Tywithay

You're never going to ever come close to a 100 yard cast. I usually do about 1/3 spool full of cheap mono, then fill the rest with braid. You'll end up with more than enough line. A cheap line counter is a handy tool too, so you know how much line you're putting on. Makes it easier to divide it up down the road.

There's a white collar that is fits around the pinion gear. It's held up by two little springs. It's a very wobbly little sucker and it's tough to get it all aligned properly. My guess is you have the pinion seated a little too high or the springs may have gotten a little sideways. There's not really any way to get the main gear out of alignment because it only fits one way.

They're made in Germany as well.

Make sure that the pinion is seated properly. It's very easy for it to fall sideways when you're putting the sideplate back on.

Edge Mag Bass 705-1

I like the 50, just because of the size. Otherwise, I prefer the CI4+ over the Core; though I may be in the minority.

Daiwa Samurai, Sufix 832, or Sunline FX2. If you're fishing near rocks, docks, or trees, braid will fray very quickly. It has very little abrasion resistance.

If you call in your order, they'll discount anything but Megabass rods.

A mh vendetta is a very stiff rod. You'd be hard pressed to fish anything under 1/2oz, because it won't load up enough to cast well. A medium power would be more versatile, in my opinion. You'd still probably be better off with a spinning rod for light techniques though.

Yeah...the Tournament ZX has a D on the front of it.

Real men just eat ham.

If you want to dismiss sensitivity of a rod, that's up to you. It's a fact, not an opinion, that high modulus graphite transmits vibrations better than fiberglass. It's also much lighter than fiberglass. I don't have anything more than a depth finder on my old boat, but I can still feel what the bottom feels like with some of my better rods. I use bottom baits like jigs and texas rigged plastics probably 80% of the time. I have given my opinion on ugly stiks as a person that has used them, and still uses them. I have 4 of them, but they're solely for catfish, because that's what they excel at. You use them for other techniques, and don't justify spending more money on rods, and that's totally up to you. Nobody says you can't have fun or catch fish with an ugly stik, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily the best tool for the job. Giving a fair opinion that a graphite rod (and it can be a $40 lightning rod) is a better tool for bass fishing is not an attack on ugly stiks, even though you seem to take it that way. If you've never used a high end rod, then you just dismiss people that do as tackle and gear snobs, you're just slinging insults and making generalizations, without justification.

The newest version of the Tournament ZX is a Daiwa and it has standard Magforce.

I have a couple sub-6 ratio reels that I use quite a bit. I use them for, deep cranks, shallow cranks, and jighead+grub. I also use them in the winter to slow crawl spinnerbaits for bass and huge blue cats

I use graphite rods all the time and I do the same thing. I climb down rocky banks, wade rivers, navigate deep into wooded creek beds, etc.; and have never broken a rod while doing so.

You guys really think the Zillion is a good choice for 1/4oz jigs? I agree it's one of the must have Daiwa's but it's not one of the best, or even really that good, when it comes to casting anything that light. There's far better choices.

It's easier for me to reel faster than it is for me to slow down. Most of my reels are in the 6.X:1 range. I have a couple with a 7+ ratio and I don't care for the speed that much, to be honest.

I wasn't insulting anyone. If you want to take things out of context and look at it as an insult, then by all means; that's up to you. I never said they couldn't be used for other techniques, or that everyone that buys one is clumsy, or anything of that nature. I just said they're better suited for bait fishing and clumsy people. Maybe "clumsy" makes some folks get a little defensive or something, perhaps I should have just said "people that are unneccesarily hard on their gear." You can use an ugly stik, or any rod, for any technique you want. It doesn't mean it's the best tool for it, or even that it's good for it, but you can catch fish with a string tied to just about anything. I worked for a tackle shop for 6.5 years and I assure you that Ugly Stiks were returned just as often as our more expensive rods, for defects. Constantly had eyes popping out and handles cracking or coming loose. You'd be hard pressed to shatter the blank, but that's because it's a rubber band. High end rods aren't more likely to break, they're not "likely" to break at all. Yes they CAN be broken, but that's not the norm. Ugly Stiks are no more durable than a high end rod, if both are properly cared for. Both should last you a long time. I have graphite rods from the early 90's that have caught thousands of fish and never had an eye pop out or anything, but that's because I take care of my stuff.

For lighter stuff like that, I like the Steez SV or SS SV. They are light as can be and casting is just stupid easy.

I've had both, and aside from ergonomics, the Tatula was the far better reel.

I raid the bargain cave at cabela's about once a month. I've found some super good deals in there. I haven't been impressed by their customer service and do agree that shipping prices suck, for the most part. I especially hate having to pay tax on everything as well. I'll only buy things that are marked down a lot, and I always do ship-to-store now.

I use all of their lineup and like all of it a lot.

I use it for topwater, crankbaits, and spinnerbaits. Lines I prefer are Sunline Shooter Defier, Shooter Defier Armilo, and Super Natural. I also really like Toray Bawo Polyamide Plus.

I use 12lb Shooter on rocky banks and 15lb Tatsu around timber and weeds. Hate braid.

Orochi XX, Helium, and *** are the best I've used in that range.