Bass fishing is best

I wouldn't even bother trying throwing a 3" senko weightless on a casting rig. I can throw a 4" senko as long as it's texas rigged and there isn't a strong breeze in my face, otherwise that's going on the spinning rig too most days. Most of my weightless presentations are the standard 5" senko and up. Just weighed a 4" senko and it's a hair under 1/4 oz, which I can only imagine is the lowest rating on that rod in that combo.

Pflueger spinning reels too.

If you already have them why not give them a shot and find out for yourself. I have an 8'6 light action Fenwick HMX for live bait fishing. I do 99% of my fishing using artificial lures but when I do use live bait it's from shore and little to no added weight. I can flick bait effortlessly. I find it more of an advantage getting different angles around obstacles rather than increased casting distance. What are your rods ratings? I certainly wouldn't suggest them for kayaking. IME the longer the pole, the harder to land from a kayak. I try not to bring anything longer than a '6'6 in my kayak, that's just me though.

I have a 7 ft MH shock for throwing topwater only. It's a fine rod but I'd agree the Fenwick is worth a look. The Cabelas brand Fish Eagle rod is also on sale for $48.99 and is worth a look in this price range. I own two 663 Fish Eagle II's from previous generations and they are fine rods for the price. I still do most of my weightless senko and soft plastic fishing with these rods.

Thanks that is what I was afraid of. I own 5 shimano baitcasters so I don't speak Daiwa, the names and amount of reels they sell is staggering. Thanks very much. Thank you I've heard this before but couldn't find this exact info. The main reason I don't already own a Daiwa is I'm no fan of the bulky feel the older ones had. I looked at them again after the CT but did not like a few things about the Tatula, but did like the size. This was a tag sale purchase of my family out of state and I haven't held it yet so we'll see. I think I'll just give it to my neighbor and pick up an SV this Spring. I have 2 Met's and Chronarch MGL's and love them, they aren't going anywhere. They can't skip...or more appropriately I can't skip with them. I've heard Daiwa's are an easier reel for this. Out of curiosity if I do like this reel when I use it, are there any after market lighter spool options?

First off my apologies if this is common knowledge I've searched for an hour and can't find many detailed posts on this. Just got a used Zillion TWS What are the main differences of this model Zillion TWS 100 hl vs Zillion TWS SV 1016? Is the reel itself that much different or is the SV spool the main upgrade? If I put an SV spool in it do I have nearly the same thing as if it were the SV 1016 reel? I'd be using this primarily for skipping. I was going to buy the 1016 this spring but pretty much got this reel for free so maybe just a spool upgrade is all I need? Hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance.

@hawgenvy All my best wishes to you and everyone in the storms path, that includes some of my family. You all down there have some good practice at hurricanin' and some of the best response people when it comes to this. Be safe. Those Florida bass are no joke, every pic you post is a monster.

I know I've caught the exact same bass this year, this week but never in my life have I caught the same day with my hook still in it. Taken plenty of other people's hooks with mono or floro still attached though. If anything I think I've been over estimating the handicap of straight braid until the end of last year. Ditched the leaders last year and haven't had any drop off in numbers. In fact I'd go so far as to say I've landed more quality fish this year on straight 50 lb braid because of the lack of break offs. I can confidently horse a fish out of trouble that I know would have been trouble with mono or floro leader. 20 and 30 lb on my spinning set ups and 50 lb on my baitcasters and they all get bites. Color hasn't been an issue either, I have bright yellow on my small salt setup and it's landed some nice bass, in some of the clearest water I've fished. I'd say fish that straight braid until you notice a drop off, if ever. Only bummer is I've needed to put more braid on a reel in the same season for the first time ever so I've also ditched the palomar knot.

You have enough gear. I've seen your set ups listed in another one of your threads.....why add 2 of the same reels that aren't really that much of a step up? Buy the Metanium MGL if you have the 45% sponsor discount and the bucks to drop. Other than it's shockingly light weight I don't think the Aldebaran is that great of a reel for the price tag. It casts light lures well but the MGL spools in the Casitas JDM, Chronarch, and Metanium perform nearly as well IMO and carry enough line so you can still use them for cranking and topwater.

Did you put line on it?

I don't weight them unless I think it's a record. My guess is 5lbs +.

Micheal, The great thing about being a beginner fisherman is every day is an easy opportunity to break your PB, especially if you have the bug. Nice catch. Had about 15 minutes to fish before work. On the last cast grabbed this solid bass. Was 5 minutes late for work but well worth it.

I don't mean to add more selection to this as you've already gotten some fine advice, and I don't think you can go wrong with any of the suggestions. My only contribution is the last 2 used chronarch ci4s sold for $130 on ebay last week. There are a couple right retrieves on auction right now that end in 5 days. Just saying it's worth a look if you want a shot at a chronarch. Good luck.

For line on your reel I'd worry about line diameter more than lb rating. Right now I have 15lb power pro braid on my ultra light setup that has a diameter comparable to 4 lb mono. Check out this chart. http://www.powerpro.com/content/powerpro-north-america/en/home/products/powerpro.html Regarding the lure rating on the rod the quickest explanation is too light a lure will not allow you to 'load' the rod and casting distance and accuracy will be severely reduced. Too heavy you risk breaking the rod, and casting distance and accuracy will also be reduced. I generally find the sweet spot for a rod is in the middle of the ratings. For example I own a 6'6 Fenwick Aetos spinning rod that is rated 1/8-5/8 but it throws lures the best in the 1/6-1/2 range. I'm guessing since you have an UL setup your rod is 1/32-1/4? Most stiffer rods that I own throw 1/2 perfectly, my UL no way.

I haven't cracked open my 201I in a while but I'd imagine it's the new micro brass gearing looks a little wider than the I's that's adding some weight. Just a guess. .2oz more weight for a little smoother retrieve sounds like a decent trade off. Have you considered a 150 size reel? I'm one of those guys who can't say enough good things about the Chronarch. It's a bit thinner than the Curado I but still holds enough line for bass fishing, about 20 yards less line than the Curado. It's a subtle difference size wise but the performance and feel are night and day...and I love my Curado. The Citica MGL is a JDM only so far but it's also worth a look. Same size as the Chronarch minus the brass micro gearing. If I didn't own 2 Chronarchs I'd probably take a look at it. Who am I kidding I may take a look at it anyway.

Absolutely anyone can backlash at any time. For 3 minutes straight though? Since he is the only video on Youtube I could find fishing the K I continued to watch once he put the brakes on, but stopped when he was shocked to actually catch a fish a few minutes later. I've been upgrading my fishing arsenal this year, my baitcaster was 15 years old and my spinning reel twice that age. I slightly backlashed the Curado on the first cast and never backlashed the Chronarch and Metanium. I did the exact same thing he did once too but the feeling of no brakes is pretty obvious after 1 cast. I'm no expert with them either, but then again I'm not making equipment review videos. lol. I will admit 99.99% of me joining this forum was for feedback on equipment. I'd rather read just about anyone's opinions on their gear than some clown on Youtube, however I do enjoy watching fishing videos in the Winter when I have cabin fever. Shame I do like theme of his videos.

Watch those videos with a grain of salt. I watched one of his videos comparing casting distance of the 70 to the Tatula SV but used completely different rods. Kind of defeats the purpose of side by side comparison from a casting distance point of view. Also if you watch his latest video he spends the first 3 minutes backlashing the 200k because he doesn't realize he turned all the breaks off and can't figure out what's going on. Anyone with minimal baitcasting experience would figure this out after the second cast max. After that I kind of view him as someone doing a Ferrari review video then stalling it for the first 3 minutes.

Possibly a few yards further, but the Chronarch holds about 20-30 yards more line. I use 40- 50lb braid on my bait casters and a 1/2 oz lip less in deeper water I can just about spool the 70 to the mono and that makes me nervous enough to not throw craink baits on it. The Curado 200 holds too much line IMO unless you plan on using it in saltwater.

Chronarch MGL gets my vote also. Since you are planning on having 2 bait casters I'd definitely suggest getting one with a bit more line capacity than the Curado 70. It's my main complaint about that reel from a versatility point of view it's almost entirely geared towards light lures and finesse. I've never spooled my 70 but have hit mono backing casting with heavier lures and I don't like that. The breaking system and weight in the MGL are the same as the 70, and the feeling in the hand is pretty similar as well. If pitches, and flips like no other and throws weightless senkos just as well if not better than the 70. The best comparison I can make after using both is it's a smoother much more refined 70 that I can also confidently throw a 1/2oz crank bait or plopper 90 as far I can. I don't even bring the 70 fishing since I picked up 2 MGL's it is soon to be sold to a friend. If you like the Curado 70 I think you will love the MGL. I don't really see the new 200k to be enough of an upgrade from the 70 (if at all) to justify grabbing one until extensive primarily peer sourced reviews are out there. I do want to grab a Daiwa at some point but I don't love how they feel in my hand nor the action.feeling of the thumb bar on the Tatulas. If not I'd own one of them too. You have a very good dilemma on your hands.

I don't know what I've done here to format this like so but bear with me. About 15 years ago there was a rumor that Loomis supplied the blanks for certain Cabelas rods. Now it was just a rumor and I certainly never believed it but the fact people were talking about it only says 1 thing about Cabelas rods. They are quality for the money. I own 2 of the older fish eagle II casting rods. 1 I've had for over 15 years, and the other I picked up on Ebay this year because I like the original one so much. I can't speak for the current fish eagle rods but the versions I own are light, sensitive as can be and have a very consistent flex to them, ie the flex lower down the rod rather than just the tip that today's extra fast have where all the flex is in the last 12 inches of the tip. I use 1 paired with a Chronarch MGL for bottom contact and throwing weightless senkos, and the other paired with a Curado I for texas rigs and smaller crainkbaits. The model of the ones I own are 663 their equivalent of medium/light flex and are for tight shore and kayak fishing. I can easily feel what kind of terrain the bait is on during bottom contact and any nibbles are quite obvious with these. Casting a weightless senko is where these really excel IMO. I've landed 6 lb LMB and 5 lb SMB with these and they have been well up to the task. I would not hesitate to suggest these and I would certainly pick up one of the newer versions if I was in the market another rod. That said I do value what Fishnkamps input as always, and probably will be picking up a Dobyn's fury at the end of the season when the bait monkey makes me buy another reel. Trust me when I tell you he isn't the first nor last to swear by the Dobyn's line, and that's all I need to give them a shot. In the end no rod or reel is right for everyone, pick one up in the store and see how it feels in your hand.

IDK if I'd take apart a new high end reel like that without prior experience. You mention the issue stops when you loosen the tension knob? I'd try removing the tension cap and putting a dot of oil in there. I had a mild issue with my Curado out of the box. Oiled the break drum, flushed the bearings and was about pull the thing apart until I noticed it was dry under the cap. A half drop of oil solved it. If that doesn't solve it I'd get in contact with Shimano before taking it apart. Don't void the warranty if you don't know how to properly break that reel down, even more importantly how to put it back together properly.

Welcome, Western Ct as well, hope your season is going well.

Thank god, last thing I need is another spinning reel. If that deal was still around right now I'd grab one.

Never used the Zillion but have heard fine things about it, I'd imagine it's on par quality and performance wise with the Chronarch. The Chronarch MGL is probably the finest reel I've fished with, hands down. It pitches so effortlessly it has put to shame any other reel in my past. It casts weightless senkos easily and bombs anything heavier. It's smooth as silk all around. I've been fishing for 30 years and have been upgrading my equipment as of late. My plans were to grab one of Shimano's flagship reels at the end of this year (Metanium, or Antares) but the Chronarch is the end of the line for me after fishing it several dozen times. I never buy more than 1 of any piece of the same equipment, but am going to grab another Chronarch after this season. All that said I will again remind you I've read the same compliments of the Zillion. My best advice to you would be too hold one on a rod and see which one feels better in your hand...then buy the Chronarch.

Yep it's all over the front page. It's only good once per account so trying to decide on another Chronarch, Metanium or Aldebaren...probably all of them on friends accounts.