lmbfisherman

No man, Chupacabra, the like to flop around by the shoreline so us fisherman would be attracted and then POW you dead. Luckily he didn't get a closer look or he wouldn't be posting.

Man even in fishing equipment we get stereotyped! First all of us are from China, which took us forever to inform everyone China isn't the only Asian country and now the stereotype is on fishing reels! They aren't all the same man!

I usually throw it on braid with either Copoly leader (P line or Yo Zuri) or Mono (Big Game Trilene or XT).

I use the PQ 7.1.1 as a flipping and pitching reel on a 7'6" H/F rod. I have no issues with the drag power of the PQ, nothing upgraded or anything. It does a good job with no issues, I also use a Citica G7 as my frogging rod and I throw it into very heavy stuff. I haven't ever noticed an issue of the drag slipping, etc....it might be a different story I guess if I was in Florida. The drag is more than sufficient for my uses.

Ha, but eh everyone has different experiences. When I did use mono - it was Trilene Big Game and XT. Before I discovered braid and copoly.

Sorry can't tell you how good the Ballistics are, I do own the T Rod which is a step lower I believe. This rod for bottom presentation was not very sensitive at all. It felt dead in my hands, I would only assume it would be better than the T Rod. However for spinnerbaits and swim jigs it works fine.

The new Crucial rods are good rods and I have a couple. They are sensitive, but slightly tip heavy, I use it for jigs. The Cumara gen 1 are a better rod though by far own them too. There is no comparison, I can't tell you how the new gen Cumaras rate against the old other than when I held one in store. They felt light and good in my hands, what I didn't like vs the old gen was the guides. I'm just not feeling the smaller guides. Maybe I will get over it in the future, but for now I will keep investing in the Gen 1s whenever I can find one. You should send a message to Hooligan and ask him, he really likes the Cumara, also I believe Goose52 has done a good write up on his experiences if you do a search.

Grow an extra appendage from your chest. On further thought, that would be great another arm to hold more rods. Eat on! I'd ask the owner and definitely see if you can see where the water is coming in from.

Wow that is crazy, well good that they caught it and it wasn't permanent. Here's to a very speedy recovery!

I agree with Darren regarding the statement of buying a rod or reel without handling personally. Even if a rod gets a 5 out of 5 from everyone, the feel may not be right for you. I never buy a rod/reel without holding it and looking at the workmanship. Hence why I haven't bought a Phenix Rod, Lews or an *** Black. All get rave reviews, but without holding it (no dealers close by me). I won't buy new, used maybe an option to keep open as you can hold and feel the rod before purchasing if no dealers are nearby. I do not have experience using either of the rods you mentioned, but in the range you are looking at..my recommendations would be - Veritas, Compre and Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth..I sound like a broken record, but that last rod is amazing. Very sensitive and can handle all what you are looking for.

I tried out at a local pond (private, but public no managed by a government authority) that had bass but nothing bigger than 2-3lbs. Anyway, I was fishing with 10lb braid with 6lb Red label floro, the rod I was using was a M/XF Elite Tech. I was fishing a wacky rigged senko/BPS Stik-O, I decided it's time for me to dedicate some time trying to catch something with a stick bait (never caught a fish on these type of baits). The reason I am bringing this up as it is a slack line presentation. I found that I didn't have a hard time detecting all types of bites and line watching at the same time. The statement that Skeletor states is accurate though and can understand why braid would be less sensitive in these situations. Still, I think it isn't "horridly" under sensitive considering, I was able to feel the bass just pick it up slightly to slamming it. Who knows maybe I did miss fish, but we all can't detect every single bite or catch every fish. Just don't think it's a huge difference. Having said that, I am planning to start tournaments in the near future and I will probably start using straight floro on those rods that require slack line. On a happy note, I finally caught fish with a senko wacky rigged (8 of them in little over a hour, however most were in the 1-2lb range) and missed a bunch early as I think I was setting the hook too early. The pond is pretty pressured for a private pond(owner lets public fish his pond even though it is private.) The guy stocks it with brown trout too, really nice people. Everyone else was doing worm and bobber, they weren't having as much luck, I guess these bass aren't use to seeing the senko.

Like others stated they over grease because the average fisherman won't properly maintain them right out of the box. I mean I am at times get lazy and don't give it the maintenance right out of the box.

May give it a try in the future, but I'm pretty happy with the brands/make I am fishing now. My next purchase will be a reels...1 more stradic (2500) and 1 CH50E.

I put on backing, I try to match as close as possible to the diameter of the braid. It is up to you on how much backing you want, I usually do about 50%.

Although I can't comment on the *** *** and it does get awesome reviews, but I second the Elite Tech, freaking fantastic rod (own M/XF spinning and M/F Casting). They both are sensitive and fish better than a couple of other brands that I own or owned between the 150-200 mark. Especially for the price I can get them regularly at 99.99. Ever since I bought my first one...they have quickly become one of my favorite rods. Just to give you perspective, I also own Cumaras and Loomis GLX rods...not saying they are better, just that they are just a pleasure to fish with as part of my arsenal. I am slowly selling off my other brands and replacing them with more Elite techs/Aetos.

Even better deal, signed up for the newsletter at American Fishing Legacy and get 25 dollars off, and you can get it for 75.

You should take a look at the Carbonlite rod, hear great things about them. If you wanted my opinion/experience, I'd go for a Shimano Compre over a Veritas. The Compre (own both), to me is a slightly more sensitive. (I've used both as jig and worm) Of course it is all subjective (sensitivity), my Compre is paired with a Citica G. However, since this is a bottom contact rod, I'd suggest you put more money into the rod than the reel imo. Take a look at the St. Croix Avid since you're going to Bass Pro Shops, they go for 180 and then put a BPS Pro Qualifier on it for 100. You can also get a Carbonlite/PQ Combo too for 160. I just took a look, the Carbonlite is actually on sale (online) so you maybe able to get a price match at the store if they aren't on sale there.

Definitely smallie, the jaw doesn't extend past the eye and great guide moguy!

Hi Hayden, I agree with the others assessment. The rod you are missing is a cranking stick. The ideal stick would be getting a moderate soft tip rod, however a medium/fast can work too. Unless you go Veritas, as it fishes stiffer than the rating. Shimano/Fenwick - all fish closer to the ratings, that I have experience with. (Own 1 Veritas) The question about a high speed reel for jigging. It is ideal in my opinion to have a high speed reel for jig and worms..as it can pick up the slack quicker to set the hook. It shouldn't "affect" your finesse style as you should be using your rod to work the bait.

I use braid on 90% of my setups, the others have P Line and Yo Zuri. However on my braid I always fish with a leader, like Darren states. It's a cost cutting thing for me too.

He didn't say, SHIMANO RULEZ! It seemed like a genuine statement and honestly even though he asked about the Abu models, his opening statement could be interpreted as he's still making a decision. Mark was making a recommendation is all.

Your current setup, what is the power/action of the rod? Was this one sufficient for the type of crankbaits your were using? Another way to tackle it is, don't get rid of your current setup, I'd buy the next combo that would "compliment" it. A Veritas MH/F would work fine as jig rod, but if you don't have a cranking rod the Winch series would be my recommendation if you want to stay with Abu Garcia. If I were to recommend something that could handle most techniques barring crankbaits, it would be a MH/F rod. It is the closest you can get to the best all around, as I stated in the other thread all MH/F aren't created equal. I like for instance the Shimano Compre's MH/F rating more than the Veritas. To me the Compre fishes more true to the rating and the Veritas fishes heavier than specced.

I do the same hookset on a swimjig as I would a spinnerbait, but I do give it slightly more oompf when it is swimjigs.

The closest answer as a lot of people have posted, 7' MH/F. However, it has to be a "true" MH/F...meaning some brands fish heavier/stiffer than stated.

Just reading this thread makes me itch for another one! Trying to resist the bait monkey until I get to see what Shimano will be offering.