John G

How many pros and how much are they getting paid to use Lew's?That is not really the point is it! No one in this Thread has made a negative comment about Lew's or the people that use Lew's but there have been negative comments made about people that like to use expensive gear. For some reason unbeknownst to me, you decided to throw out the more pros use Lew's than other reels card! LOL

He singled out the Daiwa Steez and Megabass! That category of reel also include the high dollar Shimano's and then he said that if you own one of these reels, you are an egomaniac. He also mentioned the affordable rods that Lew's makes. That means that if you own an NRX, Ledgend Extreme, Edge, Megabass Rod etc, then you are an egomaniac for that too!

I think it's great that you are thrilled with your Lew's reels but why go out of your way to trash someone who has high dollar gear? IMHO, you are either insecure or jealous of others that have gear that you probably can't afford!

Make sure that you put your new braid on very tight. A little finger tension doesn't cut IMHO. Run it through a couple of phone books,yes they still make those, if you have any or anything that can put a good amount of tension on the braid.

I once had the opportunity to show a guy how to cast and his KVD Walmart Special made me look like a rookie. It was a MH rod and I couldn't stop getting backlashes until I adjusted the brakes and cast control cap a lot and then the problem was there was no distance. I finally realized that we were not using near enough weight to load the rod prior to casting. I didn't have a weight with me that was heavy enough to cast the rod effectively. IMHO, you should start throwing heavier more aerodynamic lures.

I am a Shimano guy. I have no idea what is normal for a Lews reel. With Shimano's centrifugal brakes, the brakes on the palm side control the cast (control spool speed) at the beginning of the cast and the cast control knob controls spool speed near the end of the cast. My guess is you need to control spool speed on both the start and finish. I think that you probably have a rod that is stiff and you need more weight to effectively cast with it.

I just read some reviews of the Veritas 2.0 and 1 review stuck out. The guy said the rods were stiff. I looked at the lure ratings and I see that they have a MH with a lure rating up to 1oz. 1oz is what my H Loomis MBR844 had. If I were you, I wouldn't use a bullet weight less than 1/2oz or a jig less than 1/2oz.

Ok! Since we already know that it isn't YOU, then it must be that cheap rod n reel that you bought! LOL Sell the cheap stuff and go buy yourself a real expensive Shimano Antares HG or Daiwa Steeze and while your at it, pick up a $500.00 NRX! That will surely solve all of your problems! In all seriousness, I doubt that it's your equipment. You are a nooby when it comes to casting with a baitcaster and you quite haven't got the hang of it. So what! The last thing that want to do is quit! I have never used your rod but one thing that I would do is tie on a jig or a T-Rig with a bullet weight that is as close to your rods maximum lure rating as possible and practice with that. A heavier weight always helps and avoid lures that have a lot of wind resistance. Your reel has brakes for a reason. I suggest that you use more brakes than you currently use and tighten your cast control knob some and practice practice practice!

Looks like another email will be sent to find out exactly what is needed and included in the kit that they are selling.

I inquired about this last week with Japan Tackle and Kayo said the right handed gear sets will be ready in two weeks and they will update their Site then. The main gear is easy to replace but I am not sure about the pinion gear. I don't work on my own reels.....yet......so I would send it to DVT.

I think the Tenoroc area is near where I lived until I was around 10 years old. We lived off of Hwy 33. There are some pretty good size phosphate pits in the area. My address back then was 4707 Melody Lane Lakeland, Fl. Use my old addy and see if it's where you are going to be. The Google Earth pic is the phosphate pit that I did all of my fishing at when I lived there. It's grown up a lot since I left the area....meaning they even have roads and a boat ramp. That was not there when I was a kid. From what I remember, there was a lot of access to fish from the shore and there were some massive gators in this particular phosphate pit.

My dedicated Topwater Rod is a G-Loomis SMR702C-TW. It is in the Smallmouth Series and it is 5'10" MH-F and has a short rear grip which is what I prefer for walking baits. I have a Curado 50E mounted on it and right now it has 10# Big Game but it I will be switching to 12# Big Game.

If you Google the words Daiwa Tatula Bass Resource or just use the search feature on this Site, you will find out that just about everyone has had something to say about the Tatula.

When I hear back from Japan Tackle I'll post what they had to say about the availability of the ANT HG. Their price at $427 and $447 with shipping ain't the best but I would pay it because I know that the sale would be perfect.

Forget about the one that is ending in four days on eBay because the sellers had seven negative ratings in the last month.

eBay! There is a seller on eBay in the U.S. that has one and the auction ends in 4 days. Other eBay sellers have them at decent prices but there are negatives with their feedback that I don't like. I sent Japan Tackle an email last Friday asking the availabilityKayo just returned my email and she she said that are checking with Shimano.

I am 5'7" and I have I guess, regular size hands. I personally don't like fishing with round reels that are bigger than the 50 size. If your grandson has decent size hands, then the 100 will be great.But if he is a smaller guy like me and he wants a round reel that is just absolutely sweet to fish with, I would recommend a Shimano Calcutta Conquest 50 or the Calcutta TE50GT. The Conquest 50 is the Japanese Domestic Market version of the USDM CTE50GT and the Conquest 50 is more refined than the CTE50GT. Both of these reels have a 6.2:1 gear ratio. The regular Shimano Calcutta 50 in its original form or the B model has a slower 5.0:1 gear ratio. The regular JDM Calcutta 50's, the 50XT and the silver 05' Calcutta 50, also have 5.0:1 gear ratios. If you are patient, you can find a great deal, $300.00 or under on a new or near new Conquest 50 on ebay. If he wants the 100 size, there are usually plenty of Conquest 100's on eBay that can be bought in great condition for probably as much or maybe a little more than the 100B. The Calcutta 100B is a fine reel but it in no way compares to the Shimano Conquest 100. Good luck!

Can you skip the lures that you want to skip with your buddies baitcaster?

Not trying to be a smarty pants, but maybe it's you and not the reel. BTW, I can't skip either but I ain't blaming my reels. I blame myself for not putting in the necessary practice time that is required to become proficient.

Nice Mudfish! I would be thrilled to catch Mudfish all day everyday!

Shipping from Japan is very fast! My last order with JLS did not arrive arrive fast at all and I do not know why. But, I and many others on this site have come to expect very fast shipping from JDM vendors. If you buy from JLS, make sure that you register because they will send you a Japan EMS Tracking #. I can't guarantee you that your reel will be here on time but the way that is usually works for me is, I place an order right now, hopefully it will be at my door on Thursday or Friday morning. These reels are also never delivered at the same time as my regular mail. They come earlier in the morning and usually before lunch. When I have my reels serviced, I use DVT, a Bass Resource Sponsor.

Is the 2015 version of the Metanium that you are looking at the DC (Digital Control) model? I think the USDM 2013 Metanium, the one on Shimano's website, is the same as the JDM 2013 Metanium. The knobs may be different on the HG and the XG but I am not 100% sure about that. If you buy the JDM model, Shimano USA will not honor the warranty. Personally, I have bought plenty of reels from Japan and I couldn't care less about the warranty because the reeels are very reliable. Check out Japan Lure Shop. They are very reputable and their prices are cheaper than Amazon and the shipping charges to Fl are around $15.00.