Tywithay

Sounds like maybe you were not going back through the loop the second time. Age of the line has nothing to do with slippage. I use the improved clinch for everything and it will not slip with any line if tied properly.

About $350. Most reels are cheaper when purchased from Japan; especially with the Yen in a pretty good spot.

Most baitcasters with a clicking drag are meant for light line, so you know line is being pulled, or for seabass because a lot of that is done at night.

Which rod doesn't have a hook holder? I prefer rods not having them anymore anyway. A Fuji holder is cheap and more functional.

Yes. Backing or tape. Otherwise, the line is prone to slippage.

30 feet is minimal?

Hope they're better than the cork on the Expride rods. For $300, the cork is very disappointing.

A set of Minima guides are about 1/3 to 1/4 the cost of a set of Alconites, on average.

I guess because of the cheap guides and cheap labor, they can afford the $25 or something.

The Rage is only $50 for Gold Service.

Grab two magnets and stick them together....then turn them any direction you want and stick them together, did anything change?

I'd be more concerned with breaking it trying to cast a senko. Fighting a fish with the drag set properly, there's little chance of breaking the rod; unless you are high sticking it.

If I had to guess, I'd say it's because the handle/reel seat is so skinny. You really have to grip it to get a hold of it compared to more traditional sized handles. Shame too because the material they used for that handle feels really nice and I like how easy it is to keep it clean. The execution was very poor though.

If it were me, I'd look around for the previous model Daiwa Exceler. 100x better reel than both of those for about the same money.

I reckon that's the difference between good EVA and cheap EVA.

I'd be curious to see a "worn out" EVA grip. I have several old cork rods that have had the filler fall out and what not, but I've never had an EVA that looked much worse than it did brand new.

First, I do think the *** is worth the extra money. If you wait for a July 4th sale, you can probably get a better deal on it as well. I don't think you can go wrong between the Tournament Pro, Curado 200I, Tatula, or ***. All are very good reels. I would just suggest trying to get your hands on them if you can and find the one that's most comfortable for you.

If they're man made, it's usually something like Christmas trees. Otherwise, most of them I fish resemble a tumbleweed, kind of.

Obviously a statement from someone that hasn't used many reels over the price point. Shimano has 3-4 reels that are better, that doesn't even include the better Daiwa, Abu, etc. Curado is a really good sub-$200 reel, and competes favorably with all the reels in that tier, nothing more.

With 50lb line, you can bring the brush pile up with the fish if you want.

I wish they'd do a full EVA. Maybe it'd help balance out the rods. Tired of all these crappy split grips and tip heavy rods.

Tatula is far and away the better rod out of those choices, in my opinion. The Rage has as nice a blank as the Tatula, but the guides suck, the handles are kind of funky because they're so short and skinny, and they're tip heavy.

A spinning reel is really your only good option, unless you want to spend a decent amount of money. You can find something like a Chronarch 50mg for a decent price. The rod is just as important as the reel, and a nice light action rod would be a welcome addition as well. Ultralight baitcasters are a possibility, but they're typically not cheap.

To my knowledge, there are currently zero reels made in the USA.

They're between the GL3 and IMX. I would argue that sensitivity begins with the GLX though. There's numerous rods that cost 1/2 or even 1/3 of the IMX that match its performance.