will be the most versatile for Minnesota waters would be the 6'9 medium xf rod. It would cover most bass techniches and help fish most walleye techniques as well. I bought both of my elite techs on sale. One rod was $60 and the other was $80 new. Get that rod and pair it with the stradic FJ 2500 series reel. During the holiday sales you should find them between 15-20% off. This would put you under your budget and you would have some money left for line a few other items. The stradic ci4 looks ugly on the elite tech while the stradic FJ matches up a bit more nicely in the looks department.

I am not sure but if you are saying the rod is medium light fast action rod then I would feel that the rod would be underpowered for plastics. At least step up to a medium fast action rod, or even a medium heavy. I once fished those exact baits on a 6'9 medium light casting rod. Couldn't set the hook worth a darn in over half of the bites I got. That rod is now a jerkbait and small topwater exclusive rod. I fish fluke and senkos on medium heavy rods as do I all my Texas rigged plastics. You would be surprised just how well a weightless senko and fluke cast on a medium heavy rod.

Amongst the voters I will admit that I am surprised it is this close. However only 30 votes have been cast on board that has hundreds of active members. If more members voted I think it would look more like 65% braid 35% floro. Interesting nonetheless.

X2. Mike does great work and a pleasure to do business with. I don't think I have heard anything negative about his work. Keep up the good work Mike!

I never go over 15# for floro. Most of the time I am fishing jigs on 12#. You will loose some handling as the diameter gets larger. I fish rip-rap, rocks, weeds,# and wood and everything in between and don't have any problems.

X2. If Siebert was included in the mix I would put him up there with the best of the best. By far the best and most prompt customer service of the 3 and it isn't even close. His prices are beyond fair from the start and the quality is outstanding. Even if he wasn't a sponsor here I would still help promote his business. Simply put the kind of person anyone would want to do business with regardless of level of expectation.

The chronarch e came out last year if I remember correctly. Guessing this would be the second season of use? At any rate if you have to replace the gears on a yearly basis or so I would question what techniques you are using them for. Heavy spinnerbaits, deep cranks, and a-rigs put a ton of strain on the gears of a reel. I am not sure the E series was designed to do this as a regular task. A D series shimano citica or curado would have the power and gears to handle resistance baits better. I have a curado and chronarch 50e along with a curado 200e7. The 200e is the oldest and still very smooth. It doesn't see much resistance baits either. Like others have suggested a professional clean and tune would be beneficial. Other than abuse or fishing heavy resistance techniques, I can't recall any reason reels like that would need a gear replacement that often.

For $40 you can buy a spool of anything you want practically. Seagar tatsu in 12-15# would be a great choice. TW has the line on sale plus 15% off. You can get a spool for $34 roughly. Simply the strongest, most sensitive, best handling, general purpose floro I have used. Add backing and you can easily do 2-3 reels off that one spool. If I was wanting a line that was still decent but about 1/2 the price I would pick up sunline sniper. I fish all my Texas rigs, jigs and weightless baits on floro. Never had any issues with breakage or sensitivity. I only opt for braid for frogs, punching and swimbaits. On a side note: Fish your Texas rig with a tungsten weight if you don't already and you will gain some additional feel. Oh, and the board is big into braid for nearly every technique (with or without a leader) so if it is a popularity contest you already know who will come out on top...

Northstar would be my first choice without a doubt of those two companies.

I have both the chronarch 50e and the core 50mg. Both are good reels for for 8-15# line. I have fished many different techniques on them and haven't had any complaints. Really like mine for jigs, Texas rigs, and weightless plastics. Both reels fish close though the core is a touch smoother and slightly better casting plus the reel is one of the lightest reels on the market. As far as the core being worth the price that is up to the buyer. Personally I wanted one of the lightest reels I could pair with one of the lightest rods to make an 8.5 ounce combo. Unless you are stuck on the 50 size frame, the chronarch CI4 will be coming out soon. Will be priced between the two with a paint scheme that looks alot like the core.

Simply stunning. Nice conquest!

I have several cumaras that I am fond of for drop shotting. I am sure the NRX and megabass spinning rods would wow me a bit more. However, for the price I paid for the cumaras new, I couldn't be happier paired with a stradic FJ and CI4.

Some great pictures. Congrats to you both!

Easy, Strike King caffeine shad or Yamamoto D-shad.

I like Aaron's magic, Margarita mutilator, Ehlers Edge, and bold bluegill. Some great products.

Nice to hear you guys are doing well. Keep us posted...

I know guys that others have success fishing braid for most techniques but I am not one of them. Of the outfits I have I have braid rigged on 2. I like braid for fishing hollow body frogs and buzz toads, punching weed mats, and big soft body swimbaits around heavy grass. Every other technique will be covered by mono, quality floro, or a hybrid co-poly line in some cases. I would say roughly 75% of my outfits are rigged with floro. In my 15 years of bass fishing this is what I have found to be optimal since I fish alot of technique specific outfit's that may only be used for 1 or 2 presentations. The biggest thing is having confidence in your line for its intended uses...

Swimjig with a paddle tail trailer for the suspended fish and a standard jig or Texas rig assuming we are talking about a summer pattern. I just hate cranking.

The core 50 is an outstanding reel for anything from bottom contact jigs and Texas rigs to weighltess soft baits, and even jerkbaits and topwaters where one may prefer a faster gear ratio. The reel has plenty of power to move fish, a strong drag system, and can cast baits from 1/8 to 1 ounce in my own testing. The core 100 and 50 are different in gear ratios, weight and frame primarily. The core 100 has the same frame as the Chronarch D. The core shares the same frame as say a curado or chronarch 50 e. The 50 size is very palmable. I would say the core 50 would handle most applications you could throw at it with the exception of deep cranks, big spinnerbaits, Alabama rigs, and maybe a few others.

I think so Darren! Pretty awesome looking reel with some additional touches. Looks darn similar to a core from a color scheme standpoint. Was looking at a scorpio but this may be next in line. Got to hope there are a few gear ratios available, and hopefully something blazing fast.

Both are good reels when comparing an E7 to a Gen 2 premier. Both have strong followings. The die hard Abu guys regard the Gen 2 premier as one of the best if not the best all around Revo made. The E series reels also have a good following and have been great performing reels. Neither has had many complaints or problems that are widespread. Can't really go wrong with either... maybe see if the seller would let you take each for a test drive before you pull the trigger?

I truly believe the core isn't going to be discontinued. The reel is Shimanos only competing market player against the Steeze in terms of performance and weight. The new Chronarch and Core should be able to co-exist together. Also at some point I hope they work some of the Chronarch E features into the current Curado to help spruce it up. This is all wishful thinkimg on my part, but one can dream.

I will be ordering a chronarch as soon as the reel is available!

Unfortunately I haven't heard a release date, just rumblings... guessing perhaps at I-Cast or shortly after. When companies launch pinnacle rod lines a good amount testing and re-evaluation goes into the process to avoid putting out products with flaws in the process. When guys are shelling out this kind of coin anything less than darn near perfect won't cut it. I too, am anxiously awaiting the arrival of these rods!

Price for each outfit or the total combined outfits? Also are you looking for rod and reel specs or suggestions on brands and model numbers? Lastly do you want all rods of one brand and all reels of another? Way too general of a question to even try to answer until more info is provided.