FishTank

I had a prescription but I kept having other things go wrong. The side effects were worse than the cure.

If you have heard about this..... Mopar no more? Peugeot and FCA are now one.

I use to use 20lb Power Pro with a 8lb or 10lb FC leader. I haven't used it in years but I just picked a spool of Sunline Xplasma. I found 6lb FC much more fun to fish and it just handles better. But with a few big fished lost on FC, I decided to go with some braid again.

Shimano Sahara and Symetre. I have seen a lot of the SLX on the water and mean a lot. Just walking around at the last tournament on Saturday, there was over 50 boats at check in and I bet 20 boats had them on the deck. It maybe to early to tell on longevity but for $100 and you get through more than one season of tournament fishing, bargain.

Any of those would probably get the job done. Here is my take on them.... I have the Curado DC and it will do fine for just about any size jig. It can cast a mile and does well in the wind and for pitching. The Bantam MGL is smoother and slightly more heavy duty but is smaller than you would think. I can't speak for the Curado MGL 70 but I do have the Antares 70 that which has an MGL spool. This thing will cast further than any reel I have ever seen. It will handle just about anything I can think of. So if you are casting 1/2oz or 3/4 oz jigs the Bantam would be great. If you are wanting to go with a DC reel, it will handle the lighter baits and pitching a little bit better but no MGL spool. The 70 MGL maybe a sort of middle of the road reel (1/4oz to 1/2oz).

I have owned both at one point or another. I just feel Daiwa has more to offer and sometimes the US market gets short changed. I was thinking the same thing about the SLX's when I created this topic. They too have done well with these and we will probably see more in the future.

Well it arrived today...... I like it but I don't think the price tag fits the reel. It's really smooth, super light, strong and cast a mile but I think I was expecting more. It is pretty fast for a spinning reel and I find myself ripping the bait from the fishes mouth. I think it will just take some time to get use to. Where this reel excels though is bring fish in. It is just fun to fish. This I can't truly explain in words. You just kind of have to experience it for yourself. So I guess overall, if it increases my fishing fun, it's a keeper but I probably could have gotten away with another Stradic. I did get the job done tonight. I caught about 6 little ones and this guy.

I have the Curado DC and love it so far. I was able to pick it up for $200 at DSG online when they had a 20% off everything community sale, which had no exclusions. I have had zero issues and its a blast to fish. I can't speak for the SLX DC but I have fished the regular version and it's not bad for the money. I don't know if a DC version of this reel is worth the extra cost. So my take would be to get the Curado.

With the new 300 size Tatula that is coming out, I am starting to loose track of what Daiwa makes besides Tatulas. It seems like they have a successful platform and are taking it a bit too far. I am not for sure but I think there are eight current versions for Tatula baitcasters not including the limited designs and JDM versions. I hope they start to change things up in the future. Maybe bring the Alpha and Morethan to the US market? What do you guys think?

Fished in a tournament this past weekend and couldn't believe the amount of people on the water and on the beaches. The tournament I was in had 50 or so boats. One of the biggest ones I have been in. I didn't come close to the money but I think the top pay out was $2500. The winning bag was 26+lbs and the big fish was almost 7lbs. It was a packed lake. I don't think Covid in my area is keeping people away at all. In fact, I think it's just the opposite. This will be my new fishing t shirt until further notice.

I tend to use braided line for topwater, thick vegetation, or for anything that requires the line to float. I wouldn't use braid as a general purpose line unless you are fishing in some pretty heavy cabbage all the time. I would go with either 12lb or 15lb FC for general use line, especially for the techniques you have mentioned above. Add some leader to the braid you are wanting to use and I would probably have a different opinion. With that said, 40lb would work but as mentioned 30lb might be a better choice in 832. Also, 832 is pretty good line.

I use both for T-Rigged plastic but prefer an X-Fast rod for deeper water and/or long casts and a Fast rod for baits I like to use in shallower water (4-6 ft range). This is a loose guide for me and not a strict rule. I also like X-fast rods for baits I like to pop off the bottom and fast rods for soft plastic that I either slow roll in (ribbon tail worms) or baits that I jerk and drop (senkos).

Casting, probably 12lb (maybe green). I will add that I would trust AJ's review and his comments on this better than mine since I only had it for such a short time.

6.x:1 is the best average usage ratio you can get. As a general rule of thumb..... 5.x:1 > Crankbaits 6.x:1 > General Purpose 7.x:1> Topwater and Lipless cranks.... And jigs if you want to pick the line up quickly. Also, I am not to sure a Daiwa Fuego would be my first choice up against snakeheads. Those fish can be monstrous and hard to bring in. A round reel or a larger baitcaster (if you want to stay with Daiwa >the Costal, Lexa or the Millionaire) would probably be better.

I tried it about 3 years ago and did not care for it. I think I had it on for about a month. I had so many knots break and line breaks in the spool that it only took one backlash for me to give in and get rid of it. From what I remember it did cast well.

When I have used leader in the past it was on casting gear. I used 50lb Green Power Pro with whatever I had left over from a filler spool of 12 or 15 lb line. My favorite leader though, Abrazx 15lb. It seemed like it was made for this task. But here lately, I have been using straight braid. I use it only for topwater. In your case, I like what you are currently using. If I had to pick, maybe the spinning set up. My thing with braid is that the pros and cons of using it never seem to push me away from using FC. With all that said, I just order a 600 yard spool of 16lb Sunline Xplasma for my jig and worm spinning set up. I told myself I would not do it again but here I am.

My father in law had a 2010 Ram Single Cab and it was a rust bucket. The bed started to rust after 5 years of ownership and then pretty much everything fell apart on it (electrical, braking system, every seal and hose, etc.) Dodge failed to cover it under warranty because he made the mistake of saying he put snow in the back to way it down in the winter. He did this with his 85' Dodge truck for as long I as I have known him and thing rusted but not like this one and it refused to die. The last straw was the steering column mount rusted and dissolved. He literally went to start it and the steering wheel fell through the dash and the column went straight to the ground. Sad thing was it only had about 50,000 miles on it. He had been brought up a die hard Mopar guy and became a certified Chrysler mechanic but now drives a 2019 F150. His entire family for three generations worked at Chrysler in some sort of fashion. They are probably rolling over in their graves.

I looked at getting the 200 size last year and decided to get the Antares 70 instead. But if the 100 size had been out then, I might have jumped on it. In your case though, I would go with the HG. I think the regular version would be ideal for crankbaits but the HG would do well for just about anything. Welcome to the forum by the way.

4 Spinning 15 Casting

Not a huge advocate for Seaguar as a whole. A few of their lines have been OK to not OK for me, like Red Label (not good), Smackdown (just ok, Kazan worked better for me), and Senshi (discontinued, good at first but faded fast). Ones I like> Invizx, Tatsu, and Abrazx. As far as changing lines, I only change Invizx once a year, sometimes two. This to me makes it worth it and convenient. Tatsu on the other hand, just this year I changed a set up that had Tatsu on it for 4 years and the only reason I changed it was because the spool was getting low. This was also my primary jig and worm set up as well. So the line was getting beat up weekly. One thing I would do is check the guides on your rod and the line guide on your reel. Just run a q-tip through them and see if it snags. Also, what set up are you using this line on? And you mentioned that you picked this up on a BPS Clearance Sale. Was it in the old package? If so, that line could be several years old. Was it level wound on the filler spool? If not, it's ancient.

Sounds like it would be perfect.

That would be the one. The 7' M fast is also great for 1/2oz stuff.

The St. Croix Avid 7' MH Fast will do just about anything. With you budget you could get a Shimano SLX and be pretty close. This set up will cover topwater, jerkbaits, most t-rigged soft plastic, spinner baits and jigs.

I have been using the same line for years without issue. I currently have it on 8 different set ups. I have caught a ton a fish this year without a single break (unless I had to break the line because of a snag). I also never have had an issue with abrasion and I fish around rocks and cover pretty much every week. If you want to change, I would go with Tatsu. Best line I have ever used. The 12lb Invizx on this reel was put on back in February. It is my jerkbait set up. It gets fished as much as anything but this line probably gets abused the most. Long casts, hard rips and hook sets and tons of fish. The line still performs like new.

I like the brown and copper type lenses for low lite and blue for bright days. The contrast is amazing with both. I have developed a like for Smith sunglasses. They have good customer service and some of their glasses come in an RX version. My personal favorites are the Guides Choice. These are the brown and green ones I have.