Lead Head

Use your finger nails to scratch any coating off the braid section you use for your knot. This helped me when having slippage problems with the fg knot.

Try a 8 carrier braid (I like suffix 832), it is less noisy. I believe it was Catt that pointed out fish can most likely hear (or feel) braid coming over submerged branches or other cover when working jigs or Texas rigs. Since that makes sense to me, I decided to use fc leaders more. Haven't noticed any difference in catch rate or had any leader complications so I guess it's a push. Most of my waters are so dirty the added noise and vibration is probably just as likely to help as it is to hurt.

Throw some 15lb braid on that thing and call it good. Grab a ML spinning rod of whatever quality you prefer and your in business. Only reason I upgraded from my super cheap setup was because I found myself grabbing and using it so often. That and I really wanted to build a spinning rod.

I landed multiple 4lb fish (and who knows how many smaller) on a $15 Academy brand spinning rod and a 20 year old spinning reel i dug out of a closet. If you don't want to spend big for a spinning ned setup, a $30 combo will work just fine. Most commonly, the lighter the ned rig the better the results. Fewer hangups too. I used the cheap gear for about 2 months before I broke down and got nicer stuff. Neds were just too productive for me not to Invest in something decent. I can feel a bit more, but I really don't think I have caught a single fish with the "good" gear that I wouldn't have with the cheap stuff.

Just a note. You need to really know what you're doing if you use acetone on your reel. It does not play well with plastic. I would only use it on removed metal parts.

I'm looking to add a SV spool to a Steez 100. I'll be using this reel for senkos and TX rigs mostly (skipping as well as casting), but it will see the occasional 3/8oz jig and swim jig. Maybe a 1/8oz shakey head (with lure it should weigh well over 1/4oz) if the rod can swing it, and it should. I'm thinking 14-16lb fc sniper for line but 30lb braid is a possibility. Right now I'm looking at the sv103 spool or the zillion sv tw G1 spool. I'm wondering if any of you Daiwa guys can give me some insight as to how these spools will behave in a steez for my intended applications, or if you would recommend something totally different? Distance matters, but is not as important as control. I figure either spool will cast far enough that hook sets get sketchy but that is just a guess. I've been looking down the older Daiwa rabbit hole for a while now... between how much I'm enjoying my alphas and ss reels, and some of the recent threads I've been reading, its getting really hard not to just dive face first down that hole.

I use an older green bps extreme H for frogging. It says its fast but I would call it moderate fast at best. The tip is extremely soft... after using it I discovered I really loved that soft tip for skipping under overhangs and walking the frog. The slower than "normal" fast action means I need to really drop the hammer on hooksets, not all that difficult with heavy braid. I can't recall ever feeling a fish and not getting a hook in it. Another good thing about the slower action is I very rarely lose a fish after its hooked. I built up a heavy Xtra fast rod for frogging last year and hated it. I lost as many fish as I landed. Pretty much anything I didn't rip across the surface to the boat would shake free. I'm guessing that had as much to do with me as it did the rod because some people love XF frog rods. If the moderate action on the Kistler is on the faster side, and not a total noodle, I wouldn't be afraid to frog with it at all. Thats my experience anyway. I would strongly suggest a phone call or email to Kistler before pulling the trigger, to give you some peace of mind.

I cup my off hand loosely around the spool to control my cast (similar to thumbing a baitcaster) so its natural to just close the bail manually. Didn't even realize it had added benefits until I started reading these forums.

I fish mostly heavily stained water so its jigs all the way for me.

I managed to get one off the bay for $109 shipped. Dropped in the 8.1.1 gear set and drag upgrade from TT, then grabbed a longer carbon reel handle (it included bearings in the knobs). Still using the stock spool, but I mostly pitch and skip jigs with it so its not a problem. While I'm not very experienced with the high end stuff I'm VERY pleased with this reel at about $220.

Garmin makes a 6" echomap. For around $300 you can get everything except side view and touch screen. If you like the idea of maps more than side view its worth a look.

You can do whatever with it. As stated above, a sharpie makes it "low vis" and a 5'-6' leader of whatever line suits your application solves any other issues. If you aren't afraid of leaders, braid is a wonderful, long lasting, and money saving line.

You could just grab the Mudhole basic tool startup kit. Its $150 but gets you started up nicely. It includes reamers and a drying motor. I know DVT and a few others recommend dry by hand at first but if you do that with prokote you are going to be babysitting that rod for half the day. Mudhole has size B thread in most colors and its pretty good to work with. Its a nice compromise between A and D. I think they say the included epoxy and finish is enough for 4 rods but I would grab some extra... better to have and not need.

I will use KVD on anything 15lb and above (sniper and yozuri mostly). Its not necessary, but it really makes a difference the first 15 casts or so before the line starts to loosen up on its own. Especially for setups that don't see heavy use. I typically apply it the night before.

Lews BB1 is another reel you can look into. It is a solid, deep spooled cranking machine.

Since your already comfortable with leaders, its really hard to beat braid to leader on a spinning rig. Getting comfortable with leader knots and using braid is what got me to return to spinning tackle after about 15 years. Its just a absolute pleasure to fish (for me anyway).

You want distance AND a forgiving reel. Very few really long casting reels are what I would call forgiving. Admittedly, my experience is limited to Daiwa, Lews, and older Shimano reels. Tatula sv tw (or any SV spooled Daiwa) is always the first recommendation I make when someone is new to baitcasters. It is extremely forgiving, gives good (not great) distance, covers a wide range of baits well, and you won't outgrow it for a long time (if ever). Something like this could let you actually fish with minimal frustration as you get comfortable enough to bomb with the president.

On your spool tension, you want a teeny tiny side to side wiggle. Not loose side to side play. Sounds like you have it pretty much figured out now anyway. I cast in my yard all the time too. I've had cats sneak up and try to attack my jig many times, but no deer... yet. The coolest thing happened a few weeks ago. I was in the yard pitching to stumps and bushes just playing around. I was wearing a wide brimmed hat to keep the sun off so I couldn't see anything up in the trees. As I'm reeling in my jig a hawk came straight down on it about 20 feet from me. I managed to get the jig away before he could secure it, but because of the hat I had no idea he was in the area until he was (what felt like) right in my face... nearly had to change pants after that.

I have no experience with a DC reel, but I can't imagine anything being easier to learn baitcasting than a SV spooled Daiwa. My daughter got a tatula sv tw last year and it took her about 10 minutes to look like she had been using it for years.

I liked the feel of my Extreme rods so much that instead of phasing them out of the lineup, I stripped them down to bare graphite and rebuilt them. The H is an EXCELLENT frog rod.

Damaged packages happen. What is unacceptable is the practice of delivering a obviously damaged package. If no one else, the driver should refuse to release a crushed package on your doorstep when you aren't around to see it.

Braid will cut. I have pulled logs to the water surface with 50lb braid and had it cut with probably only 5lbs of pressure on sharp rocks. I haven't had any problems in gravel, but larger sharp edged rocks are a big no-no. Never had a problem fishing docks with it, but I know if I encounter something sharp its probably going to cut.

I walk a poppin pad crasher most often. If I decide not to walk it and work it like an actual popper for a bit, it will take on water. Otherwise my pad crashers only need to be purged of water every 8-10 casts or so, and even then they have little in them. The more worn they are the more water they pick up, but it usually takes a lot fish before it becomes bothersome.

Jig trailer in the California color.

If you are confident in that spool go for it. If you search these forums you can find a thread with a few other recommendations.