OnthePotomac

Mine go on a 6'6" MH, Fast Tip Galyans Titanium 1/4-1 1/4, 10-25lbs (Dicks bought them years ago)with 20lb Invizx (.016) on a Curado 200E7.

With all the interuptions at least two hours. Down to the nub, cleaning, lubing reassembly.I would starve if I did it for a living.

Noise and care. I just did not enjoy them as much as quality SS and did not see that great a performance difference from my standard Shimano bearings. Really big difference though in the Japanese SS ZR bearings.

Why not ask your parents for a BPS/Cabelas gift card for Christmas and when the big annual Bass Pro Classic sale occurs in the early spring you will be amazed at the sale deals on equipment, including combos really, really reasonably priced. Don't be afraid of BPS stuff. Their Pro Qualifier reel in now on sale at $70 and the same price for the Pro Qualifier rods. I do not have that rod, but do have several Carbonlite 2.0 rods I bought at last years Classic sale for $100. Even though I have moved on to Shimano products I did have a Pro Qualifier reel for over three years and it was an incredible reel. I traded it in during a Classic sale on a Shimano reel and received cash toward the Shimano. Something you do in the future for any other reel. During this annual Classic early spring sale you can also trade in a rod for cash toward another rod.

I gave up on ceramics and went to Japanese ZR half open SS. The Japanese do not use the ABEC rating system but say their bearings exceed the ABEC 9 performance. They are $10 apiece and worth every dime. In reality a bait caster does not reach the rpm benefiting anything beyond an ABEC 5 but these ZR bearings are just really incredibly fast..

Amen on the eyes. I only have one left and it really makes it interesting trying to hit the tiny hole for the tiny screw.

Geez, he only did one of his Lamborghinis?

January is reel cleaning time and I will never know why I drive myself to finish them by the end of the month. No fishing here until maybe March. This year reminded me that I have the greatest respect for DVT, who does this for a living. It took me 10 days to do 19 reels and I was a nervous wreck even though I have been doing them for over 15 years. The good news is no lost screws, springs, clips, etc. The wife's response was what else would I do being retired and not fishing LOL, I do them on my fishing bench in the basement, so at least it kept me out of her way for 10 days

Well, I will be different. On my Pro 175 with a 12V 43lb MG I upgraded to a 55lb digital variable speed 12V MG and a size 27 battery. Fishing the Tidal Potomac with river current, tide flow and wind and I do not need anything more to control the boat and stand on the TM all day. Summer is grass beds and that thing with the blade grinds right through it until I get to the stuff I can walk on LOL. 5-6 hours on the water and end of the day lots of battery left.

Well, I will be different. On my Pro 175 with a 12V 43lb MG I upgraded to a 55lb digital variable speed 12V MG and a size 27 battery. Fishing the Tidal Potomac with river current, tide flow and wind and I do not need anything more to control the boat and stand on the TM all day. Summer is grass beds and that thing with the blade grinds right through it until I get to the stuff I can walk on LOL. 5-6 hours on the water and end of the day lots of battery left.

Are saying you are going to run both at the same time???

I can only say that I have a wrap service near me and stopped in a short time ago being curious and asked what they can, or cannot do. His response, if the customer has the money he can provide anything they want. Then he showed me the printing room with huge roller and computer set up. He also told me that there are two grades of wrap. Best that you find a wrap service and stop by.

Another quick fix is a couple wraps of Rescue Tape in any color you want. This stuff is inedible if you have never used it. It is a stretch silicone that sticks to it self. Larry Dahlberg put me on to it several years ago and I use it on several rod handles also for comfort. Also keep two rolls in the boat and use it for everything. When you want to remove it no sticky left. I am just a user and get it here: https://www.rescuetape.com/

Yes, removed it from all of my older Shimanos years ago, but saved them and send it along when I sell a reel in case the buyer wants it. They were a pain in the neck.

Exactly what a guide with 30 years on the Potomac told me 19 years ago when I got into bass fishing.

If you wish to cast lighter lures go to a medium rod instead of a MH and also go to at least a 7' medium. It is what I use along with 10lb flouro carbon. I am not one to have a specific rod for every technique and stay with MH and medium rods.

On the Shimano Fish Shop for parts. The Curado 200 E has disappeared from the Curado category for parts. Mine are 8 and 9 years old,

I only clean and relube the spool bearings on a new Shimano bait caster. Every thing else in the reel waits until annual reel cleaning. Contrary to popular belief Shimano does not ship their bait cast reels with grease in the spool bearing, only excess oil.

January and reel cleaning time. Started with my three Curado 200E7's and all went well until I finished with all of the parts on number 3 (cleaning, polishing and lubing) and as I was gently snugging down the pawl cap suddenly I had two pieces. No problem I thought, so I go on the Shimano parts at the Fish Shop and the 200E7 is no longer listed, so on the phone I go with Shimano in Irvine, CA with a 15 minute wait to get a rep and explain my problem and part number. He looks up the part number and says that although the part is not on the site we have them in stock how many do you want and you will have them in a week and no charge. So two are on the way. A great company.?and my wife does not have to hear me rant LOL

Peacock bass I recommend the K. It is a 200 size reel and a little huskier for peacock bass and SLX is a 150 size reel. The K also has micro gears and the X ship bearing for additional pinion strength.

Strike King Ocho. Nice and heavy (11 grams) and casts like a bullet.

Do a compression check on the cylinders for sure I would guess.

My son in law gifted me with what I have five years ago and I have a Deltran Power Plus 12 and 24V tender and with it he gave me a Power Plus Pulse Tech 12 and 24V Desulfinator. I mislead you to believe it is one unit. The little desulfinator sits on top of the tender and runs off the battery. Go to PulseTech.net and you will find the desulfinator for $45. I don't know what he paid for the Deltran, but Pulse Tech has the combined device for $265. Yes, the tender takes longer to fully charge the battery, but during fishing season I have to bring my size 27 TM battery home with me (state park boat storing) to charge it and it is usually back up in about 6 hours plugged in upon arrival at home and I don't do back to back fishing days anyway. The starting battery only comes home when the boat goes to bed for the winter. In this case they are both simultaneously maintained until early spring. It has worked for the last five year and so far a I have had healthy batteries with lots of power when I hit the water in spring.

Our grandson had a Carbonlite about 10 years ago on which a line guide came off and returned it to BPS with no receipt. He was given a new rod with no problem at all and they even apologized to him for having the problem.

I am a tinkerer, so I only use oil in my spool bearings and all others get dipped in TSI 301, which has TSI321 in it.