FishTank

I went shopping today to get rid of the giftcards that were burning a hole in my pocket and came home with a new 2008 Shimano Stardic 2500FI. Before I purchased it I explored all my options at both Dick's and Gander Mountain. After looking at several, I came to the conclusion that the new Stradic was the best bang for the buck. It is as smooth if not smoother than my Sustain and the biggest difference I have noticed so far is how well the reel is balanced. I had a chance to play with an older Stella, Pflueger Supreme and a Quantum Energy pti-a 20 and when you crank all these reels at a high speed they tend to wobble. The new Stradic was the best of all the ones I looked at when came to this wobble effect. It also felt almost as smooth as the Stella. It did cast it a few times today and compared to my older Stradic 2500, it cast farther and it is smoother on the retrieve. The real test won't come until spring, when I can actually put it through a whole day of fishing.

Yes, the older Shimano Stradic if you can find one on clearance. I went to Gander Mountain today to look for a new spinning reel and the Supreme was one of them. At first glance it is super light weight for a spinning reel and is as smooth as most other reels that are more expensive but I had two today that had the bail fail to go back into place properly. The sales guy also pointed out something I probably would have overlooked but the large drilled holes in the spool is a air magnet for dust and dirt. Many other reels have the same drilled holes but he actually had one behind the counter that was perfectly clean on the outside and full of dirt on the inside the spool and on the shaft. If I was serious about buying a Pflueger, I would look at the President. It looks to be just as equal as the Supreme with exception of weight.

That thing is a monster. Got to love those Fords.

Some village is missing their idiot. He is lucky that he didn't blow his hand off. If I were him, I would have probably !@#$ my pants. This guy didn't even look phased by the explosion.

When everything is working and the fish are just hit like cazy, I go to a Booyah buzzbait and a Lucky 13. It doesn't get any better than topwater.

I had a Triumph and at first it seemed like a nice rod but after a long day of fishing, it was worthless. I would save your money and go a different direction. If you look hard enough, you might be able to find a St. Croix Avid on clearance. As far as the Stradic goes, sounds like a great deal.

I have been finding them at Dicks Sporting Goods.

I have some more gift cards to use and I can't make up my mind between the new 2008 Staradic $159 regular price or the older Stradic for $79.99 on clearance. I already have one of the older Stradic and love it. But is the new one worth shelling out the extra money? It is hard to pass a good deal but I can't help but wonder if the new reel is a huge improvement over the old one. I had chance to play with one and it reminded me of my Shimano Sustain, smooth, well balanced and strong. Anyway, any thoughts would be a big help.

I got the highspeed Zillion earlier this year for frogs, buzzbaits, topwater plugs and jerkbaits and I love it so far. Easy to palm, light weight and powerful. It is the best workhorse reel I have ever used. I would highly recommend it.

They look like the Flat CB's to me. I thought they had been discontinued. I have seen them from time to time on ebay.

I have a Shimano Calcutta 251 and I have tried it on a few different rods. The one that I have found to work the best is a G. Loomis MBR844C IMX. It just seems to balance correctly with this rod.

The IMX is the way to go. It is a fantastic rod. You won't regret it.

Now that's what I call great service...... It's stories like this, that will make you a customer for life. I wish more stores would offer such great service.

Welcome the forum. You will get several informed answers on your question. IMHO, both are great reels but my personal preference is Shimano. It is best to get both out of the box, mount it to the rod you want and see what feels best. Good luck......

I went to Dicks today to use a gift I got for Christmas and there it was, another St. Croix Avid AS66MHF on the rack. It was sent to that location by an instore stock transfer, along with other clearance items. It was marked $159.99 and it rang up $74.99. After a rewards coupon and my $40 giftcard, I only spent $15 on this rod. What a deal... I am going back tomorrow to pick up a Shimano Stradic 2500, also on clearance but as usual there was no one in the department to help me get it from behind the counter. I hope in rings up $75 like the last one I bought.

The last time I was BPS in Louisville back in June, they were restocking the some of their house brand reels and a sales guy their made a comment about how many reels they get in from their distribution center that are returned and still have line on them from the previous owner. For instance, he opened 6 Johnny Morris Reels and 4 of them had string on them. He seemed very discouraged that he had to go through all of what was supposed to be new and pull the string off several reels he had gotten in. This gave me a clue that not all is right with BPS but for me personally, I have never had a bad experience with the stores. If I have had a return or a problem, they have gone out of their way to make it right.

I use to be one that used crankbaits 70-80% of the time but softplastic just catches more fish for me. If I had to pick one that is the most fun to catch a fish on, I would have to go with a buzzbait.

Pretty much any dark color will do but my personal favorite is Watermelon/Greenpumpkin Laminate. Senkos are awesome but as others have suggested check out the sticky at the top of the page. I tend to go back and read it from time to time. Lots of good info.

I like the flat mini series. My personal favorite is the MR Chartruese shad. It has a medium to tight woble and it casts a country mile.

The Fat Ika is my also my top producer and it is flat out fun to fish. I rig it backwards with a Gamakatsu 5/0 G-Lock worm hook. My favorite color is Black with blue flake.

I had a great time with my wife and kids. I got to play with my kids and their toys for most of the day. So I guess you could say I got what I wanted. But I also got a stack of gift cards 4in high . Time to go shopping.

WOW.... I told those guys to be careful with my car. ;D ;D ;D By 2010 I think that Brazil is supposed to be the next major player in the oil market. They have been bosting that they will be the largest producer in the world.

What's your price point and what do you plan to fish the most? Here are a few suggestions........ ~$100>>> BPS Extreme 6'6'' MH $100-$200>> St. Croix Avid AC66MHF $200+>> G.Loomis MBR 783 IMX

The only rod Muskie rod I have ever used was a St. Croix Avid ??66MHF. At first it was like fishing with a pool cue but once a fish was on, this rod manhandled the big o muskie with ease.

I like Berkley Trilene Fluorocarbon. It has worked great for me so far.