Icast

[hoglaw]

If you are referring to the micro wave setup it's a gimmick.

I haven't tried them and figured the exact same thing, but I thought it was funny that they wouldn't sell just the stripper guide. If you wanted to buy them for a custom rod build, you had to buy the whole set for like $35 - one funny guide and the rest normal.

[5bites]

I haven't tried them and figured the exact same thing, but I thought it was funny that they wouldn't sell just the stripper guide. If you wanted to buy them for a custom rod build, you had to buy the whole set for like $35 - one funny guide and the rest normal.

You know I hadn't noticed that but it does give it kind of an as seen on tv feel doesn't it? Lol

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

I have a bunch of Ducketts with micro guides and i love them. I cant really say they cast any farther, but they look cool. My main complaint is you cant use them when it gets cold, they freeze up quick.

[kjackson]

Thanks for the input! If you have pics I know the guys here would appreciate seeing them.

I'll try to shoot some pix tomorrow. I have a few on my phone, but they need shrinking to post.

As for the Microwave guide system, a friend who is not affiliated with either the company or a rod maker that uses the system says he was doubtful of the claims of extra distance but found he could cast 20 to 30 feet farther using the system. I think to really say you'd have to build two rods on the same blank using the same reel and same line to really do the test.

One thing I saw today that I liked was the new Shimano MaxCuatro braid. Fifty-pound test was comparable to 14-pound Fireline or 20-pound braid in diameter. Also, there are a lot of good-feeling rods and reels out now that aren't terribly expensive. How well the drags work and how they hold up will have to be tested, but there is some dandy gear coming out this year.

[kjackson]

Here's something that may be of interest: it's the shad body from Berkley's big extension to its line of crank baits.

And here is Savage Gear's smaller swimbaits:

More later; it's back to the show.

[Moswimb8slinger]

The savage gear 6 inchers have been out for a little while. I got Tri-lakes rod and reel to stock the 6 and 8 inch. The new ones are the 10 and 16 inchers. Other companies like Megabass and Livingston are coming out with some hard body swimbaits. And there's a bunch of new topwaters coming out also (rapala-arashi, livingston etc.)

[moguy1973]

Savage Gear makes a 16" swimbait! That's a little too much IMO.

[hoglaw]

I have a bunch of Ducketts with micro guides and i love them. I cant really say they cast any farther, but they look cool. My main complaint is you cant use them when it gets cold, they freeze up quick.

I like micro guides, but I'm not a fan of the Duckett rods. The problem with micro guides is unless you spiral wrap them, you either have to use too many (defeating their purpose in the first place) or you have line all over the blank because of the low clearance. The only solution for a baitcast rod is to put the guides on the bottom as we've discussed on here before. For a spinning rod, buying an off-the-rack rod practically guarantees the guides won't be placed correctly, as the size of the reel you're going to use dictates guide placement.

Micro guides are cool on custom builds, but not cool on off-the-rack rods in my humble opinion.

[5bites]

Personally on the rods I've built I've never found a need to add many if any more guides than normal when using micros. Some line touch is fine.

Duckets are junk because their blanks look like candy canes. That and they just look like cheap crap but that's a personal preference thing.