i'm getting enough swimbaits to warrant the purchase of a new swimbait rod

i already have the diawa swimbait special extra heavy, and that works well for smaller baits

i'm looking for a rod that i will be able to throw huddlestons on and some larger plugs/ rubber baits
basically lures that are about 4-8 ounces

but i dont want anything over 175$

then I need a reel

i have a cardiff 300 but I've had some problems with that reel and was looking for one that could handle the big baits for under 125$

My spending limit is around 275$ maybe a little more

thanks for the help

BEN

ps: i tried a search but there was liek a billion hits, so i kept trying and still had too many hits

god bless

You may want to concider this.. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36149&item=7147768298&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW for reels I have heard good things about the okumas but dont have one I am sure some other guys can give you some more info on them..good luck

Hey let that Bass go I wanna catch her some day
http://www.calfishing.com/gallery/v/members/tmcustoms/

Ben check out the Okuma Swimbait rods. For the reel, either the Okuma Induron or I've heard some good things about the new Cardiff's.

thanksmuch guys!!!
i'll check everything out
where could i find the okuma reels?
arent the okuma rods tooo heavy though?thats what Swimbait's review said

BEN

god bless

The Okuma rods are heavy yes, but they are perfect for baits like the huddleston, stocker trout, optimum, etc. I've caught dozens of fish this year on my Okuma Heavy and you just can't beat it for the price.

If you bought the Okuma heavy for $89, maybe you could swing a Calcutta 400 to put on it. That'd be close to $300 price wise but it would be a great setup. I don't know what problem you had with your Cardiff but I still think the Cardiff 300A is a great buy. A Cardiff 300A with the Okuma Heavy is the best bang for the buck IMO.

my cardiff never reels in smooth, and the drag is extremely tight and I cant even move it more than 1/8th turn

it used to be fine, but then one of the parts came loose 2 trips after i bought it and i had to open it up and clip the spring back on

maybe it was a matter of assembly on my part

anyway...where can I find the 400 seris calcutta?
they only have the 50 and 150 seris at TW

maybe i'll just try this year's model for the cardiff

BEN

ps: one quick question: is the rago full body baby bass a waking, mid range, or bottom fihing bait???

god bless

Shimano will fix your reel for free just send it back to them.

Hey let that Bass go I wanna catch her some day
http://www.calfishing.com/gallery/v/members/tmcustoms/

really?

i thought that because i stupidly opened it up to fix it that i destroyed the warranty

thanks for the heads up

i think i'm goin with the okuma rod wit the cardiff reel and of coarse, a few new swimbaits

BEN

god bless

Just put a note in the box saying that it is not working well and I am sure they will fix it I have sent them back many bad reels and they came back NEW. PS make sure to really feel stuff out before you buy it I used to buy all kinds of rods and eventually ended up selling them all off and upgrading, I guess what I am trying to say is dont buy a bunch of junk you dont need and buy the best it is usally worth the money and saves alot of hastle in the long run.

Hey let that Bass go I wanna catch her some day
http://www.calfishing.com/gallery/v/members/tmcustoms/

Ben this would make a nice swimbait reel http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36146&item=7147963439&rd=1

Hey let that Bass go I wanna catch her some day
http://www.calfishing.com/gallery/v/members/tmcustoms/

Ben...I might be able to help you...or at least warn you.
I have a Shimano Crucial swimbait rod and I really like it. I bought it in Extra Heavy because Rob suggested it. The Crucial rod on EBay is rated Heavy...might work for you, might not.
TM Customs also suggested the Diawa Mill' CV-Z 203 reel on EBay. I'm sure it's a nice reel, but it is a left handed model. All the other reels you mentioned were right handed.
As far as the Okuma Induron goes, I just finished going through an unneccessary nightmare with Okuma customer service. I had a brand new Induron 400 LX lock up on me the first morning I used it. They asked to me to ship it to them at my expense, so I did. It took three weeks and multiple phone calls to get it back. It locked up again (exact same problem) on the second cast. They asked me to ship it to them again so they "could look into it". When I asked for a new reel they balked.
It took me three more weeks and several more calls to get a new reel.
I can assure you Shimano would never have handled the problem that way. The experience reminded me why I have always bought Shimano equipment in the past. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER OKUMA REEL.

Happiness is a tight line and a stiff pole.