FishTank

I have this rod and it makes for a great all purpose rod. I have paired it with a Shimano Bantam MGL. It has been great for jigs, jerkbaits, and T-Rigged soft plastic. I debated between the Bantam and the Metanium. I am glad I got the Bantam. It balances well with this rod and casts a mile.

I have fished with three guys like that over the years..... One would only throw a green pumpkin zoom lizard, another a 7in berkley power worm in june bug, and the other, most annoying, was a guy that only fished a 1/4oz Strike King black and blue jig. The jig guy would fish a few feet away from the bank, drop or flip his jig in and keep the trolling motor going full blast. If he didn't catch anything on that jig, it didn't matter, he wouldn't switch up, even though he had 4 other set ups sitting on the deck of the boat. If I didn't cast a country mile off the end of the boat, we usually wouldn't catch more than 2 or 3 fish between the two of us. It was not uncommon for him to get skunked every other outing.

I am waiting on ...... Huddleston 68 Weedless Black Gizzard Shad ROF 12 (February 21st supposedly) Spro BBZ-1 Blue Herring Slow Sink (In stock now) Huddleston 6" Trout Silver/Green ROF 5 (In stock now) The rest I have received

I have a Revo Toro Beast for swimbaits and so far this thing has been amazing but is kind of overkill for bass fishing. If you are going to throw some heavy baits this thing can take it and more. It's oddly buttery smooth too. It was originally around $400 but can be found for about $200-$250. It is definitely a lot of reel for the money.

I'm kind of excited but not. I really like St. Croix rods and would love to own one of these but since no store with in 100 miles of me will ever have one in stock to look at, I am kind of like>what's the point. I do like like the the two Legend Elites, the one Legend Glass, the one Mojo Musky and the 4 Avids I have though. The Avids I have though, two spinning and two casting, have been work horses. I bought the casting rods 2 years ago when Gander Mountain went out and to me they are different than the ones from say 10 years ago. They are not as tip heavy and the hump by the reel seat is not as pronounced, the two things that caused me to sell the ones I bought years ago.

If you want to try a Quantum, I am not a fan of the Accurist but the Vapor has a been a good reel for me so far. Check out Simmons Sporting Goods on eBay. You can call them and they will pretty much give a good deal. I picked mine up for around $75. It's surprisingly buttery smooth and casts really well.

Still waiting. TW said it will be the end of February>maybe. I'm about to (or I should have by now) cancel my order.

Once again..... I am still waiting on 2 Huddlestons and 1 Spro from Tackle Warehouse. My best find from the Bait Monkey was another Calcutta 251 I got at an antique store to go with the 13 Fishing Muse Black Swimbait Rod.

It was emailed. Some of their codes are sent to you with a limited amount of uses and they will include some of the things that are normally excluded from sales (Gore-Tex, Under Armour, St. Croix, Simms, etc). Unfortunately there is no way to know from the email until you go to their website. Personally I think they sort of mess up on purpose. Their normal coupons like stated above are also sent via email. Sometimes you get lucky but, like also stated above, I don't think they include the Tatula.

I was told it was so they could milk a crappie specific sale.

I picked up a 13 Fishing Muse Swimbait rod at Sierra Trading Post for $60. They also had a Daiwa Tatula SV TWS with two Evergreen crankbaits for $150 then 25% off of that if you have the correct coupon. Great deals....

I think for the cost, based on looking up what I could, if such a spool existed you are probably looking at least half, if not all, the cost of the reels. Also, based again on what I would, I think the spool capacity of these are the same as the current Curados (155 yards of 10lb on the Curado and 200m of PE1 20lb for the reels you have). I currently use a two reels for crankbaits, the Curado DC and the Abu Garcia Revo Winch Gen4. The Winch as the largest line capacity but I never really had to use it unless I was trolling. There is also https://japantackle.com/tuning-parts/spools-casting-reels/shimano.html for after market spools. Another option might be to contact Shimano directly by phone about the spools.

I have been interested in this line as well. I have been using Sunline Natural for mono but the cost of Armilo and Defier have stopped me so far. I do spend about the same on FC though. I will probably pick up some for throwing big swimbaits in the future. I know one member here (Tom?) loves this line. I would imagine he would be a good source for a review.

I have the Steez SV TWS and it wouldn't be my first choice for frogs. To me it's more of a finesse reel. I have tried it for several techniques and found it shines best with weightless soft plastic, 3/8oz cranks, and light jigs. It does cast a mile in my opinion but when compared to other reels I own it doesn't cast heavier lures as far. I have paired mine with a St. Croix Legend Elite 7' M Fast. I am not nocking it in anyway though. I am comfortable saying it's the best reel I have ever used. I just don't think it's the best choice for a heavy frog rod and also, braid. I tried braid on it and did not care for it. 12lb FC is what I have found works for me on this reel. As far as the casting distance goes... My reel out of the box was almost bone dry and did not cast as well as I like it. I broke it down and added a few drops of oil and a little grease and it definitely made a noticeable difference. I don't think you can get much better than the stock bearings. I would also not worry about the spool speed you see in those videos. This reel's spool was designed and set at the factory with no adjust spool tension knob. I believe there is a little caution note from Daiwa in the manual about changing this. For frogs I have tried several reels and so far like the Shimano Bantam the best. It's built like a tank and can handle pulling a ton of cabbage out of those dense lily pads.

I have been using a G. Loomis 783GLX for several years. It has been great for jerkbaits. The length is perfect, it has a soft tip, plenty of backbone, casts light lures well, and is super sensitive. I have tried other but this one just has the special feel for that particular bait.

Thanks. That was a good deal.

I wonder how the Steez A with a SV spool compares to the Steez SV TW. Other than the frame material, it looks like it might very similar. I also tried out a Lew's HyperMag and did not care for it. I do have a Lew's Carbon Fire and it's not bad actually. But when it comes to the Lew's reels I have worked on, in general, this pic from Tackle Tour review of the Pro Ti says a lot (despite them naming it an Editor's Choice). Too much grease out of the box on all the reels I have taken apart. I think if this was properly done from the get go, the reel would perform better. I guess I could say something similar about the Steez I have. It was pretty much bone dry. Once I added a few drops oil and dab of grease in the right spots, it went from awesome to beyond comparison.

Great reel but when I tried it, it didn't blow me away for what I wanted to use it for (soft plastic). Not really sure how to compare it to the Bantam though, I think it too is a different reel. I don't think he could go wrong with either one though.... And the bait monkey says hello..... https://japantackle.com/casting-reels/daiwa/low-profile-casting-reels/reg0000218.html

Me too. I have 15 of my own and double that I work on for friends. I have started to use a light box and a magnifying glass sleeve. I can see better, it keeps the reel parts in check and I can control what goes where easier.

I have the Steez SV TW and the Bantam. They are, in my opinion, two different reels, for different purposes. The Steez is my go to for soft plastic and anything finesse. It's light weight, super smooth, and pretty much is the best reel I have ever fished. The only down side is that it is one the more difficult reels to work on. It's not horrible but with its tight tolerances, I needed more patience to get it back together. With that said, I would not recommend it for the application you are looking at. The Bantam would be the clear choice. It can handle the line you want, it too is smooth, casts just as well as any reel I have used and is built like a tank (think like a round reel). The frame of the reel is, some how, sensitive. I use mine for flipping, swim jigs, small swimbaits, and bigger jerkbaits. The only thing I don't like about this reel is taking the side plate off to get to the spool. It's just kind of annoying how it's built. It is easy to work on and service otherwise.

I have bent a few in my time cleaning reels, especially on Curado 200g and the Chronarch 50e. I don't know what it is but if it moves out of place when putting the reel back together, I end up bending it. I have left them off before until a new one came in and really didn't notice much of anything until I hooked into a decent fish. Here is another old thread from TT about this sort of thing...... http://www.tackletour.net/viewtopic.php?t=44933

I have have the Revo Winch and fished the Smoke HD as a loner for about a month or two. I like both reels but head to head, I like the Winch better (not by much though). I like the breaking system better on the Winch (seemed more consistant) and for deeper cranks it's just superior in both power and smoothness. The HD on the other hand cast a little further but was not great when it came to lighter baits, into the wind situations, and it sort of felt torquey when a fish was on. I actually like the regular Smoke better, which I own. I am considering buying the HD in the future but I think, for me, it would be better for topwater and frogs. I know you said you did not want other suggestions but the Shimano Curado DC is my favorite for deep cranks. It's just more fun to fish.

Looks like a winner> if they can keep it under $200.

Sealskins....

I ordered some Huddleston Swimbaits before Christmas and Tackle Warehouse still says they are on back order. I am, of course, in no hurry but would like to see the order get shipped since it was placed 2 months ago. This will be my first go at using the bigger swimbaits and I am just overly excited. I just wish they would get here. Anyone else dealing with this issue?