.ghoti.

A new supermarket opened near my house. It has an automatic water mister to keep the produce fresh. Just before it goes on you hear the sound of distant thunder and the smell of rain. When you pass the milk cases, you hear cows mooing and you experience the scent of fresh cut hay. In the meat department there is the aroma of charcoal grilled steaks with onions. When you approach the egg case, you hear hens cluck and cackle, and the air is filled with the pleasing aroma of bacon and eggs frying. The bread department features the tantalizing smell of fresh baked bread and cookies. I don't buy toilet paper there any more.

Now that's an image I'm going to carry around all day. Thanks a lot. LOL

Forgot to add; I do not do any weaving or cross-wrapping. It's lot of work that adds no functionality, and I'm no good at it. I don't see myself ever becoming good at it. There are some folks doing amazing work with thread, and I applaud their artistry.

I like a holographic wrap in the hook keeper area, for a bit of extra protection. I'll do one in the split grip area occasionally. I don't know how much weight this adds. I have a build coming up which will have this wrap in the split. I'll try to remember to do a before/after weight, to see what it actually adds.

Daiwa TD-X dropshot rod it's good for anything up to 3/8 oz, not just for dropshot. In fact, I've never used it for dropshot. No longer in production, so you'll need to find a used one, but if you do find one, you'll be happy with it. Just for reference, I have two Avids, a Fenwick Elite Tech, an Airrus Tradition and two Steez spinning rods. The TD-X is better than all of them.

Ah, I forgot that one. I cleaned it, lubed it properly, spooled it with 8lb mono and put on my Airrus rod. I like it for jighead/grubs and small tubes. I use it for small spoon trout fishing too. Don't know what the IPT is but it's pretty fast with that very large spool. I know you didn't like the reel, but it does a nice job now that it's been lubed properly. Considering what it cost me, it's excellent! LOL (Kent gave me this reel)

Interesting to note that so many have been won with baits a lot lighter than what are most often used.

An astute observation. LOL A few years ago I had reels from Daiwa, Shimano, Pfleuger, Abu, Okuma, Quantum, Pinnacle and Mitchell. A total of 40+ reels to service and maintain. I decided that was a bit excessive, and vowed to simplify. After decades of working on reels, seeing all the internals and what materials were used, I decided that Daiwa was going to be my choice, and set about selling off all the rest. I got bit by the tuning bug at about the same time, and there were a lot more options available for Daiwa reels than any other at that time, which influenced my decision. I've been semi-successful in this simplification. I sold all of the non Daiwa reels, and all of the low end Daiwas, but still have more reels, and rods, than I really need. I know, a truly blasphemous statement, but I have rods and reels that see little to no use during a typical season. I have several combos that haven't been out of the rod rack for three or four years. Now that I've been bitten by the rod building bug, I'll be replacing several of my factory rods with my own builds, and will be selling off rods to help fund this addiction. I don't think I'll be selling off any reels, except maybe the Pfleuger spinning reels. All of my baitcast reels have been tuned, upgraded and modified. Once I do all of that work, It's very difficult to contemplate selling them. They are "mine" now.

Rods: St Croix(6), Setyr(6), Daiwa(6), Fenwick(1), Airrus(1), Kistler(1), Dobyns(1), Pinnacle(1) Baicast reels: Daiwa(20) Spinning reels: Daiwa(2), Pfleuger(3)

I don't think I've ever been to a lake or pond where selective harvest would be a bad idea. And, I've been to many that would benefit greatly from the practice.

If you ever want the guide repaired properly, do not just slap on some random 2-part epoxy. Go to a place that sells rod builder supplies and buy some flexcoat or threadmaster finish.

A little while ago(when the Hedgehog spool pin remover was brand new) I ordered a reel and the Hedghog tool from Japan Tackle. I ordered some terminal tackle from Cabelas the same day.The order from Japan beat the Cabelas order by three days.

loved the old dude

all good suggestions so far. Add a fluke or super fluke to the list, and any kind or size tube.

no more junk mail!!!

When fished unweighted, put the flat edge of the tail down. It will have more action on a slow drop. Once you add weight to the mix, it makes no difference.

Now that's funny, right there!!

I have a 7' ML-R and a 6'10" MH-F. I like both. They are light, crisp and sensitive; performing well above their price range.

That happened to one of mine. It just popped off. Three tiny drops of super glue did the trick. It's been fine since. For a NIB Fuego, $150 is a nice find. They sold for $250 when in production.

I have one but I haven't spent enough time with it to have an informed opinion. I like it a lot so far, and would buy more, and probably will. I will say that this is the last reel in my collection I'd load up with #20 flouro, lock down the drag and take out dumpster diving.

Really? Everyone else who mattered? Really? It's rather difficult for me to believe a fellow fisherman could actually post such drivel.

Which bersion of Trilene did you use? If not XL, go get some XL.

When I talk to myself, I'm talking to the smartest guy around.

iabass8, two of my Zillions are used for moving baits; one for deep cranks, and one for frogs/buzzbaits. The other two get used for plastics and jigs; 3/8oz and up. They pitch very well with 3/8oz and heavier weights. Again, I can't compare the Zillion spool to the 1016. But, I will say this; I've never felt the need to upgrade the spool in any of the Zillions. They are great casters as is.

I don't have an R, but I have four other Zillions; a JDM version, a Cabelas 50th, and two USDM versions, all 6.3:1. The two USDM have Lew's carbon fiber 4BB Handles. The others already had 4BB handles. It is virtually impossible to tell the diference between them while fishing. Ditto for the R. I fished with one for a couple of hours, and did not see a performance advantage over any of mine, and I fished it side by side with two of mine. Now is a good time to find a bargain on a Zillion. Get a standard version and put a $50 Lew's 4BB handle on it, and you'll have a reel equal to the R or the 50th. Of course, if you can find an R for less than a standard Zillion plus 50 bucks, I'd go for that, just to have different looking version. I don't have a comment on the 1016 spool, not having used one. I'm guessing you're interested in how well the Zillion series handles lighter weight baits, and I can't comment on that either. I have mine all mounted on MH or H rods, and don't throw light baits with any of them. But then I don't need them to. I have five Alphas, two TD-Zs and an SS SV. I have the finesse end of the spectrum covered. My Zillions all see heavier duty.