'06 gear reviews anyone?
 

I bought few items over the last season.

Batson 1088 wrapped by MikeCC after winning a raffle.Fantastic rod paired with my trusty 'ol Spheros 8000.Flawless all season.Though the reel isn't new its been around so long its amazing how well its held up.

Cabelas Saltstriker metal SSM60.Started out nice but over time lost its "newness".Some line twist problems.OK drag.Fairly smooth retrieve.A Phluegar Medalist dressed in Cabelas garb.An OK reel for its price(list$69)that'll more than likely end up in this Spring's yardsale.

Also from Cabelas one of their earlier versions of the Saltstiker,an SS30 I put on my old 6'6" UglyStik Lite.Excellent reel.Great with the early season schoolies and holdovers.

Quantum Boca 70pts purchased this Fall which ended up on my 10' Quarrow.Those two together were sending tins,Salty's Sherriff and Mac's Canal pencils to the freakin moon.The reel is heavy but balances well on the rod.Was able to catch several VERY LARGE alligator blues(two at 18+ #s).Smoothest drag I've ever felt.Totally solid reel.Very smooth retrieve.Took several dunkings without a problem.You just gotta make sure you snap the bail all the way open and I mean snap.

Lastly a 706z.Didn't like it after the very first use.I much prefer my 704z bailess drilled with drainage holes over the 706.That freakin grinding noise from the roller bearing drives me insane!Can't stand the coffee grinder handle either.Great reel just not for me.

So what did guys use for the 1st time over the past season?

Simms G3 waders, so far so good.
Beachmaster needles (both sizes):btu:

Avet SX 5.1- one hell of a reel. I had to mag it and slow it down with some thicker oil, but man oh man does it cast.. the drag can stop a moped, and its also built like a tank. Hands down, its the Van Staal of the convench world.

Saltiga Z4500, love it. Only new thing for me this year

simms surf jacket....:btu:

beans wicked toughwaders...:btu:

suffix braid....:btu: limp, strong VERY abrasion resistant

orvis mirage fluro...:btu: better that seagar...alot better

jim really like the wicked tuffs iam debating between them and the west forks

I also tried the Penn 706z and hated it, sold it after the first trip with it.

Lami 1201m :cheers:
Lami old 1204 :cheers:
All Star 1088 :Cheers:
VS 250 :cheers:
R.M. Smith 2 Oz. Simmer :cheers:
R.M. Smith Danny :cheers"
Big Howdy :Cheers:
#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& Black Patriot :cheers:
AquaSkins Gloves :cheers:
Gami Live Bait Hooks :cheers:
AfterHours Needlefish :cheers:
Surf Asylum Psycho :cheers:
Surf Asylum Pencil :cheers:
Pt. Jude Butterfish :cheers:
Back/Blue Hab's Needlefish :cheers:
Guy Cotten Menfall :cheers:
Nightfighter cuttyhunk Package :cheers:
Mac Pencil :cheers:

Beans WickedTuff Waders
Arra 1084 Custom 1 piece
Fireline
HABS
VS Pliers. Yep Theyre worth it.
Princeton Tec Lamps...Great Customer Service
Bomber Gear Drytops. Great but out of Business.
VS 150's ..

Lami 120 1L Custom wrapped by me.
VS 200G.

new for me this year was a Batson 1208 and Daiwa team advantage 4500. the rod was superb- I ended up trimming it down to 9'8" to fit in my crappy little car. paired with reel, it was great- casts 1-4 ounces (maybe more- didn't go there) with ease. also enough b@lls to get a good fish away from the rocks. the reel was good after I got used to the bail. snapped off a few plugs/tins at first, and nearly $hit-canned it; then I looked a li'l closer and found the trip mechanism on the bail is at ONE certain spot, and was able to work with it much better.

still need a good headlamp- any recommendations out there??

You need to get married....and have kids

You have WAY to much disposable income.....

first full yr with:
spheros 8000 , love it
cabela,s bluestream breathables stocking ft. so far so good.
korkers wetlands , a little heavy, but nice.
lami 120-1l , what can i say awesome rod. also had a few yrs.
batson 1087, had for a few yrs used for schoolies mostly but caught nice keeper and worked out well.

Tried way to many plugs to list but three that got A LOT of use were Mac's Canal pencil, Salty's white Patriot needle and Turquoise Fire
needles both sizes.

Oh and Nebe's Surfhogs on Pt.J's wobblehead.Couldn't forget that combo!

I used the Tattoo sea dog and sea pup and those things are like tossing a tree branch. I can get a salty spook to dance so I believe that I am working the tattoo lure the right way. I am no lure maker but it seems that the weighting is wrong.

One star rating because the quality of the lure is great but the action is not good.

:doh: what rod are you using and what conditions are you fishing these plugs?

TDF. 2006 was likely it for me. wedding, ring, honeymoon, condo/townhouse/house/whatever, kids, mo bills,kids,kids,kids, kids:bsod:

Glad I stocked up when I could.

:hihi: don't get the wrong idea. i like kids

bw, agree with your assesment of the Boca PT's. Got a few on the boat, couple of 40's and 60's. Great drag, not sure how long the finish will last.
Got a Simms jacket on order. They are marked down fifty bucks at North Cove Outfitters in Old Saybrook ( hope thats ok) Its my understanding Simms is redoing the jacket a little, and has reduced the price of existing stock.
bobber, got a new light you gotta look at, before long, you'll have fifty different ones.

snake slinger,
don't have experience with the west forks, but the wicked toughs are just what they are named, and comfortable as well

Saltiga Z4500- 10 out of 10 stars.Best reel I've ever owned.

Aquaskins Evo2 top- 7 out of 10 stars. Worked good, but durability could be better on the seams.

Red Bull enrergy drinks- 9 out of 10 stars. Picks me up, but makes me pee like race horse.

I forgot about the energy drinks....without them the number of hours fishing would be much less.

I prefer AMP as I like MD.

Oh man......
Wilderness Tarpon 140, SOT kayak plus all the basic safety gear, paddle, gear up a milk crate with storage goodies, racks, and a conv kayak rod wrapped by DonM. Kayak fishing is excellent and well worth trying!
Rainshadow 1088
VS200 off the classifieds here
704z used
tuna rods and one reel used
the obligatory plugs and rubber from AH, Nebe, Booger, Surf Asylum, Mike D, Mac, John H to name a few
Annual damage at MSBA show
More of Slip's AYC
paint, epoxy, hooks, lotsa hooks
Aquaskinz small and tall bags, combo works great for me!

Wow, that was more than I realized..... and I'm on a mission for a boat?!?!

Started using a Camelbak this year - 70 oz of water that you don't even know is there. If you walk, you'll love these.

New creek chub giant jointed pikies; Catch fish but crack from the water.

Replaced all cotton cold weather clothing with synthetics. Wider comfort range, better wicking, lighter, and the fabric doesn't hold moisture.

Avet SX - nice reel, but the drag came broken and I still need to send it back.

Sufix braid - I prefer this to PP.

Funny You should mention that, the stuff is on sale cheap at STP .019 is 30# $3.96 for a 30 meter spool.

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,...erial-30m.html

Stocking foot waders and studded boots-Best thing I ever bought
Fireline on my Penns made my life better
5 slot aquaskins bag is nice, still can end up weighing a ton, just ordered a 3 slot belt bag but that might be too small.

Troublemaker small danny. GREAT
Glacier gloves. GREAT
Yo Zuri Hybrid for main line 20lb. SUCKS. Berkley Big Game still the Favorite.
Yo Zuri Hybrid 50lb for leaders. GREAT
Spro Power Swivels- 230lb for leaders- GREAT
Quantum Cabo PTS60. GOOD BOAT REEL. Sold after 1 month. Drag clicker broke. Spool would not flip over.

One of my best investments has to be my headlamp. Coast triplex LED headlamp. Lasts a long time without battery replacement. Gives you just enough bright light without being blinding. Very Lightweight. Comfortable. Durable but not waterproof.
http://www.equipped.com/GRAPHICS/v2_powerchip_head2.jpg

Look forward to using new VS200 in 2007.

fresh menhaden chunk. :angel:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...mag_elite2.jpg

ABU 6500CS Mag-Elite with 6.3:1 gears, ABEC 5 bearings, ball bearing level wind and carbon drag washers...maybe the single best piece of equipment I bought in 2006. So good in fact that I'll order another one real soon.

Fell in love with the breakaway ldfs 96-2M rod that I purchased in 2005. Never had a chance to really use it before this season. I needed something with some backbone but could still cast 3/4 oz plugs.

SMB1083M 9' 1pc Lamiglas S- glass: great addition to the arsenal- built for blooping a 1 1/4 white atom striper swiper around the rocks, but can launch a roberts whister and tins just right. Love that S-glass. :kewl:

Arra 1205- custom spinner. Love the way it fights fish. Can throw it far all night without much effort. Got balz.

706z- jury is still out. I love lots of things about it that I can't get in other reels in my price range but can I live with some of the other things for the rest of my life (kinda like gettin married :D just kidding if you are looking hun :angel: ...) Pros: dunkability, bail-less, wicked drag. cons: no instant anti-reverse, line pops of the guide too often, archaic spool design imho :spin:

Eben hogs and eels- work great lots of different ways. Bluefish love em :rude:

Point jude wobbles- work great with the above and other plastics

Breakaway fastlinks- just started w/ them last season. Never going back.

Salties plugs- :claps:

Aquaskinz medium bag- Light years ahead of the canvas potato sack I was torturing myself with.

*Tried a old Lamiglas 1165 (I think) that was 10' - used it as a conventional as the old mildrum style guides were kind of small. Could really launch heavier tins with it and 3 oz jigs.

*Penn 710Z loaded with 20lb fireline - liked this reel - pretty good for a 8 or 9 foot rod. Love the fireline line and have purchased some 30lb for this year.

*Got used to the manual pickup on a 6500SS - had the reel for a while, but first time I used it with the manual pickup and after 1/2 a trip it was not bad using it.

*8' Tica Dolphin Rod 3/4 - 3oz. Like this rod - probably would go with the 9' length if doing it again, but this will be used quite a bit in the spring.

*Tica Camry 3500 reel - got it for $13, so figured what the heck. The reel is not going to last without vigilant cleaning. Cheap reel, but if lubed up enough and cleaned when you get home - pretty good for a small rod - had it on the Dolphin. A 4000 size would really be a better match.

*Hogy 10" eels - only used a few times, but never had confidence in them and always seemed to switch back to sluggos. Did not see any surfhogs, but will look to try them this upcoming season.

*Loaded redfins - loaded a few cheap redfins up with #8 birdshot - liked the casting distance and action was still there.

*Cotton Cordell Pencil - cheap and they move pretty well - loaded these up with birdshot too and they cast better.

*Tattoo surface swimmer 2.5oz - swims nice - did not catch anything on it yet.

*Super Strike/Gibbs/Salty's needles - haven't done much with needles, need to fish more and figure it out.

*Gibbs Casting Swimmer - red head/yellow body - probably would not buy again.

*Pt. Jude Butterfish - 2oz I think - have caught a few smaller fish on it, but I catch mostly smaller fish. Casts like a bullet - had to stop it a few times thinking I was getting too close to some boaters a respectful distance away.

Yellow BigFish Pencil Popper- Slayed the fish on this plug in the spring. Cought fish on it till the paint fell off.

Wader belt with back support :btu: :btu: :btu:
Daiwa saltiga braid....It's the shiznit
wicked tough waders....wicked tough to the 10 power
Quantum cabo's :btu: :btu: :btu:
Arra 1084 sweet stick
Lowrider concept guides :btu: :btu: :btu: :btu: :btu: :btu:

Cloudveil Waders- got em for a good price and they are "sick". I got to have good waders or else- I wouldn't be ---the Wader-Dad ;)

nice im having one built now, cant wait to start using it.

careful with these....I lost a nice fish during the mv derby when I had one deform and open on me.:realmad:
I used them at the end of my braid and connected the leader to them so i didn't have to cut the braid as often...when hunting large, i will NEVER use them again.
it was a nice fish:rocketem:

this is the first I have heard of one failing.... definately a bummer. I'll start a new thread...

OK, new to conventional here so I went with the less expensive route. Got a Daiwa SLX20SHV on a 12' Tica UEHA. Very pleased with the setup, weight, castability, etc. Certainly all a beginner needed to get hooked.