FishTank

In the Shimano line up you can go with just about anything that has the MGL spool or is a size 70 reel. I have not used this one but I think it will do... The JDM Scorpion MGL. It will be a step up from what you have, cast light lures, and it looks pretty cool. For the rod, a lot of members here like the Arc rods you mentioned but I am kind of old school so for what you are looking to use I would go with the St. Croix Avid M Fast. It's a very versatile rod, good warranty, and kind of a no brainer when it comes to quality and price.

I ordered another Antares 12 but when I opened the box it was a 19 70A Left. I ordered it from a store on eBay in Japan but it shipped directly from Shimano. It took 3 weeks to get here. Just holding it, it is nothing like the 12. I really can't compare it to anything else I have fished with. I am hoping to take it on the water tomorrow. Definitely an awesome surprise. I thought I had order this reel (the 19) from another vendor but I failed to read the description properly and got the 12, which I kept. This makes up for it...

I had a spool of Tatsu on a reel for four years. I can get one year maybe two out of Invizx. Both are great lines but Tatsu is better, just expensive.

Smith's have worked for me. One of the guys that I fish with uses the Guide Choice Bifocals and loves them. They are supposed to curved a certain way that prevents glare on the bifocal part. All I know is I have two pair from them and love them so far.

I haven't seen them much as of yet either. I was out on the water Saturday for about 8 hours and caught 1. The guy I fish with caught 4. It was really slow but after talking to some people (at the dock) nobody caught much of anything. It sure has been a weird year, even for fishing.

6lb Trilene 100% FC XL. It will get the job done.

When I looked into finding something to keep me warm and safe on my kayak in cold weather, I decided it was not worth the trouble. Rule of thumb for me 60 degrees is the coldest water temp, sealed dry clothes stored in my life jacket, no shoes that would cause me to sink, warm layers, and most importantly, minimum of 5 minutes from shore at all times. When I did ask about what gear I would need, the best recommendation I received was to look at Patagonia's website. I came to the determination that I would need two dry suits, wet/dry shoes, and gloves> about $750 at least. The O'Neil Psycho is what I told to get for extreme cold and the Patagonia Yulex Lite for everything else. I hoping this weekend will be warm enough to get out.

When I have looked at what they had to offer they seemed like gimmick rods. Of course, any rod can catch fish but these rods seem cheap and out of place compared to other rods near their same price point. Weird rubbery handles are always a turn off for me. The heavy coating on some of them is also an odd thing. The guides on some of the ones I have looked at from both Favorite (this past year) and Halo a few years back were not well wrapped and did not line up well. Overall, there are plenty of other rods that would catch my eye before these would.

Pass on both.

I thought I remember seeing this once before....

I ordered two. One about a month ago and it arrived in a week. The other I ordered two weeks ago and according to the EMS tracking it has not left Japan yet. I am kind of worried about this one.

Here is an explanation on how the Infini system works on a Revo. Your reel is pretty much the same thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECqB2L5T_vM

The tick is just a slight tick on the retrieve, not audible but just a feeling . I probably wouldn't have noticed it except, I just bought a new Antares 12 5.6:1. I can definitely tell the difference. I have put new gears in this reel as well. The pinion and main gear looked burnt and the teeth on the pinion were worn. Also, I kind of have to remember that I purchased a second hand reel that appeared brand new on the outside but the insides looked heavily used. I might not be able to get rid of the it. It may be just that the reel is showing its use and age.

Looks like the 12 Antares HG to me....

Buying more stuff I don't need on eBay...... I was totally organized till I spent about 12 useless hours on a lake today. There was about 150-200 boat trailers in the parking lot. Thank goodness it was huge lake..... Time reorganize again. And I am still working and having to go into work but somehow I still feel confined which is probably a bad sign.

Skip forward to the 36sec. mark. If this is the same reel, it should have the pins. I don't have this reel but I have the Revo Winch which pretty much has the same type of braking system. I usually set the breaks to either 1 or 2 pins and the outside dial about fuzz below half >closer to the less side.

Not sure if this is the braking set up with the external dial and pins on the inside but I believe to get the best out of this system you need to occasionally oil the brake racing. I would suggest a q-tip and just a drop or two of oil. I would also back out the spool tension knob, take out the spool, put it back in and then reset it to what ever bait you are wanting to use.

I have two of them, 7' MH Fast and the 6'8'' M X-fast. They are both great rods and the construction on them is top notch. The 6'8'' M is my favorite of the two. It's sensitive and fun to fish. I have paired it with a Daiwa Steez SV TWS. I use it for lighter T-rigged stuff. The 7' MH Fast is a great general purpose rod. As far sensitivity goes, they are on par with the G. Loomis GLX but not close to the NRX. They are definitely a great quality rod.

Thanks for the tip. It worked like charm. My repair sort of did not go as planned though. I ordered one wrong part and I was not able to get to the one of the bearings I needed to replace in the time I had. Maybe next weekend. But after getting it all back together and replacing the drag washers, the clutch support bearing, and the bearing below the drive shaft, it's feeling pretty much like new. The clutch support bearing was definitely bad but the drive shaft was in good shape and could have waited. I only have one other thing I am chasing and that's a slight tick on the retrieve. This reel has been a learning experience for sure. Sorry to the original poster for not getting pics. I was short on time.

Sounds like most reels when reeled in that fast.

Try switching from braid to mono or FC and see if the same thing happens. Intermittent spool spinning is usually caused by the line digging in or a bad spool bearing.

I just purchased a used 12 Antares and was chasing something similar. I found a few of the bearings were bad and the main gear and pinion were toast but it was not noisy on the retrieve, just rough. The bearings I replaced were the spool bearings and the extra bearing under the spool bearing (below the cast cap). The bearing was pretty much in pieces when I took it out. In your case though, I wonder if it's not one of the springs. There is one small one on the bottom of the frame that is a pain to get back on right. If you don't sort of screw it into the hole it rest in and line it up perfectly, it can pop off and get in the gears easily. Have you taken this reel apart yourself? It's a pain at first but once you do it, it's not too bad. You can always call Shimano back and see what they have to say. Good Luck. I will probably be working on mine tomorrow. I can take few pics and show you the spring. I am replacing the bearing under the main shaft. It was back ordered from Shimano and will be here finally tomorrow. I am also doing the brake case. I found that at the 3 setting on the dial the brakes don't really work that well or at all but are great at 2 and 5. I have never seen a brake system so worn and grooved.

St. Croix Avid 7' M Fast.

I can't confirm this yet but I heard Home Depot is asking customer 60 and over not to visit their stores in any fashion.

What reel are you using? I have seen something like this on some of the older reels from BPS/Lews/Abu Garcia where the line pawl guide would get grooved from using braid but it was caused by torquing on the reel too much. I think that year a lot reels shared the same pawl. It would be an easy thing to check on though.