Fishwhittler

Now that ICAST is here, thought I'd resurrect this thread. Looks like Ardent is doing another revamp of their reels: Apex is the name, with prices from $ 100 to $150 for the three reels shown and up to *** bearings. That blue one isn't an inshore reel either—it's a black/blue freshwater reel. If the Apex series are made in the USA, they'll definitely be on my radar. Looks like Pflueger is making a comeback effort in the realm of baitcast reels. Tackle Tour has a photo of a new Supreme baitcaster on Facebook. It's also blue and black. I know they're almost certainly more Doyo specials, but still…

I've also noticed that I get used to more sensitive rigs and then have a harder time switching back to less sensitive setups. What I would do first and foremost is change line to a more sensitive line on your reaction bait setup. If you've got mono, go to a copolymer; if copolymer, switch to fluorocarbon. If you're already using fluorocarbon, braid might make a small difference. I recently switched from mono to Yo-Zuri Hybrid on my cranking rod, which is glass. The difference is night and day.

I set my drag to whatever I feel like, generally fairly light unless I have to winch fish out of heavy cover. Right now I'm mostly fishing lighter setups so I've got my drags set fairly light. I use my thumb like WRB if I need more pressure. This works best if you've got a very smooth drag. One that shudders or sticks at the wrong time is worse than a locked drag or a smooth drag set lightly. All of my baitcasters have carbontex drags lubricated with Cal's drag grease, and they will not stick or shudder. Having your drag locked down all the time isn't really good for your reel. Washer compression isn't so much of an issue with newer drag materials; the problem is that a locked-down drag puts all the stress on the gear teeth and on the AR bearing. You're more likely to have problems down the road if you don't let your drag do its job.

Ordered rods from them twice, both times Amazon itself and not a vendor. Both rods arrived in cardboard boxes that weren't the sturdiest packing cases, though neither rod had any damage to the blank. Okay, but I'd sure feel better if they'd use heavy-duty shipping tubes like Tackle Warehouse.

A custom-painted H2O Xpress Mettle. It's probably going to need to be redone sometime, because the topcoat I used turned out to be not quite up to the job.

Thanks! Built that rod myself. Actually it's been rebuilt twice after the initial build, which was four or five years ago, and the last time I stripped down the blank and repainted it. The butt is black and transitions to metallic purple from midway up the blank to the tip. It was never going to win any lightweight contest, so I decided to go for balance instead. It balances exactly on the reel seat locking nut with a reel clamped in place. Weight is 18 ounces for the entire rig, but in hand it feels much lighter than my Mettle/Ballistic combo though that combo is actually two ounces lighter. I'll take balance over light weight any day. I also love this style of handle. Split grips are fine, but when you get right down to it they really don't do anything a full grip doesn't do. The woven-graphite tubing allowed me to extend this rod's length 4", up from 6'6". It also made possible the balancing—I epoxied three or four 20 gauge shotgun slugs into the hollow handle to balance it out. That carbon-fiber hydro-dipped Citica E done by Piscicidal would look great on this rod. I've got something similar planned for my Citica, though it may take a while to get it put together.

Nice fix!

My three current frontline combos: Daiwa Aird 7' ML/XF, H2O Xpress Mettle, 10# mono (not sure on brand) - General plastics Daiwa Ballistic 7'11" M/R, H2O Xpress Mettle, 10# Sufix Elite - Long-range cranking, mostly traps at the moment. This combo's casting performance is ridiculous. Handmade glass 6'8" M/M, H2O Xpress Menace, 10# Yo-Zuri Hybrid - General cranking All of these have been super-tuned and had the drags upgraded with carbontex washers. Also have a 7'2" ML/F Ballistic spinning rod on the way, which will be my new finesse plastics rod. The Aird/Mettle combo is pretty good at throwing weightless 4" flukes, but it's definitely limited. This setup is a ball to fish because even a small bass puts up a good fight. Also have a 7' M/F Abu Garcia Vendetta V1 paired with a C3. I just don't use it much since that reel is too slow for my style of fishing. I hardly ever throw heavy baits that warrant the C3's torque, and I don't fish for anything bigger than 24" catfish and the occasional potshot at snagging a carp. Eventually I'll probably replace the gears with 6:1 gears from a C4, maybe use it for frogs or swimbaits, or big spinnerbaits. Also got a Pflueger President WLPL baitcaster waiting to be painted and rebuilt, and a Citica E waiting to be torn down, repainted, and fitted with 7:1 gears and a 4-bearing handle. I plan on having it painted to match the rod my Menace is currently residing on, and then it will be my all-around cranking combo. Not sure what's going to happen to my President WLPL yet.

It's not. The new Exceler platform is the same as that used for the Lexa 100, which has a much different internal design than the Aggrest/Exceler I.

The brake shoes engaging randomly should have nothing to do with the bent spool pin. There's something wrong inside the brake retainer on the spool assembly.

I'm not sure I agree. This is a new $150 reel from Daiwa, something they haven't had in years, and they've hyped it very effectively with the sneak peaks and the videos flying around. They've made it clear that this reel is a purpose-built mainstream contender, not a watered-down version of one of their more expensive offerings. I think the Tatula will do just fine. Really? The Tatula is much wider, much darker, and has a more open front. The Chronarch Ci4+ is also more angular than the Tatula.

The wait is over: Daiwa Project T Tatula baitcast reel review

Uni Knot almost 100% of the time, any line. Used to use the Improved Clinch for mono, but then started having problems with the knot cutting my line. I switched to the Uni Knot when I started using braid, and now I use it on everything. The only other knot I use is the Palomar knot.

I like the 12# green mono. Haven't tried the H2O Xpress fluoro or braid, but the mono is nice line.

Daiwa Ballistic 7'11" cranker (BLS7111MRB). The action is actually quite fast though it's classified as a "Regular" action. It's a phenomenal caster. The TW July 4th sale is still going and the Ballistic is already on closeout, so you can get it for $55. I really love mine, enough that I pulled the trigger on the 7'2" spinner as well.

I can't review the spinning rod yet, though I have the 7'2" model on order and slated to arrive on the 5th. I'll post after I get it. I've been using the 7'11" Ballistic cranking rod for the past week, and I really like it. For some reason the Ballistic rods didn't go over well and as a result they're being discontinued. Wish I could afford a couple more, because the cranker is a great rod. For $55 you can't go wrong.

Congrats! Your little girl's better than any fish you'll ever catch.

I would assume this reel is not intended for largemouth bass fishing, though it might be used for throwing enormous swimbaits. It looks to be a competitor for the Shimano TranX.

If this is going to be a general-purpose rod, I would recommend a 7' MH/F graphite rod. The Daiwa Ballistic rods are on closeout at Tackle Warehouse for $65. I just got one of the cranking rods, the 7'11" model, and it's a very nice stick. The Ballistic rods didn't go over well for one reason or another, which is why they're being discontinued, but I really love mine. For $65 it's a steal.

I had one of the older Megaforce reels. I personally liked the twitch bar for fishing plastics, and if the reel had a metal frame I'd still be using it. Unfortunately the frame is graphite and the flexing caused the clutch to wear out in less than a year. Pity—I really liked that reel. If you look around, you might be able to find a used Daiwa Viento for fairly cheap. It was the predecessor to the Megaforce and had a metal frame and handle-side plate, and MSRP was $200. It's been discontinued for several years now, and they pop up from time to time on the auction site or on fishing sale forums.

Lots of pics on the Bassmaster website: Chronarch Ci4 Abu Garcia Orra Winch Quantum Iron Quantum Tour MG Quantum Energy spinning I'm getting really, really impatient.

Do you know why they introduced the Curado G in the first place? Because they could no longer afford to sell the Curado E for less than $200, and they needed a new reel at the $150 price point. The Chronarch/Curado E is going to stay at $200.

Veracity. Brandon Palaniuk used one paired with a Revo MGXtreme in his 2nd-place finish in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.