The TT review of the Metanium has me considering that over the Aldebaran BFS, since they can be had for around the same price.

I'm familiar with the Shimano parts site, but I think part #BNT 4222 is just the actual handle. I'm assuming it's just that singular part. I want to know if there's a way to buy the whole thing. I've bought them for the Curado 200E on auctions sites, but can't seem to find one to match a Chronarch 2...

I was wanting to get an entire Chronarch 200E handle assembly and was wondering if there was a part number to get the whole thing, including knobs and bearings. Or do you have to order each piece? Sorry if this has been discussed many times before, I tried doing a search and it was tough to narrow d...

Depends on what reel you are wanting to put a shallow spool in, but for a Shimano 50E size reel here are the specs for an Avail spool: 12Lb-70m : 10Lb-80m : 8Lb-90m 30lb braid is going to be around 8lb equivalent, so about 90m or about 100 yards, depending on actual line diameter. The stock Aldebara...

Those are some sweet looking setups. I want the Aldebaran BFS, just waiting on my tax return. I think the only change I would make is a longer handle.

I love the smaller reels like the 50E's and the 150 size of the Ci4+, but I don't think Shimano has any plans to release anything like that for the US market in 2014.

That Scorpion does look sweet, though!

Excellent. Let us know your thoughts once you get it. I'm most likely going to wait until the Classic weekend, just in case anything new becomes available. But I've got it somewhat narrowed down to one of these Omens.

Love my Curado 200G's, absolutely nothing wrong with them. No matter where the new Scorpion is made, the tooling is new. I'd be tempted to get the Scorpion over the Curado as well, if it can be had for not much over the Curado price. The once nice thing about the Curado, though, is that I'll be able...

Emailed Matt at 13 Fishing about the blank on the 6'10" ML casting vs. the spinning, and here's what he had to say: "Yes, it is VERY similar…we made a slight adjustment to the middle of the rod…but its a very close action. This is why we rated it the same as the spinning rod. You might want to consi...

I'll drop Matt another email to be sure. I hate to keep bugging him, but I want to be sure. I was going off of 13's Australian site: "The ultimate light bass baitcaster. Modelled on our extremely popular 610ML spin rod the baitcast version displays the same great qualities. A light, responsive and s...

Since I have the 6'10" ML Omen Black spinning rod, I've been trying to imagine the blank being used for casting and I think it might be just slightly too light for texas rigged small plastics. I keep flexing it with and without line. Maybe I'm overthinking a bit? It's been a nice dropshot rod, thoug...

I see they put one up on the site, but it is listed as a 6' medium-moderate.

A = Australia. The rod is exclusive to the Aussie market. It's the 6'10" Omen Black spinning blank, but in a casting version for baitcasting finesse applications. It's a bream rod in Australia, apparently.

That's awesome, I bet between our emails over the past 2 days and if anyone else did the same, he thought that might be a good idea. THey've been really nice to deal with.

Yeah, it's also red.

As far as I know, it costs more because they want to sell the Curado in the US, not the Scorpion. So it will cost more for the import.