Some time ago, I decided that I needed a new rod, something around the seven foot mark, one piece, not too light or too heavy and settled on a good old Ugly Stik Platinum SP1170SWL. It fit the bill for what I wanted in a general purpose rod, strong in the butt with a light action, rated 5-8 kg and knowing the durability of Ugly Stiks, it's a rod that will take the hard knocks of remote area rough tracks without having to cocoon it in bubble wrap every time I threw it in the back of the Landcruiser. At the time of purchase, I figured that I didn't need to match a new reel to it, I would have something in my kit to do the job. The rod was too heavy for anything below a 3000 or possibly even a 4000, but the 2 reels that I had in that size were not right. Grrrrr, being someone who hates to use gear that doesn't feel right, I resigned myself to the fact that the rod will probably get relegated to the growing pile of gear that I should never have bought. I considered buying a new Penn Slammer 360 or even a Slammer III 3500 and then the other day I found the right reel - Shimano Stradic XGFK 4000, the perfect fit. Now for the next dilemma, braid or mono? Can't say I'm a real fan of braid on spin reels, but maybe it's time to give it a go again. I think I need to sit in the shade of a tree alongside a creek and think about it for a week. Team Diesel .....scratching head trying to work out which tree & what creek.
I am a great fan of Silstar rods you can do the same with these as well diesel tuff as nails, I have a 6' and a 6' 6'' 3kg to 6kg both which I match up with a D.A.M 2000 with 6LB Maxima mono on one spool and 12lPlatil Strong on the other. My Rod for big boys and reel is a Okuma 6kg to 10kg with 15lb mono with a 4000 Daiwa Gold and Black spooled with 15 lbs MonoPlatil Strong. Wally
What happened last time you gave it a go? I use both braid and mono on my spin reels. I do not follow the idea that most modern fishos have and that is you must use braid on everything. Anyway, It sounds like you may have had a bad experience with braid on spin reels. If you did, then chances are your braid may have not been that good. Do you remember what you tried? If you want to have another go then Power Pro may be a good option to try. Of course that option goes out the window if it was Power Pro that you used. cheers Team Bender Happy to put my reputation on the line!
The last time I tried braid on a spin reel was Sunline Super PE 10lb, good quality but a real PITA with wind knots. In frustration, I ripped it off the reel and went back to Schneider mono. I have heard it said before that Power Pro is user friendly - might give it a go. Thanks Jim. Wally, by the sound of things, you are a mono man. I've had a couple of Silstar rods, they don't come much tougher. Jeff
