John G

Do you think the new Fuego will be smoother than the Alphas?

That angle looks good.

Did you buy the Megabass rod from JLS? All they have ever given me is stickers. Stickers are cool but a hook keeper is cooler.

Just tighten enough so that the spool does not slip.

No it won't. This braid was put on very tight.

It's not enough line IMHO. Where the Orange and black meet is your indicator to stop filling. Also, your braid looks really loose. Braid should be put on under a very decent amount of tension or it could cause casting problems later. What I would do if that were my reel is I would find a large field or large parking lot and I would tie the loose end of the braid to a tree, fence post, light pole etc and walk it out till I reach the end and then reel in under my drag pressure. Don't listen to the naysayers that say it does not matter how tight braid is spooled on a reel because it will get loose anyway after the first cast. The casting length will not be as tight after the first time but most everything under it will stay really tight. Your braid looks ridiculously loose and needs to be out on tighter.

You should be throwing unweighted plastics like Zoom Trick Worms and Zoom Super Flukes. Put a 2500 size spinning reel on and spool it up with 10 to 15# braid and you could have a lot of fun. That rod has more power that my Loomis CR721's and I have caught bass (not big bass) around moderate cover.

There is info on Shimano Japan's Website. www.shimano.co.jp If you have never been there before, it is easy to navigate but unless you can read Japanese, you will need to translate. Click on Japanese Flag Click on fish symbol Click on product Click on reel Click on the pic of the Antares DC7-LV and then the Bass One should be on page 4

I use a Uni to Uni knot from most line to line connections and your spool should have some sort of indicator on it telling you when to stop filling the line. If not, stop about an 1/8" before the edge of the spool.

I wouldn't mind having a few but I have to go to work in a few hours. Just so there is no doubt, I sold it to spookybaits over at TT.

I will add my Antares AR to the list as well. DVT has it right now and it was smoother than the Zonda 68 BEFORE I sent it off to be serviced. I think the Alphas (Zonda 68) is a nice reel. I even thought about keeping it just because it was a Megabass and I was interested in using it for BFS purposes but it was not meant to be because other than it being a Megabass, it did not excite me at all.

The truth hurts! LOL

If you are coming from Shimano, you might be disappointed in the Alphas. I bought a Megabass Zonda 68 a few weeks ago from the Megabass Outlet Store and I was underwhelmed by it. I never did use it and while it palmed great and was light enough, it was not as smooth as any low profile Shimano that I have and it certainly wasn't as smooth as my Conquest 50's and it did not have a clicking drag star. My low profile Shimano's that are smoother than a brand new Megabass Zonda 68 are Curado 50E, XT1000's, Aldebaran Mg7's and a Curado 200HG. I have since sold it to a member over at TT.

I think that I may have that rod. If I do, it has been used for throwing unweighted Shrimp and light jigs on saltwater flats and it has caught plenty of inshore fish that roam the flats.

Get yourself a low profile 50 size Shimano and have fun.

I have had the the Curado B, D, the Scorpion 1500 series, same as Curado E, and the I, and I think the I is the best Curado of them all.

That is a great ad. I remember seeing ads in Florida Sportsman Magazine I guess back in the early 80's of guys using Shimano baitcasters catching sharks and I had to have one. It wasn't too long after that that I got my first Shimano baitcaster.

For a general purpose reel, I would take the Shimano Scorpion XT1001 over the Curado I any day of the week. I am disappointed in myself for not thinking of it first. LOL It is already a Classic and Japan Lure Shop probably has the price anywhere on this reel.

Shimano Curado 200I for $135.99 tyd on ebay You said General Purpose so this reel is 6.3:1 http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Shimano-Curado-I-201-CU-201I-Left-Hand-6-3-1-Baitcasting-Fishing-Reel-Bass-/361323458562?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item54208e7002

I was going to say a cane pole but I figured that if it doesn't have guides and a reel seat, it isn't a fishing rod. LOL

I thought so. I remember in your straight flouro Thread you mentioned that you got a birdsnest. I kinda figured that was with spinning gear. My advice to a first time user of a baitcaster is to buy yourself a couple spools of 10 to 12# Big Game and practice with that instead of an expensive line. I don't know why you bought the bearings because the bearings that come in that Aldebaran are more than likely very high quality bearing but hey, it's your money. LOL

Great! Is this your first casting reel?

The rod a Zebco 33 combo came with in the mid 70's.

I have bought and sold many reels on eBay and everybody was happy. I think it helps if you buy a used reel that was a great reel when it was new. If you buy a used reel on eBay that was a lesser quality reel when it was new then IMHO, you kinda deserve the crappy reel that you are going to get. I don't care if it's an Antares HG that has a low Buy It Now price, if it looks like it was abused, do not buy it. IMHO, buy a reel that looks like it was cared for from the Big 2 and you more than likely will be ok.

I don't know anything about the E6X so my experience is based entirely on the Classic Mag Bass rods. The MBR782GLX, 783GLX, 842GLX, 843GLX and the 844GLX have earned a legendary status over the years as excellent bass rods that do a whole lot of things very well. In the 3 powers, I have the 783GLX and I have had the 843IMX and they load up very well with a 1/4oz bullet weight and a regular size soft plastic or a 1/4 jig and trailer. Lately, I have been using my 783GLX for throwing unweighted Super Flukes and it also a great rod for 5" Senko's The 783GLX and 843GLX also have a reputation as excellent 3/8oz spinnerbait rods. There are many other uses for these rods as I have only mentioned a few of them. I my experience, the fast action of the 3 power Classic MBR's are a lot easier to cast than the ex fast BCR803C GLX or the ex fast NRX803C with the NRX803C being easier to cast than the BCR803C GLX. 783GLX and a Super Fluke this weekend.