PhishLI

I break down and grease new reels right away, then several times during the season. It takes very little time. We'll see how it goes. So far so good. Nice tank of a reel. Many of it's parts are available at Tackleservice.com if you need something.

Which rod and baits do you plan on using?

The KVD Smoke S3 has an aluminum main gear. The main reasons for the difference in weight compared to the Tour S3 are due to an aluminum handle vs carbon fiber, a brass crankshaft vs aluminum, a steel spool shaft vs aluminum, and steel drag washers vs aluminum. Otherwise the basic construction is the same. Both have bearings exactly where you'd like to see them in a gear train.

Doyo isn't necessarily the issue, but which Doyo is. If you've transmitted the nomenclature correctly, I'd suggest that you have the wrong Doyo. If that's the case, then the reel you have doesn't include any support for the pinion other than the spool's shaft. In other words, no pinion bearings period. Couple that with an aluminum gear and you'll have a geary feeling reel quicker than you'd like. I've had a few. I speak from experience. Several 2020 models attempt to address this problem with the P2 super pinion, which is a dual supported pinion. I'd start there, and get one with the pin release side plate. It won't fall off.

All but 4 lakes on Long Island are closed for bass fishing from May 1st-June 6th. None of the open lakes are that close to me, so I've been hitting a Walleye lake to fill in until the opener. I connected with my brother and a pal recently at this spot and had an epic night. Started about midnight and went until 5 am. I doubt I'll ever have a day or night like this again. I hit my 1st 14 on a Mann's Baby 1 minus, then a few on a Megabass Magdraft and Hazedong Shad, then 34 on a Z-Man Bucktail Chatterbait. 54 walleye in total plus one pretty big white perch! 15 of the walleye weighed between 4-5 lbs with a few of those just at 5. The biggest all rolled in between 4 and 5 am just as the wind picked up. Bait was exploding within inches of the shore trying to escape. I just chucked the bucktail in near the shore and they exploded on it. Some casts I just let it drop like a wacky worm and they hit it. I could do no wrong. It was nuts. I needed to bend my hook back several times after the first big one bent it out. The headshakes were violent. My grippers got really gnarled up from the teeth on these bad boys. I'm not sure how the Mad Walleye Lipper does it, but I'm not playing that game!

The 1/8oz in blue is my best producer, and my go-to when they're short striking weedless baits. The weeds are still low enough now that I'm able to get through without too much misery. I've had some luck with white, but nothing much with their other colors. It saved the night for me on Saturday at one of the few lake around here that's open-season year 'round. I had a ton of short strikes on the Berkely Champ Swimmer and the MB Hazedong Shad, but once I gave in and tied on the Storm I didn't miss a hook set again. Total weight when rigged is 7-ish grams, so easily slingable with casting gear. BTW, big fish will eat the 1/8oz. I've had far less luck with the 1/4 oz. It's a dense bait when rigged and much more difficult to control higher in the column without burning it. It wants to nosedive and sink fast. There's a weedless 1/4 oz version if you wanna give it a whack, but the single wire weed guard gets mangled after a few fish. Also, the jig heads have a rattle in them. Not sure if it matters, but it's cool. It's an open hook bait. Terrain will dictate how you fish it. I'm typically winding it in just fast enough to keep it above the grass.

Baitsanity Explorer carp.

Take a look at the pics below. MSRP $79. Often on sale for $49 at DSG. Comes in at a tick under 5 ounces. Winn grips. Regardless of price I think it's a great frog rod. Best hookup ratio frogging I've ever had once I tried one of my brother's. Seems to be indestructible. I'm not looking for anything else. It's also great for swimmers up to an ounce with a 6/0 Beast Hook. Try it and bring it back if you don't like it, but you probably will. At least you'll get to hold it beforehand and get a feel for it.

Great news! One vote for "not Junk". I'm tilting back. Even better news. I can chuck a frog with my Supreme XT insane distances. If the CL beats that, well, that's great too. Nice fish, and thanks for clipping your toenails!

It doesn't matter what the material is if the reel's a turd. I'm not interested in cheap plastic reels either, but Tanso doesn't appear to be cheap plastic. https://www.toyotanso.com/Products/Special_graphite/

That's too bad. I was leaning towards trying one. I'm really digging the 2020 Tournament Pro LFS for light plastics and finesse jigs now that I've got a grip on it's feel. Maybe they'll straighten the Custom Lite out eventually. I imagine the 30mm spool is super light also. Besides the problems you noted, did you get as far as fishing it at all? If so, any thoughts on it's casting capabilities with lighter stuff?

If I'm anchored up or spot locked and working an area I'm not going to love the idea of a total stranger rolling into my zone, regardless of their smile. I'd expect that another boater would not appreciate it at all if I rolled up on them in the same situation. If I pass someone when we're both on the move, no problemo. I may chat if I'm not in a rush or in the mood. If I like their vibe I won't tell them which bait is the worst possible choice or direct them to the deadest part of the lake ?

Describe your setup in detail and how long you've been using a baitcasting rig. You'll get better answers.

I was just saying that the Tat SV is better suited for throwing lighter baits consistently compared to the Coastal SV. This isn't to say that you can't with the Coastal SV or other reels with larger heavier spools, just that you need to be on top of your game minute by minute. The Tat SV shines with lighter baits and wind and gives you a bit of breathing room due to how it's braking is calibrated. Some may call it a crutch, but I'm always running my brakes on the hairy edge of a blowup, so whatever. It simply offers a braking profile that gives you a touch of slack. If rather light baits into the wind is not what you're concerned with then the Coastal SV may be the logical next choice if you want to find out what Daiwa SV is all bout. It's a better long caster. There's probably nothing you can't do with a distance tuned Daiwa like the Elite long cast, but that depends entirely on how sharply your skills are honed. If your casting mechanics have been developed around centrifugally braked reels you may be in for a rude surprise with the Elite. It's nothing that you can't overcome with practice, and several epiphanies. In the and you'll either love it or hate it.

The Elite Pitch/Flip and the Elite Long cast are calibrated differently. The Tat SV will sling true 6-7 gram weight transfer system jerkbaits on a 7' medium rod as far as you'd ever want under control into the wind with the brakes set between 4-5. Not something you'd want to deal with using a K at any setting. A full spool of line is the limitation here due to weight. The Coastal SV is just a little less capable of throwing lower weights max distances as well as the Tat, but just a tick up and it's fine. It's braking profile feels different compared to the Tat SV, but that may be due to the weight of it's spool when full. If you don't intend to go that low regularly then grab the Coastal SV. If you run your reels loose and at the lowest allowable brake settings for a given bait be prepared to adjust your casting stroke and the effort you put into the cast. It's a different thing, but you'll come to appreciate the SV nuances once you get the swing of it.

So the bait is catching air. I know, it's like a badge of honor to run with zero spool tension, but just add a touch. Nobody will know and you'll stop blowing up.

How many brake tabs do you have engaged? Spool tension setting? P.S. Is the brake ring over lubed/greased?

AJ, Please share the model # of that rod if it's easy. I'm pretty sure I spotted a few at the local F&S in the clearance rack just before the lock down.

Any reel of any brand I have with centrifugal brakes gets it's friction surface wiped with a q-tip then oiled every third outing. Oil it before your first outing. It takes very little oil and about 30 seconds per reel. Make sure you use the clean side of a q-tip to distribute the oil evenly around the ring then remove any excess. On the Tour make sure you rotate the brake dial to "Free" before opening the latch and before swinging the sidecover open. In this position the brake ring won't clash with the reel's frame when you swing it out to access the ring. This operation can be completed easily while the reel is mounted on the rod, even while you're at the side of the lake. No biggie. Small potatoes.

Spool width and skipping is something that's not often talked about. The reel with the widest spool in my pile is a Pflueger Supreme XT. When I'm skipping or pitching heavier baits it's more likely than not that I'll be using this reel, and it's precisely because my fat thumb touches nothing but the line and not the spool itself. It uses a 6 pin spring loaded centrifugal braking system, so it's essentially off for that duty with one pin engaged which is how it's set for general casting duty. So, I'm with you on this point.

Is that the non perf'd spool that weighs 13ish grams?

Me too. Same weight as a K. Spool's a bit heavy, otherwise it's a really solid reel. I have the 7 spd. My brother uses his 6 spd on a swimbait rod cranking 2-3oz wakes. Nice and smooth so far.

Sure, OK, fine, but I'm not buying heirloom objects for $89 plus free shipping and I doubt that anyone else is. A couple of pinion and gear sets purchased and set aside for that fateful day might be in order. I'll keep my eye out for a brass gear swap as some of the people that've spent a bleeding fortune on super high end Shimanos and Daiwas have had to do. In the meantime I'm enjoying chucking lures and catching fish with mine. Besides the inevitable ever looming gear meshing issues that'll arrive someday, this reel is a great performer when directly compared to current reels at it's price point. It's probably in a class by itself here with regard to distance bombing average weight baits, and that really matters to me when I'm wading lakes.

Speaking as someone who actually owns and uses one it's smooth as can be after pulling in about 25 4-6 lb fish. Nearly as smooth a my 6 speed K. It's far from gritty feeling. Maybe it will be eventually. We'll see. I've had a few reels that started changing for the worse way sooner because I'd winched fish in. Not so with this one, yet, and I've done some winching with it.

I haven't used that rod, so I have no opinion. I have a Tour S3 7.3 mounted on a 13 Omen Black II 7'3" MHF with 15 lb Big Game. This reel mounted on this rod allows me to chuck lures extreme distances, so I think you're covered there. Oil isn't included with the reel, but you should oil and then wipe clean the brake ring on the side plate. I use either Shimano Bantam Oil or the Daiwa Reel Oiler. A flush and oiling of the spool bearings, if you have a spool pin remover, wouldn't hurt but isn't absolutely necessary. Oiling between the O.D. of the inner race and the shield will break down the grease after several applications. The bearing cages might be plastic, so avoid acetone if they are, and if you decide to degrease them. Paslode Cleaner Degreaser is safe. The shields are held in with circlips.