21farms

excellent advice

i think the yo-zuri hybrid lines are actually both: "Yo-Zuri Hybrid is a revolutionary combination of fluorocarbon (PVDF) and nylon. It is extruded under extremely close tolerances to provide uniform diameter and strength. Once extruded, it is actually run through a double finishing process adding another double osmotic coat of fluorocarbon." (not from the yo-zuri website but pretty common in descriptions at many retailers websites)

jon, just keep in mind that almost all reels feel really smooth when they're not under load and there's no line on them. also, at BPS, they loosen the cast control knobs on all their display baitcasters as far as they will go so they will spin super easily. i'd recommend that you only consider reels with a solid, one-piece aluminum frame (or magnesium, if you have the bucks ;D). a rigid frame keeps all the internals aligned and minimizes flexing so the reel stays smooth under load. there are some inexpensive but sexy-looking reels out there that feel great in the store but squeak and whine and feel loose and rough while actually fishing.

didn't mean to imply that at all. i use 15# braid in my daiwa fuegos and shimanos just fine. on some of my other reels though, it was extremely frustrating to watch brand new lures you just tied on go flying away after they snap the line because the line got wedged in itself. you may just have to do some experimenting and see if it works for you. and, like i said, the quality of the braid is a big factor here.

i tie my braid through the holes in my spool to avoid slipping. line digging into the spool can be a problem...a lot depends on the reel and the line itself. the better braided lines, like sufix and power pro, are rounder and less likely to dig into itself. the other line factor is diameter...thinner lines (e.g., 20 pound test and under) are more likely to bind than 30+ lb. test line. the reel also plays a part. reels that lay the line down in broader angles onto the spool will bind less than. i've noticed far less binding with wider spool reels than those with narrower spools. i have some reels that i won't use braid on again because of line digging.

jon, i throw them all. just in the last 18 months or so, i bought 6 abu garcias, 5 daiwas, 8 shimanos, 2 pfluegers, 2 quantums and 4 BPS (3 out of all of these were spinning reels, not baitcasters)...each had things i liked and things i didn't. out of all of them though, i would have to single out my two revo SXs as the reels that really drove me nuts. as i've said before, when they're adjusted just right and i'm in a groove, they're absolutely phenomenal. if i get excited (say, because the shad are boiling around the boat) and i rush a cast, it's all too easy to get messed up. with the SX, you always have to remember that the reel won't adjust to you...you have to adjust to the reel (the dial settings and the way you cast). btw, micro's setup advice (essentially, turn your cast control knob tighter than you think you need to) is good but that's only for casting...for pitchin', you need a looser setting. for daiwas, i have two fuegos but would like to add a sol and a zillion crazy cranker. for the shimanos, i have curados, citicas and a chronarch. they're all excellent, but different (if that makes any sense). for that matter, revo S's are excellent too and not at all picky and very easy to use. what exactly did you want to know?

nope...the daiwa and shimano braking systems are only similar in that they apply a varying amount of braking force according to spool speed. but, shimanos do not use magnetic brakes at all; instead, they rely on tried-and-true centrifrugal brakes...the faster the spool spins, the harder little brakes attached to the spool rub against a raceway inside the reel slowing it down. centrifrugal brakes are simple but work amazingly well. its interesting to note that the most expensive revo reel, the skeet reese edition, is a modified revo premier but without the mag brakes and centrifrugals in their place. also, the revo S and winch models also use centrifrugal brakes instead of magnets. when people are first learning how to baitcast, i always start them off on a reel with centrifrugal brakes because they're easier to use and less to futz around with. i've been using baitcasters for decades and still had problems with casting the SX consistently.

***.com will let you demo the crazy cranker for free...just pay for shipping. i plan on demoing it myself after the rains stop around here. anyway, both are nice choices...with the winch, you also get the free wiley-X sunglasses but i've heard it doesn't cast the lighter cranks very well. the crazy cranker is a real looker and seems to have some extra cache good luck.

power pro because the 1500 yard spools are still cheaper than the 1200 yard spool of sufix and i can't tell that much difference between them

wayne, that's an interesting point. i remember reading before about studies showing black is the most visible color underwater, even at night. even so, using a black magic marker to color braid (as well as to stiffen the line for topwater lures) is really common out here on the california delta. my guess is that, even though the line is visible, it still looks more natural than yellow or orange. anyway, i started looking into sufix fluorescent neon fire and, from what i read, it is supposed to light up under black light...sad that users are reporting that it doesn't >

daiwa's magforce-V and magforce-Z employ an arbor on one end of the spool that can move closer and farther from the magnets to vary the braking force based on the how fast the spool is spinning. therefore, max braking when the spool is spinning the fastest and is most needed and less braking when it is less needed. daiwa can explain it better than i can: http://www.daiwa.com/Reel/pop_magforce.aspx. as for the difference between magforce-V and Z, Z supposedly kicks in later when the spool speed is higher and provides less braking at high speeds...this system is aimed at working better with lighter lures. of all magnetic braking systems available, daiwa's are probably the smartest and most-advanced. in most* other brand reels using magnetic braking, the relationship between the spool and the magnets is fixed during the cast. in other words, the distance between the spool and the magnets stays constant throughout the cast. because passive systems like this do not vary the braking force according to spool speed, they can be picky, requiring you to set the mag dial to match your lure weight AND how hard you're going to cast. now, a lot of people are really good doing this on the fly and can do it so intuitively, they don't even think about it. this also becomes easier if you use all the same brand reels. *the only other recent braking system i'm aware of that employed variable braking force was pflueger's "inertial transfer braking" (ITB). some bass pro shops reels based on pflueger designs also used ITB. ITB used a spring-mounted disk on the side of spool that moved closer/farther from the set of magnets in the sideplate. i had some ITB-equipped reels and found them to work extremely well. for some reason, pflueger dropped ITB and moved over to a "dual braking" scheme wherein they employ centrifrugal brakes AND a dumb (passive) magnetic brake system.

i have a bass pro shops rick clunn rod: the 7-foot worm/drop shot model. just by this rod, i can tell he believes in using one rod because this is different than any other worm rod out there. most technique-specific worm rods are either 6'6" or 7'0", are medium-heavy and have extra-fast actions. i'd say that the rick clunn rod is much closer to moderate-fast. interestingly, i should be using this rod for a bunch of different things then but i've found just the opposite...i hardly use it at all, preferring the traditional tapers/actions for the different specific-techniques. i guess it is the ol' jack-of-all-trades/master-of-none thing.

good information...thanks, all. what a bummer though. i saw the sufix neon line and thought that'd glow for sure so i'm glad to find out that doesn't either. :'( here's another question regarding yellow braid: do you ever fish it as-is? in other words, do you tie directly to the lure without a mono or fluoro leader or coloring the line with a black magic marker to hide the bright yellow color? i currently use green braid but often lose track of the line and so was thinking of going to yellow. i plan to use a magic marker (which i already do with my green braid when it starts to lose its color) but was wondering about other peoples' experiences with highly visible line. thanks.

thinking of picking up a bulk spool of yellow power pro but have two questions: 1. does it glow under black light? i'm assuming it does but would like some confirmation. 2. is counterfeit power pro still a problem? the warning at the power pro website is dated from back in 2006, which would give unscrupulous counterfeiters plenty of time to adapt to the revised PP packaging. have not heard anything lately about this.

the thinner the braid, the more problem line digging will be (that's when the line digs into itself on the spool when wound under tension). i've used 15 lb. braid on my 2500-size spinning reels and it wasn't good. btw, make sure you either put some electrical tape around your spool or some mono backing before winding on your braid or you will get slipping.

the second-generation dobyns rods are my favorite but they're probably $20 out of your price range. for my money, i'd buy a used g.loomis IMX which i see regularly between $140-$180...here's one example: http://www.westernbass.com/forum/ads_item.php?id=10144

WD-40 is a petroleum product and pollutes the water. it is illegal to use as a fish attractant in many states.

i also have a lamiglas XCF705R, which is the same as the SR705R except for the color of the blank and slightly differently-shaped grip. anyway, i got that one first and LOVE it. i added the SR765R later and i while i "like" it, honestly, i'm also a little disappointed. the SR765R is known as "the long cast special" but i seem to get better distances with my XCF705R...plus, it's not very good at ripping (which is what the "R" is supposed to stand for). i'd heartily recommend you add a powell 765CB instead...it's graphite, not fiberglass but it is so sweet...makes for a great one-two punch with the skeet reese 7-footer.

are we sure that isn't the japanese citica? curados have larger septon grips and the size and shape of these look like citica E's. plus, the 6.3 to 1 gear ratio is more like our citica.

dj, i just went to my local tackle shop earlier today and played around with their stock of skeet reese rods (both the SR705R and the SR765R) and, out of the 6 they had, 3 of them had the noise. no biggie, i guess.

my lamiglas skeet reese SR765R does that and i too was initially concerned. i had though it would also really bother me while fishing. however, i talked to a lamiglas rep and he said i was welcome to warranty exchange it anytime but it shouldn't be a problem and it hasn't. in fact, i don't even notice the sound anymore. btw, i've read about this a few times before with fiberglass rods on another board.

i'm not trying encouraging the bait monkey...i only mentioned this as a way to avoid the linear magnetic brakes altogether. everyone can cast well with centrifrugal brakes and is probably a universally safer choice whereas a smaller percentage can successfully use the revo's mag brakes.

while you're at it, you should also check out the revo skeet reese. basically, it is a premier but with centrifrugal brakes instead of magnetic, five more ball bearings, a longer handle and a fancy paint job with an included neoprene reel cover...all for only $20 more.

j francho, thanks for your insight, especially the confirmation regarding the black widow II's solid aluminum frame. my recollection is also that daiwa was the first to go super low-profile. even further back, IIRC, daiwa was also first with the in-line thumb-bar spool release and with magnetic braking. of all the magnetic braking systems today, i still think daiwa does it the best. pflueger took a stab at a variable-force magnetic braking system with their ITB (which actually works great) but they seem to have dropped ITB entirely for their new offerings.

several things to think about here: the asaro is a more modern design so it'll be slightly lighter, slightly more compact, and more ergonomic. the asaro has centrifrugal brakes while the black widow II has magnetic brakes. which do you prefer? given the choice, i'd easily opt for centrifrugal brakes...i think they're much easier to get consistent results with (although, to be fair, daiwa makes the best mag brakes around). the asaro definitely has a solid, one-piece aluminum frame...the black widow, we don't know. but, given that this is usually a big selling point but daiwa and the tackltour review is mum on it, my guess is that the black widow frame is either composite and/or not one piece. the black widow has some killer style both daiwa and pflueger make quality products.