FishTank

I like YoZuri Hybrid for poppers but braid for just about any other topwater.

I went looking for a heavy rod to fish swimbaits, heavy jigs, and maybe some heavy softplastic. I was open to just about any brand or technique specific rod. At first I was thinking another Loomis MBR844C, maybe a Kistler rod, or a St. Croix Legend Tournament. In the end I thought that maybe I was asking too much of just one rod but I think I might have found a good go between. I came home with a Fenwick Elite Tech 7'3''Heavy Riggin' Stick. It has been many years since I fished a Fenwick and I was pleasently suprised at how far their rods have come over the years. The rod I purchased has a fast tip but seemed soft just below the tip. It felt almost the same as the Loomis Swimmbait Rod. It comes with a weight balancing system which will take some getting use to but all in all I pleased with my purchase. The $50 rebate I am getting ready to send was a nice bonus. I can't wait to take it out on the water. If any of you guys have tried one these out, I would be pleased to here all about it. PS I looked at one of Fenwick's new EliteTech Crankshaft Rods. It was one weird rod. The top half of the rod was as floppy as an Ugly Stick but the bottom half was stiff and sensitive. It was as though they had fused two different rods together. The top half is bright yellow and the bottom I think was green. It had a different feel from any other rod I have ever picked up. Just plain odd.

As always, thanks for great info and I will follow your advice to the letter.

I have a couple and have done just OK with them. I have better luck with a good old fashion spinnerbait. They are fun to fish though.

NO! Absolutely not! The reel probably came with some Shimano grease which you might add through the port, but oil is for lubricating the exterior components of the reel. 8-) I have done this with all my of my Shimano spinning reels without any issues. I will put, per the instructions from Shimano, one drop a few times a year. It tends to improve things greatly but this not to replace a yearly cleaning and maintenance. This is from the instructions for my new Stradic 2500FI Maintenance Port This is a great feature for easy maintenance. Keep your Stradic in great working condition by directly oiling the inside mechanisms without taking the reel apart through the Maintenance Port. Make your Stradic perform in tip-top condition.

I have the same reel and I have not noticed any humming sound at all. You might try a drop or two of oil in the maintenance port. Also, is it spooled? I have noticed a difference in feel when there is no line on this reel. It seems much smoother with line on it.

Really? Where? I have never found a "deal". At the last day of the Boat, Sport and Travel Show here in Indy various vendors had Loomis rods 30% off or more. I saw I guy buy a MBR844C GLX for around $220. These were brand new, fresh in the rod tube and not demo rods. Unfortunately, I did not come prepared to shop for rods. The MBR844C would also be my rod of choice.

I tried a spool of 8lb Trilene Professional last year and it worked just fine. It is still fluoro, so it a somewhat stiff but much better than any other fluoro that I have tried on spinning tackle.

Here is my two cents. Softplastic: Loomis MBR783 GLX (MH 6'6'' fast) senkos, flukes, etc. Hardbaits: Loomis MBR844 IMX or GLX (H 7' fast) Lucky Craft Pointers and other heavy jerkbaits. You can use both of these rods for just about anything.

I like using my high speed Zillion for topwater (frogs, sammy's, buzzbaits). I also like using it for larger jerkbaits and lipless cranks. Basically anything I want to reel in quickly or want to take the slack line out of.

I have been thinking of a Fenwick rod as well. I saw on Abu's website that there is a $50 mail in rebate if you buy a Fenwick or an AllStar rod and a Revo. Sounds like an awesome deal.

I finally gave in and decided to get a Revo. I am for the most part a Shimano guy but after getting a chance to play with a Revo last week, I think I may have been converted. Here's my new toy.........

OK, I got to play one of these for about 30min today and I was very impressed. If you own one of these, give me low down on this reel. I have been thinking of picking one up and using it on my Loomis BCR803. I was amazed at how well it casted, the light weight, and just how powerful this little reel was. It was not as smooth as my Calais but seemed to be comparable to the Core I played with today as well. The bait monkey is after me again.

Trilene Pro Grade is my now my favorite line. It is the only one that lives up to the hype. All the problems I experience with other fluorocarbons have seem to be fixed with this line. Once I run out of the big spools of Yo-Zuri Hybrid, this will be on all my reels. I'll be using 8lb for spinning gear and 12lb and 15lb for baitcasters.

1. Power Pro 2. Sufix 3. BPS Just picked up some Spider Wire Invisibraid. This will be my experiment line for the year. At $20 for 125yards, it may be a short experiment.

I use this stuff all the time: for backing only on most of my reels. I found some for $.50.

The improved clinch knot is my favorite for jerkbaits including the x-rap.

Zoom Chunk is my favorite

I'm still yelling at my wife for not answering her phone yesterday. The BCFR863 is $440 rod. It's quite a monster and super light weight to boot. I keep telling the baitmonkey to make these deals in my head go away but it is sort of like that first monster bass that gets away and all that is left is the story.

It was a booth for Vicious/Outlaw line and baits. They were trying out the new Gami Monster EWG 7/0 and knots were breaking. They then tried to setup a drop shot setup on lighter line. Both demos went bad. I felt sorry for the guys. They had lots of good info to share.

no doubt You got that right. The bank we go to just got bought by MI Bank and they stink. They charge you for everything under the sun, including a service fee every month for just having a savings account with no interest. We are able to keep the free checking but only one debit card.

I saw this stuff at an expo today, even the rep had a hard time with it. I was not impressed.

The bank we belong to only issues one card per account. She usually takes the check book and I get the debit but in this case I gave her the debit to stop and get gas and groceries. I didn't think I'd find anything. I just wanted to take my son to see the boats, the fishing pros, and Twiggy the skiing squirrel. :

It has been a few years since I've been to one of these and to tell the truth I never find much of anything, until today. Today was the last day of the show. Here is a list of some of the deals I would have come home with if the wife didn't have the debit card to go shopping. 1) Shimano Curado of my choice and a Falcon LowRider of my choice: $200-$50 rebate=$150 2) Quantum Energy Baitcaster $105 3) G. Loomis BCFR863 GLX and one of the following reels: Shimano Chronarch MG 51, Daiwa Zillion, or Abu Garcia Revo Premier; $500 4)G. Loomis MBR784 GLX or MBR843 and one of the reels listed above: $400 If I bought the Revo, the rep had a bag filled with a bunch of Berkley stuff that had to come up to about $100-$150, for free. It was just left over giveaways. It had 3 spools of Trilene Professional Fluorcarbon, I don't now how many bags of Powerbait and Gulp, a hat, and I think a rain jacket. Bottomline, I'm going next time with some cash (if I have it) and try to hunt down some of these same deals. I was totally bumbed. :'(

I have several aquariums over the years. That is how I picked my forum name. I have had a 55 gallon reef tank, 45 gallon column for discus, 60 gallon column for angel fish, 45 gallon for cichlids, 2 20 gallons for servums, several 10 gallons for guppies, feeder fish, and minnows, and I went through a phase for bettas. Right now I am down to my 45 gallon with angel fish, 45 gallon for cichlids, one betta bowl, and 5 gallon for a 9 year old gold fish. My last discus died aroung christmas, she was 8 years old. I hope sometime this summer I will start it back up but it was alot of work (even harder than my reef tank).