JediAmoeba

I have never owned or had a Shimano reel so I can't really speak to them. I have only cast a few... I can cast just as far as any modern reel with my 25 year old Team Daiwa X so that's my favorite.

It's crazy how light they want things - a heavier and balanced setup is way better than a light awkwardly balanced setup...

I agree with you- Braid is far and away the easiest line to pick a backlash out. I use braid with all my reels and never have a problem casting far. I can't comment on a Shimano though as I have never had one...centrifugal brakes are totally foreign to me

Most rods eventually break - I am pretty rough on my stuff and after a few years they all seem to break. But nothing breaks like a Duckett rod!

We must have the same financial advisor.

I use a blood knot for just about every leader on just about every rod i use. I haven't had a leader knot failure in at least 3 years and I am using 10'+ leaders. I cinch it down and then hit it with a small dab of superglue.

So I am definitely missing out...I have a lot of nice reels(all on rods) and no boxes!

I was wondering if most of you keep the reel boxes? One of the first things I do is throw the box away and throw the schematic in a bok in my shed. I view reels as tools(albeit, tools I love) and I have never really contemplated keeping the box... I bought 2 Daiwa reels today and the guy apologized for not bringing the boxes and I told him to throw them out because I don't need them. What's the deal with saving the boxes?

I don't know what retail is but a reel for $63 is cheap. As long as it is what you want I would be OK with it - I don't think the resale market on sub 100 dollar reels matters if you have the box or not.

Large Wake Baits - A toxic, pizz, bucca, bgc, or a rat. All get the call and all produce!

Just hit up the Ukrainian dude on ebay for a clicking drag! I have a couple

Nice. My birthday is right around the corner but my wife says I have enough

My advice - don't cheap out too much on the rod. You can find some decent ones in the 120-150 dollar range. The reel - you can use a Tatula 200 or Curado 200. Are the custom baits necessary? No. Are they better? Yes and no. If you aren't a proficient caster with heavy baits, and dare I say, pretty decent bass fisherman - I wouldn't recommend custom swimbaits. Losing a $200 bait is never fun and for someone new to the game could push you out. Custom swimbaits cast nicer IMO BUT, because they are custom, there are nuances between them. I have 4 BGC 7" gliders and all 4 swim differently. Depending on who paints the bait it can affect the swim. If the builder didnt have the right amount of resin to microballoons it can affect the sink rate. Every builder has their own magic resin formula and sometimes it's off - you buy a plastic injection bait they are pretty much all the same. Deps 250's are one of the top tier gliders on the market but they can be tuned to be better. Butch Brown has caught a lot of fish on the Deps 250 and Hudd's which are both mass produced. One of the best mass produced shad glides is the Savage Gear glider and is around $35. You can find deps 250s for around $100. The best wakes I can recommend are the fishlab wakes.

You seem very organized and regimented- how much does it bother you those few rod socks don't match? Maybe you have a reason for it but I appreciate the organization you have and this struck me...

I only make wise, educated and specific purchases to fill a niche I need. This is why I have a shed full of rods collecting dust - they all have a purpose and will eventually be used. Or I will die and my kids will sell them in a yard sale... Sigh...

I mostly use structure jigs because they are versatile for all terrain.

I know a lot of people that put quads on baits - this concept screams missed fish to me, especially smallies since they just slap the bait or hit it close-mouthed a lot of times. Curious to know the hook up ratio here.

For the most part I replace all split rings with snaps. I never use both but I also don't prefer tying to split rings ever since I had one cut me off.

If keep hoping they do with a lineup of rods to match... I know they are not the "same" but essentially the functionality and features are near identical. So for the extra cost I don't think we are innovating anything which would deter a lot of people from updating. Have we hit the pinnacle of reel design?

Any of those I would throw on 50lb braid to a 16 lb leader. If I was bomb casting would step it up to a 20lb leader but I rarely do that. Also, I would have some copoly or mono on hand in case you don't like the sink rate - depending on water temps line weights/types can play havoc on getting the action right.

Trying to figure out why the new Tatula 100 is 30 doll hairs more than the Tatula CT and lost a few pounds of drag. To me it looks like the Tatula 100 is just a Tatula SV 103h without the SV spool... The zero adjuster is an odd thing to market. Nothing changed but the addition of a flange to make it more difficult to change the tension should I desire.

Large Swimbaiting - it's not even close for me. No matter when I fish, I will have a swimbait rod and at least 1 box of swimbaits.

I use a lot of Heavy rods - I hate being underpowered I guess. I am usually a coangler and take 6 rods - 1 xxh or xh swimbait rod, 2 heavy rods for jigs and other bottom baits, 2 mh rods for t'rigs and other stuff and the 6th rod will be a medium or ml for things.

Everyone says an 8' rod is long but I fish an 8' H Tatula all the time - I take it because I fish jigs and up to 3 oz swimbaits with it. I have been known to frog with it and the length never causes me to miss fish. I am not a tall guy (5'10") but an 8' rod is comfortable in my hands for hours a day.

Word. I fish jerkbaits a lot out if a yak and you are constantly spinnning! He got tired of only catching 1lb bass and Crappie?