bulldog1935

@Obi_Wan - I'll tell you everything. ? The Smith Super Strike handles copy the old Fenwick Champion handles from the '70s, but are made in magnesium. They offer short, long, and pistol-grip cork. They sell rod blades separately, or with a pistol-grip cork handle. Asian Portal does the best job of stocking Smith Super Strike. (this is the Super Strike short handle). Found my first on Amazon.jp for $140 - my second on Yahoo was even less, $90 (plus brokerage). Bright River (Brightliver) handles are aluminum, and a bit more skeleton. They offer a range of handles and reel seat clamps - this spring-loaded rotating socket is called an Eyespot (4" grip is Bright River Super Short) All of these handles are made to fit the reel feet on Isuzu Ind. (not the car maker) bench-built reels. They fit Ambassadeur feet more securely with a reel seat shim, which both Smith and Brightliver sell (or you can work out your own shim). Modern Japanese offset handles use a 12-mm butt-ferrule diameter, while the old Champion handles used 3/8" (9 mm). They offer collets for the handle vises that will let you use old Fenwick blades. They also sell the 12-mm-OD ferrules in a range of ID sizes if you want to build your own rod blade from blank. A tip on the rod blade ferrule - you want to wax it (paraffin) - otherwise, the plastic collet may crack when you try to switch to a different rod blade, and they are tricky to find, even on Yahoo. There are other Japan brands making handles and blades (they all swap), including Frog Products, APHL, Robelson, and a few others. Can't find any now, but Robelson makes carbon handles. It's all made in limited batches, sells out in Japan, and you have to keep up with Tokyo tackle shops to snag them. If you can't find the Super Strike rod you want at Asian Portal, you'll probably need to use a Japan broker (noppin.com, Rinkya, ZenMarket) to buy from a tackle shop or their listing on Yahoo (Masamichi at noppin and I go back 20 years). What you don't want to do is buy on ebay - scalper prices there double the retail, especially with the good exchange rate we've had for over a year. I'll admit it took some patience and experienced Japan shopping to find what I wanted. Here are the 3 river kayak rods I showed above one more time - all 3 combos skip with aplomb. Top is custom Ambassadeur 4600 Express on Smith 6' graphite MH SS60GMH (Reservoir Magnum), which is my frogger, rated 1/2 to 1 oz Custom 4500C on Bright River 5' glass MM Concorde, rated 1/4 to 3/4 oz. (this reel gets an alloy Haneda Craft handle when I clean out my noppin cache). Isuzu-built Smith Plugger baitcaster on Smith 5-1/2' glass ML FO56 (Top Water Light), rated 5 to 18 g, and stated to be optimized for 1/2 oz, but it fishes down to 4 g for me, and caught that bass I show above, and here again. The progressive-taper rod had plenty of backbone to turn the fish when it wanted to go under my kayak.

kayak fish these are all new Japanese rods, 6' and under - offset for round reels

@KP Duty maybe he's a Trappist monk.

Note that USM 1000-size Shimano is JDM C2000. In Japan, 1000 is the same body with slightly smaller diameter spool (same pitch). In Vanford 500 (which is made for USM only), you give up worm drive for smaller-pitch locomotive drive. I've caught doubles with mixed snook, redfish, and seatrout on my 500 Tica Cetus with 4-lb copolymer (heck of a $45 reel if you want to fish mono), but I'm much happier with C2000S and threadline braid in the same niche.

@michaelsrex The Silver Wolf handle is ZPI SSRC carbon that comes without the knobs - I already had the knobs from the alloy handle on an Alcance (I had an Avail STi2 to swap into the XS-geared Alcance). The Zillion has among my favorite Avail STi2 - extremely light with titanium spindles - those are Avail A knobs. I like both of these longer handles (97 mm and 100 mm), on high-geared reels. All these handles with their big EVA knobs are lighter than stock alloy handles with I-shaped rubber knobs. My lower-geared Steez has Studio Composite RCSC, 88 mm, which is also extremely light with carbon tubes in the giant knobs. @Darth-Baiter they always look better this way

I like them both. I like aftermarket spools on Zillion or Steez better than the Silver Wolf stock spool for fishing threadline braid, but anybody looking for 8-lb mono or 20-lb braid, the Silver Wolf stock spool has greater capacity than it's rated. The Silver Wolf is also line-dig-proof, with a faster LW pitch that lays the line wider to prevent dig.

At the current exchange rate, all of Japan is still 25% off.

@msgf91 There's not much difference between Stella and Vanquish - Stella has stainless gears (expensive to broach and wear-proof) and forged magnesium rotor (expensive to form)- Vanquish has wear-coated alloy gears and CI4+ rotor - the rest is the same, including forged magnesium body, titanium bail. Vanquish is notably lighter weight than Stella - an ounce. Just the facts, ma'am. https://www.jpfishingtacklenews.com/shimano-vanquish-2019/ https://www.jpfishingtacklenews.com/new-shimano-stella-18/ All the Shimano '18-22 worm drive (except New Stella) interchange parts - and are the same reel design using different MOC and number of ball bearings - '18 Stella, '19 Stradic, '19 Vanquish, '20 Vanford, '21 Twin Power, etc.) Stella has the stainles gears and forged magnesium body and rotor. The rest use wear-treated alloy gears and body/rotor MOC that are cheaper-to-make. Stradic and Vanford are made on Malaysia assembly line - the rest are made on Japan bench with parts-matching for added smoothness. But they all have the same design improvements of '18 Stella. @FishTank's '23 Vanquish, built off '22 Stella, has slightly longer spool stroke, and added spindle stiffness to go with it.

for how long - these are finesse catches on Stradic 1000, 2000 and Vanquish 2000 Educated guess, 400 like these over 4 years (all male schoolie speckled trout) There's also a point where better threadline management improves fishing. @FishTank's point about cast distance (wind knots, etc.) is spot on. Rhetorical - have you noticed there's never been a thread complaining about line lay on a post-18 Shimano worm drive - pick a different brand, and you'll probably find one. If you want to know the difference between the pre-'18 and post-'18 Shimano worm drive (Stradic FK v. FL), it's here. Improved spool pitch, improved drive (with larger-diameter, finer-teeth gears), improved spindle stiffness, improved A/R clutch, labyrinth seals.

@garroyo130 I've never handled a Spheros SW or A, and use my large frame Stradic in the same niche. The drive, spindle and drag on this reel do everything I need here. If you give credence to Alan Tani, he didn't like Spheros. Spheros starts at this 3/5000 frame size, and goes up from here - in a hurry, to 20,000 size. I've always considered big drag numbers on paper to be just that. Seven pounds is plenty for near-offshore fishing, until you move up to those 10,000+ sizes and intended offshore targets.

too often and too divisive on BR Gear forum, and even off-topic. if others spending their money how they choose bothers you, better to not post, or OP a topic that interests you. I'll add @Bigassbass Stradic is the entry-level workhorse worm-drive Shimano. If you plan ahead, maybe do the math, saving for one good reel that lasts twice+ as long (keeps its on-spec performance 3 or 4 times as long) may be the long-term frugal choice. @FishTank - that start/stop thing makes a touch difference fishing big fish that are sipping tiny bait.

But it's wishful thinking to call these low profile reels. (all they really are is egg-shaped from the LW extended forward) You won't find a bigger fan of Lew's 1973 design, which separated the LW from the freespool and was a paradigm step in baitcast spool speed and cast distance (always read effort). They also offered smaller diameter spools, which brought your thumb a bit closer to the rod. This BB-1N on a straight reel seat is actually a bigger thumb stretch than Ambassadeur 4600C on the same rod. Noteworthy, if Lew had patented his design, none of those reels could have been made before 1995.

The Japanese call this device a reel stand, but it's really the ultimate hook keeper, which also prevents line twist on rod tip. It replaces the dust cap on the non-drive side. If you try one of these, you may never want another rod with a built-in hook keeper. Trickier to hunt down, but they also offer the thumbscrew type for hex-shaft reels. Gomexus and Hedgehog both sell versions of these. For baitcasters, this little add-on hook is offered by G-Nius

For four years, I've been saying Vanquish is the best finesse spinning reel ever made. Aside from perfect threadline management, which Shimano has pretty much conquered in all their worm drive reels above every other brand - What impresses me the most in Vanquish is starting and stopping wind. You put this reel beside another worm drive Shimano and you notice the difference - there is zero resistance to start winding, and even more impressive, the reel drive does not continue to push your hand when you stop.

Big diameter line, either braid or mono is best for backing, to keep the loaded spool mass down. When I'm topping deep B/C spools with braid, I use 20-25 yds 20-25-lb mono for backing. Big diameter line doesn't pack efficiently on the spool, and forms a lighter-weight spool arbor. Both large diameter braid and large diameter mono are less dense and, therefore, lighter weight than fluorocarbon.

@Bassmaster96 should be, all you need to do is tighten the right side cap. When you're bench-building an Ambassadeur, you ballpark center the spool using the end caps. You tweak both caps to get proper line lay filling the spool. But to final center the lined spool, you tilt the reel to the right and freespool-drop a weight on the line. You get the same pinion/spool-pin interference grind because the right cap is too far open. You tighten and keep repeating this drop to find the incipient tightening point where the noise goes away, then add an extra safety partial turn in the right-side cap. You do all this with the left cap open wide, and finish by adjusting final spool side play (or tension) in the left cap. basically the same on any reel, except newer reels don't have a left side cap, so all adjustment is in the right cap.

Trout in the Classroom year is winding down with trips to the tailwater to release trout fry. I have 36 schools active this year, with 6 trips to the river planned over 3 weeks. This was last week's 4th grade class field trip And yesterday, 6 high school Aquatic Sciences teachers came out with their families. The 7 schools so far put 600 trout fry into the river. of course, this isn't about raising trout... ... it's about raising conservationists.

@PUTitinYOURmouthFISH the only bearings I've bought from China are full zirconia. I've bought AMO spools from China, didn't like the bearings that came in them, and replaced them. Hybrid ceramics, I buy Roro, especially KTF, Hedgehog, MTCW, some from Boca and SurfCastProShop. I've been shopping Japan 20 years now, since you could only buy there using a broker, and I still use noppin.com for assembling multiple orders from small shops in Japan that aren't set up to market and ship direct to US.

mever mentioned, How Much 10-lb braid. Maybe you need to back with mono or much heavier braid and use your working braid on top.

that would be Seaguar Blue label leader. You're going to get my standard Improved Allbright knot answer now. This knot is impossible to slip, and tied properly, is almost as skinny as FG, and definitely glides through microguides. It works fine with hard fluoro leader. The trick to tightening this knot, remember which direction you rolled the braid loops. Lightly snug all four (standing and tag) ends. First tighten the braid tag end while rolling the braid loops in the same direction you wrapped them. Before it's completely tight, take up the leader tag to bury the bend in the loops. Finish tighten the braid tag (still rolling braid loops), then final tighten by pulling both standing ends. I finish by wetting the knot with pink-label Zap CA+

this is Exactly where MR74CE full zirconia bearings from China plug in at $4/ and $4 to mail. They don't need lube and they're Permanent. You'd also have to be a cat to hear these tiny things.

I have a back-up TFO traveler in my kayak, though the blank was finished out and sold as Cabelas. Like you, I bought it for such-a-deal, on closeout, and very happy for what I paid. Mine is faster than its rating, and has fished some nice days for me.

The only place full-zirconia bearings are an advantage is in the salt. I've tried them in spool bearings - they are faster and slicker, but in spool bearings, they also make so much noise, your friends 150' away will talk about them. Where I prefer them are in small sizes on handles, LW and, especially, ball-bearing spur gear and idler gear on custom Ambassadeur. I'll venture to say I've tried more bearing combinations than anyone else here. There's a noted quality difference between USM high-grade bearings such as Boca, and high-grade JDM bearings such as NMB, versus cheap Chinese bearings. However, quality among Chinese bearings is also going to vary - it's a hit and miss gamble. I've found Hong-Kong-based Roro bearings to be as good as any made elsewhere. Silicon-nitride-ball hybrid ceramic bearings (sic SiC) are a noted upgrade in spool bearings vs. all-steel. Part of this results from decreased rotating mass. The second is tolerance to little or no lubrication. You actually slow them down by oiling them, but you do make them quieter. As far as this statement you should always read improved cast distance as reduced effort and, thereby, improved accuracy - people who don't read it that way just want to argue. Cast distance remains the empirical measurement to compare bearing efficiency.

Baitcasting and spinning require very different casting strokes. I cast both a fly rod and baitcaster with left hand - these two casts are a lot more similar than spinning - jerk in your cast gives tailing loop with fly rod, and backlash with baitcaster. With a spinning rod, jerk is rewarded with cast distance. IMO, it's better to keep the muscle memory separate in each arm. This was also the norm when I was growing up fishing.

Not a latest purchase, but a review of sorts. I have an update on use of my Meiho VS7080 modular tackle box - from last Saturday's kayak trip, where I found it just as useful as the skeg on the little Redfish 10. I picked this box because it exactly fits in the little sternwell of this boat. Two rod holders in back (and my Scotty rod holder in front). There are all sorts of inner and outer add-ons, rod and drink holders, outer pockets, tippet and line-spool dispensers, inner trays and baskets. Places on the outside of the box to securely hang the add-ons, inner trays, etc. This size box exactly fits Meiho 1200 lure boxes in the long direction, and 800 boxes in the short direction. The lure boxes come in 3 thicknesses, NS (25 mm), ND (40 mm), and NDD (60 mm). The different boxes can be arranged to efficiently hold everything from packaged plastic baits and popping corks to micro-jigs. For this trip, I needed three 800 lure boxes, and the inner basket for spinnerbaits and for quickly hanging swapped-out lures. There's room for two more 800 boxes laying flat (or lunch if I had better provisions to pack).