Tywithay

If you do the lighter technique, hold the flame away from the guide and heat it slowly. Try not to clamp it too hard or twist it with the pliers or it will splinter the end of the blank. Once the epoxy gives it should slide off pretty easily. I usually lightly sand it before gluing the new tip to make sure there's no chunks of old epoxy as well, but you do have to be gentle, as the tip is obviously very thin.

I have one of the spinning rods. Haven't used it a ton, but it has been fairly underwhelming for a $400 rod. The blank is super lightweight and the handle feels good, but it's very tip heavy for a 3.3oz rod. Blank doesn't really feel worlds better than my Tatula rods. Definitely not 2-3× better as the price would indicate. I think if they had used AGS guides it could have been a special rod, but as it is, it's just a really good rod. The heavier action casting rods may be a different story. As light as the blanks are, they could be more impressive.

No brands are paying me to fish their products, so I buy whatever I find the best deal on. I typically have to really like a rod to buy multiple within a certain line.

I really like the Edge Black Widow and Shimano Poison Adrena for jigs, in that price range. Heard good things about the 2020 ALX Enox, but haven't used it. Tackletrap had good deals on Legend elite and X rods to put them under $400 and they're excellent as well. I'd find the one that you think looks best with the specs you desire. No manufacturer is going to sell a bad $300-$400 rod.

The Tharp series uses the same blank as the Invoker, but with K series Fuji guides. Might be a better fit.

There aren't currently any Tatula reels as small as a 70 curado. The latest Tatula 100 series is almost identical in size to the Curado 200. That's a Curado DC vs. Tatula Elite

TT reviewed a few of their models and they got high marks. I have an Invoker Pro spinning rod and it's crazy good for the price (I got mine during a TW sale, Memorial day is coming up). It feels more sensitive than my similar action IMX Pro, though some of that may be that it's more comfortable to fish because of the reel seat. My only beef is the grips are a little skinny, but the EVA is high quality.

If you're wanting the most bang for your buck, I'd look at the Daiwa Tatula, Ark Tharp series, or Ark Invoker. I personally think the Ark rods are the best blank in that price range. There's other well-built rods in that range from St Croix, Dobyns, etc., but they don't offer as much sensitivity, in my opinion.

Daiwa spinning reels shouldn't have a perfectly flat line lay. It should taper down from the top. That's how ABS works.

Japan EMS is closed, so nothing is shipping. Ask them to ship via DHL or Fedex and there's no issues at all. I had 2 reels that showed up 6 days after they shipped. That's worth the wait to save almost $400.

I have had braid on one of the original TWS Zillions for a few years and it still looks new.

I think it had to do with the invention of the fancy ceramic guide inserts. People were probably cracking them with sinkers, then calling them junk even though it was their fault.

I prefer no keeper so I can add a Fuji EzKeeper. It extends further from the blank and I can place it anywhere I want. Half the time the manufacturers put them in ridiculous spots.

Line management is of no concern as he said he'll be using 10lb braid.

Most of the manufacturers offer demo or sample rods after trade shows. They takes hundreds of rods to ICast and the bassmaster classic. They can't be sold as new because they have been handled all week. I've bought rods for almost 50% off that still had plastic on the cork.

Elite has an a7075 spool as well. SV uses the same basic principle as magforce Z, but it's tuned differently. If you put an RCS1016 in a Steez SV, that reel now has MagZ. I think it has more to do with the inductors than anything else as the magnets appear to be the same in most reels I've seen.

I had the 2000 on a 7' ML rod and it worked great, but I did feel it weighed it down a bit. I put it on a 7'6" ML and it balanced it out much better. That reel, even in the 1500 size, is capable of reeling in just about anything. They use saltwater-worthy components. Only thing slowing down the smaller models is line capacity, but it's more than enough for bass fishing.

The spool won't freespool as long because it's so light. If you had a 20g spool with ceramic bearings you can spin it for 5 minutes. The difference is on the water performance. I had a chance to use the Coastal a little more tonight and I came away more and more impressed with each cast. I put it on a 7'4" MHR Tatula Elite rod. I was throwing a 1/2oz crankbait as far as I've ever seen with any reel. Tried with the wind, into the wind, cross wind...never touched the mag brakes. Had to hide my wallet so I don't buy another. I personally really like the knobs. The old Tatula knobs were too flat like a Lews knob for my tastes. I prefer these. Still not a good as the knobs on the Curado.

Favorite is Armilo. Favorite more budget friendly is Hi-Seas Black Widow.

Got bored today and found that the 150 SV spool will not fit in the Tatula Elite, nor the Elite spool in the coastal. The side plates can be swapped however, if you want a black and blue mix. The spool may work if you added or removed shims, but I didn't go that far.

Added hedgehog ZR bearings to one of my Elites tonight. Hopefully I can test it out this weekend and see if it makes a difference. Might try Air HD bearings on the next one.

I've used shimano spinning reels for over 20 years and I've never had a bail wire bend or fail.

Tatula 761HFB 4.3oz and looks pretty sharp. Tatula rods cover pretty much everything in that price range and they're stupid light for the price.

The biggest difference is the spool. The FL got a hand-me-down from the Stella with the Long Stroke spool. In theory it should provide better line management and more distance. The FL has micro gears as well. I don't think it makes a noticeable difference in smoothness out of the box, because the FK was plenty good, but we'll see how it rolls in a year or so.

I just buy what I get the best deal on. If a 6'8" is $50 less than the 7'3", then I'll make it work. I can't recall any situation, at least while fishing, when a couple inches would have made a difference.