Anyone Have A Stradic C14+ Size 2500?

[Guest]

I do have a limit on what I can spend which is higher than Ugly Sticks, but lower than G. Loomis NRX. Millions of fish have been caught on Ugly Sticks and I have been known to catfish with one. Lots of fish caught on G.Loomis, but I generally can't make myself believe they are worth the extra expense.

This is the main reason that I've switched to Falcon's. $100-$200

[Ham]

I hated Shimbindos for the very reason.

They've since fixed the binding problem.

Ive had very good success with them in the past 3 years.

As for micro guides, Im not a big fan.

However, Hoglaw has no problem throwing cigarette butts into gail force winds with his micro guide setups.

Well, I'll still use Shimano baitcasters, but unless they are the only company making spinning reels, I'll never fish with a Shimano spinning reel again.

I love a good cigarette butt bite on a windy day.

[Guest]

Ham,

Let us know when you want to bust open the Elk River.

Its going to be running hot pretty soon.

[Ham]

You Bet!

[hoglaw]

Ham - Yes, I have a couple of spinning rods that I've done with micros. I haven't used them much in freezing temperatures, but I'm certain they exaggerate any problems with ice on the guides. There's so much less space that it has to make it worse. I'm sure you could use WD-40 and that would help, or just dunk it a little more often, but the higher tendency to ice over is almost certainly a real issue.

My favorite set up with micros was done on a rod that my buddy's grandfather (Carl) built years ago. I think the blank was a GL3. I was excited to get it as its owner had passed away and he had a bunch of rods that Carl built. I was given my pick and grabbed the one done on the Loomis blank. It's a 6' Medium light or light I think. It has the blank model number on it, I'll check it out. Anyway, the point of the story is that I took it out to fish and I absolutely hated it. It looked cool with an interesting handle and a nice decorative wrap just above the handle, but it had zero sensitivity and didn't cast well at all. I thought it must have been a counterfit blank, or at least another blank that he just slapped a loomis sticker on. It was just awful.

But the guides on it were huge, and there were too many of them. I took it home and stripped all of the guides off of it. I left the decorative wrap in place as well as some of the aesthetic elements, but I completely redid the guides with a proper micro setup. Now, it's an awesome rod. Much stiffer feeling and very sensitive. The other two spinning rods I've done for myself are 7'ers. One was built to be a carp rod on an MHX hot shot blank I think (the same blank I just bought myself to make a new wart rod after seeing DTRS5's post). The other was built on a St. Croix SCV blank. They're both great shakey head rods.

I have not used floro much with them. The first time I tried the carp rod, I used floro and it didn't cast worth a darn. I thought it was because floro didn't agree with the guides, but I later learned that was because it was the first rod I ever did and I didn't have the guides set up correctly to begin with. I've re-done that rod and it works really well now. The St. Croix is great. They definitely like 10lb braid, and they're great with mono and co-poly. I haven't tried them again with straight floro. I think I've used that floroclear stuff that CX makes, which is florocarbon coated. It casts like a dream.

I tell you what. When I get done with the rod I'm building for this guy to go with his Stradic, I'll put some 6lb floro on it and see how it does. I don't use much floro with spinning rods. I used Segaur Red Label 15lb on some of my baitcast setups because I really like it, but generally use braid or CX Premium or Florclear on my spinning rods.

[Ham]

Hey Kyle

I ask about braid and fluro because of potential knotting around the guides. Braid is amazing in its self knotting ability. Fluro is quickly scorched if it lassos a guide and you wind into that jam. I see micros being potentially worst in those regards.

I do use P line CX Premium, but I don't use full fluro on spinning. I'm really questioning the value of fluro in most leader applications as well, but that's a separate discussion.

[Guest]

Hey Kyle

I ask about braid and fluro because of potential knotting around the guides. Braid is amazing in its self knotting ability. Fluro is quickly scorched if it lassos a guide and you wind into that jam. I see micros being potentially worst in those regards.

I do use P line CX Premium, but I don't use full fluro on spinning. I'm really questioning the value of fluro in most leader applications as well, but that's a separate discussion.

you nailed it.

Braid/floro combo will catch in micro guides

straight floro wants to slap against the blank as it enters the first guide (Kyle might have a fix for this)

It seems that micros are suited strictly for braid or co-polymer lines.