Raul

There ain 't no fun in purchasing and fishing with ordinary baits. I really don 't "need" more cranks however these look interesing: Who knows ? maybe I 'm going to add a couple of those in the next TW order.

Another member of the Old Fart Club speaks words of wisdom. I too tried braided when it first appeared in the market and ........ back to nylon again.

The Zillion is smaller.

You aren 't going to find many answers here where most of the guys won 't spend 250 dollars in a reel, less likely they shell out the 350 dollars in a Core and highly unlikely they shell 450 dollars in a HLC. Which one will have more cranking power ? hard to say, I can say taking in consideration that the Zillion HA is practically identical in gearing to the old TDZ ( which I own ..... several ) and that I do own the Core to make a comparison the cranking power is about the same. Keep in mind one thing, Daiwas ( Sol, Fuego, Zillion, TDZ, Alphas, and even the minute Pixy ) have always had that huge main gear ( that bulge on the handle sideplate isn 't there just for nothing ) while Shimanos until recently have it. Now another thing to ponder about is the handle length, the Zillion HA comes with 90 mm handle, the HLC comes with 90 mm carbon fiber handle. Theoretically speaking a longer handle gives you more leverage, I say theoretically and it could be true, however my Scorpion and Scorpion Mgs come with a 70 mm handle and the truth is I feel no difference in cranking power vs my 80 mm handle reels, some will say they feel the difference but not me.

You didn 't think you were going to get away with it that easy, did you ?

I would get me an Avid Crankbait.

Yup, once a month only. Between the wife n 'kids and the business I 'm screwed good :-[ Want to go to Zimapán, Calderón, La Pólvora or El Saltito ? have to plan 2 months before I can even wish to go and then the week before pray for nothing to come up. Was ready to go the past weekend to La Pólvora, then on Friday a dog that needed hospitalization arrived early in the morning so that pretty much killed my trip and then ...... the danged dog died on Sunday ! >, if it was going to die why didn 't it die on Friday he arrived ? ah no, it had to ruin my trip. Murphy 's Law. :

Don 't need to hone skills or techniques, they are already honed. What I need is to go fishing more oftenly, so far this year I 've only been out once about every month. For one reason or another I just can 't seem to be able to do more than that .

Nothing more to add.

That makes two of us.

I thought Christmas was for kids!! The only diffrence between men and boyz is the prize of their toyz.

Well, so far we 've lost 2 anchors in that lake.

I was thinking the same thing, BR is gonna loose some of it 's character. Or like me saying: A Daiwa Pixy will cast that teeny tiny bait into the next zip code when somebody asks about light baits on bc tackle.....

I made the mistake of purchasing a pack ...... well not the "mistake", I must say, I commited the stupidity of purchasing a pack. Why I say stupidity ? nope, it has nothing to do with the price, nor with the bait not performing, I say stupidity because ....... them danged bluegills give them a haircut to the point they leave only an appendageless stick in an eyeblink something that I already knew when I purchased the pack. : So I still have the pack minus one bait, the one that got "scalped" by bluegills. That means that unless I find me a bluegill free lake they are not going to see a lot of action.

The only link between you and the fish is the line ------> don 't purchase "EL CHEAPO" !!!!!!!

Salted baits are usually softer than unsalted baits, does the fact of being softer helps attract or make the bass hold their longer ? some are going to say yes, others like me are going to say no. Reason why I like softer baits has nothing to do with them having salt to attract or make the fish hold the bait longer, I prefer softer baits because they move better than harder baits. Salt content also modifies the rate of fall. Fish can sometimes be extremely picky with what they want and how they want it and many times just by changing from a salted bait to an unsalted one with a different rate of fall between makes the difference catching them and not catching them at all. As usual, and what everyone seems to forget ---> PRESENTATION KNOW YOUR TACKLE !

The same applies to Megabass.

#20 and #30 didn 't stand a chance against those rocks. #30 with a 3 ft leader of 12 lb test CXX did perform a lot better. From the underworld to heaven difference.

It 's not a matter of how much will you spend, it 's a matter of how much are you willing to spend. Why ? because you can get a Callisto and pair it to a BPS Graphite Plus, spend less than a 100 and there you have a baitcasting setup. So the way to go is: 1.- Trying to make a BC setup on your own which may exceed your budget sacrificing the quality of either rod or reel or 2.- Get a pre-prepared baitcasting setup ( combo ) with a good rod and a good reel, for that BPS is hard to beat, they practically give you the rod for free. BPS rods starting by the Bionic Blade and up are very good. So for example the BPS Bionic Blade/Daiwa Procaster 6+1 combo is a really good choice for little money, want something better ? Citica/ BPS Extreme rod and so on.

A common misconception about braided line is that it can stand anything, it 's true to a certain point, yes the line is extremely resistant but in an environment with SHARP EDGED objects like shale rocks or in your case, zebra mussels, it doesn 't stand a chance, sharp objects cut the line, you need a leader. I too thought that braided could withstand anything, I 'm not a big fan of braided but I do have a couple of shallow spool spinning reels designed for braided line so that 's what I did, I spooled them with braided line, in my everyday lakes the line is fine and I thought it was going to be that way in every lake ....... well that was until I went to Zimapán the first time and began loosing rigs and baits because the line broke; the bottom of that lake is covered by broken shale sharp rock with sharp as knife edges, the line didn 't break just because, it was cut by the sharp rocks like if was cut with shears. Added a leader of copoly ( CXX ) and problem solved, no more breaks.

Good fluorocarbon cost $$$$$$, just compare the price and quantity of line you get when you purchase a spool of Vanish vs a spool of let 's say Sniper ( just to mention a brand ).

None, all Shimano spinning reels are Aero, better said, all Shimano spinning reels incorporate Aero design in the spool. The Aero system was developed by Shimano back in the 80s, it consists of a longer, narrower spool, the shape of the spool lip which allows minimal contact and more fluid motion of the line coming out of the spool plus the way the way the line is wrapped around the spool while reeling in.

If there 's the slightest chance of something going wrong you can be ceratin is is going to go wrong. Who 's to blame, you for not storing the rod properly or your mom and her vacuum ?

Ok, bling wise, the Chronarch is just another silver reel like any other upper end Shimano, the Core is just plain sick sexy looking. Some are going to say that you don 't see the red anodized spool, true to a certain point but what 's important is ...... you know it is red.

Nowdays I regret having sold my dad 's car a few months after he passed away, 1975 Impala Custom, man that car was kool, 2 door, front bucket seats, gear shift lever on a center console, power windows, it felt like driving an aircraft carrier, the thing was loooooooong. All it needed was a good paint job and a minor restoration.