FishTank

So the bad one is #1. It came out of a Doyo reel and is not the first one I have seen like this. If you look at the teeth in the upper right corner (2 o'clock), they have small scratches in them. This might be ok but the pinion gear is damaged. If you zoom in, you can see the chip out and also the inside of it is grooved. This reel is 3 years old. #2 is from a Metanium MG7 which is the original from 2007. The guy it came from lived near Lake Fork and it was his primary reel. It was serviced each year though but it has seen more big fish than I will see in my lifetime. This reel is as smooth as butter but is not as smooth as my Core. You can tell the difference between the brass gear and the aluminum. #3 is from a Shimano Antares 2012 that was used in saltwater. The reel itself was in pretty good condition and was taken care of but the problem with it wasn't the gear set, it was a bearing. What you see in the picture is what it looked like after it was cleaned and polished. #4 is from a Banax reel. This is sort of a tough one. I have found little wrong with the gear set itself but there is some play between the drive shaft and frame. Also, there is some wear and play in the pinion grove that fits the pin on the spool. It will make a clicking noise occasionally. Under load the retrieve is not the best but just reeling a bait in, it feels fine. This reel is around 2 years old. To me, the gear thing is over blown. Brass, I think, will soften the feel of other problems a reel might be having. On the other side of it, I can't say Aluminum transmits the feel of the inside of a reel more. There are just too many things that could be causing issues and the pinion and main gear should be the last on the list to check for problems. Dirt and gunk that get into reels cause more issues, to me, than anything else. Keeping a reel clean and serviced does help a lot. Also, I have only seen one gear set from Daiwa that was bad and that was years ago. Plus, I didn't have any to show at this time. Adding one more disclaimer, these are just observations and do not represent each manufacture individually. I own or have owned reels from each of them and have had both good luck and bad luck with each.

I would install them as is and see how you like them. Oil can be added later if needed but don't get caught up in the free spool spinning you see in online videos. Get the bearings broke in and the reels braking set up for them is the key to get the most out of them. On a side note, not all newer reels see an improvement over the stock bearings or at best, it is marginal. For instance and some cases, I would use Shimano's top of the line bearings they use in the Conquest, Metanium, Antares, etc, before I would use ceramics

I tried a few sets of Boca Orange seals (still have them in one reel) and didn't care for them at first. In one reel, they didn't fit properly so I removed the seals and the fit was fine but they did not feel smooth and were noisy. I added a drop of oil and it helped but not much. After about a year, they calmed down and are fantastic. I still can't figure this one out. The other set went into a buddy's old Curado (B or BSF can't remember). It's a casting machine. As far as I know, they have never been oiled or had the seals removed. Moving forward since then I have used metal shielded ABEC7 ceramics and I put a drop of TSI321 to keep the noise down at first, clean them a year or so later, and run dry if need be. You can definitely tell the difference between 321 and everything else. Great oil for bearings.

Out of all the Shimano reels I have owned....the Core 101 has been my favorite. I lost my first one to Davy Jones' locker and bought another off of ebay. I had my original for almost 15 years. I used it as my main jig and worm reel. I caught so many fish on it and used it for so long that it felt like it was part of my hand. For as long as I had this reel, it always felt like it was new out of the box. Luckily the one I got of Ebay was a little better. The orginal owner sent it to a guy for service and he replaced all four bearings with orange sealed ceramics and I think the AR bearing was changed as well. It is just incredible.

Pretty sure it won't be an issue. The swimbaits that these reels are designed for, probably start at $75 a piece and the demand for those baits is always high. If you can afford the baits, you afford the reel. Personally, I would probably only use a 200 size in it but I wouldn't pay $600. I would go for a Tranx first or the JDM version.

Daiwa test footage.....?

I'm pretty sure they still catch fish..... eventually ?.

Maybe a better close up. The light in my garage stinks.

I've got another one. The 2-Way from Raid Japan. I am usually fine with a plain wacky rigged senko but I saw a guy last year catch four different species of fish (catfish, stiper, largemouth, and a carp) on the smaller version of this bait, in the same spot using FFS and I told myself I had to try it.

I have the previous version and it has been fantastic. It might the best spinning reel I have ever used. I am excited as well for this release.

I know this is not exactly an informative video but at around the 14-15min mark he explains exactly how I fish a free rig with the Bellows Gill.

The email I received, if you dig deap enough, said it was from Shimano "Electronics". New forward facing sonar? Saltwater reels with line counters? Updated DC system? Or something dumb, like a flashing crankbait.

Once I got past the main 5 or 6 rods I use, I started to look for specific things that increase my fishing fun. Price really isn't an issue. If I can save up $200 for rod, I can be patient and save up $400. It's just a matter of time. I also try not to pay full price. The JDM exchange rate has been a problem for me though. Sometimes it's to good and I can't pass up on what seems to be a once in a life time deal but in reality, I really should. I research everything I can. Sometimes that leads to an expensive rod but sometimes not. I also like specific brands for specific techniques. Lately, hard baits on Megabass rods, soft plastic and jigs on Loomis, and I tend to like St. Croix rods for just about anything when it comes to their technique specific rods. The warranty the rod comes with can be a factor as well.

I'll take a better picture under some light. It's sort of a soft white and pearl with silver, black and gold flake.

99 Strikes. This picture does not do these two baits justice. They are pricey though and I am not sure if they catch fish any better than regular Senkos but they do look cool and are probably the best made plastic I have seen.

I was sent this rod by accident. I so wanted to keep it but the supplier insisted I send it back to Japan despite the shipping cost being almost as much as the rod. I have been considering it ever since but I don't tend to use spinning rods as mush as I use to. The tip of this rod is something special though. The rod I received did come with instructions (which was weird) that the rod tip is not as stiff or powerful as other rods and to fish accordingly. You talk about about acting.... Did you see that they had a Megabass Arms Challenge? I went to check on an order from them and the front page of their website locked up. I refreshed it and there it was. I immediately put in my cart but then I thought would I actually fish this piece of art. I stared at it for 5 minutes and then it was gone..... So next time, if lightning strikes, I am snagging one of those bad boys.

I bought one just before Christmas. Great rod. I have only been able to use it a few times but it has that special feel to it. I can't wait to get out on some big water (aka not a pond) to use it.

Sight Flash and Alewife.

5in Senko Black with Blue Flake.

I have the 803c. It's a great rod. It would be my choice for those techniques.

That's correct, which is why I bought the Silver Wolf. Not sure on the Gekkabijin. It seemed more like the Silver Creek. The one Daiwa BFS reel I don't here a lot about is the Steez Air. Seems like it would be the greatest reel ever for BFS.

I have two or three gold swim jigs that I put these on. When white or a shad color is not working this is what go to next.

Gambler.

If you can swing it, the Shimano Aldebaran BFS would be my choice. It's a good all around BFS reel. The Daiwa Silver Wolf would be my next choice. I don't own the Alphas Air but when I researched people didn't seem to like it for bass. I can't say why. It seem a lot of the BFS reels are designed for fishing streams for trout and not open water. No matter what reel you choose, the rod will be the key component.