Tywithay

For 8lb with the baits you mentioned, I'd look at the Alphas CT SV 70. I paid $220 for mine from Asian Portal. Has the SV spool, made in Japan quality. They're excellent reels.

If it's overgreased, grease can get on the spool shaft and it'll spin faster than the bearing that's gummed up. Causes a lot of inconsistencies.

Some manufacturers pack their bearings with grease to make reels quieter and smoother feeling. Unfortunately, if it's the spool bearings it can be a pain. I imagine you just had to get them spinning a bunch of times to break through excess grease/oil.

A lot lighter than mono or fluoro too, so it helps your spool start up faster.

Definitely prefer the looks of the CT, but interested in how these perform. https://www.daiwa.com/us/contents/reels/fuego100/index.html

852 is awesome for senkos and plastics. Too stiff for drop shots, in my opinion. It's a pretty powerful rod, despite the 2 power.

Pretty sure one of the MLF guys showed one off at Kissimmee. Heard it had full cork.

Not really better or worse. Mostly comes down to personal preference.

Body is the same. 3000 has a slightly deeper spool and a bigger handle knob.

The few times I've seen "crystal" braid, it was just white. Fluorocarbon being "invisible" isn't due to it being clear, or nylon monofilament would be invisible too. It's about the way it refracts light under the water.

My top 3 choices would be Expride, Expride, and Tatula AGS

1/10oz with a finesse TRD weighs a little over 1/4oz. Most modern baitcasters should handle that.

I ordered a 1000 around 2am. They were doing site maintenance around midnight and I assumed it was to update the sale information. Went back a bit later and snagged one.

They're not really made to different specs. Just a different sticker slapped on the side. You can purchase the exact same reels with the Doyo brand on them in different colors on the Korean sites.

Fuego CT has 13.2lbs manufacturers listed drag. Measured at 14.1 in real life testing by TT. If you buckle it down, there's little chance of it moving from a bass.

I have 4 or 5 of the old gold round PQ reels that are probably 20-25 years old and they still work really well. Like a poor man's Calcutta. Haven't used the latest models, but they appear to be a Lews/Abu variant. Imagine they perform similarly to the $100-$120 models of those brands.

I guess they're referring to the 4 valance electrons ?. Doesn't make a lot of sense. If the reel is indeed sone form of graphite, it can only bond to 3 electrons so that's more confusing still, as far as the 4 number goes. I guess at the end of the day it doesn't really matter what it's made of. I've never seen issues with one flexing or breaking, and shimano uses ci4 on the Thunnus for saltwater use. They're clearly pretty confident in the material. If people don't like it, there's an aluminum alternative.

I guess I'm weird. I have a Tatula LT 2000 and a Certate LT, Fuego LT, and Exceler LT in 2500, and I wish they were all 2000 size. The 2500 just feels huge to me on a normal bass rod, aside from the Certate because it's on a 7'6" rod.

Appears to be graphite powder infused Polyurethane resin, reinforced with graphite strands

I don't think I've ever switched mine off of 2 with any line.

I think all 3 are pretty good rods that perform similarly. If you can get hands on them, I'd mount the reel and pick the one that feels best. That said, I don't personally feel like they're worth retail. They're really good $150-$180 rods, but subpar $220 rods. In that range, it's worth a few more bucks to find a deal on an Expride. Just my opinion.

G Free Body design moves the center of gravity by shifting the worm shaft oscillation, to improve balance. It's on all of the newer Shimano spinning reels, aluminum included.

In theory, the 3000 spool should handle heavier lines better due to a wider diameter spool. I've never seen much difference as usually they're a mm or two wider than the 2500, which is pretty insignificant. The 3000 has the T knob, 2500 has an I knob.

The C stands for compact. Meaning it's a 3000 size spool on a 2500 sized frame. The 3000-CXH doesn't really have a shallower spool. It's a normal Daiwa 3000 spool. For some reason, they've been putting extra deep spools on most of their US releases. There is a 3000D Tatula LT as well, but I don't know why anyone would want that much line. It'd hold like 300 yards of 15lb braid ?

I'd keep it. Crankbaits are typically heavy enough that any reel will throw them about the same. I don't think you'd see much difference between the K and DC. Once it gets over 1/2oz, they perform similarly.