Mike Badge

I'm in Auburn, AL. and have a boat, but when I didn't have one I found some nearby lakes that would rent Jon boats w/trolling motors ~ 15 -20 $/day. There may be some places near you that do the same. I will say that you are very near some of the best bass fishing you can imagine. Also, I love catching striped bass in the spring behind the dams and you can probably do that too. You usually don't need a boat - but get a reel with plenty of line in case you hook a monster (I've met on person who was 'spooled' - he's using a large Ambassador reel now).

You have 2 Metanium dc reels? Those are high end reels and I'm guessing they're worth the cost. I already said I like the curado DC - when it's adjusted right it casts about as far as any reel I've used and reduces the likelihood of backlashes. I'm getting familiar with my new chronarch mgl and it is an amazing reel too. Yesterday I turned off 2 of the 4 mag brakes on the chronarch and tried casting 1/4 - 1/8 oz lures. I did get a few backlashes but they weren't bad and I decided to put all 4 mag brakes on when I'm casting light lures. I probably should have switched to spinning tackle for casting lures below 3/8 oz. So here's a question about rods (I know this isn't the forum for it ...sorry) - I have a 6'-10" KVD medium heavy ('cranking') rod that has micro line guides, so can't use braid/fluorocarbon leaders. Do you have a favorite 6-10 rod that uses regular guides you like? Thanks - BTW, we caught several 2-4 lbs bass so on blk/blue Z-mann chatterbaits and blk/blue jigs - the Z-mann chatterbaits seem to be better than the others ...

Hi Matt - Your comment just confirmed what I suspected - the more expensive chronarh mgl is your choice, since you are experienced and probably tinkered with the braking adjustments. It looks like you're in Canada and you probably catch muskie and large pike too. I'm guessing if you do hook 20 lbs+ fish the drag may be a less than you want.

I own both reels and I have no complaints against either. Frankly, all things being equal, the Curado DC 150 probably casts a bit farther. Curado DC 150: The digital system samples the reel angular velocity (think RPM) every 1/1000 of a second and adjusts the braking to prevent backlash (overrun). You need to set the tension knob so the reel shaft has no back and forth play. After that, set the magnetic brake adjustment to 2 - braid, 3- fluorocarbon, 4 - dock skipping, and 1 for bombing it a mile. It makes a faint humming sound when you cast it (charging DC system). It is an amazing reel by any measure! Chronarch MGL: This reel has an adjustable external magnetic brake (clicking noise tells you your changing the settings), but it also has internal pins you can have 'on' or 'off'. I've only had the reel 1 month and I haven't even opened the reel to change the factory settings. I've fished with it 6 - 10 times and it does cast like a dream and there is no charging noise. I'm not a profession fisherman and I haven't adjusted the Chonarch's internal magnetic pins, so someone experienced may feel the Chronarch is superior if adjusted properly. If I had to choose one reel over the other I'd flip a coin - to me, they are that close in performance.