Virtuoso

I have a max of $40 to spend on line. 1.) I am not using a cheap rod. 2.) I am fishing for bass in freshwater. (Yes I do not care about which one is better for snook, tuna or marlin for god sake) Why? I wanted to see where the board is at on this topic. Please vote and feel free to comment on the biggest reason why. Thanks.

The Duckett's actions are slightly slower in similar ratings. The Powell, in my hands, feels a tad more sensitive. It is really a draw in most other aspects.

I agree that the environment plays a huge role in the longevity of braid, or any line for that matter. If it has been left in an area exposed to extreme temperatures, heavy moisture and/or UV light it could shorten its longevity. Most likely, it will be fine as iabass said people use braid for twice as long as yours has not been used.

Sensitivity wise, my Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth's fish even with my 6'8'' M/XF Avid. The avid, however, has better components and build quality.The avid is also more powerful. For $100 or less, it is tough to beat. Initially, I purchased the M/XF, in addition I got the ML/F. Both dropshot very well, it just depends on the cover I am fishing.

I don't care either. I prefer my reels turning a yellowish green.

I have had to replace the drag on mine. It fused up after a year of use. Besides that, it has been fine. I have mine professionally serviced biannually.

I love my F3-610DGS Aaron Martens limited! You need a rod that gives enough in the tip to keep the bait suspended off the bottom at the same depth, but yet be able to shake the worm well. Rods stiff in the tip have a difficult time doing this as they have a tendency to lift the whole rig. The NRX 822DSR is a good example of what a dropshot rod should be like. I would not put anything else on it though.

I like a heavier rod. My 7'3'' NRX 873crr is excellent for the application. Its also the most powerful rod in the NRX lineup IMHO.

All braid will fade the dye that is on it. There's really no way around it and the dye is tough to remove.

Congrats, report back on your experience!

If I needed one line for everything I would use mono. Way back when this is all I had and I was able to get by fine. Thankfully, multiple rods allow me to use multiple lines. You Kayak anglers are like magicians on those things.

Under $200 can get you alot for what you are asking. The old Cumara's are certainly a touch more sensitive than a St. Croix avid. I would look for the 6'8'' MXF version for your medium powered rod. For your jig/t-rig rod I would be patient and wait until you see an older model Loomis BCR803 GLX. I have seen plenty go for under $200 and that is when I grabbed mine. It will blow any rod in your price range out of the water. One of the most sensitive rods I have ever used.

What is pointless is every post you have made in this thread. You have done nothing but offered personal attacks towards my opinions. You have yet have you made to make a point relevant to this thread. I have used, in varying diameters Power pro, PP Super Slick, Suffix 832, Seaguar Kanzen, Daiwa Samurai, and Toray Bawo Finesse. All were tested on both spinning gear and casting gears and also side-by-side as I have duplicates of most of my rods. Of all of those, I prefer Seaguar Kanzen in the higher diameters and Toray Bawo Finesse in the smaller. Thoroughly fishing many of these lines has allowed me to notice many of braids inherent weaknesses. Poor/null slack line sensitivity, bellying, getting blown around by the wind, hydrophobic-buoyancy/high drag issues with crankbaits causing lower running of crankbaits poor abrasion resistance, high visibility, and bleeding of a few brands. The positives that I have experienced are longevity, great tight line sensitivity, good performance in grass, good manageability and excellent strength/diameter ratios. I will give stretch a neutral since there are times when it is desirable and those where it is not. Frogging is an excellent example where stretch is not. With all of the usage, I found myself disliking more and more that braid offered inconsistent feel throughout the entire retrieval process. When dragging a jig its fantastic, but while the bait is sinking, suspended or moved in a way that causes slack line I am not offered feel at all. This yo-yo of inconsistency is undesireable to me. In times where it is windy, my line was severely effected as the line would blow around heavily both on top of the water and while the cast is in the air. Your bait my land in one area, but then the line that is floating would blow and cause the bait to fall elsewhere. Furthermore, it is easily noticeable on gin clear lakes that fish are spooked by the line. I compare this against what is offered by Seaguar Tatsu, Sunline Shooter and FC Sniper and it is easily noticeable which line performs better to my standards. I have more experience fishing braid than most. I also employ braid, fluorocarbon and copoly into my fleet of rods I bring on a given day. I am very demanding on the performance of my equipment and need the consistency to produce on a consistent basis. Care to offer arguments against my reasoning Mr. Chalk? Or would you rather just offer some more personal arguments?

I am narrow minded? Did you bother to read my post describing the reasons for why I only use braid for said purposes, or were you just too narrow minded to respect someone else's opinion? Nonetheless, if you would like to contribute and actually respond to the OP's question then maybe it would be more helpful then attacking those who offer thoroughly explained reasoning.

If there is anything, but a frog on the line it is the worst time to use it. Where's the confusion?

Used Curado or new Citica. For $80 the BPS PQ is a good deal as well. Stick with centrifugal breaking.

Powell classifies that 7'6'' as medium heavy on TW, but the model is 765cef. Thus, it is a 5 power rod which would be X-Heavy. I would recommend using at least a heavy rod as well for flipping. With that said, some of the 7'6'' rods in the $100 price range feel like broomsticks.

Wow! Congratulations

The buoyancy and drag that braid has makes it a terrible line for any cranking techniques. Not to mention that treble hooks will tear it apart. For jerkbait use fluorocarbon or mono are much better choices and give the bait a much more natural action. Also, if it is windy braid is severely effected. It bellies heavily for any light weight application due to its hydrophobic/buoyancy tendencies. During bottom contact applications, there are many times where the line is slack, braid does not transmit vibrations during these times. Other lines offer a more consistent feel throughout the entire process. Braid, however, does due fairly well for punching grass. Anyways, if the bait sinks I want a line that sinks. A premium fluoro works very well for a technique where you want a line to sink. For floating applications minus frogging I feel a quality mono like suffix siege or elite works well. This is a braid/powerpro heavy forum so I am sure most will disagree. Having used braid extensively, it does not even compare in performance to Tatsu or even a mid-priced FC sniper for that matter. But like you said, agree to disagree.

Have you used the rod? It has plenty of power. Powell rates it as a 5 power rod. It has plenty of backbone and its action is more like a fast action. I prefer 7'6'' Mod-Fast rod, but the guy isn't wanting to fork over a lot of money and the diesel is a pretty good value, especially discounted.

My research does not bring up any information on that specific laguna rod. You can be the first

The worst times to use braid are when there is anything but a frog on the line.

You could also get the Powell Diesel for around $55 with that sale

How so? Braid can backlash just as bad as any line and in my experience the backlashes are much more difficult to remove.

If I were to guess, that is your problem right there. That heat can seriously weaken your line. Some lines can tolerate it more than others. I use mostly fluorocarbon, but have mono, braid and copoly for certain techniques that call for it. Mostly mono for topwater and braid for frogging. I have yozuri on one of my spinnerbait rods and it does the job well.