new2BC4bass

I'd cry too. My 6' 10" MF Smallmouth is currently my favorite MF rod. I do have a couple new rods (different brands obviously) to try. The Smallmouth series rods were way under priced.

Great minds think alike. I have the Orochi Diablo Spec R and a few OG Tatulas. I am a big fan of the Tatulas. Never used a Levante.

And what exactly is wrong with this reel? BTW, I can't let my daughter see this picture. Pink is her favorite color. It would look very nice on the pink rod I had built for her. How can you expect the fairer sex to fish very long with a reel this heavy when most guys want a baitcast reel to weigh 6 oz. or less because 9 oz. is too tiring to fish with all day?

I often do this and it seems to work most of the time. If my line is spooling up heavier on the left side, I hold the rod to my left on retrieve a couple times. Seems to help the line level out. However, I do have a reel that has to be sent out for a professional to look at. Spools up high on the left side. Way too high. Posted here and tried the different recommendations that were suggested with no improvement. Don't remember off hand which side the handle is on.

" Double Tapers suck " is putting it mildly when it comes to a 3 wt. It doesn't help that I learned on (and have only used) my 8 wt. I thought it was bad waiting on its Fast action to load on the back cast. The 3 wt was ridiculous with that double taper. New line is a must before I'd be willing to try it again.

Given your experience with baitcast reels I highly doubt you need an SV spool, but the Tat SV is a nice looking reel and a pleasure to use. Ebay has a new Shimano 16 Scorpion 70HG for $191.70 with free shipping...another great looking reel. I just mounted mine on a rod last night. No chance to use it yet. Looks very nice with its red highlights on the Fantasista Regista which also has red highlights.

I agree with what has already been said about a 3 wt. Don't go there. I learned many, many years go on an 8 wt GL3. Fast tip. I can unload the fly line with this rod. A few years ago I bought a 3 wt for panfish built by a guy on another forum. Rod has a slow action. Compounded my error by putting a double taper line on it. Wow. Probably can spit further than I can cast that baby....and I can't spit worth a hill of beans. Has sat every since....since I have only been bass fishing for some time. Keep wanting to get it out again, but never have. OP, you seem like the kind of guy that isn't going to stick with one basic outfit. I bet you wind up with more money tied up in fly fishing than you bargained for. Fly tying can get addictive...and expensive. Some people fly fish just so they can tie more flies. Flies can be gorgeous works of art.

No experience with the Elites, but I am a fan of the OG Tatula rods. Heck....I even like my V.I.P Smallmouth casting rod.

Mike (DVT) does good work. And if something is wrong with the reel, he will find it. Your spool fill is okay. I short guessed how much braid was left on a refill spool and wound up using a reel for awhile that was only about half full. I was getting decent distance.

FFO has some Berkley E-Motions for $37. No experience with them myself, but I had one of the good guys on here tell me it was a nice rod at full price. You can find a Berkley Cherrywood HD in the $25-$26 range. Otherwise look for house combos at places like Cabela's, BPS and Academy Sports. Haven't looked for such rod/reel at Sportsman's Warehouse, but they occasionally have some excellent deals on rods and reels.

You have a bail on your baitcast reels?

Some 4# and 8# here:. http://www.johnnyspond.com/silver-thread-excalibur-bulk-spools-fishing-line-.html I think I read some time ago in another thread that Excalibur was no longer being made. Like you I've read it is a good line. Take advantage of it while you can.

You can find a 7'3" MHF Villain 2.0 for $149.00. Check out TT's review of the 7' MH model. There is at least one other review from a well known site that gives the 2.0 excellent marks for sensitivity. You won't lack power with the MH.

Sorry to see them out of business. I liked the first Primmus HS Xi well enough that when I found them on sale for a bit over 50% off I purchased 2 more. Very nice reels.

Love the looks of that Pro-Ti. OP. Congrats on the new reel. Never used a Curado K. I have a Gen 1 STX. Have made some of my longest casts with that reel. I keep 40# braid on it and use it for casting into the slop when visiting Florida. Been a good reel for me. The long casts were when fishing open brackish water with a 3/4 oz. gold colored salt water spoon. Got a few flounder on it. A few hours of fishing that spoon tied directly to the line resulted in the need for new line. Lesson learned.

to the forum. Can't help you. Only been reading fishing forums (and back into fishing) for about 10 1/2 years. Pinnacle hardly ever gets mentioned. I know they used to make low cost reels. No idea how good they were. A few years ago they began producing some pretty nice reels, but you couldn't get many interested enough in them to purchase a Pinnacle. Bassresource has a few reviews of the newer models. All favorable. This site has a wide audience. It is quite possible someone will come along that does know a bit about your reel. Have you used it yet?

https://www.finsfishing.com/FINS-Windtamer-p/fnswtb.htm In yellow or pink.

Your memory is better than mine. I bought the 6'10" Medium on sale at the $130 price. Never saw the $99 sale price. Unfortunately it hasn't had a reel on it so I can't give any feedback yet. I've been working two jobs....again....for about a year. Fishing has taken a back seat. Sucks locally anyway which is why I quit for 23 years after moving to this area. Hopefully I will get out to use it...and a few others that haven't been used yet...soon.

I have a few spare spools. Have never taken one out of the house. I'd rather change the reel. Plus I don't want to take a chance of damaging or losing a spool. Best of all is carry enough rod/reel combos that all you need to do is retie occasionally. I am not fond of stringing a rod while on a boat...or even when fishing from a bank for that matter. I realize not everyone can carry 20 rods (or more) with them. I have 20, but never carry more than about 9-10 in the car (if by myself), or 5 (usually only 4 and that is too many) when on my brother-in-law's dinghy.

OP. If spooling 12# or larger mono/co-polymer I don't use backing. If spooling braid of any size I use some cheap mono backing to save money. If spooling fluoro, I add backing to save money. If spooling 8# or smaller mono/co-polymer I add backing. I see no benefit to spooling 300 yards of line for bass fishing. Tom, I am going to have to try spooling with some cheap braid (over a piece of tape or using a spool hole) on a couple reels to see if I can notice a difference in casting distance. Much harder to determine if it would reduce backlashing. I have several that need line. Quite possibly my mediocre casting ability won't allow me to take advantage of a lighter spool. Don't know what I would do with 10# mono/co-polymer.

I haven't used any, but you might want to check out Sufix Advance.

Try some 12# AN40, Mean Green, Siege, Super Natural or XXX. I use some braid, but prefer a mono or co-polymer. I am not a huge fan of fluorocarbon. Braid goes on the reels that are used to toss lures into the slop. Prefer 40# but have 60# on my frog rod and an Alphas F purchased used came with 30#. It has worked out fine so far. May drop down to 50# when the frog reel needs new line.

Shin's knot looks to be easier to tie. Will have to give it a shot. Thanks.

Google "zero adjuster". There is a TT thread on it. As stated elsewhere in this thread, it can be adjusted. From what I gather spool tension is set where Daiwa feels should be.....just barely side-to-side play. Then use the brakes like they were designed for. Seems to me it should be a non issue. Let's see if I can provide the link. http://www.tackletour.net/viewtopic.php?t=74693

Is it safe to assume you bought a new reel? I picked up a used reel that I couldn't spool line on. No drag pressure even when tightened down as much as possible. Turned out to have a couple missing pieces. People like to do their own work on reels, but sometimes shouldn't.