Tywithay

I haven't seen any real performance gains, but they're lighter. Having less weight, especially in the tip section, can aid in balance. It also helps slightly in perceived sensitivity.

The spool isn't magnetic at all, the spool inductor is.

It's a tie between my Expride 610M + Daiwa SS SV 103SH, and my Antares HG + ALX 7'4" Custom Dragger.

8lb Tatsu is my favorite, by far. It's not cheap by any means, but it's the best. Best bang for your buck for me is 8lb Sunline Sniper. It's not as soft as Invizx, but has better abrasion resistance and less stretch. I never go hogher than 8lb on my spinning stuff.

If you're willing to pay for a Crucial, I'd look at the Kistler KLX. The 7' MH would be ideal. There's not a better rod for the money, in my experience.

The ML Tatula also features a shorter full eva handle. It doubles as a fairly long jerkbait rod, as well as light cranks.

I would in a heartbeat, if I didn't like it. I'm not going to keep a crappy rod just for the sake of keeping it.

I actually keep a few cheapo reels just so I can reel line off to save it, especially when I cleaning my reels or whatever. I'll just reel it off, then put it back on. I would take that line off and save it, then add what looks to be about 15 yards of 12lb-ish mono, then add the braid back on . It will fill the spool closer to capacity, which should add some distance. More line weighs more, so it keeps the spool spinning faster on those long casts. You're also killing your IPT by having a half full spool of line. When a reel says it takes in 29" or whatever, that's based on having a full spool. Take off 20-30 yards of line and that number goes down to 21-23"

I had the 6.3 and ended up selling it. I didn't like it as much as the CI4+, but given the price difference, it was a really good reel. I didn't like the Curado near as much as my Tatula Type R, which I bought for far less. Curado didn't feel as smooth and didn't cast as far. Only thing I liked better was the size, but not enough to keep it. I do like the SVS Infinity braking system though. Like it enough that I bought two of the new Antares reels after using it with the Curado and CI4+. Just figured how much better could it possibly be if those two lesser models were that good. Antares completely blew me away and then some.

I've never had an issue returning a rod to the place I bought it, which is required with this policy. I should probably return my IMX 873 CRR I just bought though, because it's not worth the money at all, even with the discount I got on it.

I fill mine up to where the gold part of the spool is. Any less and I'd be spooling most of my baitcasters when I cast. Filling it halfway like yours would probably result in less distance with heavier baits, but initial startup would be faster so you could cast and pitch light baits more effectively.

if you want sensitivity, you need a graphite rod with less flex. That GX2 would be good for baitfishing for catfish, or maybe smallish crankbaits.

When you get a small overrun and have a couple loops, do you strip line until the loops are gone and reel it back on tight? If you get a little flare up, then reel over it, the next cast will backlash. Have to always make sure the line is flat on the spool before and after each cast.

If you read the post that I quoted when I asked that question, the guy stated "great, i read this the day after I buy some fireline." I asked him what was wrong with it in response to his quote. I am well aware that fireline is not a fluorocarbon.

What does that have to do with fluorocarbon though?

I just remove the shields and alleviate that issue. They have no real benefit to keeping them on if you're fishing freshwater.

Nope.

Depends on the line diameter. I don't really count, but with lighter line you need more twists than with larger diameter lines. Thickest line I really use is 15lb and I'll do roughly 6-8 twists. Just make sure it's wet whether it's fluoro or mono so you can really cinch it tight without damaging the line.

What's wrong with fireline?

You can get them from Rakuten. http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/getfish/item/dress_ld_op112/

No doubt. I broke a Carrot Stix once, just looking at them in a magazine. Junk rods.

I lay mine so that the reel is up on the handle knobs on both my conventional and spiral rods. Keeps the guides good and prevents excess boat rash.

I use an improved clinch for everything.

There's no real gain in distance or sensitivity. The gains are in weight savings because you can use less guides, and when the rod is under load you'll get much less blank twist.

It's nice because you can also spool it up on your weed whacker, in a pinch.