PhishLI

They're true to their ratings which means they fish heavier compared to rods that typically run lighter than stated. Consider them robust for their rating but not overly beefy. In your earlier posts you started out asking which rod would handle a 3/8oz jig but have since upped it to 1/2oz. Get the MH if that's still the case and you're talking about total weight or a skosh more, but don't expect it to be magnificent with TRDs rigged on a 1/15oz ned head. In a perfect world you'd get both a M and MH and manage well enough between the two.

The thing that matters to you since this is brand-new to you is handling. Better fluoros like Tatsu "handle" more like soft mono which means they're less inclined to want to jump off the spool as easily. Fluoros more inclined to do this by their nature will do it more in cooler weather. You should kick your brakes up several notches right off the bat and even add a skosh of spool tension until you get a feel for what this particular line does. Back things down once you've figured it out. If you get an over-run or a backlash, Gently remove it. No tugging or using the thumb-n-reel trick to unwind them. Fluoro doesn't like kinks. Go easy. They'll come back to bite you if you cause them.

This sale ends tomorrow: Fall Into Savings Sale 2023 - Tackle Warehouse This: Daiwa Tatula XT Spinning Rods - Tackle Warehouse Or this: Daiwa Tatula Spinning Rods - Tackle Warehouse

This reel is definitely intriguing. If the inductor-type braking system is up to scratch, there's a lot to like if you're reel nerd. Dual bearing supported pinion and a free-floating spool is nice. Machined metal frame and what looks like cast metal side plates is nice. I imagine they can keep the tolerances quite tight. I'm sure they can if they wish to. It's ticking a lot of wish list boxes. It's what I'd make if I had the ambition. We'll see. Someone on YT will probably get their hands on one and we'll get the scoop eventually.

If you want durable, the XTs are just that. I've pulled in some whoppers on my two MF XTs over the past 5 years. I'm guessing the newest version is just as tough.

Never caught a thing around here on any red colored bait.

I have a preference for pitching with reels having wider spools, or reels with a frame that allows for easier access to a typical 25mm wide spool. A Chronarch is an example of a reel that I don't like to pitch with as I need to contort my thumb and grip to pitch with it without rubbing its spools's rim. The 150 has a 28mm wide spool, so it works for me and my hand size. YMMV. I believe the ABU's is 22mm wide. Besides that particular criteria, my 150's have been great. Very smooth and very good casters. The 150 is very capable for bombing cranks. All of my Daiwas with metal gear-side side plates have been very smooth. Whether you'll be happier with the 150 or the Elite depends on your hand size and grip particulars. The 150 palms just fine for me. If you have smaller hands the Elite is probably the better choice.

I use their reel covers exclusively. Both spinning and casting.

The toilet seat.

It's interesting. Unconventional brake. Hundo_Schematic.pdf (shopify.com)

Did you activate the discount through the email?

That's a small factor compared to the change in performance you're talking about, but it's worth it to keep your line guide clean regardless. Doesn't matter that you got it recently either. It might've been dry to begin with. What you're describing is dry centrifugal brakes. A quick clean and lube every 4th full-session or so will keep braking performance consistent, or whenever you feel things begin to change, it's time. This only takes maybe two minutes tops. BTW, if you don't perform this simple maintenance, plastic fines shed from the brake blocks due to lack of lube will act as lapping grit, and when combined with the pressure from the blocks it'll begin to cut a groove into the brass friction ring. Whether it's Lew's MSB braking, or the older ABU Infini, they're the same brake system and require the same treatment for best performance.

Have you ever cleaned then lubed the friction ring where the blocks make contact? Alcohol on a q-tip will clean the ring and brake-block tips. A small drop of oil on the ring is all you need, then wipe it off with a fresh q-tip. A drop of oil on the spool bearing and removeable sideplate bearing while you're at it should get it back in shape. When performance drops off again repeat the process. This depends on how much you fish, not time. If you don't have reel oil, this does the trick. Amazon.com : Daiwa 64110100 Reel Oiler, One Size : Fishing Reel Care Accessories : Sports & Outdoors

I've never bothered with 65lb braid because I've never been broken off using straight 50lb Daiwa J8, and my local waters are super choked out with lily pads, heavy milfoil, and water chestnut. Haven't been broken off using 40lb either and only a few times with 30lb so I'm more judicious around the worst of it even though it's a rarity. Only when they've done a full wrap around a pad stalk early in the season is there danger of guillotining the knot using 30lb, but I can count the times on one hand where this has happened, so I use this lb rating the most without worry.

Is this really a sanity check, or more of a guilt thing? If you're in debt and not paying bills you're probably batty buying more stuff. If you're feeling ashamed over your indulgences, you can buy your way out of it by donating something to a charity in the form of your time or money. If it's neither, kick back and enjoy your neurotic obsession without apology because it's fun. He who dies with the most toys...

We've been broiled all week with high temps and brick-wall humidity just like early August, but with clouds overhead again and rain in forecast finally I decided to sweat it out for a bit just before midnight. Couldn't get them to come topside for nothing, so slow-n-low got my bites but they were all super subtle as if they were keyed-in on small baitfish stuck on the bottom. Slow-dragging and lightly twitching a Houdini Super Fluke was the deal. Just as lightning bolts crackled in the northwestern sky, I finally hooked into a hard fighting picture-worthy chunk then made my escape.

Fantastic! ??

I’m sure you’ve heard about this tactic before, especially regarding the Whopper Plopper, where you let it sit for a bit once it lands. Anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute. This is something that applies to any floating bait, and I’ve had dumb luck with the G2 more than once while answering a phone call just as it lands, or when pulling out errant loops in my line. It can definitely call them in and give them time to decide, especially if you drop it in outside of a pad line or a stand of weeds that they’re unwilling to move too far away from. I’ve had them eat it just as I started to wind it as if they were inspecting it then decided it was food once it twitched or dove. This is worth trying occasionally if chuck n wind isn’t drawing bites for you.

Could be that you simply missed a feeding window, and that particular bass wasn't hungry. Circling cruisers often aren't eating or willing. Just like when fishing during the day you might be fishing dead water, or the fish in the area are gorged. I've observed that the aggressive night-bite windows are short in a single location. Not often longer than an hour, and often less. Miss that, and you've missed the boat. However, when you find one or can trigger one, you'll have a nice rally. Yesterday morning's bite window clicked on a little after midnight in a lake we've rarely fished, but not before we spent 3 hours without a whiff, and it wasn't just us. A well known local hammer got blanked fishing within a football field or so of us on and off for the first 3 hours. We finally pushed way up north to the super shallow end where the springs feed the lake and we found them. He stayed put and didn't. But without the clouds that rolled in and the wind that came with them we probably would've struggled getting any to bite even though they were there. It worked out though, but not without work and thought. I'd spotted very few small baitfish on the southern end. Mostly small schools of larger bluegill. I played a hunch that smaller baitfish might've pushed into very shallow flats, and I was right.

Check to see if NC has a site like this: Places to Fish - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Here's an example of a lake outline including whether or not there's shore access or a ramp. Lake Ronkonkoma - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation

It was tough sledding under a crystal-clear big-moon sky for 3 hours. Zero wind didn't help our cause either. This place is super clear down to its 7' max-depth, so it was easy to see bluegill frozen in place between the stands of lily pads and unwilling to even sniff a Hot Snakes NED rig. Everything was on lock down, but this being the last Jon boat trip of the summer for the Phish brothers we carried on. Pulled the trolling motor and paddled through heavily choked out water way up to the super shallow north end where we found a few open gaps in 1' -18" of water and much smaller baitfish darting over sparse weeds and mud bottoms. Just as we made it to this zone the universe intervened by blowing in light cloud cover to dim the moonlight nicely. With clouds came wind, and for the next 45 minutes they were willing to chase. Knocked off some cookie cutters first, then we each landed a decent fish right before the clouds passed by and the wind quit. I landed a nice trout right at the end of the frenzy. Conditions looked perfect for a soft jerk bait, slow rolled finesse swimmer, or a popper, but they were feeding up for something different. The Livingston Bullnose and Legal Dope Tum Tum wakes got the bites, even the trout.

It can go like that. We spent 3 bite-less and windless hours last night under a bright moon, but clouds came in with a dash of wind and it was game on for 45 minutes until the clouds passed and the wind stopped. After that you'd think the fish had been transported to a different dimension. Not even a peck.

You can't know everyone, so you really can't say nobody. Almost every big bass I've caught came at night or on the edge of night. Nearly every big bass my close friends have caught and even friends through our extended network have caught came at night. My best numbers session by a huge margin came at night. Perhaps, but we have very diverse lakes here. My local spots are all super shallow and are more ponds than lakes, so it makes sense that bass are less willing to expose themselves and chase during the day. Go farther out east and the lakes get far deeper, but the results are the same. Night fishing rules around here. Like @AlabamaSpothunter said, it's a way different vibe. I admit I'm addicted to it because I'm peaked in every way imaginable at night. Tuned in a completely different way. I simply don't get the same rush fishing and catching during the day. It's not even close. It's almost boring to me in comparison. Don't imagine that fish will be jumping into your boat and dismiss the exercise if they don't right off the bat. You'll need to figure out how the lake works at night. Don't be surprised if you break your PB if you do.

It's a little too slow for me. In the case of the Shellcracker, it's a crank-down wake bait. Fish it as a wake-bait or crank it down to depth according to how the fish are responding to it. It will crank down with a slower IPT though if you're willing to fast crank it after the end of a long cast where the IPT is much less. If you're thinking about using 300 sized reels many come fitted with a 42mm tall spool, so gear ratio vs IPT is different than with typical 150-200 sized reels where 34mm-36mm tall spools are the norm. Bottom line is that I prefer about 30" IPT in general. It's unusual that I'm doing a straight retrieve with any swimbait, and when I'm using a burner type, which is rare, it's just about right for me.

No. Just right. top: Daiwa BG2500 bottom: Daiwa LT3000