Rods & Reels..What are your favorites and why??

Questions and answers on anything related to kayak or canoe fishing
loukiii
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Location: Valrico, Fl

Post by loukiii »

What a waste. Probably could have been fixed or sold or whatever. You must be wealthy....disposable anchors, and now a smashed stradic. he he he
LivelyBaits
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Post by LivelyBaits »

Dave: :D

Did you call it beeeyatch when you did it?
pee-dash-eff, "Desperate. H.W"
noles
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Location: LWR / SOTE

Post by noles »

Egg beaters for inshore:
shimano stratic (2000) old version), spheros (3000), and symmetre (2000)

Rods for inshore:
2 - 7' custom rod built on rainshadow bass popping blank
1 - 7'6" custom rod built on rainshadow bass hot shot blank

Egg beaters for tarpon:
spheros 5000, quantum boca 50 (will test this spring)

Tarpon rods:
1 - 8' custom rod built on St. Croix tidemaster blank
2 - 7'3" custom rod built on rainshadow musky blank (will test this spring)
meb
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Location: Hudson, FL

Post by meb »

7' redbone, spheros 3000
6 1/2' redbone, stradic 2500

my stradic grinds too, I won't buy another
Norm
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Rods & Reels..What are your favorites and why??

Post by Norm »

suprisingly, my favorite of my spinners is a Diawa Laguna 2000. Bought it at SA..it was all alone and felt it needed a good home and I was looking for a smaller rig. I have it mounted on a custom Choas, medium light,7.5' rod with 20lb PP..I just love that reel. It handles the PP with no problem and no twists. I have yet to get the first line twist on it. Great for throwing that 1/4oz DOA, very smooth and very quiet.
I have two Okumas..Epixor30EF, and Epixor30EB(baitrunner)One is mounted on a Falcon Coastal and the other is on a Hurricane Calico Jack which I think for the money is a super little rod($50) Both have 30lb PP which after using for awhile I think I will be moving back to 20lb test next time. Great little reels for the money and seem to be very smooth and quiet.
For the baitcaster, I have a Calcutta 250 on a Falcon rod with 30lb PP. I prefer to use a baitcaster from a standing position, so I dont get to use it as much now unless Im wading(which isnt much) much more accurate casting with it than a spinner, so I need to spend some time practicing with my spinners now.

Norm
Obama just traded 5 Mercedes for a Slinky ....Greg Gutfeld
paddlaroun
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Location: pinellas county

Post by paddlaroun »

Haven't had it long enough to know it it will hold up but have Stadic 2500 on a Half Hitch rod and so far so good. For taking abuse I have to vote for my Flueger Trion. It has seen more then it's fair share of hard fishing and still holds up well inspite of how I have treated it. Dan
Dan Native 12
"Sleep in fish late"

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dunfly
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Location: Dunedin, FL

Post by dunfly »

Scott SAS 9' with a Scientific Angler Series 2 for my 8wt and a custom Rainshadow Excel 9' with a Redington GD for my 6wt.

Oh yeah, I did break down an get a couple of spinning rods. A Denali IM8 6'6" light rod with an Okuma AV30 reel and a Redbone medium heavy 7'6" with a Fin-Nor reel.
tailnreds
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Location: Tampa

Post by tailnreds »

I bought a Quantum Boca for my brother in law and it seemed a little heavy? Are the Quantum's a little heavier than other reels on the market. Anyone own a GLoomis Rod (Greenwater)? If so, like it? pros, cons? In the future, I was considering a Quantum Catalyst on a GLoomis (Greenwater)
Donbel
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Post by Donbel »

I like Daiwa reels. I have a Stadic 2500 and it is a maintenance nightmare. My old Daiwa Whisker 1300 is immortal and my new Capricorn 3500A is great!

BTW, just recently I met the Shimano reps at the fishing show that Bass Pro Shop put on recently here in Hollywood, FL and tried pinning them down about what was up with the Stradics. They all played dumb saying they hadn't heard any complaints at all. We should e-mail them this thread.

Also, I may have mentioned this in another post but the Capricorns with an "A" after the model number are the new models with I think five new corrosion-resistant bearings.

For rods I have a St. Croix I like a lot and I like BPS's Bionic Blade. They also have an 85 million bundle graphite rod I'd like to try some day but need more money.

And I'd love to have one of the Greenwater rods from G.Loomis. They feel sweet. But I haven't fished with one either.
captjake
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Post by captjake »

noles wrote:
Rods for inshore:
1 - 7'6" custom rod built on rainshadow bass hot shot blank
This one....ya he built it for me. There is a 2500 Stradic on it. I still like them... :o JAKE
May you all hear the 'rattle' of the mighty poon
o
o
o<'(()))><
t_bare
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Post by t_bare »

Dave is right!

I've got 2 of those New 250's. The drag is crap, they are a real disapointment. I like the Capricorns. I've got a couple of the 4000 Stadics, if you replace that cheap white plastic bushing on the main gear with a real bearing they are much smother and stay that way. The grinding is the gears meshing out of alignment due to wear on the plastic bushing. Dave's Real service can help with the bearing, I think I paid $8 ea for them.

The Bass Pro rods that I mostly use are pretty good (Great Deal) but not as pleasant to use as my Falcon Coastals.

t_bare
Bob3
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Location: Sarasota

Ok, it is Shimano vs. Quantum & I have a winner!

Post by Bob3 »

Shimano keeps "adjusting" their quality & components to enhance sales not quality. My Stradic 2500 (2 years old) grinds with & without lube oil, the 4000 doesn't grind but the bail snaps shut on casts almost as much as the 2500. Previous post said Shimano reps knew of no problems. Yep they are right, Shimano recognizes no problems except sales therefore there are no mechanical nor manufacturing nor design problems. Do you believe that line? If I worked for Shimano I would be :oops: :oops:

I have to recognize that Quantum's new owners gave their design team free reign to design & manufacture high quality salt water equipment and now for 2 years they have been GREAT & better than Shimano. Now, I will not give up my expensive Loomis rods but my Shimanos reels will be repalced by Quantums.

Re the weight:
1. Cabo & Boca are the heavy version & better for heavy duty fishing near shore fishing.
2. The Inshore series (Catalyst) (& I think Energy is the other model name) is lighter & comprable to Shimano 2500 & 4000 & specifically designed for Inshore salt water fishing.

Re the price: Quantum is cheaper than Shimano by about $30 per reel.

RE the rods: I have no experience nor knowledge of Quantum rods but many, many posts say that they are very good & much cheaper than Loomis. Sorry but I will not give up on my Loomis rods.

One more note: Someone on this forum blasted a new & young member for spelling errors saying there is a spell check on this page & there is no excuse for such errors. I have never found a spell check so, Ok where is this spell check?????? :?:
tailnreds
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Location: Tampa

Post by tailnreds »

I was out with Bill (blindcast) Saturday fishing and asked how his Stradic 2500 was treating him. He has the same issues I do (and apparently many on this form). Is there anything we can do about this issue? (other than Dave's solution...which I understand his frustration now) I just got this reel about 7 months ago and it already sounds like garbage. The more I think about it, the more I am jumping on Dave's ban wagon..ANTI-SHIMANO!!!!!! I'm thinking Quantum now. I don't mind spending the money..as long it is a QUALITY product.
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JayB
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Post by JayB »

There is a nice add-in for IE called ieSpell. It seems to work pretty good.
Best of all, it is free.

J

http://www.iespell.com/
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MarkM
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Post by MarkM »

I've been abusing a couple Quantum Cabo 4000's and a couple Boca 4000's for about 6 months now. And yes, I get a good deal on them, but they still cost a lot more than I used to pay for the Okumas I was using. But they seem to be worth it. Haven't had problem one with any of them so far. I will agree that they are maybe a little on the heavy side. But I can overlook that. I use them on Cabo rods which cast really nice. I also use Falcon Coastal rods, which IMHO are one of the best rods for the money. But rods are like kayaks, everybody likes a different one and there's lots of good ones out there to choose from.
As far as the Stradic argument, I own a few 4000's. Never had a problem with the older ones, but the newer one is a POS. Dave, had I known you were doing a sacrificial ceremony tonight, I would have joined you. That seems to be the perfect fate for my Stradic. I've never owned a 2500 because I've never heard anything good about them.
vivian
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Post by vivian »

hmmm..I am in the market for a new "cheap" reel. I have actually had a Shimano Slade 4000 for about 3 years now and can't kill it. The Okumas, Daiwa Whisker, Shimano Spheros and Penn reels died way before this one did.

My thinking is to get a cheap reel and use it a year two then ditch it or donate to local kids fishing canal/lake.

Drag system must at least have 2 bearings(good enough for me). My kayak and I end up being the drag system when a big fish is hooked. This of course with the exception of a bonefish run which is an occasional but rare pursuit.

Rods: Falcons are great for the price so have at least 5 coastal rods.

What do you guys suggest my new cheap reel this season should be? Maybe get another Slade? What is this I hear about Quantums?
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