SJB1226

On short casts it will work...on long casts its like fishing a rubber band and so much stretch you wont hook up even close to as much as you would if you used braid... theres no way I could fish mono frog frog fishing... I hate mono after fishing super premium braid (Daiwa braid) and premium FC lines (Sunline Shooter and sniper) mono just dont feel right... with all the stretch it lets fish get down in the pads and on a cast over 60 feet setting the hook is hard... why do you want to use mono anyhow? power pro and sufix are cheap... I would deal with FC sinking before I would fish mono with frogs... with braid your strike to land ratio will be 60% or more better using braid. Mono while fishing buzz toads is ok but I still use braid for buzz toads.

Only the JDM Zillions knobs are removable. and the 50th (Any Zillion with bearings in the knobs) so on a normal Zillion the knobs are riveted on and you cant get them off and BOY does that SUCK! I dont know if someone else said that I only read the first post I didnt feel like reading all of them.. Sometimes they are a little tight when new (VERY VERY rarely tho) and just needs to be worked in

yup hes totally right! and no the Zillion gear set wont work,im pretty sure.

We all understand that, and have read it in the several posts he has on the same subject... So then you reiterate what everyone's been saying, that the reels in question are not very good, and you recommend another so-so reel. Point is, By spending a few more bucks initially, one gets a far superior reel that will last and provide years of fishing enjoyment. That info is really doing the OP a favor, which is the whole reason, isn't it Umm Last time I checked the Advantage isnt a "Low end" reel....so shhhhh make sure you know what your talking about before talking. and yes I agree with what the others are saying just not the way there saying it... its a forum if people didnt post it wouldnt be here... the kid is asking a question if you dont want to respond to him then dont... if you feel he is beating a dead horse then why open the post? people act like its such a big deal to post something... he is forcing you to read it or reply to it so who cares just skip his post over... you act like its a big deal to make post that make no sense asking the same thing over... but then you go to the post and waste space by posting something that makes no sense like saying... its beating a dead horse over and over...we all know it is and we all know he is a young kid that wants someone to say these reels are great.... but a pointless post and a pointless reply is the same thing... telling someone they are beating a dead horse after someone just told him hes beating a dead horse is well.....beating a dead horse.

I agree!

I agree and disagree at the same time, I dont know about bats..but golf clubs...well take a 120 avg player (Im a very low 80's very high 70's player playing from the white tees) and lets say he plays a set of clubs that was 100 bucks at wally world...then have him a custom fitted set of high end irons made dont even worry about the driver it wont make much difference in a high handicap players game some high end drivers will make there game worse...but the Irons will make a HUGE difference they will lower there avg 5-10 strokes quick because they are much more forgiving then crappy Irons the sweet spot is MUCH larger and they feel much softer at impact and put much more bite on the ball allowing more control from 140 yards and in... Now about rods... if you take a novice bass fisherman that isnt a dummy and understands what he is trying to do just doesnt know how to find fish yet and doesnt know how to adjust to changes through out the day... he will be a better fisherman with a rod that he can feel what the lures doing with... now I dont think a novice needs to spend over lets say a max of 200 dollars on the soft plastics rod because you can get a hell of a rod for 200 bucks in the Zillion and Cumara line... I know the Zillion rods are VERY sensitive rods that with Braid will provide all the feel you need and the tips and actions are all spot on for bottom contact baits.. and I think that the only rod a novice should spend much money on is a bottom contact lure rod anyhow...you can buy a 40 dollar lightning rod for cranks and stuff and be fine for a while with that... Novice fisherman wont be as intune with his lure as we are and needs a very sensitive rod for bite detection till he/she gets a feel for what hes fishing feels like and can tell with ease when the lure "feels different" truthfully I could put mono on a lightning rod and fish a jig with it with ease and detect bites pretty easy im sure.. I wouldnt do it because im used to and only fish the high end stuff but because I have so much time on the water I could get by with it if I had to... when someone ask me how can you pay 800+ dollars for some rods are they really that good? I will tell them I buy my Evergreen Megabass and Elite JDM/USDM Daiwa rods because I LOVE tackle and I love collecting super high end rods almost as much as I love fishing them! and NO IMHO they arent that much better but IMHO they are better because I like them and thats what counts. the difference between a 500 JDM Steez and a 850+ dollar evergreen Black raven is not much but I love the rod and have bought 3 now.. the difference between a 50 dollar rod and a 200 dollar rod is TONS...and a higher end soft plastics rod will no doubt help novice bass guys catch more fish on soft plastics and something else it will do is allow them to kinda put together a map of what the bottom looks like if they dont have a graph...and that will help them in getting a pattern going once they catch a few fish because they can feel whats going on under the water... another thing I always tell novice guys to use braid on the bottom contact lure rods... why because the feel, it will make a cheap rod have ok feel of whats going on and a good rod will become stellar in feel when using a premium braided line like Daiwa Braid...you cant become a better fisherman if you cant feel the fish bite and if you cant tell what your lure is doing under the water... sure you can feel bites on a crappy rod but there will be a lot of bites you dont feel that you would have felt with a good rod...or if you are fishing lets say a spinner bait and you cant feel the blades turning with a crappy rod well how are you gonna set the hook when a fish grabs the lure and you dont feel the strike but the blades arent turning? I have those kinda bites a lot on spinner baits...when a nice rod you will feel the blades thumpping with ease.. and when the blades stop its one of two things the lure is fouled with grass or something or a fish has it...this is my view on it and I believe completely that a better rod and I dont mean a super high dollar rod... between 130 and 200 dollars will be all the rod you need WILL make you catch more fish...no it wont teach you how to find fish but it will give you enough feel that you can feel the humps and drop offs that you cant see if you dont have a graph and if you look at it like that it will help you find fish... but over all it is a important tool and you shold by the BEST that you can afford and if thats a 20 dollar rhino rod then awesome if its a 800 dollar JDM rod well then you have the tackle bug and your bank account is done for lol.

ive caught 7-8 foot gators, soft shell turtles the size or trash can lids (soft shells FIGHT HARD) 45-50# Flat head cats and bowfin in the 15-20# range lots of times. 8-10# speckled sea trout and red fish in the 25# range on the st.johns around green cove springs... The hardest fighting fish EVER in fresh water? I was in The St.Johns river around palatka and hooked up with a HUGE jack carvelle in the 35# range on a Spro BBZ-1 shad I hooked up with him on a Steez 100SHA and I had to get the wife to start the boat and run him down or I was SO spooled I had 40# Daiwa braid spooled on and there was NO stopping that fish I couldnt run fast enough with the Minnkota 101# trolling motor... he couldnt out run the 250XS tho lol he almost spooled me before she could get the boat started and that was fast.... she run him for me I got my line back and she stopped and he almost spooled me again she had to run him down once more... I had the drag TIGHT and he was peeling line off so fast and hard I could feel the handle side plate heating up not hot but way warmer then the rest of the reel... that was a hell of a break in for that drag lmao... I fish all Daiwa reels and most of my reels are 103 size reels cept for my Zillions that one Steez 100 and a TD-Z US trail. if I would have hooked him on a 103 he would have spooled me before she got on him... by the time she got the boat in gear and I started gaining line back I was about 8-10 yards off the backing (Backing is about 15 yards of 4LB mono) So I had about 5 mores secs before I was spooled.

ive had it happen a few times on LC Sammys and a time or two on pointers but ive never had a double more then once in a day on the same "Single lure" and a few times on other hard jerk baits. and once on a rapala SR5 shad rap this time it was amazing both fish were 4-5# fish...... they was both little monsters! by # I dont mean pounds I mean Oz's lol they are tiny little guys lol They was so small in fact there was no way either one could have ate a real bait fish even close to that size and im pretty sure thats why it was a double!! they probably was brothers and used to catching one big minnow together and sharing it! lolol ;D ;D Now ive caught MANY doubles on a double fluke rig when small bass are schooling and busting shad on top... Ide say on that rig ive had as many as 10 doubles in a day

In the cooler I will have Sprits and waters.. I make home made Jerky from a beef butt roast 6-7 pounds at a time and ALWAYS have 2Lbs in the boat with me...and a staple in my boat is quaker oats brand "Chewy dips" chocolate chip, chocolate covered granola bars. I snake all day when on the water I never just eat and the last snack thats ALWAYS in the boat is a zip lock gallon size bag with Dig'ums AKA sugar smacks cereal man I love those things dry lol... heck im eatting some now Last but not least given the right creek arm and no other boats around my wife god I love her little snack.

not twice 3 times! I was shiner fishing on the St.Johns river this FEB and got in a school of pickrel and hooked up landed him it was hooked deep cut the hook of threw him back a few mins later caught the fish again I know because the hook lol unhooked released 10 or so mins later caught him again.... my dad was ROFL I was ticked that was 3X wild shiners at 2.40 each well he wasnt killing another one because this time he went in to the cooler (Both sides of live well had shiners and I didnt want him beating around in there killing any more of them so I put him in the cooler I wouldnt have killed him if I didnt have to but he wasnt killing anymore shiners lol. and this story is 110% true to the tee. Ive caught bass twice in a day a few times, find one on the bed catch and release and then stop back by the bed a few hours later and catch again. some fish will run off the bed for up to a few days after caught when a lure comes close but some wont and can be caught and re-caught many times.. catch them two times in a day come back a few days later and catch them again... now that im older I dont do it anymore tho I wont pull a fish off the bed unless im in a tourney and that fish can help pay some bills. I used to try to catch every fish I seen off the beds (I catch and release ONLY) but now I dont like messing with a bed just to catch a fish, now if I see a really good one on the bed I may try to catch her snap a pic and release but it has to be a GOOD ONE! like 9+ good. the reason I dont do it anymore is because I was bed fishing and wasnt in a tourney and as you all know they are "Pretty" easy to catch when on bed and you will hook up with more then you dont when you see them on bed so anyhow I see her pitch a jig in the bed and quiver it and bam she hits it I set the hook and land her and shes bleeding like crazy and was hooked in the gills and the gills was ALL KINDA tore up.. I got her off let her go and she was floating with in a few mins as I trolled looking for more beds.. after that I said I will never do it again unless its in a tourney because not only did I kill the fish I stopped her spawn so I killed her and the babies that would have made it to adult hood (Givin thats not many but still) and she was a nice one pushing 7 full of eggs. it broke my heart I HATE hooking one bad and I HATE blinding one. but its part of the game I just dont mess with nest anymore.

Now I agree with you 100%!! I wasnt trying to be rude just miss understood your post and you are right it will make you a much better fisherman when you dont set the hook on every bump just be aware of what your lure is doing and KNOW how the lure feels in the water. theres alot of people out there that go by the ol sayin "When in doubt ****** him out" and you know there has been times when I set the hook just because The lure felt like it moved a little more then I moved it with the rod tip but no heavy feeling nor a tick or bump it just felt like I moved the lure a foot and it moved two foot not one... some times the fish will spit the lure when they feel you apply any pressure on them and I was in a tourney so I went tight and set the hook and it was a 5 and a half # fish... I will do it some times if I have had a fish or two drop it when I picked up to see how it felt after that I will be a little quicker to set the hook but I never set the hook at everything because like you said it will cost you a lot of spooked fish and time out of the strike zone. wade fishing for flounder dragging jig/mudminnow on the bottom for flounder down here in FL will teach you perfectly how to set the hook fishing plastics for bass. a lot of times the flounder will suck it up when you drag it past him and stop it to reel up the slack and you will not feel the strike sometimes nor will you see the line swim off because they dont move off when they grab it all you will feel is weight and some times weight and then a slight bump when you apply a little pressure to him. I line watch a lot as you have to when fishing when fishing jigs and plastics for bass...however I depend on feel more then line watching and by doing so I get very intune with what my lure feels like and anytime it feels different a flag pops up and the only way to know if that flag popping up is a bass causing it to is by lots of time and EXP on the water and trusting in your skills to tell you to set the hook or not.. like he said when you set the hook at Blue Gills ect ect. you are spooking the bass close by and removing your bait from the strike zone and when moneys on the line the longer the bait is in a active strike zone the more fish you will catch... if you want to win tourneys and you depend mostly on pitching to do it like me then nothing is more important then having your bait in active strike zones almost ALL the time and NOT!!! spooking fish Like I said bro I wasnt being a jurk... the way I took that and im sure most others did to is dont set the hook unless you know its a bass 100% and theres no way of doing that so you have to go by skills to decide .. so your rookie bass guys or guys that dont trust/like soft plastics/jigs will have a hard time developing that skill of feeling and knowing whats hitting the lure takes time on the water and they will miss a lot of fish learning how to decide whats hitting while learning what the different fish strike like. this is my outlook on the subject and I hope I didnt upset you buddy with my post I was just trying to make a point of my own and I did understand what you was saying and agree with you.

This is the best advice! I know im a good enough boater to handle it when it gets nasty I just choose not to unless I have no choice. but what this gentleman said will keep you safe

I will fight the wind I dont care about it because boat control only becomes a little harder but I love fishing so I dont mind dealing with it. what keeps my in is if the main lake or river im fishing stays under 3 feet when its gets over 3 feet thats to rough for me and I dont like beating my boat and self up that bad. I mean I fish off a aircraft carrier lol (My 09 Nitro Z-9) so it can handle 4 foot chop with ease but not comfort lol and I dont "Like" to do my gear that way I will given its a big tourney with big bucks on the line but I wont just for a fun trip out fishing... so thats how I judge it.

I do agree that it is pretty easy to tell the difference between bream and bass strikes on soft plastics.. HOWEVER No one can tell me that they can "100% of the time tell you what it is before he sees it" I agree the moment its hooked I can tell right away if its not a bass. But Pan fish 90% of the time is a very different strike then bass HOWEVER there are times when a big gill will pop the bait hard one time and slowly siwm off with it or just set there and when you lift to see you will just feel weight just like a lot of times better bass will do... Mudfish/Bow fin hit soft plastics JUST like a LM most the time and even fight a lot like a bass and can trick you with ease... and if you think you can tell the difference between pan fish and bass 100% of the time you must not have ever had a whoremouth better known as a War mouth lol.. hit your Plastic work or flipping jig.... they will suck the lure up giving you that solid tick that a bass will give you most the time and swim off with it or just set there and all you feel is the lure get heavy JUST like your most of the time better then AVG. bass will do... I understand what these guys are saying HOWEVER if you wouldnt have said 100% of the time I would agree with you... however 100% of the time is just simply not true theres to many different fish down there and to many different ways that fish could hit for you to say I know 100% of the time what it is before I set the hook, Im a VERY good bottom contact lure guy and feel anytime the jig bite is really on or theres a good flipping/pitching bite/area going on Im a big threat at that event to win it. I fish with SUPER premium rods, reels and lines, the most sensitive rods money can buy and Im very good at telling whats going on at the lure and theres NO WAY I can say I know 100% its not a bass thats bumping or just picked my lure up and is swimming off with it UNLESS I CAN SEE the fish that is doing it. If you still want to tell me you can tell 100% what it is by just feeling the bite WITHOUT SEEING the FISH thats doing IT.... well then you just sound like.......well you get the picture :

geez guys hes more then likely a young kid that has a few bucks and wants to get him a cool bait cast reel give him a break...... those reels cost 50 bucks... both are crap....for 10 bucks more you can get you a Daiwa Advantage based Cabelas Prodigy casting reel, its of good quality has 6+1 bearings, swept handle all the goodies of the Daiwa TDA 153HSTA (Cept for 4 less bearings meaning it doesnt have bearings in the knobs.) for less then half the price.

ONLY!!! Daiwa braid Yes its that good! FC Is #1 Sunline Shooter and a VERY close #2 Seaguar Tatsu FC/Megabass Dragon call FC <Tie If you are looking for a good less costly FC you will enjoy Seaguar AbrazX

Ive never fished them but my Nephew LOVES his SS734C what I have seen of it its a ROCK solid frog rod with plenty of power. he has two of them and one he uses for pitching mats and says its great he said its much more sensitive then his >Carrot gold flipping stic<(YUCK LOL) I dont know how sensitive a carrot root is I wont touch one lol but maybe that gives you an idea he sold the carrot and bought him another SS734. I Frog fish with 55# Daiwa braid and 70# depending on what im frogging. He uses Sufix 65# and loves it. My wife and I are on my boat and hes on my dads boat 99% of the time but I will grab it from him tomorrow and tell you how it fishes IMHO.

Oh yeah Power-Pro has a Hollow braid now to so you can top shot with that if you can find it and its MUCH cheaper then Daiwa braid and the other highend braids out there and plus MUCH easier to get a hold of.

to me its not as good as top shotting but it works fine and a lot of people love this type of setup. use a uni to uni knot with like 40# PP or Sufix and then a 4-5 foot long FC leader if you go with lets say 40# PP I would use a FC of slightly lower Dia. (.013) if it was me I would use like lets say Berkley Vanish (Crappy FC to fish with but its cheap and makes good leader with out breaking the bank and its thinner then 100% pro grade berkley) of 10# (.011) or 12# (.012) or 50# PP (.014) and Vanish 14# (.013) or 17# (.015).. I like to keep my leader with a uni to uni knot slightly smaller then the main line BUT as long as its close you can go ever so slightly higher. Top shot is MUCH MUCH better however harder to rig and its almost a must to use premium lines that cost a lot but once you have the lines you like to use to top shot it dont cost much after that because one spool of high end FC last forever to make leaders out of. Uni to Uni setups WILL increase your catch rate IMHO and the FC is MUCH more abrasion resistant the braid and that alone will land you more fish. When I fish T-rings,C-rigs jigs ect ect more less any bottom contact lure I will use a 6-7 foot long FC top shot setup. I use Megabass Dragon call FC to top shot with and ONLY Daiwa Sumari braid I use 55# with my top shot being 12# or 16#. you get almost the same feel as straight braid and when using such a premium braid and FC I feel that the sensitivity is even better then lets say using PP with no learder... I fish this setup on 19 of the 25 setups that are always in the boat (All bait casters) straight Daiwa braid on 4 of the other 6 and one with 25# Sunline Shooter FC for some swim baits and 12# Sunline Shooter on a deep cranking rod. my one spinning reel has 18# Daiwa Braid on it and that 18# line is thinner then 10# PP its THIN.... I dont really use it I have Pixy's to handle all the spinning reel stuff lol. Thanks for the reply. ATM all i have is a local tackle shop and an academy close by, and im pretty sure they dont have the daiwa braided. I was wanting to try this setup sunday. Is there any other braid that u can recommend that i might find.

I fish a lot of Evergreen Megabass and elite Daiwa stuff, in fact thats the only brands of rods in my boat. in my case some times I pay a lot more for a rod that I could get something that preforms just as good and some times even better for A LOT less money but for me its enjoying the rods not just fishing but in my display at home. now trust me if someone puts a Evergreen Black raven in your hand (I own two of them and thier 800-875 Dollar rods and worth every penny) you will FALL IN LOVE its a amazing rod and I want two more lol. about 70% on the rods that are always on the boat with me is Daiwa Steez rods they are something to behold and once fished you will be spoiled by the weight looks and sensitivity (Given they IMHO arent the most sensitive rod in the world but still very very good) the crispness of the rod and how it feels in your hand will make it almost "Unfun" To fish something thats not on its level. and no one can tell me that gear cant make a person a better fisherman.. being able to feel what the lure is doing is a BIG part of catching bass...crisp casting high end rods make you more accurate in casting and thats A BIG!!!! part of catching bass. and really enjoying what your fishing REALLY helps you catch fish... The difference between a 400 dollar rod and a 800 dollar rod wont be even CLOSE to what the difference would be between a 50 dollar rod and a 150 dollar rod in performance. if you are used to fishing 50 dollar rods and then you buy lets just say a Daiwa Zillion rod for fishing plastics... the first thing you will notice is what you feel that you never used to feel even using braid on a cheap rod wont come close to feeling what you feel using braid on a nice rod... and if you fish mono on that cheaper rod and then mono on that Zillion rod you wont even know what to do because you will feel so much more and you will be sitting the hook like crazy at every blade of grass you hit for a while lol.... you get better graphite thats lighter stronger more responsive... you get better guides that protect the line and make it cast better you get proper guide spacing that helps the line run along the rod in the perfect way... you get better looking wrap and coating jobs the guides will be all aligned perfect blah blah.... needless to say if you buy a 150-200 dollar rod you will NOT "Want" to fish anything less and your bank account will not like you very much after that.

IMHO you can use Braid for more less anything so long as you have the right rod. I crank with braid 90% of the time but I have a rod that can still keep the fish hooked up you have to remember when dealing with small treble hooks if you use braid you need a slower and softer rod to protect the hooks from ripping out. about the only thing I dont like using braid for is swim baits 2OZ's and over because some of my swim baits are 50-80 dollars and if something happens (IE: a back lash, reel engage mid cast any type of sudden stop) your braid will snap it cant handle that type of impact and WILL snap and you can just watch as your high dollar swim bait (Or any heavier lure for that matter) go flying and then swim to the bottom of the lake. so after loosing a matts hard gill (50 bucks) because of a fish I just hooked and the braid dug in the spool and when it hit that spot in the cast that sudden STOP snapped it like nothing and it happens a lot it wasnt bad braid or anything like that ask anyone and they will tell you it can happen and does. so for me any lure over 2ozs, I fish on most of the time sunline shooter 25#FC. but other then that I love braid on almost everything.

When I fish T-rings,C-rigs jigs ect ect more less any bottom contact lure I will use a 6-7 foot long FC top shot setup. I use Megabass Dragon call FC to top shot with and ONLY Daiwa Sumari braid I use 55# with my top shot being 12# or 16#. you get almost the same feel as straight braid and when using such a premium braid and FC I feel that the sensitivity is even better then lets say using PP with no learder... I fish this setup on 19 of the 25 setups that are always in the boat (All bait casters) straight Daiwa braid on 4 of the other 6 and one with 25# Sunline Shooter FC for some swim baits and 12# Sunline Shooter on a deep cranking rod. my one spinning reel has 18# Daiwa Braid on it and that 18# line is thinner then 10# PP its THIN.... I dont really use it I have Pixy's to handle all the spinning reel stuff lol.

now thats a frog! my pick for sure! I really like the ribbits as my buzz frog choice the rage toad/shad are awesome when fish wants something moving really fast. I also catch ALOT of fish on my Deps Rat'n Rat

agreed!!!

Diawa Samuri braid is the only braid I fish. it cost but its awesome stuff, IMHO it wont really out cast mono but it will out cast ANY other braid. it is more then likely the reel causing poor casting distance then the line tho.