Robert K

I was speculating on that being the reason for the recommendation for avoiding mono, although I wouldn't be surprised. I use nylon rope for canoe tie-downs, and for sure when the rope is wet, and then dries, the tension goes significantly up, and vice versa. Ooooohhh, that might be one to look at if the pixy spool doesn't fit the bill. Thanks for the heads up. That's just the nature of internet forums, ask a question, like "Can I drink gasoline?" and get these answers: -"I drink orange juice. Why would you drink gasoline when you can drink OJ instead?!" -"I've never had gasoline, but my cousin told me it's great." -and the relevant, useful answer: "No"

I fish from a canoe so I usually only take one or two rods, so they have to fulfill multiple purposes. I usually take a medium 6'6" casting rod for spinner baits, plugs, top water,etc. I've got a 7' MH casting rod I sometimes use for worms and frogs, but I'd tire of heaving a spinner bait or buzzbaits, or anything that's a quick cast/retrieve. I wouldn't go longer than 6'6". I might even go shorter. I have a pistol grip medium 5'6" rod I Iove for spinner baits.

Absolutely, I bought a Daiwa Presso ultralight rod, thought it was great for a week, then realized it was too stiff and the handle was too small-diameter to be comfortable. Ended up cutting the handle off, gluing a tennessee handle to it, and giving up on casting 1/32 oz with it.

I don't. Did you have a bad experience with one of those not-so-name-brand reels? Also, I'm perfectly willing to buy used to meet my goals, so don't feel limited to current production reels. Is that the revo next to a pixy? It looks even more compact. I wonder if all the revo models are comparable sized. I can deal with the weight of the tatula, just not the size, so if I could buy the cheap revo and get a spool, that might work. And I don't have a BFS spool for the pixy, just the tatula. Should've been more clear in my post.

I think it's because the spool material is so thin, to make it lightweight. When nylon mono gets wet, it stretches, and then it shrinks back down when it dries. So on a reel spool, it might tighten down on the spool, crushing it. Or at least that's my guess, the ad implies it may cause damage but doesn't elaborate.

I currently own a Daiwa Pixy and a Daiwa tatula CT with a BFS spool. I use both to chuck lightweight lures for bass, crappie, bluegill, etc. The Tatula with BFS spool works much better for lures below 1/8 oz, but the Daiwa pixy fits lightweight rods better. I want a reel comparable in size to the Pixy, or at least smaller than the tatula, but capable of throwing lures below 1/8 oz in weight. My internet searching has revealed several options, including some not-so-name-brand reels like the "Fishband" GH100, PW100, the "Tsurinoya" Spirit Fox. Can anybody comment on the physical dimensions of the not-so-name-brand reels compared to a pixy, and their experiences with them? And are there any more-compact name-brand reels that have an aftermarket BFS spool available? My reel budget is <$100, and spool budget is <$50. I have looked into an aftermarket spool for the pixy, but the ones I've seen don't recommend use with nylon/mono, but that's all I use. Thanks for your help.