jtesch

O.K. what would you all do. I've found a couple of used Daiwa X HVA's in great shape for around $100 each. Reels are almost like new but I would still put Boca bearings in them and maybe a spool change. That would bring the reel cost to around $200. Is it worth the work or do I just by a new reel for that price point. I have never used or even picked up a team Daiwa X. I do have a bunch of higher end reels so it would be kind of a fun project for me. Let me know what you think

Revo MGX with BOCA orange seal bearings and no other tuning is my best and won't break the bank. I have Premiers, Chronarchs, Curados, Lunas, and Zillions. The only reel that comes close is a Zillion with Boca bearings and a $100 spool change out and I get at least 5 more yards out of the MGX.

I have 3 and love them. I use a lot of Crucial's and Cumara's and I feel the Carbonlites compare quite well. They have that light, crisp feeling I love in a rod.

Zillion

I've found that the spool bearing upgrade really helps with pitching. Much less effort needed for pitching and it makes for a much easier day on the water.

I have the rod and it is way undersized for anything but really small cranks, felt OK in the store and when I rigged it up I was very disappointed. I had an old premier crank rod and it had a lot more backbone. I would say 3/8 max for the Clarus

Remember, Daiwa's mag system is different, and better then others. It is a hybrid system that uses some centrifugal force in its action. That being said, my new favorite is the Revo MGX system, but my tuned Zillion is close

I love to pitch with a Revo MGX, the lightness of the reel makes a long day less tiring and it still has the power to drag fish out. A better dual purpose reel for flipping and pitching might be a zillion or gen 2 premier. I use the premier a lot and the drag is nice for real heavy cover. A good idea is to put Boca orange seal bearings in whatever you get. They make pitching and flipping so much easier.

P-line premium cx floro coat is pretty good but I like Daiwa Samurai with a floro leader

7'2" mh/f cumara with a revo mgx pitching jigs, texas rigged craws and creatures spinnerbaits and light topwater 7'7" mh/xf crucial with a zillion heavy jigs, big creatures, frogs, spooks 7'2 m/f cumara spinning rod with a daiwa ballistic wacky rig, drop shot, light texas rigged worms and lizards Forget it, I can't do just 3 rods

Most Floro's have more line memory than other types of line. meaning they tend to act like a spring. This makes floro line sort of tough to use on a spinning reel especially the floro's that are a little stiffer like abrazx. And I have found the smaller the spinning reel, the worse the problem. Braid with a floro leader is the way to go and use the Alberto knot or use a co-poly. I like P-line CX premium

didn't use mono for ten years and decided to try it again on a crankbait rod. Got a couple spools of seaguar senshi and love it, handles great. Like all monos the sensitivity sucks compared to braid and floro but for a reaction lure the Senshi is great.

micro's all the way. with flipping and pitching a floro leader with braid is no problem. Just a better feel with the micro's. Cottonwood, algae and ice are an issue so you have to know when to put the rod down at times

You can get the Daiwa factory carbon fiber handle for the type R at Tackletrap.com it fits the regular Zillion. While your at it get the spool for the Team Daiwa Z100 it is a huge upgrade over the stock zillion spool, much lighter and faster. I did both plus Boca orange seal bearings and it's like a whole new reel

Any thoughts as to how some of the older top of the line casting reels like the Chronarch 50mg or the Team Daiwa Z or Sol stack up against todays reels like the Core or MGX or even the Zillion. I have the newer stuff but have never used the older reels and notice they still get big bucks on Ebay. Interested to hear from owners of both

x2 on the ***, BPS Carbonlite is a nice rod for the money

I use 6'10" to 7'4" for pitching, a 7'2 Cumara being my favorite. So it really is what your comfortable with. I'm 6'2 and a 7'6" rod feels a little long for me to be really accurate.

Remember when 6.3-1 was the "burner" reel ?

Great question. I was always someone that refused to pay more than $120 for a casting reel and then I would wonder why I couldn't pitch like the pro's or cast full out without getting backlashes now and again. A couple of years ago I broke down and laid out 3 bills for a revo mgx and had the "A HA" moment. Pitching and flipping was now a breeze and once it was adjusted I could cast as hard as I wanted into a stiff wind. So what's the difference. Better and lighter parts, better build quality, smoother, spools that are 5 times better everything is better. One mgx turned into 2, plus 2 Premiers, a Winch, a Zillion, a Chronarch and a couple others. Warning, once you get a taste you won't go back but here's the thing, it has made me a much, much, much better fisherman. Gone is having to work at casting witch really allows me to concentrate on other aspects of fishing. Another advantage is that casting rods are now in play for some techniques I always used a spinning rod for like finesse worms or weightless Senkos. Long story short, investing in high quality casting reels has improved my fish more than anything else in the last 20 years. As for spinning reels, mine range from $80 to $200 and I don't think the difference is nearly as dramatic as with casting rods. Sorry I got so long winded.

x2

Vanish sucks, Seaguar or sunline with a palomar knot and wet it before you tighten it

I agree, a little cleaning and oil now and again and make sure the side plate screws are tight and these things are better than new.

O.K. MGX owners, how have they held up now that they have been out a couple of years??? Mine are still perfect

x2 on the fenwick although the crucial is more of a true DS rod I have both BTW

Guess it's back to Southbend for me