brophog

I just use small diameter mono. 6lb mono in most domestic brands is ludicrously strong because it's so underrated. I'm not saying I always use something that small, but to put this in perspective line that is sold as 17lb here is sold as 29lb in Europe for the same line in the same diameter. With mono, most of the downsides like stretch and manageability get greatly diminished as you decrease in diameter. I go up as I need more abrasion resistance. Contrary to most people, flouro is the line of the big 3 that I don't use. I think it is incredibly overrated with the most downsides.

I don't know if they make a rat box, but if not they should.

They make small boxes with just vertical slots ideal for jerkbaits. That's one of the things common in Asia that allows them to downsize their storage needs is the usage of multiple smaller technique specific containers rather than having an entire system built around the larger, generic plano style boxes.

Phenix does sell both 1pc and 2pc finished rods and blanks on Amazon but sometimes a listing is incredibly confusing as to what you’re really getting.

My bank fishing setups have all gone to fanny packs. I find fixed boxes to be less than ideal these days due to so much of the tackle we commonly use being soft plastics. Even things like terminal tackle I find easier to organize in small ziploc bags as they waste a lot of space in hard boxes. Obviously I like to keep a box around for things like hard baits with treble hooks but I don't need an entire backpack full to carry a few of those lures and I find once you eliminate the hard boxes you can get a much smaller bag and still pack a ton of stuff in it.

I used to always recommend a medium spinning rod as the ultimate all purpose rod, but with so many casting reels now able to cast on the lower end I like this set up in a casting version. Using this rod range as the example, I'm not looking to cast 1/8oz. In my experience with rods with those ranges it's a bit of a stretch to do both of those ends with one rod, let alone one reel. However, that sort of rod normally does 5g (~3/16oz) fairly well and that's really the lower end sweet spot for bass fishing, at least in my opinion. The reason I feel that total weight is important is it is about a 1/8oz jig head and small soft plastic. 1/8 jig heads are very special in that they commonly come in a #2 hook for panfish/trout and a 2/0 hook for bass. That's an enormous range in size that means 5g total weight gives you a huge range of applications available. That lower range will basically cover both finesse bass applications and catch some of the smaller species that often reside in the same areas. If you can approach the top end of that rod range, about 3/4, then that covers your 1/2oz and trailers. Ideally I like such a rod somewhere around a Mod-Fast (leaning to the fast side) or a Fast (leaning to the Mod-Fast side) and anywhere in that 7-7'3" range. Match that up with any number of 70/80 size reels that have become quite common. The only problem doing this in a casting version is many rod manufacturers only make certain rod specs into spinning rods and certain ones into casting rods even though their market is totally saturated with those same rod specs and even though a rod blank is a rod blank and doesn't care one iota in which spec it is made. Unfortunately, this means you probably won't find such a casting rod on your local store shelves and will need to look overseas where such things are more common. This may not directly help the OP, but if you're reading this and you see such a rod, in either spinning or casting, grab it.

Even if it was under warranty, most warranties require something on the users part, such as shipping. This little ramp is literally just a few dollars that can be easily fixed with a screwdriver and some patience. I am reminded of one of my favorite online reviews of all time. This guy bought a cheap reel that didn't have any line on it so he returned it for a new one. To be fair, it was supposed to come prespooled, but I always wonder what he does when he needs to respool line.

This is blasphemy and I don't think we should tolerate such thinking.

Is there any room left for you and the fish or do one of you have to ride in the little rubber dinghy?

I’m the same way, for both rods and reels. Price is a factor, but availability is a far bigger factor. For quite some time I’ve found the domestic market to be very wide but also very shallow.

I don't worry about warranties on that kind of stuff because they've already priced in the warranty so I'd have to break enough rods over time to overcome the extra expense they charged for the privilege. Maybe I've just been lucky, I don't know. I can say most of the rods I've ever broken have come down to user error, and it's generally only the cheaper ones that break for any other reason.

In my opinion, in the overwhelming majority of modern rods these aren't major issues anymore. There is some debate on which styles of joints reduce any potential loss of sensitivity the most, but my feeling is that our rod setups now tend to be so sensitive that we have plenty to spare. My only complaint with 2 piece rods is that they're not more readily available in this country but it's hard for me to put too much blame on producers, distributors and retailers when there is such a strong stigma against 2 piece rods, especially in bass fishing. I think for the most part they are just following market sentiment in this regard. I, too, once was very against 2 piece rods but there was a time when there were very good reasons for that. The technology and construction has changed a lot over time, though, and I think opinions will eventually shift as well.

Many setups are tip heavy these days. It's why I think any discussion of reel weight for a bass size reel is pretty silly. We've taken most of the weight out of the rear handle of the rod, most don't have foregrips, some barely have something you can call a reel seat. Then the standard rod length exceeds 7 feet, which isn't a bad thing but with so little weight in the rear now it's difficult to find a balanced rod with the weight of most modern reels. To top it off, I think in many cases we're trading reel weight for durability. I love Zillions and the versatility of that platform and being able to customize them like we're discussing, but there are times I don't use them in favor of older, heavier, but more durable reels.

They usually don't survive long enough for me to worry about that.

Did you buy the rod?

Those are useful tips. Another one is to tape the clip to a screwdriver when trying to get it back on the shaft when reassembling.

You can replace the ramp. Not the most difficult thing in the world, but getting those little c clips on and off the inductor without that spring shooting everywhere can be a bit tricky. I definitely agree with the idea of getting a new spool to give yourself more options and then you can play find the spring later on. (BTW, I hate those little clips. I used to have a Quantum Iron 300 back in the day where someone decided to mount the plate side bearing on the spool instead and mounted it behind an even more annoying, tinier c clip.)

If you don't want to have any brakes at all it does. Otherwise, probably not. I'll take either reel any day of the week. The deciding factor for me isn't cast ability or braking or anything of that nature, it's the modularity of the 34mm Daiwas.

I don't know, probably just age. When we're young we want every lure in the store, get a bag big enough to carry them all, then all the rods to cast everything. Then we get old, realize we don't want to carry all of that stuff then come to the conclusion we only used 3 lures anyhow and we can probably cast all three on one rod.

While there is always a small amount of braking there, the question becomes how much. The magnetic braking force changes significantly with even small changes in distance between the magnet and inductor. Anybody can take something like an SV reel and put it on 0 and on 20 and see the enormous effect it has even at free spool speeds. For centrifugal brakes it is not like they turn off 4 nanoseconds into a cast. Any brake block you have turned on are always engaged it is just that they're so dependent on spool speed that by the time the spool has slowed down at the end of the cast the braking force is often times negligible to non-existent depending on just how slow the spool got. We have to be careful of making too many generalities between systems, especially with magnetic braking because there are so many divergent braking profiles amongst different reels but it's not as simple as to just suggest centrifugal systems only effect the start of the cast and magnetic systems are more impactful throughout the cast and therefore centrifugal will just cast longer. For some users in some reels in some applications that may be true, but then in other situations it is completely reversed. The peak braking force of a centrifugal tends to be quite large at high speed and that often tends to even out the discrepancy vs a reel that may brake less but for a longer period.

I find even in the same line of rods it varies. I'll use the Feather as an example because it's a very common rod and gets this feedback a lot. The 1/8-3/8 L I find is pretty spot on, certainly not infringing on UL status the way some L rods can. However, that 1/4-2oz H is just no where close to those expectations. I love that rod, but I treat it like a MH+ that tops out at about 1 1/4.

Those 70/80 size reels are great at that weight range whereas that Patriarch, depending on how old it is, is likely at that spool weight where 1/4 is possible but not necessarily desirable.

When you get down that low the line makes a huge difference. Go as thin as you can tolerate and don't fill the spool (you're looking to save weight). The Roro spools are great, but I find many of their models have far more line capacity than necessary for that type of application. That spool has a good capacity for 7-8 grams but if you're looking to cast 1-2 grams the weight of the line itself becomes an enormous percentage of your overall spool weight and has a significant effect on overall performance.

I find that the more rods I own the fewer I want to carry.

I'm not addressing your personal preferences, I'm addressing the why. The usage of magnetic fields to help us control spool rotation is simply so much more varied and nuanced than you're letting on. Even if we just limited it to Daiwa systems, which ones are we even talking about? The thread title is problematic, to say the least.