21farms

i don't have the zillion type-R but if the carbon handle is anything like the one on my PX type-R, it's a very nice handle indeed. TT confirms that they're real carbon fiber, not just a faux carbon fiber-"look". as for the knobs, i shy away from any knobs with ridges as they just collect gunk and are hard to clean. i have some of my daiwa handles switched over to shimano septon power knobs....you just have to add one extra bearing per knob and they fit just fine. however, the new shimano knobs that come on the curado i's look perfect to me in terms of size, shape and texture...so, as soon as shimano has those in stock, i'm going to convert all my shimanos and daiwas over to those.

i have the dobyns 735 champion and the daiwa tatula 7'6" flipping stick. i played with the tatula frog rod in the store...man, that thing is stout. THUT told me that the frog rod is the best-selling tatula rod but i didn't much care for it as i think it feels too powerful and i can't see how it has enough "tip" to toss hollow-body frogs well. my champion 735 is good at almost everything but i have never fished the savvy version so i don't know if it's the similar, i sure do love my tatula flipping stick though and absolutely would not hesitate to use it for frogs, t-rigs and jigs...daiwa calls it a flipping stick but it doesn't feel like any of the flipping sticks i've ever had before...seems ultra versatile to me and i'd recommend that as an alternative for you to consider.

i fish with a baitcaster 90% of the time but i do agree with the OP's premise that spinning gear is funner sometimes. for me, the pleasure of using spinning gear is that it balances so naturally...on a baitcaster, the reel always wants to torque downward due to gravity so you're constantly fighting that, albeit unconsciously. secondly—and probably the bigger fun factor—is the how the drag on a spinning reel "sings"...you know what i mean: the drag makes that glorious "zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!" screaming sound whenever a big 'un makes a run. funner!

goose, thanks. i got my tatula 7'6" flipping stick last week and it only weighs 4.3 ounces. 4.6 ounces is still very good for a slower action rod of this length. my 7'6" veracity winch (MH/mod) weighs 5.0 ounces.

hey goose52, i'm thinking of picking that exact rod. do you happen to have the weight of it?

there are two versions...here's what's currently shown on the lew's website and the ones currently sold on ebay: and here's my last unopened package: kind of hard to tell but that's a separate covered handle nut (with gold trim around the top), handle nut retainer and handle nut retainer screw. the packaging is different as well.

good info provided by rippin-lips but let me expound on it a bit. it's really going to depend on which version of the lew's 95mm carbon handle you receive, the old or the new. if you're lucky enough to get the older one, you can just use your stock T3 closed handle nut. if you get the newer version with the "beauty cap" (as rippin-lips calls it), then you with either have to source a left-handed open handle nut or get a covered handle nut, handle nut retainer and handle nut retainer screw.

which model calais is it? IMHO, the most desirable calais is the 100A...more compact than the 200 size and harder to find and command the highest prices of the non-DC models. all calais are smooth as butter...probably the smoothest reels available.

the 7'1" ML model is also considered a dropshot rod and that one has a regular tip.

i just bought the 6'9" dropshot model as a gift for my fishing partner and got to fish with it. first of all, it is light and balances wonderfully with a 9.9-ounce reel mounted. the dropshot model has a solid tip...it is very unusual and almost impossibly thin. it fishes unlike any other rod i've ever tried...kind of hard to explain but it is sensitive and my fishing partner dropshotted up over a dozen fish with it our first time out with it. he's thrilled and says he's able to feel subtle pressure bites he wasn't able to before. two little details about the rod bugs me though: 1) the trim rings around the foam handle are an orangey-gold color while the threads around the winding check and the guides are a greenish-gold, and 2) even with a daiwa reel mounted, the reel seat doesn't close all the way down...there's a 1/8-inch gap left. otherwise, the handle is very comfortable. i would easily consider this a "poor man's steez".

here are some quick pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/103221182419899525647/GYBCColorChart?authuser=0&feat=directlink

the only time i've ever broken a rod is when i was doing a tip-down presentation (cranking) and my line got caught in the trolling motor and pulled my rod tip into the spinning blades. ouch. on a related note, check out vid WEaKPqTq65U on youtube of a rod breaking while setting the hook on a 2 lbs., 14 ounce fish

i have a bunch of those lew's handles. i also have other handles in 70mm, 80mm, 85mm, 90mm, and 95mm. i'll try to take some pics tonight and post 'em up for ya. 80mm is too short and 70mm is just plain ridiculous. personally, i like 90mm the most...it looks and feels just right for me. however, most guys seem to prefer the longer 95mm length. i have to sheepishly admit, i think i actually like fishing with 95mm handles more but aesthetics matter a lot to me and they look disproportionately long to my eye. the only reason that the lew's extended CF handle is listed as right-handed is because it comes with a right-hand-threaded handle nut; they fit a lefty lew's, daiwa, abu, pflueger, BPS, or quantum reel with a swept star fine as long was you have a lefty handle nut. i noticed that lew's seems to have made a running change to their 95mm CF handle...they used to come with a covered handle nut and a standard handle nut retainer plate. on the lew's website, it shows they now come with an open handle nut and a nut retainer cap...yuck. the lew's 95mm CF handle weighs 0.87 ounces whereas the lew's 95mm aluminum handle weighs exactly 1 ounce but the difference is imperceptible...to me, it's more for the cool look and feel. the lew's paddle grips are wide but thin and feel to me like they're made out of plastic whereas the tatula knobs are beefier (thicker and heavier) and are more tacky feeling, like molded out of rubber. i liked the lew's paddle knobs at first because it transported me back in time to the 70s when i used to fish with the original lew's and the early shimanos that had those same knobs. but, now that the nostalgia factor has worn off, i definitely like the daiwa knobs better.

DVT, are you sure you didn't mistype? i thought it was abu-garcia that is known for 'sticky clutch syndrome' in their revos but i've never heard it associated with daiwas. i personally have had three revos that suffered from it and none of the dozen or so daiwas i've owned have ever had it.

good luck with that. i need to replace a broken handle on a hibdon 800sx i've emailed and called and left messages and can't get ahold of anyone. it's been weeks now.

last fall, i was intrigued by reports that BPS fixed the grindiness issue and that the newer batches were smooth so i went into BPS in november 2013. i tried out three of them (the display model and two from boxes) they still felt the same to me.

this used to happen to me occasionally with 30# and even 50# power pro casting 1/2-oz. lipless crankbaits. i came to realize that i was only having this problem with certain reels, the ones with narrower spools and where the line guide laid the line down at narrow angles, allowing the line to dig into itself. i recommend trying a different reel with a wider spool that lays the line in broader crosswraps (e.g., shimano curado) to see if that doesn't solve your problem.

well, well, well! TW has the IMX MBR843C on sale for $208.88...sweet

that rick clunn dude is one odd cat, man (i added the "man" there for effect ). he actively paints himself as the zen master of bass fishing and seemingly goes out of his way to do things differently than everyone else. i say "the right tool for the job" regardless of whether it is technique-specific or not. everyone is different and should ultimately do what is right for them.

if the spinnerbait comes flying back at you when you try to set the hook, sounds to me like the fish just bumped or slashed at the spinnerbait and didn't actually have it in its mouth. back in the day, a lot of guys threw spinnerbaits on fiberglass cranking rods. in fact, lamiglas had a gerald beck signature rod designed specifically for this called the "crank 'n blade".

a g.loomis MBR843C IMX all day and all night...absolutely terrific rods that will spoil you. FWIW, with the next-generation IMX rods just coming out, you might be able to score a deal on the "old" IMXs.

yes, they all take 3x10x4. i love how shimano keeps it simple like that.

the rods that bobby lane broke on MLF during the summit cup were abu veritas, not ducketts. but, i too won't fish any duckett products...the way he broke his sponsorship with E21 to start his own rod company was shameful. i loved the episode of MLF when KVD got ticked at boyd duckett for following him around the lake: [shaking his head] "that's not the way i would do it".

i've been very happy with japantackle as well. i've heard that plat adds a "transaction fee" on top of their listed prices...anyone have first-hand knowledge of this?

in this picture, there are TWO bearings total: