OnthePotomac

I leave mine on and no problem. There are certain skirts which will gum together from the trailer, but I have not had the problem in the last 4-5 years. Prior to that sometimes it was oh, oh, new skirt. Some plastics just do not like each other. Never had a problem with a Yamamoto plastic.

Some of mine are in year 12 or 13 and work just fine.

As I posted above, Bantam1 at Shimano has reported that there be no new version of the Curado 70...same reel and not going away.

Obviously reel speed depends a whole lot on fishing style and in my case it is mostly throwing plastics of all kinds on the tidal Potomac grass beds and so all three of my K's are 8.5:1 to get'um out and back fast (fish and baits).

I believe you hit the jackpot?

Bamtam1 at Shimano says no new 70 is coming. Same reel. Also curious, since the SLX MGL is a JDM reel, did you order it from Japan?

Bamtam1 at Shimano says no new 70 and the SLX MGL right now is for Japan. I guess perhaps available on a Japan tackle web site.

The 3.5" weighs 6 grams or .21oz The 4.25" weighs 11 grams or .388oz

I remove the metal hook and use a 4" simple black plastic squeeze wood clamp with the red rubber tips from the WalMart tool section. They hold very well and on the lower lip and weighs nothing. I think for a couple of bucks. I only did a hold test up to 10 pounds and no problem. It requires drilling a small hole at the tip on one handle for a big split ring.

I would think a any BPS Nitro rigger could help with this.

Never used internal weights on my tubes. I Texas rig them with a 3/0 tube hook and a 3/16 bullet slip sinker and either pegged, or unpegged depending on where they are going. I peg with the teenie rubber bobber stoppers then I can either let the slip sinker slide away from the tube for more action, or peg it down to the tube. On rare occasions, depending on grass density, I will throw a stupid tube shown here:

Well, frog anglers, if you add a Lake Fork Frog Tail Hook misses are over. https://www.cabelas.com/product/LAKE-FORK-TROPHY-FROG-TAIL-HOOK/1754374.uts?slotId=2

Bummer.

What, one Skeeter?

All else fails, try filling from a 5 gallon gas container and big funnel and not a pressure pump.

Try here: https://www.nadaguides.com/Boats

If you place a bar under the TM mount and lift it with pressure while unscrewing(unbolting) from the top it may place enough force on the underbolts to hold them in place while you do the top. When you put the new mount on just use the rubber isolators mounts with the spreader bottoms with the bolts embedded in them. The tops on these just require a big flat blade screw driver. Are you sure you do not have them now and are just finding the isolators hard to pull out with the top bolts/screws out? I have a G3 and that is what I had through the metal deck when I changed my TM. New rubber isolators are really cheap. I just pounded in new isolators and screwed them down until tight with the new mount.

Installed the Curado 70 XG Carbon Tex drags in my basic SLX XG this morning and they fit like a glove, both of them. Go for it.

Braid damaging line guide inserts seems to be an idea that has been out of date for quite a awhile now. I have had a variety of rods for the last 15 years used with braid at one time or another and never experienced braid damaged line guide. My frog rod is a KVD 10 years old with 50lb braid on the reel...no problem. Here is a line guide hardness (Not complete) of some popular materiels used on rods. Stainless Steel (SS): 400 Chrome: 800-1000 Carbaloy: 1000 Aluminum Oxide: 1200-1400 Alconite : 1300-1500 NanoLite : 1800 Zirconia: 1000-1400 Zirconia PVD: 1600 Silicon Carbide (SiC): 2200-2400 *You may also see one called Hialoy, which is diamond polished aluminum oxide

Weightless Texas rigged Senko, green pumpkin copper fleck and chartreuse tail. Mid summer on the tidal Potomac and out going tide on a grass bed edge in 3' feet of water. Threw up on to the bed, popped it to the edge and let it drop. Bam!

This time of the year until April or so go red.

WOW! That looks like prime frog country.

I drove a treble really deep into my hand bringing in a group of rods after a day on the water. I had the wife hold the bait steady while I cut the hook that was deep into me then grabbed the back of the hook with needle nose pliers and drove it on through until the point came out, whereupon I had the wife grab the point with another needle nose and pull it out. The worse part of the operation was my wife constantly saying OMG,OMG LOL.

I bought a used SS prop from the prop shop who repaired an aluminum I bent up pretty bad and they even put a cup on the blades for me and guaranteed the prop. Runs like a dream. A whole lot cheaper than a new prop.

At least on the Potomac we generally use gold Colorado blades in really cold, murky water then in spring go to a gold Colorado and silver willow, then in summer double silver willows.