Big Hands

I considered that. This particular area wasn't exactly in need of spawning habitat. I asked the lake staff if they wanted me to leave them or to get them out, and they definitely wanted to get them out.

Sometimes we just go for a ride and collect trash, especially when the lake level is way down. We find all kinds of stuff. Most of it is discarded refuse, but I have pilled up about half a dozen expensive anchors. But mostly just trash.

I think you can place your insertion point on the right edge of the pic and hit 'backspace' to delete backwards, or the 'delete key to delete forward (the pic below will be gone).

If I am not mistaken, the Rebarb is a Gamakatsu hook that Roboworm has added their own unique keeper to. The Owner Cover Shot and the Rebarb are two of my go-to's for that style of hook. I still often peg them with a whittled down flat toothpick, because if it gets pulled down, the keepers (especially on the Cover Shot) are pretty destructive to the soft plastic baits I use. The Robo HQ was just about a half mile from where I used to work. I was able to buy direct from them, and even got a tour of the shop to see the custom machine they made their baits with.

If you haven't added a Lucky Craft Sammy 85 to your arsenal, you might want to consider it. Looks kinda similar. What makes the Sammy stand out is that it feels like it nearly walks in place. Great for keeping a walking bait in the strike zone for a longer period of time.

Having worked as a facilities tech for two VERY large corporations over the span of 30 years, I have seen what systems lurk in some of the larger buildings. One of those systems are the chilled water systems. I have never told anyone this before, but I have had recurring dreams that I could catch bass in some of the 'reservoirs' of those chilled water systems that lurk in basements and interstitial spaces. Reservoirs that don't really exist anywhere but in my head. Some of the realist dreams I have ever had too.

If it feels like it's well balanced, and otherwise OK, great. Your 6'10" ML/XF with the Tatula MQ (I believe it's an XH aka high speed model?) seems like a nearly perfect jerkbait spinning setup. I have no idea what you have it for, but I'd stand pat on that one. What about putting the Tatula LT 2500 on the M/F Expride, and getting something a little more. . . . nimble . . . . for the 6'6" L/F?

I have a Curado DC and an SLX DC. I have yet to find anything a DC reel excels at I use an SLX 70 MGL for jerkbaits.

12 lbs 14 oz I have a video clip, but I haven't been able to resize it, so a screen grab it is. Those were the days my friend, We thought they'd never end.

Do you ever fish at Lake Lahontan? I haven't fished there for. . . . let's just say it has been a long, long time. The last time I fished there was the week that Richard Nixon resigned as President. I'm laughing as I type this, so everyone else may as well too. Still, I remember there being some really good fishing there for many species, including bass.

For $10 more, as long as the extra 1/2 oz doesn't bother you (with regard to balance), I would go with a JDM Ultegra 2500SHG. My two big non-starters are balance and shallow spool. The better line lay potential is a bonus, along with a few other bullet points that don't mean as much to me if I can't get past the important (to me) stuff.

SLX, very similar intent and action, paired with an SLX 7 MGL. I have been trying to determine if the Expride B is similar to the Expride A, but haven't yet got my hands on one.

I'd get a line counter (I have one). Reel manufacturers line capacities are all over the place and mostly unreliable without being able to verify it.

Three inches off the tip of an extra fast tip? That's going to be a 7'1" medium power rod with an extra, extra fast tip. That would be a no from me, Dawg.

I've had two Curado BFS, and I still have one. With a bare spool weight of 11g, I just don't consider it a true BFS reel. IMHO, it's more of a 'BFS adjacent' offering. Perfect for 6-8 lbs monofilament with 1/4 ounce or heavier baits at the lightest. With 5/16 oz to 3/8 oz being centered in it's wheelhouse. Again, JMHO.

I have three mod-fast cranking rods that are 7'4", 7'6" and 7'6". I wouldn't change the length if I could. The 7'4" is a little beefier and I use a Curado 200K on it, and smaller reels on the other two. To me, 100 and 150 size baitcasters are generally interchangeable as far as sizing goes. My jerkbait rod is 6'10", but I don't really consider that a crankbait rod per se.

One of the best (bass included) anglers I have ever known (heck, his wife and two sons are as well) swore by a pocket fisherman for some of his more clandestine adventures. He used to compete in baitcasting contests and could cast slingshot style from behind his back with amazing accuracy. Top shelf machinist, gunsmith, and hunter too. Or, I could just say. . . he was from Texas.

That's about where I would at least begin my search. 2000 shallow spool reels should have all the capacity you need, and not much extra capacity that you don't need. After that, I would be looking at balance, and you won't really know that until you get one in your hands, or a reel that weighs close to the same. To me, even an ounce of reel weight makes a significant difference on a rod like that.

I have the KK Zephyr BFS and the Kestrel BFS. They both cast 1/4 oz or less better than my Curado BFS ever dreamed of with 6 lb line. If I wanted a third BFS reel, I'd get another Kestrel BFS in a heartbeat. They were less than $100 a week a go direct from KK. No telling about the durability, especially with the Kestrel BFS because it's not been out that long. I have the Kestrel BFS on a Phenix Classic BFS rod and the combo weighs 8.5 oz for the rod and reel.

Interesting thought that I hadn't considered. I do, after all, have . . . . 'big hands'.

Just like the title says, when using my SLX MGL 70 with 8 lbs monofilament on the SLXCX610MXF casting rod, I notice the drag seems to back off after several casts and I have to re-adjust it several times over the course of a day. I do snap it pretty firmly when fishing jerkbaits, but I can't figure out why that would back off the drag. Everything else seems to function properly and it's an otherwise great reel. Anyone else have something similar happen?

Those kind of "rules" are meant to be broken. If bass always followed the rules, it wouldn't be so intriguing to catch them reliably.

I 100% agree with this. There are many reels that will do a fine job of doing the job a reel is supposed to do. Given that #1 is generally true, especially considering the level of investment that an NRX+ demands, my #1 priority would be balance. I'd much rather fish with a rod that costs half as much with a decent reel that feels that's properly balanced than fish an NRX+ 852s with ANY rod/reel combo that's not balanced. And my next priority would be to double check the balance. Once that has been verified, I will consider the rest of the details. If you had the rod in hand, you could take it with you to shop for a reel.

Back in the early 90's when Castaic was in it's prime, the local lake volunteer group said the DFG was looking for a volunteer that is familiar with lake to go out with them at night on their electro-shocking boat. I couldn't raise my hand fast enough to put it mildly. They also put me to work manning one of the foot pedals (they use two so one person cannot accidentally energize the booms) and the net. We shocked up several different species and brought them aboard so they could weigh them and take scale samples. Toward the end of the night we went quite a ways back in a cove we call Dry Gulch and shocked up a Castaic Teeny-bopper. The net they had was super shallow, kinda like the net they use at the bait barges in the harbors to give you a "scoop" of anchovies. Well, once I scooped her out of the water, she snapped out of her stupor and used that shallow net like a springboard to escape. The crew of biologists said they had never shocked up one of that size before. It was a fun night and interesting to see their process, but I wished we could have brought that toad on board.

I have a rod similar to your Rod #2 (mine is a Daiwa Elite Randy Howell 7'4" MHMF) that I run with 15 lbs mono for bigger topwater plugs like Zara Spooks, 117 Gunfish, Dartwing 125, Pop-Max, as well as Flashy Swimmers and bigger crankbaits or spinnerbaits. I have tried several reels on it including the Tatula Elite SV TWS, and the Shimano Curado 200K is the reel I like best. . . by a long shot. The Tatula Elite SV TWS is one of the most expensive reels I own. The build quality is very good. I tried it with rods from ML/F to H/F and many in between, with 6 lbs mono to 50 lbs braid, and as much as I wanted to love it, I just don't.