Show off your Stuff

[Falkus]

1 hour ago, fishwizzard said:

They are such great reels.  If you find the braking too strong, getting the inductor spring swapped is a very cheap and worthwhile upgrade.  

Do tell about the inductor spring swap. If you don't mind telling where I can get one of those to test it out. 

[rippin-lips]

3 hours ago, Burke said:

Do tell about the inductor spring swap. If you don't mind telling where I can get one of those to test it out. 

You can purchase the stronger spring from Bryan at The Tackle Trap in Al. Not hard to swap out but it will test your nerves for sure. Very small parts can go flying. 

[fishwizzard]

Hah, yea, I was far too chicken to do it myself so I sent a few spools that needed work off to TT.  Very reaspnable pricing and fast turnaround. 

[chubaka]

Sold my Antares DC. Got a Tatula SV to replace it. Call me crazy. Planning to tune it out. 

[rippin-lips]

On 7/25/2018 at 7:55 AM, fishwizzard said:

Hah, yea, I was far too chicken to do it myself so I sent a few spools that needed work off to TT.  Very reaspnable pricing and fast turnaround. 

I’ve done more than I can remember and still each time I say to myself “why did I decide to do this again”  If I had a 3rd hand it would be so much easier. 

[Big-Bass]

On 7/24/2018 at 6:01 PM, Burke said:

My latest.... 

 

You're gonna love it!

 

[CrankFate]

Oh well, the $37 generic spool from China that I was using broke last night. I thought I just backlashed doing a few Happy Gilmore style casts with minimal braking because there were other people around. But nope. First cast today sounded like a damaged ball bearing, which never happened to me before and would’ve got me mad because I’m using bocas. So I popped the side plate off and pieces starting falling out of the spool. And that my friends is why Daiwa spools cost over $100................

 

I kept fishing and it felt like the old days today. No brakes or magnets, just one spool tension knob and my thumb. And of course no fish, except all the bites from all the fish the same size as my bait.

 

yes, that washer is bent.

[rippin-lips]

What’s it for? I’ll give you $10 for it shipped. It is broken. 

[CrankFate]

19 hours ago, rippin-lips said:

What’s it for? I’ll give you $10 for it shipped. It is broken. 

I contacted the seller, he offered to exchange it or send me a c-clip for it. I am waiting for his reply from China. If he has a spring, too I’ll have it working again in 54 days when the c-clip and spring arrive from China ?

[CrankFate]

On 7/30/2018 at 1:21 AM, BaitFinesse said:

 

I've heard of the inductor separating from the air brake on the Ray's spools but never bent washers like that.  You might be able to slavage it as a fixed inductor spool and replace with a Ray's DIY Long Cast.  Does the inductor spin freely on the black plastic peice it is attached to?  It shouldn't and if it does it will need to be reglued.

The black plastic like material looks to be decent quality and is holding fine. I think the rubber retainer disintegrated from casting so hard with the Boca bearings. I continued fishing with it for a few hours without the inductor. It was an experience, but I wasn’t going home. If the seller sends me a c-clip and spring, I’ll be able to salvage it. I can probably get a better quality washer in Home Depot for .10c  

 

The bent washer is strange, but these are similar to the thin washers that some reels have just over or under the ball bearings. They aren’t as thick as the shadow in the pic makes it look.

[Lasher]

Now I need to decide on a new rod to pair it with.  Something that will handle most chunk and wind presentations:  crankbaits, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, Etc.

[HazeRVA]

Nice! Loving mine.

[rippin-lips]

Long wait but well worth it!

 

[Big-Bass]

3 minutes ago, rippin-lips said:

Long wait but well worth it!

 

Awesome reel!  Is the base a TD-Z 103 or 105?  Or with that line guide, an Air Metal TD-X?

[rippin-lips]

11 minutes ago, Big-Bass said:

Awesome reel!  Is the base a TD-Z 103 or 105?  Or with that line guide, an Air Metal TD-X?

Started life as a boring 103ml. The line guide is painted. 

[J Francho]

Dude!  That's nice!

[fishwizzard]

14 hours ago, rippin-lips said:

Long wait but well worth it!

 

Dude that thing is ill as hell.  Bright metallic greens are the best colors.

 

By coincidence, my first TD-Z arrived today;

It's in pretty decent shape, with this bubbling on the foot being the worst.

 

I am looking for a replacement for a Steez SV TW that I am not in love with, so I thought I would give the TD-Z family a try.  This one was like $100 on ebay so I thought I would take the chance.  The drag is shot and the reel in general needs some love, but I spooled it up and it casts like a dream and is super comfortable to palm.  I need to decide if I want to try to service/upgrade it myself of sent it out so someone can get it up to snuff for me.  

[rippin-lips]

@fishwizzard the stock tdz drag pressure is not that strong to begin with. A set of carbontex washers will help it out though. You can send it to Bryan at The Tackle Trap and he will take care of you. I had him do everything to mine that I just posted. 

[fishwizzard]

4 hours ago, rippin-lips said:

@fishwizzard the stock tdz drag pressure is not that strong to begin with. A set of carbontex washers will help it out though. You can send it to Bryan at The Tackle Trap and he will take care of you. I had him do everything to mine that I just posted. 

I think I am going to do the drag myself, then fish it for a while before I send it off to make sure it's still comfortable after a few days of heavy fishing.  

 

What spool are you running in yours? 

[rippin-lips]

Yeah, the drag install is an easy job. I have multiple spools for mine. I switch them out here and there. Currently I’m running the zillion 1016 sv with spring mod. 

[Big-Bass]

4 hours ago, rippin-lips said:

Yeah, the drag install is an easy job. I have multiple spools for mine. I switch them out here and there. Currently I’m running the zillion 1016 sv with spring mod. 

Any quick tutorials on changing out the drag to Carbontex?

[Looking for the big one]

@rippin-lips How does a TD-ito on a Dobyns Champ Extreme 702c sounds to you? I’m assuming you have both or have used both before. If I can’t find a good condition Ito I think a new Aldebaran MGL is what I’ll go with. Looking for a small topwater/jerkbait/weightless soft plastics setup. What are your thoughts on this?

[rippin-lips]

4 hours ago, Big-Bass said:

Any quick tutorials on changing out the drag to Carbontex?

Just open it up and remove the drag stack from the main gear. Lay each piece out left right and work backwards when putting it back on the main gear. You are just swapping out the 3 washers for better material ones. 

1 hour ago, Looking for the big one said:

@rippin-lips How does a TD-ito on a Dobyns Champ Extreme 702c sounds to you? I’m assuming you have both or have used both before. If I can’t find a good condition Ito I think a new Aldebaran MGL is what I’ll go with. Looking for a small topwater/jerkbait/weightless soft plastics setup. What are your thoughts on this?

702 is light imo but we have different preferences for rods. The 703 is labeled as a mh but Dobyns run 1 power lighter when fished. So it’s really a medium. I did enjoy that rod when I owned it. Yes, I have an ito too. Great reel but can be a pain to find in good shape. Just have to keep an eye out. 

[Trox]

On 6/8/2018 at 9:54 PM, kickerfish1 said:

What high end outfit did you have or currently have, that you felt was not worth the price of admission?

I recently bought... and sold two St. Croix Legend Xs that ran me over $400ea. I know a lot of people love those rods, but to me, there was zero value in them. Here's an example of why:

 

I was prefishing for a tournament one time trying to find grass lines with a jackhammer chatterbait paired with a LegendX and a Metanium MGL. I'm sure most of us know that the jackhammer is the higher end of Z Mans collection and throws off some fantastic vibration under normal circumstances... Anyways, I threw that combo for about 2 hours that day. On deck, I had a $100 rod with a crappy Johnny Morris reel that I never really use with an origional chatterbait that I tied on months ago (it was cheaper equipment and more of a backup than anything). Somehow, that chatterbait from the cheaper pole came off the hook keeper and fell into the water but I didn't notice until I turned on the outbard to start crawling to another area while I sis some more graphing. Once I started moving, I noticed the origional zman chatterbait in the water next to me so I got up to reel it in and put it away and wow... That thing rattled my teeth it was vibrating down to rod so hard. I was blown away... I never picked up either one of those Legends again... Lesson learned that price really doesn't mean anything when it comes to quality. Now, I'm sure St. Croix makes excellent rods, I mean I hope so because people seem to really like 'em but I get better bottom feel and all around sensitivity with rods a quarter of the cost. Since, I replaced both those rods with another G.Loomis NRX and GLX, the only rods I personally feel are worth that kind of dough and I'm VERY timid to venture out and try a different brand again for this very reason. Now, I've found that high end reels are kind of different, once you get over the $300 range it becomes more of a preference issue... Most high end reels will perform very well, but the rods can make or break you and the fact that there are no real industry standards to follow, each company make their rods very different from the next and can make for a frustrating buyer experience with the money being spent.

 

Hope this answers your question

[fishwizzard]

On 8/4/2018 at 12:37 AM, rippin-lips said:

Great reel but can be a pain to find in good shape. Just have to keep an eye out. 

There is a NIB right-handed on on ebay right now and I keep having to slap my hand away from my mouse to keep from buying it.