What's your favorite rod/reel combo?

[ictalurus]

HJS--Does the color fade on that Fireline? The yellow PowerPro fades after a while and can be hard for me to see against reflecting water. I tried the red PowerPro, but I don't think that will work, either.

[surfdog]

HJS--Does the color fade on that Fireline? The yellow PowerPro fades after a while and can be hard for me to see against reflecting water. I tried the red PowerPro, but I don't think that will work, either.

Bill, i use fireline crystal its white and supposed to be clear in the water. very nice line i use it from 20lbs to 8lbs. for higher test on my surf rods i use power pro. the newer generation line doesnt fad like the older PP at least the yellow and red i have spooled up now. just bought some 40lbs PP red to spool up a new okuma abf 90, picked it up on amazon.com for 20 bucks for a 300yds spool and the abf 90 for 24 after i used my gift card

[DOGFISH]

Bill,

All of my braid fades, including Fireline. Its not that bad. In fact, it is probably more of a green como now. Power Pro has a new line called Slick. It is a more fine strand that is braided. It comes in blue, brown and yellow. It is supposed to cast farther, as it is smooth. Who knows.

I just ordered some for the store. I ordered brown to match the bay.

[DOGFISH]

Back to the Shimano subject. Many of the Shimano reels have very similar workings. The higher prices tend to reflect materials. The better reels have less plastic and more aluminum and composite materials. Even higher prices go to titanium. The inner portions of the Stradic and the Sustain are very similar. Some of gearing may be better and possibly a few more ball bearings. Beyond 4 BBs, I am not sure you are gaining alot. Some of the lower price Shimanos are right up there with the better higher priced reels. With Stradic and above, they come with a spare spool. Which today, with braid, is not as important.

It is sort of like computers. You pay a premimum for those few higher speeds. Of course, I have always been a sucker for those higher speed and higher capacity computers too.

[HJS]

icta - Yeah, flame green Fireline does fade to a pale yellow but it is still quite visible, which is the only reason I use flame green. Before Fireline I used gold Stren mono. That stuff stayed a brilliant gold for it's entire life. Still, I ain't never going back to mono.

dogfish - The exterior of my $100 Symetre 4000 is pitting up pretty bad. I don't always rise it off after use in the salt. I guess I should have. I am a big fan of spare spools and the Symetre is not sold with a spare spool. But you are right, when using mono I'd had different # test on different spools for the same reel. But with braid it's not as important, I'm guessing because it's so dang strong per diameter that folks are going right to the heaviest # test they need and forget about anything lighter.

Btw, several of the really skilled anglers on the Chesapeake Bay are going to heavier and heavier leaders on their braids, like 40#-50#. They are saying the heavier stuff does not affect the bite. Years ago I started out striper fishing with 10# Fireline with 14# leader. Eventually moved up to 17# leader. Now, like I say, the lightest I go is 20#. I still use the double uni-knot to attach my 6' leaders and a double uni with 30# or higher leader will result in a fairly bulky knot that can ding badly as it goes thru the tip guide. My only complaint about the BPS series spinning rods is that the tip guide to too small to pass a bulky knot. On occasions the knot would not fit thru!!! I have several BPS rods and on every one of them I replaced the tip guide with one that had a noticeably larger diameter tip guide.

[ictalurus]

My only complaint about the BPS series spinning rods is that the tip guide to too small to pass a bulky knot. On occasions the knot would not fit thru!!!

That's true, especially on the casting rods. A triple surgeon's knot with up to 25lb test usually works OK. Most other knots are too bulky, especially if you're using heavy mono. I rarely use anything over 20lb test unless I'm jigging the power plant, and then I'll use 30lb.

[jsquare]

I use the uni-to-uni for almost all my main line to leader connections. For heavy wind-on leaders I just suffer through the clack clack clack of the knot going through the running guides, but I am usually not casting far with these rods. If you want a smoother knot try the albright or Crazy Alberto. These are good if you can tie them well. Makes my brain and eyes hurt trying to do either of these right, so I really don't use them often, but they do make a nice smooth connection.

Enough on that tangent. I think my favorite rod and reel combo would be my 6' ugly stick lite paired with a 2500 Shimano Sahara. It's not the most expensive combo, but it has definitely caught the most fish. The rod is tough and makes a great multitasker. I've caught everything from perch to catfish to stripers to summer flounder on it. Light enough to be fun, but enough backbone to bring in a stubborn cownose.

However, i currently have my first home-made rod wrapped up and awaiting finish, and this rod may take over as my favorite just 'cause I made it. It is a Hercules Inshore Lite that i extended to 7'6" and built as a general partyboat bottom fishing rod and tog thumper. Should be fun if I ever sit down and get some finish on it.