FishTank

If you can still find one, the old St. Croix Avid has been on clearance going for around $100. My other choice would be a BPS Extreme. Nice rod for the money.

If you are asking what reel, then I use a Shimano Sustain 2500 or a Shimano Stardic 2500.

I had great success with LC lures. I have only had one out of the 30+ I own that has not been a good producer. They work great out of the box, no tuning required. They have great colors and a selection to fit just about every occasion but there is a downside to these awesome baits. > > > I can't remember all the fish I have caught with these baits but I do remember all LC lures I have lost. The $15 you get hit with when you loose one really hurts.

I got one of these last year for Christmas and was not worth $10. It was all weird sizes and colors. For the money I would go with ***. http://www.*.com/

Sounds awesome. I wish we would get one here in Indy. We are supposed to have a Cabela's here next year. I can't wait. Dick's may have some good sales but they have no high end stuff and the service is hit or miss. Also, Gander Mountain here is OK but their prices have gone up on alot of stuff I normally use so hopefully Cabela's will even things out.

I like the Booyah 3/8oz Black and Blue jig with a Zoom Chunk Trailer.

I like a 4in or 5in Senko early on. As the weather gets colder I like lipless crankbaits like the Lucky Craft LV 500 or X-Calibars Xr-50.

I have a Loomis BCR803 with recoil guides and they don't look anything like those. As far as the braid goes, I have used it with this rod, caught some big fish and they look good as new.

I have this rod and it is an awesome rod. I use it for softplastic (Ikas, Senkos, and Lizards) and some inline spinnerbaits. I would not use this rod for your regular spinnerbaits or crankbaits, the tip is way to fast. If you're looking for a technique specific softplastic rod, this is the one.

With a $50 rebate on the Curado, this should be a no brainer.

Have you ever been catfishing in Cambodia? How about an 8 foot 450lb monster in freshwater?

Vanish and Sensation have to be two of the worst lines I have ever used. I had used XT and XL for years and never had an issue. These two lines had some many issues that it scared me away from Berkley all together for quite some time. It was not until this year that I tried their new Trilene Flourocarbon and my faith was a little bit restored. Another year of testing this stuff and it might become my favorite new line.

WOW.. What a deal. Enjoy. That reel will be great for crankbaits and some softplastic.

Looking for a good crankbait rod for a new Shimano Stradic 2500 under $200. Any suggestions? Thanks again.

Here is a couple of suggestions. 1) Shimano Curado 200DPV 2) Shimano Calcutta 200 3) Daiwa Zillion Crazy Cranker (JDM)

About 3 years ago I started upgrading/replacing my old equipment. Before that it was about 10-15 years since I had bought some new rods and reels. I took me quite some time to figure out all the new stuff that's out their but it was worth it. I think I might buy a new setup once a year if I can get a good deal on it. I have taken a liking to St. Croix and Loomis so I am just $50 and a phone call away from a new rod anytime I want it.

Christmas is just around the corner. What fishing equipment do you guys want Santa to bring you? I'm hoping to find a new Shimano Stradic 2500 and maybe a St. Croix Avid or Legend Tournament but I have to get the kids taken care of first. Ho, ho, ho!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you guys have any suggestions for gloves for fishing in cold weather? I need to replace my old ones and I can't find any like it. I thought this would be a good gift for my wife to get me for Christmas.

Went to Dicks Sporting Goods to see if they had stocked the store for Black Friday and they had recieved the new Stradics. These reels are fantastic . What amazed me the most is how well it is balanced and of course how smooth it is. It was as smooth as my Sustain but the way it was balanced felt different from any other reel I have picked up. So when the bait monkey comes banging on my door, I think I will have to pick one of these up. It looks like Shimano has taken another step forward in their reel production .

Photography and jets........

Here a few of mine 1) Fishing in front of the Park Ranger's station for hours with no fishing licence. Then telling the ranger that these fishing rods are not mine, I just found them. He was laughing so hard he couldn't write me a ticket. 2) Leaving a lure tied on, then putting my rig in the car only to hook that nice Lucky Craft lure into my wifes new leather seats. 3) Letting someone you don't know drive the boat while you're skiing 4) Catching a snake and for some reason put in the boat so you can take the hook out of it's mouth 5) Getting your spinning reels re-strung, driving for hours to your favorite strip pit to only find out that the spools are strung backwards

I have a Loomis BCR803 with the Recoil Guides and I don't care for using braid with this rod. It can be done with out any problems but the sound is annoying. So I guess it is a personal preference. I would recommend using flourocarbon instead. As far as if it transmit sounds into the water, I have no idea.

I had a Curado 201 and did not care for the weight and size of it. It performed well but the feel was not what I wanted. I should have purchased the 101. I ended up returning it after fishing a whole weekend. I can't imagine what the 300 size reel is like.

Great article. I wish they had more articles like it more often. Sometimes there seems to be so much hunting stuff, info, ect. and not enough fishing articles. Still a great magazine though.

I don't change at all. I fish slower and use a lot of patience.