New bass rods...

[Big Ick]

HawgTide - I'd be willing to bet that any of the boron rods you look at will have no more than 15%-20% boron fibers in it. Boron is much, much harder to come by than your standard graphite. BTW, sensitivity is a function of stiffness to weight when it comes to fishing rods. Boron is not more sensitive than carbon, and carbon is not more sensitive than boron. That's not to say that a rod made with boron can't be more sensitive than a graphite rod.

You asked about the Pros and Cons of Boron versus graphite and I've tried to answer that. When buying a fishing rod, I'd be less concerned about the modulous/meterial and more concerned about the taper design. You show me a rod that you like that is made with boron and I'll be able to find an equivalent rod that is made without Boron. I could care less about the material as long as the rod blank yielded was a good combination of weight, stiffness, and durability.

I have an article that interviews one of the pioneers in rod blank material design and he talks a bit about boron and why it wasn't as suitable for rod blanks. I can get it for you if you want to know more about the differences between boron and graphite.

[turn_in_poachers]

Well Exude, I went to Sportsmans Warehouse and Gander Mountain and their fish reps know nothing of the new Shimano Crucial line coming out. I told them about it and they were all surprised that Shimano was coming out with a new line. I knew more stuff than the guy at Gander Mountain about rods. I said Im using the new rod for heavy spinnerbaits and such, and he showed me a 6 foot light $30 pole. So I was like, Ill go somewhere else. You said youve tested one on Mille Lacs once. Can you compare it to any other rods? Lets say, St. Croix Premiers or maybe even a G Loomis GL2. IM9 graphite might compare to the Avids better. What I really want is to hold one and test it out first before purchasing one. Ive narrowed it down to either a 7 ft heavy casting, or a 7 ft GL2 or GL3. I might even save some money goin with the Crucial.

[HawgTide]

Big Ick, I appreciate your posts and opinion. Your latest post was very informative. Have you ever tried a Browning Midas Boron Rod? It's interesting that this rod was chosen over a St Croix, G Loomis, and All Star in a head to head test. The only reason I bring this up is because it is available for $84 now with a regular price of $129. That's considerably lower than the previously mentioned brands. Combine that with the fact that I have a Browning Boron rod from the late 70's that is still in great shape, it makes a good arguement to buy another one.

Thanks again for all of your input and opinions.

[Deitz Dittrich]

TIP- You may not see the Crucials hit the market till January. And so most of the gruts working the sales floor at the larger stores may not have heard of it yet. If I were going to compare it to any rod out there, I would say its closest to the Avid or maybe a GL2 which are very similar but with a different handle, its going to be better than the st.croix premier. The handle should be the same as on the Compre I believe, if you wanted to feel how the handle will feel. But as for weight, The New Crucial will be as light or lighter than the Avid.

Like I said, I did get to use a couple that day on Mille Lacs fishing smallies. I loved the rod, I really liked the Compre as well, but I am going to replace a lot of my compre rods with this new Crucial. I am really excited about them. If you have any more questions. .please feel free to e-mail me or post them back here. If you e-mail me I can send you a few web links that describe the rod pretty well... [email protected]

Deitz Dittrich

FishingMinnesota.com Prostaff

Shimano Prostaff

[turn_in_poachers]

The Compre line are already nice rods, these new Crucial rods HAVE to be nice. Light or even lighter than the Avids is saying a lot, while probably being $40 cheaper than the Avids too. Yeah, I figured they wouldnt be out until later on. I can wait till next season though. Ill probably wait til they come out to make my decision. Thanks a bunch Exude. Im really glad you brought up the Crucial line. Gives me an excuse to try and buy different rods. If you do happen to pick some up soon, give us some reviews and opinions about them. Maybe something you DONT like about them (if anything).

[Deitz Dittrich]

T.I.P.- I will be down working at Cabela's on Dec 4-5 and will check to see if they have them yet, and will talk to the powers that be down there and see when they expect them to arive. I usually dont see my order till mid March, I get them shippied directly from Shimano.

So, my guess is you will have yours before I have mine

[BigMike]

And if you are getting rid of your compre's (for the crucials) then I want first bids/dibs at them .

[Deitz Dittrich]

@ big Mike... get in line buddie... I am blessed to get quite a few rods and reels each year. However the line for my hand me downs is quite long as you may expect. Dad gets first dibs.. then my 2 tournament partners...by that point pretty much everything is gone.

[delmuts]

man! i wonder if one of your buddies would be interested in adopting a 52 year old kid, so i'd be in line for their hand me downs!!!! del

[BigMike]

I figured as much, but hey...it doesn't hurt to throw it out there . Keep up all the great posts!

[andy j]

If anybody wants a couple of brand new compres for a good price. I have two on sale on hsolist right now. One is a 6"6" casting, medium action, The other is a 6 foot medium action spinning. Both rods are still in the plastic. My user name is acj5051 on hsolist, you can find them by searching compre.

[HuskerTornado]

Those Shimano Crucial's look pretty nice. Since they own Loomis, I wonder if it will be similar to a GL3? I'm looking into a 7' MH rod, this may fit the bill, although I love my St Croix Avids.

[rangr]

Just an idea, if you like the rods action,weight,sensitivity and so on. Maybe you could have Bill at midwest rod and reel fix the eyes and put a new style handle more towards your style of fishing on the St Croix rod and bang! A new rod for a few less bucks than a new one. Ahh but there somthing about a new rod!

[Lost]

Quote:

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TIP- You may not see the Crucials hit the market till January.

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They have them at Gander now. They are really nice. Prices start at $125 if I remember correctly. The rods are a bluish color. I almost purposely bought another reel just so I'd have to buy a new rod (one of these Crucials).

[Deitz Dittrich]

Lost- Well, its almost january. I knew they were going to try and get them out for the holiday season, just didn't know if we were going to see them up here in the midwest. Yes you are correct, they do have a blueish/greenish tint to the rod blank.

[Ray Esboldt]

Holy smokes, what am I doing even thinking about bass fishing?

What do you guys think about the idea of buying a custom rod? I've never done it, but I think I might. I've got a couple rods that are real junkers, but I don't want to shelve them because they fit my needs so well.

Midwest Rod and Reel is now a site sponsor. I've heard some good things about these rods already. I think I will be talking to these guys to get my needs satisfied. Umm, fishing needs, that is.

[turn_in_poachers]

Quote:

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Quote:

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TIP- You may not see the Crucials hit the market till January.

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They have them at Gander now. They are really nice. Prices start at $125 if I remember correctly. The rods are a bluish color. I almost purposely bought another reel just so I'd have to buy a new rod (one of these Crucials).

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Hey Lost, which Gander was this? I went to the one in Fridley and they wont have them until next month or so. I did happen to pick one up on hsolist. The seller described it as a "saltwater" rod. But, it would work for CR or worms. It says that right on the rod. Maybe because its used, but I wasnt really impressed with it. Still, a very nice rod. They did however, have the new St. Croix Legend Tournament series rods. Beautiful blue rods with silver guides. Ill wait until they get a real shipment in and Ill compare the three I want. In the meantime, the crucial rod I bought is for sale if anybody is interested. Its a 7'2 med-heavy telescoping rod. Still in really nice condition with the plastic on the handle. Im lookin for something in the 7 foot range, non-telescoping. I got it for $70 (54 + 16 SH) Ill let it go for around $60. Let me know if anybody's interested.

[Dan Wood]

St. Croix will stand behind their product 110%.. If you have a Premier that is 6 mos. old, they will repair it to you free of charge (they are covered by a 1 yr. warranty). All other models above the Premier have the lifetime warranty. The Avid is a huge step up from the Premier in my opinion and is very tough to beat for the money. There are always lemons out there, but I've found that St.Croix quality is second to none.