FishTank

I have caught everything from crappie, bluegill, catfish, largemouth, smallmouth and spots. Here a few..... not dinks caught on the bottom in about 3-4 feet of water. I use them all the time. I just need the right circumstances. I use those other techniques as well but this is flat out fun.

Always I would check a JDM site for the best deal on this bait.

OSP Buzzin Crank. Fish seem to come unglued when this bait goes past them.

I fish from a kayak most of the time. I have a Hobie PA 14 where the seat sits up fairly high. I can stand on it but my favorite lake is pretty windy and standing is just dangerous. Being able to sit up higher, I can pop a jerkbait pretty easily. I just set myself up with the bait at a slight angle off the front of the kayak (see the pic below) and reel in some slack, stop and pull, then reel in a little slack, let it sit, and repeat. Worked all day the last time I was out.....

@Darren. Here is the Devil Shaker trailer. No fish on it today though.

I don't have the X-bites but I do have the Daemos. This rod is a good do all Medium powered rod with a soft tip. It does not have a lot of power for deep applications but works great for shallow jigs, spinnerbaits, and swim jigs. I have not tried it for chatterbaits but would guess it would do well for the 3/8oz size. Also, I never really cared for the X-bites when I picked one up in store. For jigs I tend to like the G. Loomis 894 and 904 NRX+ rods. I do have the 873CRR and it is a good do all rod but I did not care for it for chatterbaits. The tip is softer than the JWR series but not soft enough for a chatterbait. If chatterbaits are what you are aiming to throw, the Loomis NRX+ 883BJR is awesome. Definitely overkill for this technique but I have yet to find one better. It loads perfectly, it's sensitive in just the right way, and it makes for a great spinnerbait rod as well. I keep repeating this but the hook keeper sucks. Once you get use to it you learn to avoid it. Overall, I love this rod.

Currently it's Sunline Deifer (both versions)and Machinegun Cast. Sadly, I think all are discontinued.

@EarnestDignity I have not fished the new 2024 Tatulas. I have heard both good and bad on those. My experience stems from the non SV spool Tatulas. The other thing is that I have seen the new 2025 Tatula SV 100 and it has an SV Boost spool. I was told this might be a replacement for the 2024's already but I can not confirm this. Also, I don't think the Zillion is more free than the Tatulas, actually the opposite. The Tatulas seem to loosen up after prolonged use. The JDM Alphas, I have no experience with the new ones but it is always spoken of highly on this forum.

I have a few and just bought a couple replacements. I have caught just about everything on them. I found the best jig for it is the Valley Hill Devil Shaker. It doesn't look like much but it brings in the fish. I also use the 2in Dolive Craws. The only issue I have with these are that they are totally useless at most lakes with current and wind. It takes forever to hit the bottom if it does at all.

I have the Silver Wolf and after some soul searching, I came to the conclusion that it's not a true BFS reel. I have better luck with a Steez CT with the same lures, line and rod. I contacted Daiwa Japan about the difficulties I was having casting lures around 3.5 grams. After a long wait, they told me it's true minimum was 5 grams but ideally 9 grams would be best and it's made for lures up to 20 grams. They also said it's designed for light PE to handle black bream were thin diameter line is needed. It's a good reel but it has found it's home on a Med Fast rod that I use for 1/4oz jigs, 1/4oz spinnerbaits and weightless senkos. It works great for those baits and I'm happy with it. For a true BFS reel, I would look at Shimanos offerings, especially the Aldebaran.

I have been using a lot of YGK Xbraid #0.8 to #1.2 PE. I like Ohdragon, Upgrade and if you want crazy expensive, there is Shinji. I bought a spool of #0.8 with an Amazon gift card I got from work. I have it on a 2000 Twin Power. I would never buy it outright. Fantastic line though and the best I have ever used. Ohdragon is sinking braid. This great for bottom contact baits. Upgrade is your get it done braid. Nothing fancy but good line. I use 10 or 12lb leader. I like Seaguar Gold Label and Seaguar Grand Max. I also use Daiwa Saltiga. Another line to look at is Sunline Almight. I have only used it on BFS gear but so far it casts great and holds up well.

Always tighten the tension knob and the drag a little bit when spooling a new reel, almost like it should be when you are casting it for the first time. With everything loose the line will sort of choose a side and fill more to that portion of the spool.

This is what my buddy uses for swimbaits. It's a Dewalt small parts box. I have the smaller version. I use it as a grab and go for my kayak. https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-Plastic-10-Compartment-Deep-Pro-Small-Parts-Organizer-DWST14825/203367153 After reading the description on HD website, I believe my buddy had do some work on this as well. I think some of the trays are none removable.

It almost looks like the spring that goes to the turn key that opens the side plate. Does it open and close properly? I wonder if the reel was worked on before and it somehow got dropped into the reel.

The regular Zillion uses a newer SV Boost system. I was never a complete fan of the Magforce system. This newer system works. It can cast lures a long way. Most lures seem to take off quickly, slow down, and then speed up again. It's kind of weird actually. The JDM Zillion HD has a Mag Z Boost. This works great for heavier jigs, swimbaits, etc. Here is a Daiwa promo video on the SV Boost.

Skip the Tatulas and just get the JDM Zillions. I have yet to see a Tatula that has had consistent braking. Each Tatula I have fished, with exception of the latest version, will be fine for several casts and then all of sudden backlash. Anytime I pick one up, I have my thumb at the ready. With the Zillions (various versions) I have, I don't have to worry about it.

I have used Simple Green/Simple Orange and acetone. Both work well but an ultrasonic cleaner makes them more effective. I bought a cheap one off of Amazon and so far so good. I soaked the bearings out this reel I snagged about 20 feet deep and then ran them in the ultrasonic cleaner the next day. The additional gunk that came out was staggering. This dead Black Max works exceptionally well now.

I live in Indy and the two local ponds I go to are frozen. Last few years I fished them on December 26th. As far as the A-rig goes, depending on the rod, I would go weightless if possible and use Owner CPSs for the dummies. With those weights, it will sink fast if not retrieved quickly. If your in approximately 15 feet of water or deeper, you should be OK.

I would say seldom. I might put one on if I want to fish a shallow area slowly but there are better alternatives for this.

I've done ok so far. I've picked up a new rod rack $50, list price was $120. I bought several baits at The Hook Up Tackle that were on sale 30-50% off and few of their bulk pack baits. A JDM site was having an unadvertised sale where you had to hunt for stuff on their site. I picked some 110jr +1s for $10, a bunch of wacky jigs and other terminal tackle for $2 a bag, Suline Invisible FC for $8 a spool, Megabass Deep X cranks $10 each, OSP DoLive Beavers and Craws $4 a bag, and a Megabass Pro Hoodie for $35. I also picked up some Evergreen crankbaits for $7.50 and a some KastKing 3700 boxes (Edge knockoff) for $9 each. I actually like these better than the Edge boxes. Amazon had them on a pre-black Friday sale.

X-zone Swammer 2.75. It works great for a 1/0 or #1 size hook.

@RoachbjmI sort of have 3 of 4 versions of the Core. The one in the middle is the JDM Metanuim MG7 Limited Edition, the top is the 51 MG7 and the bottom is the 101MG. They also made a Core 100MGFV with a supposedly heavier duty gear, a bigger handle and a different thumb bar. The JDM Metanium is almost identical in design to the Core 101. The Met does have several different parts from the Core 101MG though, for instance it has an Aluminum gear that is 7.x:1 instead of 6.x:1. Some of the parts are interchangeable but I have not tried to see which ones. The parts for these reels were designed for two different markets respectively, the US and Japan. The 51MG is a totally different reel from the Core 101MG, the Core 101MGFV and JDM Metanium MG7. Editing this just in case..... The 09 Aldebaran was like the 50MG7 but I remember the Aldebaran feeling completely different. I always thought it was the next step for the Core 100.

@Roachbjm I have a Core 51MG7 that I bought used a few years ago and it was pretty much perfect except break side of the frame was scratched and my wife's cat chewed on one of the knobs. The frame part was not available on Shimano's website so I called Shimano and they had one in stock. In my conversation with them, I asked about getting parts in the future and was told, at that time, that they had plenty of everything. I asked about getting specific parts for my reel and was told that they would all match the original schematic so no updated or changed parts. Also, on mine the screws are black and based on what was mentioned, it sounds like someone might have frankensteined your reel or at least found parts from another that would work. I would post some pics to show the difference.

I would say so. I looked but couldn't find the G Finesse 6s. I thought for sure I had some. I must have used them all, which is why I have the Ryugis. So from left to right, size 5 G Finesse, 6 BKK fang, and a 6 Ryugi Pierce. The originals are on this 110jr +1. Editing this as I noticed my box of hooks is a hot mess...... The BKK is a size 8 and the Ryugi is also a size 8.

Thanks for calling me out on that. You are correct. They ones I have are size 6s but I dumped them in with the 8s in treble box. They are not much different in size for the ones that come on the 110 jr.