Nufo

I have fished the lexa 400, new conquest 400, calcutta te 400, caluctta 400d and the shrapnel. Out of all of these reels, I have gone back the the 400D. None of these reels blew me away and a few are seriously lacking for big baits (conquest). The calcutta D has the cranking power I need for big stripers and it holds up to big fish and big baits for a solid year to 2 years of heavy use. It is not worth the $389 price tag as it is really just a beefed up caluctta B. However you can find them brand new for $250 which is about the right value for the reel. I would try the abu revo toro beast but in my book abu doesn't make a reel that is worth $400, especially not one manufactured in korea.

I have this rod as well and really like it. I have put the nails to a handful of 20lb class stripers with it and it whips um good. very nice tip to it for hard baits but lots of power in the mid section. Cast 6oz baits really well. Good all around rod for slammers, glides and walking baits. The 9' version is the same blank just with the extra length and a better length to the handle. It should perform well

This is a loaded question and it depends on your personal goals. Are you out to catch giants or just get bit? Booth are ok. My personal approach is to catch giants and I feel that you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. If I put down the big baits, then my chance of catching the fish of a life time drops off exponentially. With that said, my life revolves around being able to fish when the conditions (regardless of season) elicit the best chance of catching a giant.

Since it is such a thin bait, I would start off with each section. Pour a layer of straight resin (bottom half) then put the rest with resin mixed with MB's it may take you 4 of 5 tries (or more) but keep pouring each section until you get the sink rate you desire. Add any hardware that goes with that section. Once you get all the sections dialed then put the bait together and test swim. Once you get close you can make some final tweaks to dial in the swim better. for the nose section, you can play around with the angle at which the bottom layer of resin sits' More straight resin towards the nose will help it run true and stay down Try and avoid using any lead or at least as little as possible.

Gee I wonder who coulda painted that slammer????? Does he live in costa rica?

The non-native invasive species that ruins everything is US!!!!!!! Anytime someone tries to tell me my Striped bass are non-native invasive, I respond with, "YOUR NON-NATIVE INVASIVE!!!"

your paying for the CNC machined aluminum frame. Still not a $400 reel maybe $250. The toro beast seems promising but I think they missed the mark on the price point. Keep all those extra handles and sell them for $300 and your in the right ball park

whats that top right bait? Clean looking wake

a bait doesn't become a franchise player on my team unless its either stuck a pb or done some serious damage on multiple good fish. other than that its an unrestricted free agent and can be sold or traded at any time