ghost

Hey Ya'll, I picked up one of these in rainbow trout color. I won't have a chance to try it out for a few day, due to SoCal weather...RAIN. I've seen some Youtube vids that seems to be a good swimbait. I like what the Armajoint has to offer in regards to other swimbaits. So, if you happen to own the Armajoint, what are your thoughts?

So, this is where the bait catches the fisherman??

Will do. I'm getting a replacement sent, should arrive next week. Do look at the Phenix Feather 7'1" Light casting rod. That's the first BFS like rod I bought for my Curado BFS reel. Excellent rod and very light setup with Curado BFS reel.

Booo! No left hand Chromiums, as of now. I'm a sucker for a nice BFS casting reel though.

Both sizes, get both sizes! I had small and big bass hit the Egg. Versatile that it can be waked, cranked to about 1' and I've actually caught bass as popper and twitch bait. The 2" is perfect for medium action casting or spinning rod. the 2.5" is 3/4oz and casts way far and loud! Perfect to wake back slow to medium action. Change out the stock hooks, they suck. Use short shank treble hooks from VMC or Mustad KVD. Size 4 short shank for the 2" and size 3 short shank or you can get away with size 2 short shank on the 2.5" Egg. Since the Egg has a short body, the treble hooks at times do tend to tangle together. Just be aware of this before you cast it out again. The Bass Pro Shops, The Egg shallow crankbait has been my most productive lure for many years. I really shouldn't need to buy any other shallow crankbaits, it's that productive.

Thanks WRB, I emailed place of purchase. My biggest concern is, yes the Curado rod looks like nothing is wrong with it. No visible marks or sounds. The way the rod cardboard tube was damaged en route, concerns me that there may be a hairline crack(s) that I cannot detect; and casting or retreiving or setting the hook on a fish, the rod will break. I've bought rods from this place before and never had any shipping damage, till now. BTW, the rod tube was shipped via UPS.

Curado "FULL Monty" setup added?

Got a good deal for this rod and looked at specs and it's kinda BFS'ish. Which I was looking for. Firstly, the cardboard shipping tube when it arrived was crushed in the middle. Inspected the rod and it seems fine. The rod wasn't broken and I did not see any marks or anything on the blank. It was wrapped in bubble wrap and plastic. I wiggled it and checked it out and again looks good. Should I contact where I bought it and let them know how it arrived and maybe, possibly it could be damaged? Enough of that. The Curado M/L is very light in feel and looks awesome! I will be mounting my Curado BFS reel on this rod, perfect match! The lightness and action of this rod reminds me of the Phenix Feather 7'1" Light rod that I own. It seems slightly firmer than the Phenix Feather. To me it feels a little stiffer than what I think a medium light casting rod should feel. The Curado BFS reel seems to sit slightly lower on this rod and I like that, the reel feels much smaller in hand. The guides are top notch Fuji K guides. The hook keeper is under the handle grip, not what I care for. I added a Fuji EZ Keeper an inch or so above the reel seat locking nut. The whole setup is quite very light! I won't have a chance to give it a go till the weekend, and if we get a break from these Biblical rainstorms we're getting at SoCal. I know the Curado M/L is rated at lowest weight of 3/16oz, I hope it can cast as low as 1/8oz spoons and inline spinners and hard bodied small minnow lures. I may also use this rod as a drop shot rod, it should be perfect for that application too.

Ooh, Ooh! Make me an offer I can't refuse...Conquest BFS...Lefty??

Let's see, what do I have. Curado 101D, 201D. Curado 51E, 301E and Curado 71HG. I did in the past own the Curado 201B BSF and the Curado 201E. I sold those years ago and kick myself for not holding on to them. I also did own the Curado 201 I and Curado 201 K models. Traded those in with other various rods and reels to get current generation Metanium 151HGB MGL and Curado 301 HGK. Current Curado's I own: Curado 151HG DC, Curado 151HG MGL, Curado 71HG MGL, Curado 301 HGK and Curado BFS(left).

I always look forward to around December for when BPS would send out their master catalog. I noticed in the past few years that from being TMI the catalog would be just some stuff and not much information. Like you have to go on the BPS website to find info on a particular reel or lure. Even their quarterly catalogs has changed tremendously and their sales flyer. I don't really see "good" sales in them and seems to just advertise items like agan reels and lures and such at regular retail prices. Even the black friday flyers are now so, so disappointing. Back to my original topic, is the master catalog now gone??? I so enjoyed getting the catalog and perusing what's new, also back then; Cabelas had a somewhat master catalog. The Cabelas catalog was not quite as interesting as the BPS catalog but it at least showed items that BPS did not carry. I know the pandemic put last years and I think the year before catalog to be delivered around end January or February. But I have a bad feeling that the master catalog might be gone like the 1980's Aqua net big hairdo's. Can anyone, especially an emp from BPS confirm if the master catalog still be around, or do I need to always have to bring my Android/Ipad tablet to the bathroom for time to peruse? Then having the wife tell(yell) at me my times up in the bathroom, cuz I spent more time in there than with her...perusing.

I have both the Curado and SLX 71 MG and Curado 71HG, and have 30lb Power Pro braid spooled on each reel. These are finesse baitcast reels, should I drop down to 20lb braid or am I good with 30lb braid for most applications?

Woo-hoo! Finally got my 1st trout! On a Lip Ripperz 1/5 oz spoon, using my new BFS setup; Kastking Kestrel BFS reel and Bass Pro Shops Microlight 6' light casting rod. Then it rained...????? Good way to end 2022 fishing and looking forward to 2023 fishing!????

Kastking Zephyr and Shimano Sensilite 7' casting rod will get the job done.

What lb nanofil do you use?

Which would you choose for 4lb line for trout fishing? I know the diameter of 4lb CXX is .0072, but I don't know about diameter of Izorline XXX, 4lb. I've used P-Line CXX in moss green in the past and have been happy, but was wondering if Izorline XXX is any better.

I don't have that particular Phenix rod, I do have the M1 Vortex and Feather on heavy and they do feel more like MH

Yup small. Like on slx 70. I installed reel grips for spinning reel x 2 to add bulk.

The Shimano Chronarch MGL is Ci4 carbon frame. Is the Zata frame similar?

Bankc, now that is interesting that the white brakes has more stopping power than the blue brakes. I was wondering why the blue brakes were on the "on" position when I inspected the Zata new reel, first opened. As much as I want to try out this new Zata this weekend, here in SoCal is expecting rain till Monday. Thank you for your input. Also I do like the fatter knobs on the Zata. I don't have to add Reel Grips to this reel.

Yup, no info about the 2 different colored brakes; thought someone on here would know.

Hey Ya'll, I picked up a Zata baitcast reel it has dual braking and I noticed on the 4 centrifugal brakes, 2 are white and 2 are blue. What's the deal with 2 different colored brakes? They are all on the "off" position. But when I took off the side cover to look at the brakes, the 2 blue one were "on" position. Does the blue brakes give more resistance on the brake drum than the white ones do or is it the white brakes give more resistance than the blue brakes? Also, any of you own the Zata casting reel? What are your thoughts and how do you like this reel?

Phenix Feather 7'1" L casting rod

I'm looking to pull the trigger on a Daiwa Tatula SV TW 70. I notice that the tension knob is a zero adjuster knob. I'm not too familiar with this concept, I've looked at youtube and googled what it meant. Also I've talked to a couple sales guys at fishing stores about the zero adjuster, and what they tell me is you don't adjust the tension knob at all. I guess I'm old school and not being able to adjust the tension knob seems odd. The sales guy I talked to said if I adjust the zero adjust knob so many times, it will mess up the SV system. How true is this and what can you tell me about Daiwa's zero adjuster? That's my hang up about getting this reel. I feel that to get optimum casting depending on a lure, you need to adjust the tension knob.

Thank you TW for Black Friday Sale! You guys got me....again! Finally received the SG8 100 casting reel in left hand, 7.3:1 gear ratio. I weighed on my scale and it is 6.4oz, and actual weight is 6.3oz on the box. Good enough for me. I've had a chance previously to handle the right hand version, but can't get the feel when I reel left handed. I decided on the 7.3:1(28.7" IPT) gear ratio for an all around casting reel for use with various lures. The reel palms very nicely and the non handle side does not feel side bulky. It has 6 pin centrifugal braking, the side cover swings out but attached to the reel. Nice touch to this, now I won't be losing the side cover if I happen to need to open it up to change the braking. The reel also has a line ID system on the tension knob. It has 20lbs of drag. The knobs on the handle are wide and comfortable. I'll be adding Reel Grips in green camo to bulk up the feel and give some traction other than handling smooth knobs. I like the look, olive drab flat green. It has a long 90mm(3.5") handle. Dry reeling, no line spooled; feels smooth and not much grease on the bearings. The spool spins quite Freely and takes a few seconds to slow down and stop. I've not added Quantum Hot Sauce Reel Oil yet, till this coming weekend. It has a clicking star drag and clicking spool tension knob. Not sure if you know this about the SG8 100, the spool has a drag clicker. Just like on some BFS casting reels. It's actually cool sounding and feel, looking forward when a bass pulls line from this reel. It has an aluminum body, not sure about the material for the side covers but the weight is right there with my Shimano Metanium MGL 151HGB at 6.3oz. I'll be spooling this reel with 30lb Power Pro yellow braid with mono backing. I bought the Savage Gear Battletek 7'4" MH casting rod also. Local tackle store had these rods on closeout for less than half the retail price. It matches to a "T" with the SG8 100 casting reel and together looks stealthy. I'll give my performance impressions after a few uses of the rod and reel. I do feel the reel will win me over and realize there are other manufacturers other than Shimano, Daiwa, Abu Garcia and Lew's that have a quality baitcast reel. Overall, I do like the looks of this reel and priced right when it's on sale, $130.00 during TW 20% Black Friday sale. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Ghost ?