FishTank

It's has a greenish tint in the pic but it looks more matte black. Ok reel so far. I haven't used it but twice. The drag is so so. Not as smooth as I would like but functional. Casting distance is pretty good but it makes a weird sound when as soon as the spool starts up. The retrieve is nice and smooth though. I need some more time with it though.

I have been using Lucky Craft's Flat Sided Mini for about 15+ years. It was unique at the time but now there are a ton of options. The LC is still my favorite.

This set runs $30 from Klein Tools and contains just about every odd bit I have ever seen but it has the bit you need for Daiwa reels. Home Depot carries it.

Here is the new one.

That's a good deal. ?

Last year I changed out some 12lb Tatsu on my main Texas Rig set up. It had been on there for 4 years and used each weekend during the tournament season. I only changed it because the spool was getting low. I have another set up that I use for light punching and heavy Texas Rigged soft plastic. This will be it's third season. I also use Invizx but I have yet to have it last longer than a whole year. Tatsu, if I don't blow the reel up, has proven to be great line and actually a good value over time (if I don't pay full price).

What are going to use it for? Do you have a favorite knot for FC? The San Diego Jam knot has worked well for me with this line. I love Tatsu and it has lasted a long time for me but if you are use to soft mono, there will be some adjustment.

I use either 3/0 or 4/0 EWG with a weighted hook or a pinned bullet weight for Flukes and their clones. With pinned bullet weight I usually use a 1/4 oz and if the fluke is not working, I switch a beaver. These have been a one two punch for my spring fishing. On a side note, I have found a few "hybrid" worm hooks I going to try. I agree, in principle, with the offset worm hook and the amount of open gap it has compared to an EWG but I don't like the way they fit in a fluke. I am hoping that the hybrid will be a good go between. These are oddly all 4/0 hooks from different manufactures. It's weird how they vary in size but the two to the left are supposedly hybrid hooks. The first is from Ryugi and the second is a Gamakatsu G-Finesse.

At the end of the year I back the drag off on all my reels and put them in their original boxes for storage. They are later each cleaned and torn down, if necessary, and at that time I test the drag, back it off and put them back in the box. When fishing season starts, they are taken out of the box, new line put on (if necessary), and the drag, brakes and cast control are reset. As far as using the drag goes, I never lock it down. It has a job to do. It only took one messed up reel to come across my desk for me to realize what locking the drag down does to a reel. It usually goes like this...."There is something wrong with my "insert brand here". I didn't do anything to it but it grinds, its not as smooth as it use to be or it cast rough. I have been using 50lb braid and have caught a ton of fish. Could you please look at my reel and see what is wrong with it?"..... The drag is locked down. The drag washers are smashed until the have a crest at the edges. The insides are toast and basically so is the reel. Few reels can take this abuse but many others aren't made for it. Reels, to me, have systems that are designed to work together. Locking the drag down throws those systems out of wack, causing them to get damaged in the long run.

If you can swing it..... the Antares 70A (JDM version). I have both the Metanium MGL and the the Antares. Both great reels but between the two the Antares wins out. It casts further, it's smoother and the drag is just something special that you have to experience with a fish on.

My current favorite is Sunline X-Plasma. Smooth, casts better than most, and the color last as long most other lines. Next would be Seaguar Smackdown and then a tie between Sufix 832 and Powerpro.

I use have a 10' john boat and at that time I weighed 210lb, had about 30lbs of gear, a trolling motor and a heavy duty battery. I could put one other person under 200lbs in it. This was safe for a pond but not an open water lake. If you add a deck, to me, this would not only be too heavy but the stability would be dangerous for even one person.

I was out at local resivor last weekend and there was a guy in one of these that got stuck out in the middle of the lake. His trolling motor died. We had 20+ mph winds and 1+ foot swells. He was unable to paddle in against the wind and current. A boat with a 9.9 had just shown up and towed him. There were several other people in kayaks that came in successfully but based on how that boat was made, paddling was very difficult. He was lucky he didn't tip over when he was crushed against the bank. Here is what it looked like just before the wind really picked up.

Me too. I still have some the Kanzen. It's good stuff.

Same. Another thought... Seaguar is, to me, the brand that others aspire to be like and to come out with a good introductory line would be difficult when you already make so many great lines to begin with.

They should press on but cautiously. Too many good lines (and some bad ones) have been eliminated or reformulated just because they didn't meet people's expectations. That's why I said setting customer's expectations was critical. In other words, they shouldn't over sell it. Just in case I do work in a marketing firm.

Not a huge BPS fan either. Just used it for reference. I will have to check these guys out. Good bargain by the way. Thanks

Tatsu is my favorite but Invizx has been my go between. Red Label for me was not the greatest. It had all the characteristics of FC that I dislike. Abrazx, I don't like it for Texas rigged soft plastic but I do like it for pitching and flipping jigs around cover. Never had any issues with it. AbrazX at BPS is $32. From what I remember it's always been more than InvizX and positioned below Tatsu in price.

That's what I was thinking but didn't want to call out their past lines that went by the way side. How about Kanzen and Senshi? I thought Abrazx was one of their more expensive lines. I use it on my heavy jig set up. It usually runs around $25 a spool or more.

I like Seaguar lines but this is a tuff one for me. On one hand, you introduce a budget line and you get it right, you have some happy new customers that will branch out to other product lines but on the other hand, do it wrong and you could loose that customer. Setting the customer expectations would be critical. FC is always a touch and go subject with some anglers. They could have called it sinking mono, charged the same price and most people wouldn't have known the difference. Guys that fish mono would probably be praising it. FC users might be indifferent to it. My hope is Seaguar got it right and they have a winner but more often than not, when a cheaper line is introduced by any company, it doesn't stay around long.

I have one. Shimano sent me one for a Shimano Crucial I had, that had the lifetime warranty. I broke it on a fish. I had it for years, no issues and then crack. As far as the Curado rod goes, its just ok. I am not thrilled with it. It's not as good as the old Crucial and the St. Croix Legend Glass I have is far superior in every way. Can you catch fish on the Curado? Of course but this rod is nothing out of the ordinary.

Finesse fishing for past 20 years to me means 6lb test line and a Med or ML spinning setup and a lure that is around 1/4 oz or less. Also, whatever lure is used, is fished slow ?. 12lb test line and a Med or MH baitcaster set up is just regular fishing. There are of course baitcasting reels and rods now that can do finesse or BFS, which is a whole different discussion.

Same. I bought a few Avids and a few Legend Tournaments that way. Show prices can be great.

I have seen St.Croix factory seconds at Sierra Trading Post. Not sure what member here has them but they posted a few times about how good they were.

I use to always say that I would only buy a rod and reel in store but now there are so many reviews and videos, I am able to make an informed guess at what I am getting. Rods though are tough. I feel like I have to go on a little faith with my favorite companies and hope they get it right. I have yet to order a rod from over seas though. I have kind of drawn the line there but on reels I have had great luck and would order again.