John G

The Bait Monkey is probably going to get slapped down after the top water combo. That will be 7 high end JDM Shimano's and various Loomis rods since September. It has to be put on hold for a little while.

I really want to get that top water combo first and then maybe a new Conquest. Well another Antares would be nice too etc etc! LOL

You don't need 10 or 12 bearings but they are noticeable and they can easily spoil the person using the reel that has them. I am only referring to Shimano's here.

Mike makes a great spinnerbait too!

Would you guys hold off on buying even with the $468.00 Japan Tackle pre-order sale on the 100?

Another recommendation for DVT from me. Mike has serviced some of my reels and has done a fine job every time.

Not all of them are. A Curado 50E has standard threads. I bought a CTE100GT handle from Shimano a while back and it also had standard threads. To the op, if you remove the knobs on your 50E, make sure you don't loose that little tiny brass washer. Also, If you are ordering knobs from Shimano, you might as well order 2 more knob bearings to replace the bushing in each 50E knob.

I have given Japan Tackle plenty of business by buying Conquests. I have been extremely pleased with their customer service and friendliness enough so that I will pay a little more to buy from them. A JDM seller that has good prices is Bass JP. I bought my Antares HG from them and while they did not communicate as much with me as Japan Tackle does, I got my Antares and I was happy. Plat will probably be the next dealer that I use.

And back then I'll bet you had never even heard of this ailment that makes you want to buy JDM Reels. LOL

Do y'all think the new Conquest will be under $400.00 at some point?

You need to remember that an advertised 1/8oz jig is probably going to weigh in the neighborhood of around 3/8oz with a hook, skirt and trailer. I would get the Core 50 all day long over the 100. One thing a Core 50 has over the 100 is bearing in the knobs. The 50 has 4 and the 100 has 0. I think that you will be fine of line capacity with the 50 especially if you use braid.

Will do!

You guys are great!!! Thanks for the links and the advice!

I will check them out! Thank you!

My local WalMart used to sell the round Ambasseuder reels. I think they were red in color. To be honest, I never gave them much consideration. Now I wish that I had bought one years ago. If you guys that know the Ambasseuder reels were going to give advice on a bass sized Ambasseuder for a newcomer to buy on eBay, what reel would y'all tell that newcomer to buy?

This makes sense.

If you are really concerned about line capacity, such as using your reel in saltwater, this is an issue that Shimano should get right.

Have you tried changing the point at which you release your thumb on the spool during the cast. Maybe you are releasing too late?

I agree with the factory bearings as long as they are for a high end reel. My reason for wanting the bearings that Shimano would use in a Calais or a Core 50 MG7 is because they will/should be quality and quiet bearings.

Congradulations on the nice reel! I just bought an older Loomis MBR843IMX and I have a feeling that it will be used for jigs n worms, spinnerbaits, swim jigs, Scroungers, small swimbaits, buzz baits etc. People also like the Loomis MBR783 as an all purpose rod.

The round reels are classic designs and IMHO, they will never look dated and there is nothing about a Shimano Calcutta that makes it not suitable for casting. Pricing for a quality round reel has been in line with what you would pay for a quality low profile reel.

If you don't like the drag star, you can replace it. I did what others have done and I replaced the graphite drag star on my 50E with a 200E aluminum drag star. I also added Scorpion XT1000 knob caps for a little more bling.

My recommendation from reading the viewpoints on this Forum, is scrap the crankbait rod. It's nice if you have plenty of money to spend on combos but if you don't have plenty of money, you need a versatile combo. I would say get a 6'6" or 7' Medium/Fast rod. If you do not have a lot of branches to worry about, I would get the 7 footer. You could use the MF combo for plenty of different techniques besides treble hooks. A higher speed reel like I mentioned earlier would be fine for Squarebill. There are many fine reels out there to do what you want to do.

The kid is 15. When I was 15, I did not have a boat or access to a boat. That is why I said Squarebills in my first post. If he is fishing from the bank, a higher speed reel would be fine if he is using Squarebills.