Tatulatard

I would put all 3 in the same group if we are talking about the piscifun carbon XCS. I would put the CC80 and black max 3 as dumb but reliable reels. They are simple, plastic linear mag brake reels that are solid for what they are and have a proven track record. The carbon xcs is much lighter, has a lighter weight dual brake spool that far surpasses the other two with light weight baits and casting performance but has worse construction and build quality. Its the advanced but poorly made reel. The carbon xcs has some highly questionable construction like self tapping screws into a plastic frame and a plastic clutch return mechanism. I like the way the reel palms and casts for $60 but its time bomb. Pictured is the carbon xcs and alloy m insides. Here is a black max 3 for comparison.

The problem is that these cheaper brands are well known by those who buy them. They are all over YouTube sponsoring fishing channels and reviews of their product. Its very easy to come across these brands watching YouTube and the often undisclosed sponsorship is expressed as high praise by those touting the product. Combine this with the light weight, high drag numbers and bearing count and the viewer can get sucked into believing they have discovered some hidden gem of a brand or product and that they savvy buyers. "Why get an old fuego ct when I can get an piscifun amoy m that is lighter with more drag for the same price?" Not realizing that the alloy m isn't a proven platform like the fuego ct or talking braking system or what will happen when they need parts into consideration. Interestingly piscifun has a strong YouTube based following and the two reels I have are merely adequate for the price but my actual hidden gem cheap reel, the johncoo ares, has zero presence outside of european pike fishing circles and aliexpress reviews.

They appear identical assuming equal diameters. We don't know what "mono" is made from but assuming it's 100% nylon for the sake of argument then there is only a few percent percentage difference between flourocarbon and nylon on the refractive index. It would be extremely hard to observe such a small percent different in something that is already poorly defined. How does one observe or quantify "4% more invisible".

I don't know. Daiwa $50-$60 egg beaters are on point. I would need to hear a serious argument to get a piscifun over a regal.

Fun fact: those are a plastic round reel with a riveted metal reel foot.

People that want to buy new for a warranty I guess or don't want a used reel because it is precived as "old tech" and want the new thing without being aware it is worse. They look at the weight, drag number and bearing count of some plastic aliexpress reel sold on amazon and think they are getting a better reel for less.

I use owners because they are what is around me locally and they have a thinner wire which I like. I'll also buy the screw locks by themselves in a different copper color from a different brand again, because that's all I have locally. I'll use them in baits so I don't have to unscrew on out of a bait everytime I want to swap baits. I can just unclip a bait then clip in a new one.

I see. If you want to experience the bad manageability issue others have with flouro then set up the non daiwas the same as the daiwas. You'll get a much more free casting reel without the rod tip loading on the cast however the slinky that is heavier flouro will become difficult to work with.

Do you use spool tension on your reels? I wonder of that helps to slow the spool and tame stiff line.

Seriously, what is up with US prices? I would say inflation but I can buy a USDM reel like a tatula elite or tatula 200 in USD for considerably less on chinease site. It's not an exchange rate thing because I am buying in dollars. I don't understand.

I wonder this myself. I actually bought a few to check out and read yt comments from people that have the reels. It seems like there is some sentiment that they are savvy buyers cheating the system by buying a reel like a piscifun or others. Comments like "you upgrade the bearings on the alloy m and you have a $300 reel" stand out to me. They also fall for the light weight of the reels not realizing or caring that something like the carbon XCS weighs 5.5 ounces because its plastic, with an aluminum main gear and a cheap carbon fiber handle with EVA knobs. They look at paper numbers like weight, drag, bearing count and then use that as their justification to purchase the reel. I have a few of these piscifun reels along with a johncoo reel and a few cheap rods to experience what budget offerings are like and to use night fishing out of a kayak. The piscifun carbon XCS is ok if you want a little finesse reel. It casts light weight baits down to 1/8 oz pretty well for $59 but is plasticy and you lose winding power once the rod is loaded with a fish and that frame starts to flex. That winding power loss is actually how you perceive frame flex rather than feeling the frame move in your hand. The alloy m is also ok for a standard aluminum frame bass reel but has weak magnets and can only distance cast and it has to do that at higher brake settings than I would like. Skipping is basically impossible for me. It's like trying to skip with a shimano. Fine if you are just going to stand on the bank and hurl baits to the middle of the lake. The johncoo ares has been real impressive. It's 300 size aluminum frame and dual aluminum side plate reel with a double supported pinion for $66 showing that it pays to venture out of your comfort zone and try new things. I wish there was a 100 size. I want a cheap moving bait budget rig. I have the rod and line but looking for a non-plastic $50-$60 reel is slim pickings. I'll just repurpose one of my fuego cts.

Use a hook with a screw in keeper. For advanced bait preservation partially open the part of the keeper that clips onto the hook eye so that it un-clips easily on the hookset. This will allow the screw lock keeper to remain in the bait and allow the bait to slide up the line while fighting a fish. You can then slide the bait back down and re-clip the keeper into the hook eye for the next cast. If you don't do this you can rip the keeper out of the nose of the bait and take a little core sample of the plastic with it very easily. I fish a some soft JDM plastics plastics that tear up easily and the shipping is $20 alone.

Fluorocarbon line fooled everyone with the same claim.

I do a lot of skipping of lighter baits to docks on 10 lb sniper with frequent re-ties to the point that a leader to braid is not viable. 10lb sniper and spinning reels are a no go for me. Enter the alphas sv and ML steez shallow cover finesse rod and I haven't looked back. It's light, skips as painless as a spinning reel and reel is on top of the rod. No more egg beater beating into my thighs while seated in a kayak. I'll also do some open water with 20 lb braid and an 8 lb big game leader for casting and winding small baits on an L powerd rod. I could use a spinning reel but I hate cranking with a spinning reel. There is just something unnatural about making that hand motion below the rod no matter which hand I use.

12 to 15 lb big game leader. That will be your stretch.

Keep the rod loaded and keep reeling. When it's time to net steer the fish with the rod. If you freeze and wind the fish can jump and throw the bait. For whatever reason moving the fish in one direction or the other is like an off switch for the jump mechanism.

These aren't ewg hooks. You burry the hook point in the worm.

If it's not a DC or BFS then it's centrifugal with the exception of maybe the bass rise.

14 lb sniper. I save 16 lb for H rods and 20 for pitching jigs on H jig rod. No line conditioner.

Actually there is a trick for this that works with limited success. A shorter handle. The smaller the circumference of the circle your hand makes the faster it can be completed. I have an old lefty flipping reel that is a 6:1 and then upgrading the reel I chose a 90 mil handle over a longer handle to help with line recovery. An 80 mil would have been even faster but that is outside my comfort zone so the 90 mil was chosen.

It certainly is doable although an SLX wouldn't be my 1st choice for a reel. I don't like centrifugal reels with these larger diameter stiff plastic lines and prefer a slower braking profile of an SV, heavier braking profile magforce z or shimano DC. These braking systems help keep the spool from spinning faster than the slinky can pass through the system and get out of its own way. With centrifugal reel I have to ride my thumb over the spool for the entirety of the cast to beat the flouro down or run more spool tension than I would like which defeats the purpose of purchasing a free casting centrifugal reel. Cone shaped or tws help too belive it or not. I don't use line conditioner so my line is extra stiff. I'll run a 14 or 16 lb sniper usually on a MH or H chatterbait rod. These are just my preferences or beliefs on the matter. I also have a cheapskate MH rod for moving baits at night from a kayak so I don't risk my over expensive normal rig. On the cheap rig I have ran 15 lb basix and 12 lb big game, again no line goop. Both lines are excellent budget friendly, highly elastic moving bait lines. If you want a middle of the road flouro between basix and tatsu I would recommend invizx although I'm a sniper guy, no conditioner.

Automatic transmissions do suck though. The one in my truck is of very low IQ and the one in my dad's C7 zo6 actively tries to make the driving experience as soulless as possible at all times. I'm talking shifting into 8th at 60 mph and dropping the revs to 1200. I have to drop it a few gears in manual mode to bring the revs up to being out the exhaust note and supercharger whine.

I would think baits and line that don't play well with the fast and free nature of a centrifugal brake would work well with a DC reel. Something like heavier flouro and spinnerbaits or glides. I have daiwas for that so I don't have any DC reels but I could see the appeal. The curado DC doesn't get the fancy JDM DC brake with the x-mode but other reels have this setting and supposedly it bombs but I don't know. I would only get one for casting clunky baits on stiff line and was a Shimano guy.

Careful with the light sinkers and big worms. A rage tail anaconda and a 1/4 ounce weight will tumble like a tomahawk on the cast burning up the casting energy, rapidly slowing the bait and making spool control difficult. That worm needs more weight for a long cast but its my favorite big ribbon tail.

Tug on the spool rotor and compare it to another example to see if there is a difference on how the rotor feels. You can also swap spools between reels to see if it's a spool or reel issue