OnthePotomac

Tackle Warehouse is super excellent.

Every Shimano I have has two internals on and those with the outside dial are either 2 or 3. I find that I am fiddling more with the cast control cap as I change baits on the recent Shimano models. The old Curado 100B's never change anything except a slight tweak on the cast control cap for a significant bait weight change. My K did require a bit of figuring out how to dial it in.

Obviously the environment in which you fish makes a difference in various set ups. 80% of my bass come from thick grass beds so my plastics are fished on 7' MH fast tip rods.

These gears require heavy greasing because of their micro configuration. if greasing doesn't solve the problem send it back to Shimano and they will correct the problem. Delaware Tackle on here is an expert on reels and he may have better advise.

If you are new to bait casting my advice is to loose the braid and spool with mono. I know braid is widely popular, but starting out it can be a PITA. Master your reel and then go back to braid if you wish. I have actually removed it from several of my reels except the frog reel. I am just not all that cracked up about braid.

I brother still fishes his 30 year old Mitchell reels. Incredible.

I fished my K 8.5:1 last summer on 7' MH fast tip Carbonlite spooled with 15lb Invizx with a KVD Caffeine Shad. Worked great.

I have completed two years with 15lb Invizx and have no problems with it doing battle with the mighty Potomac grass beds. It can get a little dingy during the season, but I just pull it off the reel across the basement and reel it back on through a KVD L&L soaked cotton ball and it spiffs it right up. Barring an occasional professional over run, it stays on for the whole summer season. I finally bought a 1000yd spool on Amazon for $89 and read on another site that it is cheaper than that through Walmart, but have not checked. I like how thin it is.

I do not have this reel, but want to share this. In 1999 I bought my first high quality reel with gift cards and it was a Johnny Morris finest at the time. The reel was a bit large and a little heavy by today's standards and I guess it was anodized. It came with a custom reel cover and a nice one. I fished the living daylights out of the reel for 16 years and cleaned/lubed it myself. I took it to BPS to trade in on a Shimano in the original box and reel cover and it was in perfect condition. The manager of the fishing department went nuts over it and kept it for casting lessons (he said). That reel was superbly built and never missed a beat for 16 years. I used it for every bait out there including frogs with every line available.

I guess I do not over think these things enough because I have thrown all my plastics on a 7' MH fast tip Carbonlites on a variety of my Curados over the last five years. Before that it was the old BPS Extremes 7'MH. Initally spooled with 14lb mono and now with 15lb Invizx flouro. Weightless if possible, or with a 3/16th pegged slip sinker. Most are now on a Curado 200E7, 50E or 70XG. At least this works on the tidal Potomac grass beds.

From day one I have only used ReelX on my worm gears and it has served me well, but not what Shimano has recommended.

You will love those reels. I have both of my XGs spooled with Invizx 15lb flouro and throw a wide variety of baits on them. I really like the K also, it is just a different reel.

Dunno if this will help, but I use a 7' Medium bait caster with 14 lb mono for top waters spinner baits and chatter baits. A spinning rod might be a little light. I fish worms on a 7' MH crank bait, but many use spinning gear for worms. I also fish tubes on a crank bait. All my plastics are on 15lb Invizx flouro. Crankbaits go on a 7' medium baitcaster with the Invizx. I like the Invizx since it only 013" in diameter. Beetlespin etc. is fine.

Interesting to read discussions on lines to use for every different technique. Twenty years ago I think I used 14lb mono for everything except frogs and that was 20lb mono. It is nice to have choices today. I still like simplicity though with 14lb mono for topwaters, 15lb flouro for under water baits an 50lb braid for frogs.

I have a Carbonlite 2.0, but have not been on the water yet with it. I do have ten other Carbonlites in MH 6'6" and 7' and Med 7' and I have enjoyed the rods for the last five years. My three spinning rod Carbonlites are 7' medium. The massive tidal Potomac grass beds in my stretch of the river (half way from D.C. to the bay) are pretty challenging to rods in usually murky water with minimal finesse opportunities and snakeheads, which are like freight trains. I have never had a rod failure in that time and had numerous times when they were seriously bent. I fish cranks, tubes and top waters on a medium baitcaster and grubs and worms on the spinning rods. All my plastics and also worms go on a MH 7'. At 4.0 to 4.5 oz they are easy on my old wrists. They work for me in my fishing environment.

I am still luv'n my three 10 year old Curado 100B jewels. They are like the Energizer bunny.

It is the same reel, you are getting the rod for free.

Agree. What you have is an excellent all around speed. Stick with it.

14lb mono for the Whopper Plopper and many others on a Carbonlite medium and they have a stiffer tip. At least it has worked for me.

Just received the flier on the BPS spring sale and as usual there are some good deals if you have casting/spinning you want to trade in for a cash allowance on a new reel, or a rod you can cash in on a new rod. With the discount and allowance for a trade in you can pick up a Pro Qualifier for $70. Carbonlite 2.0 reel and Carbonlite rod combo for $120. I did notice that the cash allowances are not as great as they have been in the past. Last year I traded in my old ProQualifier on the new Chronarch MGL and got $50 off. I think it starts on the 15th. The high end JM rods and reels are also marked down.

I have only ever used Reel Magic and KVD, but KVD is the ticket and does the job. It doesn't coat line, it soaks in. Line & Lure is a special polymer blend that becomes part of the fishing line it is applied to. Other line treatments you find on the market are primarily silicone oil and solvents. Silicone oil only temporarily coats the line and solvents can damage line. Silicone oil rapidly comes off the line (on your hands and in the water), requiring re-treatment of the line after just a few casts. The special polymers in Line & Lure are hydrophobic (water repelling) and very slippery. It doesn't allow water to draw back on to the reel spool, which eliminates the line drag that a "wet" spool has. It also protects the line from wearing out as quickly as un-treated line because it resists the abrasion that wears line out. It contains no oils or solvents as in Reel Magic that can build up and collect dirt like silicone/oil treatments will. e it soaks in.

You don't mention how long you had the reel and how much you had used it. Was the thumb bar down when you would start a cranking retrieve?

I am crushed that my BPS 7' MH Carbonlites were ignored. LOL

Same from me. Money? But I had gift cards for the MGL.

Dawn, at Smooth Drag is a really fine lady and very helpful.