bulldog1935

Fun fly fishing and kayak probing yesterday. shhh, don't tell....(this is on the secret superlative Sabinal)

yee-haw

@Alex Ball I think you're talking about my Libra SX3000, which is a big reel - here's the Samira 2500, which is small frame and deep mono spool. I have it matched with Omen Green ML and 10-lb Tatsu. The Samira is worm drive, though both Libra and Samira have line management comparable to Shimano and Daiwa. The handle is Daiwa, knob Ulucus, and the reel-stand/keeper is Dress Origin. I hate the folding handles that come on Ticas and upgrade them to fixed Daiwas. A buddy gave me a blank check to pimp four Ticas for his grandkids, and I found great deals on Daiwa parts in New Zealand. He gave me this little Cetus along with a long-discontinued Valentine single action fly reel. I pimped the Cetus with Daiwa double handle.

Instead of cheap reels, I pick up functional parts to hang on my good reels. They happen to add decorative splash, but form always follows function. And as @Eric 26 noted, when I find a Tica Libra or Samira model on Amazon with loss-leader pricing, I can't resist snagging one. Yes, I fish these, but also loan them to my friends, because I know they can't hurt them, and may land them a honking red or snook. The first Tica I bought was a diminutive Cetus SE to hang on salt XUL with 4-lb copolymer. If you have a spot for a Cetus SE or SS, can't go wrong. I show that first Tica Cetus on this post. 12 years in the salt and literally 1000 fish, including doubles with reds and snook The trick with doubles on XUL, the fish fight each other. You just have to get the bigger one to the net, and use sufficient leader on your tandem rig to lift the smaller. The L word.

I like to mention the arithmetical sum from time to time. A dozen or more cheap outfits in the closet isn't exactly frugal compared to one good one on the water. Though the point isn't often recognized here. ok, and I have my 3-pc baitcaster under the sternwell net.

in my case, it was a live shrimp hooked through its shell on a 2/0 kahle hook - free shrimping around oyster reefs... If you jerk the rod, the shrimp and hook land in difference places. Guides with spinning rods used to tell me what was wrong with my cast, then I'd show them my spiral cast doubled the distance of their best effort. I always made them look good at the dock, though. ... it ain't a half-ounce, which is where Daiwa magforce excels. On XUL, we do the same thing with 4' leader, a bit smaller hook, and an air-resistant weightless cigar cork. Can't spiral cast that rig. What's clear is our OP knows what he's doing, he just wants to understand the difference. You can fish in close to the boat - he has a specific question about the difference in cast distance result. It's not a brand challenge, no need for mile-casting hyperbole...

I don't think much of facebook, most GIFs and memes But working in film noir detective insight is downright subtle, and worth a like.

Having fished weightless rigs since Ambassadeur day, currently fishing both Daiwa and Abu, I can see exactly where our OP is coming from. He's already worked out casting his Abu without added cast control and with proper mag adjustment for weightless rig. What he's running into is the Daiwa not being made for casting weightless rigs; instead, the Daiwa spool and brake is tuned from Daiwa to prevent backlash with heavier weights when also set with minimum or no added cast control. He'll be happier with the Daiwa using it where it was designed to shine. I think the replies on this thread giving him advice haven't worked this out for themselves - we all see from our own experience base.

No one with an open mind would ever say it's garbage because of the name on it. But because of what's inside. Be careful what you defend - if you're going to defend something, make sure it's worth defending.

it's fun. It's freaking fun. It's a total hoot to cast a baitcaster spool that spins fast enough to send 1/16 oz out to 120' It's like surf casting in miniature. When you work out that it casts lighter weights farther and much more accurately than the same-rated spinning gear, it's not only more fun - it's a fish catching advantage

Jim, I don't think anyone took it personally, as much as it being too general of a generalization, and with already noted and measured exception. You explained the reality perfectly. That suspended snapper on fly rod thing. On a cuddy bobbing at an offshore platform, catching them on bait 30' down (v. 60' down). I brought a 10-wt fly rod with TS-350 sinking shooting head, hoping for flotsam and dorado, which we didn't find. But I was there, had the gear, counted down 20 seconds for the sink - yes it was obstinate, and proved I could do it. We also ran out of bait, and I caught blues on the same gear. This snapper was taken on cut blue. Kings are a lot easier to strike, because they will sip a pilcher imitation 6' below the boat - then they run out 250 yds. Oh yeah, steel leader- I tie 40-lb Mason butt to braided 12-lb wire with an Allbright knot, then I use crimp sleeves for the fly. Anyone who fishes the salt with any tackle had better be good at leaders.

you left out king mackerel and suspended red snapper on fly rod. If you gear right, you can do it better on baitcaster than on spinning tackle. It's just not the same baitcaster that you cast a 2 oz sinker. Though I'm set up to use the same reel and swap the spool.

I only go to spinning for fishing in the dark. No casting weight advantage, no versatility advantage - with spinning, just don't have to see the lure land in the dark. I'm set up now to do everything better with baitcasters in daylight. I've always been my own mentor. I've been trying to teach my dad to fish since I was 12. Never could teach him to read water, and there's no counting how many times he's planted his boat- though the place he planted it most is the also the most famous shipwreck bar in Texas history. All those guys who need to take people under their wing - don't get me wrong, Joe Robinson's a great guy, but I'll do fine, thanks. I did let Joe teach me at the vise how to tie a dubbing loop using scrap marabou. When I give a fly fishing talk, always describe myself as The Difficult to Mentor Type. 48 years of fly fishing will make you appreciate the good points of leaders.

You're heading in the right direction with either Ray's or Roro spool bearings. Replace the palm-cap bearing and spool main bearing, on your spool, and of course make sure you get the right size bearings for your reel. I mentioned Roro spool pin tool is the best buy tool out there. Also remember you have to keep these unshielded bearings oiled (a few times/yr) - get the the lowest-viscosity spool bearing formula you can find. If you find the Roro-X spool that matches your reel and want it, it comes with the spool bearing installed - doesn't include the palm cap bearing. Ray's Studio spools come with shielded bearings, and I upgrade them. But I'm not sure either Ray's or Roro offers a spool for your reel - likely just Abu, Shimano, and Daiwa. If you have a pinion bearing, don't worry about that - it doesn't contact the spool during cast, only during wind - keep stock shielded bearing there. Since I'm in the salt, I've swapped all my BFS and ML spool bearings to IXA - had to buy them through a broker I've used for decades, Masamichi at noppin.com.

@Jonas Staggs If you want to cast the lightest weight to the greatest distance, it's Roro-X spool. But if you're looking for low-inertia spool bearings, can't beat Roro bearings to improve what you already have. Ray's Studio bearings are also good.

@FryDog62 That's Valleyhill Raison Odessa. Digitaka may have stock. It's a high-grade rod, moderate fast, nothing tippy anywhere in the rod. I had 3 or 4 BFS rods lined up in comparison - all comparable price w/in $50 - Major Craft, Megabass and the Valleyhill - none of the other rods had the wide lure range of the Valleyhill, and it does it with aplomb. Since I'm fishing from a kayak, it's a versatile bass rod for me.

You've never cast a reel with a spool so fast. Roro spool bearings are the stuff of pocket-rockets. Roro also sells the best-buy spool pin tool on the planet. This spool will cast 1/16 oz 30' farther than the stock Daiwa spool will cast 1/8 oz. The Roro spool has a fixed rotor, and the Daiwa SV mag brake is exceptional for this task. (The Ray's Studio SV spools - honeycomb black and blue spools farther above - have moving SV rotor for wider lure weight range) I'm running the mag setting at 6/20 to cast 3 g to 120' Check out Rorolures.com - they're in Hong Kong and post inexpensively. Ray's Studio is in Thailand - don't confuse either with China knock-offs.

They're high-grade Daiwa SV reels with short spool spindles. I'm fishing PE#0.8 (0.15 mm) on the Roro-X spool, and PE#1.2 (0.19 mm) on the Ray's Studio SV spool.

For my inshore XUL niche, I was able to set up a BFS reel that will cast 3-g lures farther and more accurately than a comparable spinning set up will cast 5 g. I fished both at the same tide pass and proved that - farther and more accurate on the baitcaster, and with lighter lures. Same rod length and rating, just slightly larger braid diameter on the baitcaster. The trick was not buy a small-spool BFS reel, but put a 34-mm Roro-X spool on Zillion or Steez. I did this because Roro-X was the only spool rated to cast 2 g, and my 8'2" small game rod was also rated to cast 2 g. Noteworthy, on a good 6'7" bass all-range BFS rod, the reel with Roro spool will cast 2 g just as far as it will on the longer inshore small game rod. Though I switch from the fixed-rotor Roro spool to Ray's Studio SV spool to cover the bass lure range - still more cast distance than I need to fish the light range.

no offense, but double uni is the problem. My Allbright knots zing through microguides (snake guides on fly rods, too) I've been rolling these knots 40 years, though. With braid, I use Improved Allbright Knot. The cross section is 1/3 of a double uni, and no single bends to break. The key to getting a good knot is proper tightening sequence. Remember the direction you rolled the braid loops. Begin tightening the braid tag while you roll the braid loops in that same direction, to make the knot smaller. Lightly take up the standing braid slack that forms at the far end of the knot. Before the braid tag and loops get snug, tighten the mono tag to shorten the mono loop. Back to rolling the braid loops, this time, get everything tight with the braid tag. Finish by pulling both standing ends, braid and mono. Helps to tighten this knot under a magnifier. I also wet the finished knot with a drop of super-thin super glue (Zap CA+) knock off the excess drip. I put a perfection loop in my standing leader, and fish everything loop-to-loop. A paper clip or micro swivel loops on beautifully. If you prefer tying direct to lure, you can loop-to-loop a sacrificial length of leader. (this is a titanium-wire micro trace and an intenional 1" perfection loop, so I can also loop-on a cigar cork)

Fuego has magforce z, and as I also mentioned above, stock Boost spool on Steez and Zillion SV won't cast 1/8 oz to the distance of my linear mag brake Super Duty - 90' v. 120' 7' ML, all reel mag brakes dialed to incipient backlash +1 My linear mag brake Alcance will cast 1/8 oz beyond 130' (with shocking spool speed). Noteworthy, the Steez and Zillion will duplicate this longer distance with Ray's Studio BFS SV spool. (Roro-X spool will cast 1/16 oz that far) of course, none of them cast with this, which I can't cast in my back acre, anyway

The Vanford 500 is the Soare with a facelift - it has locomotive drive, and is only offered in USM (JDM already has Soare). The Vanford 1000 is worm drive with the longer spool pitch of Stella in the same sizes. Each worm-drive Shimano reel introduced since '18 Stella swaps parts with '18 Stella - - '19 Stradic and Vanquish, '20 Twin Power and Vanford - they all share Stella's overqualified roller-bearing clutch. They all share the same labyrinth seals as Stella. (they all share Stella's sucky line roller, which can be fixed with a great part made by MTCW) Stella has stainless steel drive. The other reels all have alloy drive. Stella has magnesium body and rotor. Vanquish has magnesium body and CI4+ rotor, and shares titanium bail with Stella. Vanford is CI4+ body and the same CI4+ rotor as Vanquish. Vanquish is the lowest-inertia reel ever made, Vanford is the lightest by 10 g. Stradic has aluminum body and a different (heavier) CI4+ rotor. Twin Power has aluminum body and rotor. Stella and Twin Power both have lower rotor deflection (strain) than the others. Stella, Vanquish, and Twin Power are bench-assembled with parts-matching in Japan - they each have BB metal spool (magnesium/alloy) and BB worm-gear pawl. Vanford and Stradic are assembled on the Malaysia line - they have bushings in the spool and worm-gear pawl, and CI4+ spools.

we couldn't be more cool, friend.

Interesting that I didn't suggest any, except for rod keepers, and pointed out you can't keep rods in those gunwhale tubes while running the boat. Your console has the same type of vertical rod holders as my dad's boat above - that's where you put your rods to run. Actually, the most versatile locking rod holder especially for LP baitcasters is Stealth QR-1, but Stealth and Scotty work with the same base. Here's one I have set up on a Scotty Gearhead mount that's part of my kayak milk crate. I really like Scotty's Gearhead mount, but their fixed bases are nice, too. Scotty's Baitcaster/Spinning rod holder is perfect for round baitcaster, and locks it in, but sucks with a low-profile baitcaster, and does a great job locking in a spinning rod. Scotty's fly rod holder is also the singular best, and works very well with a spinning rod, too. A really neat idea on fiberglass is Seasucker - I have one base for my hand-laid kevlar kayak (fiberglass) - with a built-in vacuum pump, you can lift your boat with them, and they keep their vacuum for a couple of days. This one I added a Scotty gearhead using 1-1/2" 1/4-20 stainless all-thread, add a Stealth rod holder or a Scotty fly rod holder

Those tubes in the gunwhales are there for convenience, and are made for boat rods with long and big-diameter handles. With a rod handle like this, they'll work for trolling or dropping bait. But don't consider them to be safe for keeping rods in a running boat. It's never a bad idea to have a working keeper on your expensive rod and reel. also note how these jigging and trolling rods bottom-out in the rocket launchers and keep the conventional reels upright. It's because the rods and tubular rod holders have mating gimbals. You haven't told us much about your boat. The type of rod holders usually found on center consoles are good for securing bay and bass-size rods in a running boat. If you want locking rod holders with good permanent and clamp-base options, you probably want to look at Scotty.