What equipment do you guys use?

[hitoshe]

howzit!
my cabelas rod originally was a 6 ft "fish eagle" rated for 2-8#, 2 piece, fast action, about the same age as your fenwick. it broke at the ferrule years ago when i tried to bring in a good size papio and the 2 pieces weren't screwed together tight (stupid!), the tip broke once (obviously, i'm not real careful with my equipment sometimes), and the ferrule broke again i guess cause i didn't really make the "new" ferrule right. so now it's a ONE piece about 5 ft. it works just as good as new, probably better, and because it's so lite and sensitive, it's my wife's favorite. i'm always afraid that the next tuc caught will cause me to rebuild it again!

[bsp]

bass: Daiwa high speed Zillion with a Kistler 7'6" LTA HC one piece flipping stick. It is my favorite rod and quite frankly the only one I really use. Second one: BPS extreme reel with 7'4" woo daves extreme rod. This is mainly used by my friends or when I need to use reaction baits.
Trout: Fenwick 7 foot ultra light pole with Abu Cardinal 1000 or Shimano Slade 1500. I also use this for surf fishing.
I will not go into my saltwater rods because I have too many but they are all low end rods with Penn reels. Cheap, reliable, and easy to mantain. What's not to love?

[FishinFrenzy]

5 foot medium action cane pole

[skunked]

bass: Daiwa high speed Zillion with a Kistler 7'6" LTA HC one piece flipping stick. It is my favorite rod and quite frankly the only one I really use.

I wish you were still in Hawaii so that I could check out your Zillion. I've thought about getting one ever since it came out, but never pulled the trigger. The last decision was between the zillion and the ABU Revo STX. I ended up getting the Revo, but that Daiwa is still on my mind. How do you like it? Pros and cons? I am also thinking about getting a TD-X even though it is an older model, I've never heard anything bad about it and when I was checking it out at BassPro in Houston, the freespool was better than any other reel I have ever seen!
I also have a Kistler LTA (He69APC) and I love it except for the loose reel seat. Do you have this problem also?
Thanks,
Blaine.

[bsp]

Pros: It has insane free spool. It has more power, line capacity, and speed than any other bass reel I HAVE SEEN.
Cons: $250 but I got my japanese version for $180... all you have to do is look on ebay enough for liquidations.
Tackletour.com does a good review of the Zillion and the Revo but when they say that the Japanese Zillion costs $300 they are WRONG!!!! Some people will sell it for that but it is a rip off at that price. As for my Kistler the reel seat is as tight as I could want it. I have no idea why yours would do that but if you sent them an email they might fix it for a minimal cost.
Forgot to mention this, since the Zillion has alot of line capacity and really good drag and uses no aluminum it makes a good reel for small saltwater gamelike papio and cudas...

[skunked]

That was may. Now it is october, and I still haven't got a zillion yet. I have since purchased:
Daiwa Liberto Pixy yellow pearl left hand retrieve. What a sweet little reel. I am gonna cry the first time I scratch it.
Pflueger Supreme 8030MG spinning reel. This is the cheapest magnesium body reel available. Haven't fished it yet, but initial impressions, as well as online reviews are very positive. Very smooth with 11 bearings.
BPS Pro Qualifier 6'6" med. spinning rod. Got it for 50% off ($59.99) at BPS Las Vegas! I consider this rod to be a good deal even at regular price. I also bought another of the med. casting model during the sale. Now I have 2 of the same rod. Couldn't pass up the deal, but now I ask myself, "why?".

My Shimano Antares AR remains my favorite reel of all. If it were only a little lighter...
I am trying so hard to resist the urge to order a Metanium MG7. Not as nice looking as the Core, but is cheaper and has bearings in the knobs.
I also want to order a GBlanks custom rod with a spiral wrap. These rods supposedly weigh only 3.2 oz. That's lighter than a G Loomis GLX!

Anybody else buy any gear lately or just want to share info. about your favorite rods and reels? Stan, what make and model of fly fishing gear do you use? Mahalo.

[kahuna bass]

Greetings all,

Here's a breakdown of what I use:

Baitcaster -

Medium to large swimbaits -
1. Calcutta Conquest 400
2. Calcutta 400 (2)
3. Calcutta Conquest 300

Small to medium swimbaits -
1. Team Daiwa-Z Big Bait Special (BBS)
2. Calcutta Conquest 200
3. Calcutta TE 200GT
4. ABU Garcia 5000

Frog reel -
1. Scorpion Metanium XT (new model)
2. Bass Pro Shop JMX1000 H (Johnny Morse series)

Worm/small to medium crankbaits/small to medium top water -
1. Scorpion Bantam 1000
2. Scorpion 1000 (2)
3. Scorpion MG 1000
4. Team Daiwa-S 105PV
5. Ryobi F300RF

Medium to large crankbait and top water -
1. Scorpion Antares 5
2. Scorpion 1500
3. Chronarch SF

Flipping -
1. Scorpion Quickfire
2. Castaic Bantam

T-rig -
1. Scorpion Metanium XT (old)
2. Calcutta 250
3. Team Daiwa-X 103H

Spinning -

Drop shotting -
1. Stradic 1000FG
2. Shimano Ultegra 2000
3. Fin-nor AHAB S200

Small plastics/jerk baits/crawdads -
1. Daiwa Revros 2004
2. Shimano Twin Power 2500

Fly reel -
Daiwa Alltmor-S 6wt.

All reels matched up with:
1. Graphite USA rods(Hastings Rod Manufacturing)
2. United Rods(Hastings Rod Manufacturing)
3. Megabass rods
4. Major craft rods

Lines -
1. Prower Pro Spectra
2. Maxima green/misty blue/igfa/clear line
3. Maxima flouracarbon line


I believe that covers all my freshwater needs. Heck, you never have enough rods and reels, there is always something new.

Mel "Kahuna bass"
Dark side live baiter

[skunked]

You're my idol! Hehe!
The only ones we have in common are the scorpion 1000, 1000MG, and the scorpion 1500.
I have been thinking about getting the TD-X, Metanium XT, and Twin Power.
How do you like yours? I feel like it (TD-X) may be similar to my Fuego. True?

[kahuna bass]

Skunked,

I can truly say that "I am a tackle ho"!

I strongly recommend the Twin power spining reel, great price, and just a class below the Stella. Excellent drag system.

I too also recommend the Metanium XT(I have mine with the tricked out graphite handle) When I do fish frogs, I need all the leverage I can to pull the fish out of the carpet!

My TD-X is an older version, which works out well for Carolina rigging.

I believe, I have most bases covered when it comes to fresh water fishing. For the salt water side, I have about 35 reels/rods.

Mel "kahuna bass"
Dark side live baiter addicted to fishing tackle

[skunked]

These are the reels that I have, excluding the wal-mart specials. I had more, but sold the ones I didn't like enough to keep. (Quantum Energy, Daiwa Viento, and several righty reels because I am converting to all lefties). Someday I hope to have a collection like Mel's which covers a wide range of techniques.

shimano curado 200BSF
shimano scorpion 1501
shimano scorpion 1500
shimano scorpion 1000. This reel showed me what a "real" reel can do.
shimano scorpion 1501
shimano sedona 1500FB spinning reel. Cheap but decent performance
Daiwa Alphas 103. Cool purple color and great performance.
Shimano Curado 200DHSV. Fast and solid, but too heavy.
Daiwa TD Sol. Beautiful reel, but somehow backlashes more than others.
Daiwa Fuego.
Shimano Chronarch 51Mg. 5.9oz. Great little reel.
Shimano Scorpion Mg 1001. External VBS is overrated. Still a great reel though.
Shimano Antares AR (all-rounder) lefty version. Best reel I have ever owned or ever will own, unless I get a Steez or Calais DC.
Shimano Curado 101D
ABU Revo STX-L. ABU can now hang with the big boys.
Daiwa Liberto Pixy Left Hand Yellow Pearl 2004 model
Daiwa Exceler 2500. I think it's the best reel in its price range by far.
Pflueger Supreme 8030MG spinning reel. Best bail trip mechanism I've ever used.

My rod collection is very narrow in range. Mostly all med. power 6'6"

Kistler Helium 69APC. 6'9" MH casting.
Airrus Co-Matrix 6'6" med. casting. Great rod for the money.
Falcon Expert 6'6" MH casting. Too stiff for Lake Wilson fishing. I'll save it in case we move to TX.
Shimano Crucial drop shot casting 6'6". My most often used rod. Light and sensitive and lifetime warranty.
Shimano Compre 6'6" ML casting. Great buy for $89
Shimano Convergence 6'6" two-piece med. casting.
Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier PRQ66MC (2) med. casting
Texas Sidewinder Rods 6'6" med. casting. I got this because it has the spiral wrap and it is the cheapest custom rod I could find. I like it a lot and the man who built it is a really nice guy. Met him at a gas station in Huntington, Texas to pick them up! www.texassidewinderrods.com
Got a spinning version of the same rod for my wife.
BPS Pro Qualifier 6'6" med. spinning. Got it for half price!
BPS Graphite Series 6'6" med. spinning 2-pc. Couldn't pass it up at $19.99
Berkley Lightning Rod 5' UL spinning. Good when I feel like using 2 lb. line and tiny lures. Makes a 2 pound fish feel like a giant. Good Fun!


I am not sure what to get next
Daiwa Zillion 7:1 burner. Cool red spool.
Shimano Metanium MG7 Lefty
Shimano Metanium XT Lefty. I have never heard anything bad about this reel or its USDM equivalent, the Chronarch 101B.
Shimano Antares DC7.
Daiwa Steez.
The last two are totally out of my budget, but I really want to see if they live up to the hype.

[kahuna bass]

Skunked,

I'm impressed with your collection. It appears you too have vested time and money in the hobby you love

I think your next subject should be "terminal tackle", that will show how really addictied we are to fishing.

Most of my rods are 7' to 7'-6". All my swim bait rods are 8'-0 to 8'-6". I also have some drop shot rods that are 6'-6". In most applications, I prefer the longer rods.

Take care,

Mel "Kahuna bass"
Dark side live baiter

[skunked]

Back from the dead!!!
My newest addition.....

Daiwa Zillion 50th Anniversary Edition Left-hand.
7.3:1 ratio is the highest on the market. Don't know if it translates to highest speed though. I think it's about 32" IPT. This reel is super smooth, but I am afraid to fish it because it is a limited edition. I might put it in a glass showcase or something. Yeah, I'm twisted. Same deal with my Daiwa Alphas and Pixy. So much fun to use, but I am afraid to damage them. The Pixy is worth more now than when I bought it 2 years ago!
I also recently got a Curado 201E7 and a Pflueger Supreme 6720 UL spinning reel. I paired this up with my self-rebuilt 5' Fenwick Lunkerstik rod. The SIC guides I put on the rod easily costs more than the rod is worth!
Others:
Cabela's model XMLTiS 69DS spinning rod. Not sure how I feel about the Recoil guides yet. Needs more testing.
Cabela's Fish Eagle II 4-pc. spinning pack rod. ML action. I always wanted a rod that I can pack in a suitcase. This is it, and it fishes great!
Cabela's Gold Label 6'6" med casting rod 2 piece GLC664-2 This rod sucks! I read all the customer reviews on Cabelas.com and I bought it. Very disappointing. Heavy and unbalanced.
Fenwick World Class WCC66M 6'6" Med. action casting rod. I really like this one. Only $99 on sale, but it feels like a high end rod.
BPS Pro Finesse PF66MLT 6'6" ML action casting rod. Very nice rod and comes with Fuji SIC guides which is rare on a $99 rod. I hate hate HATE the BPS Power Hump Grip though. On sale now for $79!!!

On the horizon, possibly:
New Pflueger President baitcaster.
Shimano Citica 201E
Shimano Conquest 51 and Shimano Metanium MG7. I should've bought these earlier when the exchange rate was more favorable.
Shimano Chronarch D
St. Croix Mojo Baitcast rod
E21 Carrot Stix Gold Baitcast rod
Daiwa Zillion Casting rod to go with my Zillion reel
BPS Johnny Morris Elite Series casting rod. I checked one out last year at the store and it felt great. I'll be back in Texas in 3 weeks, so I just might pull the trigger this time. Pretty expensive though.
Another Shimano Cumara. I like my MH casting so much that I want to get the Med. power one now.

[Boatless]

whooo hoooooo so you finally got one of these!!! If you ever use it, let me know.

[Dave Hennessey]

I'm bored and we're getting a foot of snow tomorrow. Cabin fever is at its height, so I'll chime in. Can't wait for the bass and blues to get here.

I keep it very simple with my rods and reels.

Generally, I slap Shimano Stradic spinning reels on St. Croix rods. I have, I believe, a 2500 and 4000 of the Stradics. For St. Croixs, I like the Legend series. I've got a couple others in the 7' to 8' range, though the series names escape me and my basement is too far away right now to investigate.

I also have a couple Shimano baitrunners in the 4500 size, which I put on UglyStick rods. My only other reels are the traditional Penns and the Penn Slammers, up to the 7000 size.

I'd say I have about a dozen or so functioning combos. Tallying up the price tags on those scares me.

I like Yozuri Hybrid almost exclusively. Hate braid.

I also hate bait fishing, but will liveline a bunker every now and again for kicks. Here, we throw plugs. And fly fishing just looks like too big of a pain for me to get in to.

Give me Spooks, Redfins, Slug-Gos, Knuckleheads, Bombers, Kastmasters, bucktails, Rattle Traps, Storm swimbaits and eel skin plugs and I'm good to go.

If anyone is in New England come May and June, give me a holler and I'll show you some sick fishing. The "schooling fish" that have been talked about here (as much as I'd like to be at Wilson fishing) make me chuckle. There's not too much that compares to 25 pound stripers and 10 pound bluefish crashing on one pound bunker and running them up onto the beach. Except maybe bluefin tuna chasing the bluefish.

[Stan Wright]

A foot of snow? Well at least you have the time to go over all your tackle and organize things. Re-spool line, service reels, make sure all the bent hooks are replaced and sharpened. Fix that broken rod guide....

Here in Hawaii, we have to fish year round...

Sorry, I couldn't resist,

You'll keep warm now, you hear?