Have a question and need some advice. I�m nearing retirement and live on Lake Granbury. We fish mostly for bass and tangle with mostly 1-3lb sized fish. Every so often will hook into a striper in the 10-15 lb range that thinks it�s a LMB so keep that in mind. I�d like to buy two rod/reels in the ultra high end range just because I want to give them a try before I start to wind it down. I�m really wanting the Metatanium DC and Conquest rod setup and would like direction on what to get. We fish pretty much all styles but I�m in the learning phase, Ned Rigs, crankbaits, Senko wacky rigs, etc. With spending this much money, I want to be sure I�m buying the right rig. Also, everybody is talking about discounts but it says �no discounts�. I�ve watch on a video that they actually do discount this stuff at times. Thanks for your help

I may get blasted here but, when I was learning bass fishing from a friend who did a lot of tournament fishing from his Champion, many times I caught just as many or more than he with my Walmart gear. He would get so mad because he had some really expensive rods and reels. Then I read on TFF someone wrote, "It's not the arrow, it's the Indian". I'm not saying use a cane pole, but I have seen many a John boat owner do pretty good in tournaments. But, I also say if you can afford it then do it. (I recently moved from a Bass Tracker to a Champion so I understand you wanting better equipment)

Sorry, didn't mention that I am intrigued with the DC. I'm fishing Abu Garcia's Revo MGX Extreme's/Garcia Veritas rods now. They seem to be doing the job. I read on here about older people having to give up bass fishing and turn to bait due to their shoulders hurting a lot. I'm only 61 and hopefully have many years left fishing but was just dreaming about a top of the line system. Living on Granbury makes the occasional striper inevitable. My son caught one that weighed 10 lbs fishing up in the trees. I always thought they were an open water fish. NRX looks good but heard the Conquest was everything the NRX was plus more. I use mostly spinning rods for the light stuff and have two Stradic Ci4+ 1000 reels for that. Would also like to outfit those spinning reels with rods eventually. I realize in 2-3 years that these will also be obsolete but just thinking about it. Thanks again for your advice.

I deleted my posts so your thread wont be muddy.

The shimano metanium is a odd feeling reel if you palm your reels it wasnt comfortable for me to use, I like the smaller reels..

My favorite setup which I always bring with me :

NRX 852C pair with a Daiwa Steez SV TW

Conquest 842C pair with Bantam MGL

Yes both are medium rod but both are more than capable of handling stripers up to my pb of just shy of 17lbs.

Between the two the 852 is still my all time favorite but if you ever find a used NRX 842c, that rod is perfect!

Give a look at Pride Rods, high quality American Made rods for a fraction of the price compared to Shimano and G. Loomis. I also really love Lew�s Reels, great quality for the price.