timsford

At least the one that sells bicycle components actually makes their own reels instead of having them built by someone else and slapping their name on it. I have to admit that i really like the lews reels and they are outsourced as well but at least they have tons of features for the price. But really though unless its daiwa or shimano its just a rebranded, outsourced reel no matter what brand its labeled as

Id buy a tatula for around 100 or lews speed spool or new lfs speed spool for less than 100 and have money left for line before i bought a revo. Ive fished with the 3rd generation revo s, sx, stx, winch, and premier. My buddy had 8 combos, all with revo reels. I have daiwa tatulas and zillions, a shimano citica, and lews tournament pros, bb1 pros, and team gold spinning reels. We each used the others reels on a few trips because i wanted to try revos and he wanted to try daiwa and lews. I decided after using the abus a few times i could cast way farther with the same weight on my daiwas and lews and aftwr he used my reels he sold all of his and bought all tatulas and lews. Im not trying to get in a brand bashing wagon so dont take this post as such. I just wanted to let the op know that there are great reels out there and to try some if possible before buying. You might change your mind about what you want after trying it out. Shop around too and handle as many reels as possible and take the rod you want to use it on to see how the combo feels.

Like the others mentioned swimbaits, big worms, jigs, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits. My favorite bait for ponds are the mattlures ultimate bluegill and u2 bluegill. They imitate the primary forage in most ponds better than anything ive ever seen and you can catch some giant bass on them.

If you only have 120 to spend id look at a daiwa t rod for 60 bucks or shimano clarus med for 65 at tackle warehouse. Then get an abu black max, silver max, or lews lazer for under 60. I have a quantum baitcast id sell u for 25 shipped that works great. I know this isnt the right forum for that but its a great reel for the price amd works great. Has some scratches but casts within a few feet of my daiwas and shimano citica g. Pm me and ill send u some pics

Id use the fluoro you already have. It should work great. If i bought anything different it would be braid if you fish really heavy cover

Both awesome reels. I own both and love them. The lews is lighter and throws lighter baits easier but i can bomb long casts about the same distance with either reel with 3/8 oz weights and over. The tatula gets the nod from me but the only reason is the price. Both can be had under retail but the tatula can be found for right around 100 and the cheapest i found the tournament pro is 145.

Forums like bass resource are about the only source of good information on products out there. I dont care for brand bashing by people with no experience even using the things they ate bashing, or people who say this reel or rod is great or it sucks when they only held it in a store and never used it. But this thread is just trying to inform other fisherman FACTS about a rod. I personally have no problem with that. Where is the better place to inform people of something about a particular product. Personally ive never held an abu rod i liked. Thats my opinion though and if you love abu you are entitled to that. I am not loyal to any certain brand and i think people who are miss out on tons of great products. I own reels made by daiwa, lews, shimano, pinnacle, mitchell, and quantum. Rods by ***, daiwa, shimano, pinnacle, shakespeare, fenwick, and an okuma on the way. But if i saw pictures of any of those rods that looked like the one in this thread id never buy another. Thats my opinion too and while everyone on here is entitled to one, i dont think blind happiness is a good thing and that we should all try to inform others on here of good and bad in products. Not bashing you catch and grease so please dont take it that way

Id get a *** *** black if i was looking at a new 100 rod. I dont think there is a more sensitive rod for the price out there. That being said i really like my shimano clarus and the old style is on clearance for cheaper right now at tackle warehouse and a lot of other places. There are a lot of good rods in the 100 dollar range id advise going to a store and handling them with your reel if possible to see what balances the best and feels right for you

Welcome to BR. You have recieved some good suggestions already. The only other advice i could think of is to take care of the rod. Dont hit it on stuff and dont try to lift fish with it and it will last. Most rods break because of abuse, not because the rod was faulty. Also you may want to think about going with a larger reel. A 1000 size reel is a good size for smaller fish like panfish and trout and finesse tactics for bass, but it wouldnt be my first choice for an all around reel. Id reccomend at least a 2000 or even better a 2500 size for an all around spinning reel. You will have less line problems with a larger spool, more capacity if you want to put on a little heavier line and go after bigger fish, and more power with resistance lures like cranks and spinnerbaits.

Thanks dvt thats some good info. Are there any other shimano handles that are longer? I was thinking the handle from the core 100 mg7 was longer but if it costs a ton its not really worth it. The main thing im worried about is casting a little farther and those barrel knobs! My favorite knobs on any reel are the lews paddle knobs. I actually put lews handles on all my daiwas too because i like them so much but they wont fit on a shimano. The septon powergrip II knobs look pretty nice though. Id really like a little longer handle for the reel but as long as i can get it to cast a little farther, get the drag smoother, and get some better knobs on it ill be happy with it. I have always been die hard daiwa, then i tried lews and own several, but this shimano seems like a pretty good reel as well. Just goes to show that people shouldnt get caught up in one brand over another because there are tons of good options out there

Awesome thats exactly what i was looking for. I havent taken the knobs off yet so i didnt know if they had a single bearing support or double. I dont plan on selling the reel and i know i would have a hatd time getting a lot out of it even with upgrades. I think i will just go with what you suggested and see how the reel feels then. Thanks!

Also will either of those handles work with the stock drag star or do i need to get a swept one? Do any of the stock shimano swept stars work or do i have to go aftermarket? Id like to put the swept hawgtech handle on it but by the time i buy the knobs and the handle and the drag star from them it would be 100+ dollars. Plus the spool bearings and carbontex and worm gear bearing and i would have as much in upgrades as a citica at retail would cost. im not completely opposed to that but then in my line of thinking i might as well get a chronarch ci4 or used core. And honestly while the reel seems nice and ive heard rave reviews on the core and chronarch id rather have a lews team gold or daiwa zillion if im spending 200+. Are there any cheaper options out there

Thanks guys i had thought about both of those but havent made my mind up yet. I dont want to dump a ton of money in it but i like the reel and think it could be a very good one with a few upgrades. How about the worm gear bearing from the curado? Anyone know the part number from shimano or size so i can pick one up?

Buying them in bulk helps out a lot with the price. I just ordered a bunch of vmc wide gap hooks in bulk from hooks usa. They have them in packs of 250 hooks for under 35 bucks. Thats like 14 cents per hook if i did the math right!

I just picked up a shimano citica g super cheap and im thinking of doing a few upgrades to it. Im more of a daiwa and lews fan so i dont know much about parts interchanging on shimanos. Im going to upgrade the spool bearings and install a carbontex drag. Id also like to either add a longer handle or at least change the knobs to those like on the curado or chronarch. Is there a longer shimano handle that will fit, and if so does anyone know the part number? If not does anyone know the part number for the septon powergrips or powergrip II's? If i stick with this handle and just change the grips id like to install ball bearings instead of the bushings. Anyone know the correct size? I know this is a lot of questions, but im lost when it comes to shimanos and i know they seem pretty popular on here so hopefully someone can help

While you and i and many other experienced anglers understand this, a lot of rod companies label their medium power rods as medium action. These 2 pics are an example. The first is a pinnacle composite that is a medium power , moderate fast action. The second is an ugly stick spinning rod that is a medium power, fast action(according to shakespeare, but its a mod fast action at best). I was stating what to look for on the rod, not what it really is

I have only used 2 of the skeet rods. The 6'6" mag cranking rod is a great yarget casting crank rod and will handle any crank i tried up to 3/4 oz. The 7'11" mag crank rod handled anything bigger or deep diving cranks. Both were a little heavy but most fiberglass rods are. The 7'11 was super tip heavy though. I tried a daiwa tatula, zillion, shimano d series curado, and even an older abu round reel and it was still hard to keep the tip off the water. Thats not a super big deal on a cranking rod as most use them tip down, but its worth mentioning. I havent tried any of the other models, but powell deisels, shimano clarus(old style on clearance) , and team daiwa t rods are other good rods in that price range. Id go to a store if possible and feel all of them to see whats best for you

No i dont use braid for cranks. I almost always use big game mono for cranks on baitcasters and trilene xl or sunline supernatural mono for spinning rods. the lakes near me have no grass and a lot of rock and braid frays really easy on rock in my experience. If i lived near grassy areas id use braid more. If you decide to use braid id use a more moderate action fiberglass or composite rod. Either of the rods i mentioned make good cranking rods with mono and its cheaper than braid, but both would work with braid.

A medium action ugly stick spinning rod will work and the medium lightning rod shock also makes a good cranking rod because it has a softer tip as its made for braid. Makes a good crankbait rod with mono though and has more backbone than the ugly stick

+1 on the tatula. Cant be beat in this price range unless you buy used. T3 ballistic for 110 or so is also a very good buy but i didnt care much for the handle and by the time you upgrade it you could have bought a tatula, line, and a lure to tie on the end and have money left over. I love lews but the tatula is very hard to beat for the price

I agree that if you save just a little more and have to have new stuff you could get some better gear than you would for 150 total for a worm/jig combo. If you sepend just a little more you could get a med action clarus rod for 65 shipped at tw which is darn good for that price for a jig/worm rod and either a t3 blastic on clearance if you throw lighter stuff like 1/4 oz weights a lot, or a tatula from any number of places. The lews speed spool and from what ive heard, the lews lfs. I dont have any personal experience.with the lfs but im going to try one myself here soon. Or if you throw a little heavier than that normally you get a mh. The daiwa t rods are great for the price too on the same site. if ypu go used on the reel you could probably find better stuff for the 150 if you are stuck on that.

*** makes a 6'10" medium light fast action rod in the *** black series. Its a special order rod from 13 or any of their retailers as its made for the aussie market. It would be hard to get it to try it out but from everything ive heard its an excellent rod. A lot of guys are using it with tuned pixys and 50 series shimanos and casting baits as small as 1/16 oz

If you want high ipt in a spinning reel pick up a lews high speed spin or team gold spinning in the 300 size. They have 34 ipt and weigh less than the stradic. Very smooth solid reels too. The high speed spin weighs 8.4 oz and the gold weighs less than 8. Ipt is determined by spool size. Thats why i stay away from pfleuger, their spool diameter is too small for me because i fish for stripers a lot and need a higher capacity reel. The hs spin reel goes for 80 new and the gold goes for 130. I have several of both and have never had a problem even reeling in large stripers and wipers, so they will definitely handle smallies

Id vote for the lews. I have the 300 size team gold and also the 300 size tournament hs. Both are super light for the size and very smooth. The gold is a touch lighter and smoother but not a huge difference for the price. I was kind of iffy on them because of the carbon frame but i havent noticed any flex even when fighting stripers and wipers. Plus you can pick up the team gold and still habe enough for line if you are planning on spending retail for the fj

If its between the citica g or lews id go with the lews. I like my tatula better than either but definitely lews out of those two. You can get a bb1, a tournament mg, or a speed spool for that price. A tatula r can be found for around the msrp of the citica as well. You might look into used reels as well ive seen several tournament pros and bb1 pros go for around 110. I started buying used and haven't looked back