Itheral

Couldn't pass up on the Anniversary edition.. Displaced my older Type HD Tatula to my crank-bait rod. The reel cover is a nice touch and is decent quality as well

No I haven't.. the tip actually broke right above the first line guide when I went to get some line on the reel. Currently waiting on a replacement. Felt good in hand before that though and balanced perfectly with the reel, for what its worth..

Daiwa Procyon EX 2500SH Paired with Fenwick Aetos 6'6" M/F Not exactly sure what line is gonna end up on this yet.. Liking the feel of the reel though, and the Aetos is gorgeous, slight line guide and twist issue aside

I have around a $200-250 budget that I'd like to use on upgrading some of my gear, was hoping for input on which things should/could be changed out for the most benefit. My current equipment is 6'10" Daiwa Tatula MH-F - Daiwa HD200 6.3:1 -- Overall very happy with this 6'6" Berkley LR Shock M-MF - Pinnacle Performa X 6.2:1 -- Rod works well enough for cranks and stuff I generally use it for; Reel is a bit finicky maybe, but decent Abu Veritas 2.0 6'9" MH-F - Daiwa Tatula 100 Type-R 8.1:1 -- Like both well enough I guess 6'6" Abu Garcia Veritas M-F - Shimano Sahara 2500 -- Rod does not balance very well with the reel, reel itself has been great 6'6" Browning Vectra IM8 M-F - Shimano Solstace 2500 -- Rod seems great considering its age; Solstace has seen better days, and obv not even a mid-tier reel Open to any suggestions about both which things to do first, and any ideas about specific rods/reels to replace them with. Mostly open to Brands, but I greatly prefer a foregrip (or at least better than exposed threads like the Veritas) on spinning rods.

TW order finally showed up. Mostly just resupply stuff I've gotten low / run out of. First black frog and first Keitech though, so looking forward to trying each out

The Fenwick Eagle is a good rod at this price level, some others I would consider would be a Berkley Lightning Rod Shock (esp good with cranks or other treble lures) or an Abu Garcia Vengeance (Better for worms and other soft plastics IMO, but will be sufficient all around) As for the reel, I'd recommend sticking with some of the big names. Daiwa, Shimano, and Pflueger all make exceptional reels in the $50 - $70 Range. I also really like some of the Okuma reels near this level. Depending on where you're comfortable shopping, you will still come in well under $110 overall. FFO is great, but limited selection. E-Bay should also be a good place to score some stuff cheaper

Got the new Tatula R in today, attached it to the Veritas, and strung it up. Initial impressions are quite good, seems like a good pairing for what I wanted. The 8.1 retrieve is definitely noticeable enough compared to the 6.3, and I'm surprised how much I actually like the lefty retrieve I grabbed. I'd tried them in store before, but not attached to a rod and actually tossing stuff out. My left hand doesnt retrieve as smooth as my right hand, but the casting back to back is a much smoother operation than switching hands constantly

After my last post I actually picked up an 8.1 Tatula Type R from Ebay to pair up with the Veritas. Hopefully those pair up nicely for frogging and some pitching use. Pretty sure that taps my rod/reel budget for this year though!

I wasn't sure if that was true for all Abu rods or not, the Veritas is the highest end Abu I've tried, but all of theirs Veritas and under certainly have at least felt heavy/stiff compared to other companies. I wouldnt quite say my 2 are a full power heavier than rated.. but they are certainly on the upper limit of that rating.. lol

I'd love to try out a Primmus if I could find one around here to at least hold in person, It probably would be every bit as good or better than my Tatula. And at $104 its probably a hell of a bargain. I have to disagree somewhat on the pricing though, though I'm not sure how to compare pricing entirely fairly either. Retail vs Retail makes some sense, but has little meaning IRL imo as sales happen all the time, and stuff like the Tatula reels are easily accessible for far under retail. Its also not entirely fair to compare a $150 retail Tatula to a $110 retail Performa X, but when my price for either is the same I'd be hard pressed to choose the "fairly priced" option. Anyway, I didn't intent to get into a debate about pricing structure and such. Both reels honestly perform plenty well, and if retail pricing was the only option, I think either would be a fair purchase in my limited experience

If only going by retail price, yes $120 to $200 is quite different. But considering the regular Tatula (non-HD) is $150 retail, and you can get a 100 Type R on Ebay right now for ~$120 and a regular Tat for even less, I can't imagine any situation where I would choose the Performa X over one of those. I don't have any experience with the higher end Pinnacles though, so I can't say anything on those. Both reels are smooth and the drags both seem capable, but my Tatula definitely has better casting performance and the brake system seems far more consistent, though I've never tested them head to head with same line/rod

Thanks for the input! I do already use some old mono I had for backing. Saves a lot of $ that way.. pretty sure my Daiwa would have eaten more than my 150yd spool of 55lb had I not backed it half full. And I do like how the Veritas 2.0 handles and feels, just wasn't quite right for what I wanted out of a general purpose MH, little too beefy and handle length was a bit long for some things. Thats why I was thinking of pairing it with another reel. As far as your reel suggestion, that was on a short list I was already considering, as I do really like my current one. Whats your opinion of the 100 Type R vs the CT or CT-R though? The regular CT would be a bit cheaper, 100 Type R about $20 more, and the CT-R $20 more than that.. At least after a glance at the auction listings. I would probably be leaning towards a lefty reel for this one though and the CT doesnt have the 8.1 in lefty

Baitcasters 6'10" Daiwa Tatula MH-F - Daiwa HD200 6.3:1 - 55lb Daiwa Samurai Braid - General use baitcaster, heavier lures, non-treble stuff 6'6" Berkley LR Shock M-MF - Pinnacle Performa X 6.2:1 - 12lb Red Label Flouro - Treble hook stuff. Crankbaits, larger jerkbaits, trebled topwater Spinners 6'6" Abu Garcia Veritas M-F - Shimano Sahara 2500 - 12lb Berkley NanoFil - General use spinner. Smaller jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, etc. Small jigs, lightly weighted or weightless plastics. 6'6" Browning Vectra IM8 M-F - Shimano Solstace 2500 - 15lb PP Super 8 to 12lb Flouro Leader - Almost exclusively a drop-shot rod. Occasional use for very light stuff or panfishing Also have a spare Abu Veritas 2.0 6'9" MH-F casting rod available to possibly pair up with something new Notes 1. The Daiwa HD200 is seemingly a much more impressive reel than the Pinnacle despite only being moderately more expensive. 2. The Veritas spinning rod seems much heavier and faster action than the Browning Vectra, so while having identical stats, they act much different fishing them. 3. Similar story with the Veritas 2.0 rod compared to the Tatula that replaced it this year. Concerns/Questions 1. I'm haven't fished frogs much yet, and none with the new Daiwa setup, but it doesnt seem ideal for that use. Same with heavier jigging (though I rarely do that either). Would it be worth it or advisable to find another reel to pair with the spare Veritas rod for these uses? 2. Should I be using a different combo to throw the other topwater stuff on? Obviously straight flouro isn't ideal for that use, but I'm not sure if any combo would work better 3. Would any of these combos work better with a different line type/weight? Anyway, thanks for reading and hopefully chipping in! I look forward to any advice anyone may have