TimTheGearNerd

@freelancer27, This was easily the best Steez A / met MGL/ higher end reel threads I’ve read. It’s been a lot of fun to read as a gear nerd. Thanks for taking us along for the journey so many years ago. I recently got the 2017 Steez A and I purchased a 2020 Met B MGL. What are your opinions on higher end reels in 2022? Which reel ended up being your favorite all round for casting moving baits? Which have best ergo and durability? I took my Steez A out once since I got it and it definitely feels comfortable throwing a chatterbait with a total .9 oz weight. I was pairing the reel with dobyns DC735cb glass. The steez lives up the hype being super easy to use and the reel always seems in control. I use my Met for swim Jigs and spinner baits on a megabass Daemos. The Met always casts further than I expect but definitely will fluff up more often on a cast. Shimanos always seem to feel like they cast further. I often attribute the feel to the type of breaking. If I were fishing a jig or something tip up. The Met feels more comfortable since the frame narrows at the line guide. I’m not a tall dude so the way I hold the reel, the Met and most shimanos feel more comfortable to me. I’m a fan of bass fishing gear, so all shimano and Daiwa are welcome. ?

Bait caster will make you hate fishing (at first) nothing will ruin your day faster than getting that birds nest. You’re definitely going to make mistakes as you learn. getting off the bank will catch you more fish. I’m on a yak and I catch the most fish doing drop shot on a spinning rig.

For now - upgrade the ugly stick and get a more sensitive rod for drop shots or Ned rig maybe a champion line. And/OR - get a mod fast action crank bait style rod for chatter bait or crank bait. Go with 7’6 or 7’3 so you can really bomb a bait far. Maybe Champ 735 CB glass or similar fury rod. I prefer a 6:1 speed on cranking from bank. For Later. If you’re in Texas a frog rod/punching rod could be fun at least 7 ft or longer xtra heavy fast with a 8:1 speed reel. Curados are good bets.

I’m glad you went with the met. I have USDM met and Chronarch mgl. Not sure there is a reason to get the Chronarch other than price. I would say get a used Chronarch mgl if you don’t want to spend over 200, I can’t think of a better reel at that budget, otherwise the Met is the better reel.

One trick for using heavier jigs up shallow is if you want a fast fall or you want to knock tree branches and cause a lot of commotion. This could trigger bites.

Thanks for the help

@FoulHooked what did you end up getting?

Does a heavy 1 oz football jig work just as well as a lighter jig? I was curious whether there is any advantage to having a smaller jig like a 1/2 oz football. I just had the 1 oz available in the tackle box in the color I needed. I couldn’t stop wondering if the heavy jig was hurting my chances.

I keep an ugly stick for that very purpose. Can’t break those things. The old ones didn’t even have guide inserts I have “broken” 3 rods 1 broke from a tree falcon low rider 2 rod guide insert fell out. KLX, and Dobyns champ.

I’ve seen that the brigand is good for swim baits . Funny enough, I actually purchased a few dark sleepers to test and it’s pretty good. I just wonder why not use a bait caster? Is it purely preference ? @RTipton

I think it depends on how long I’m on the water. I’ve brought as many as 8 but I typically have 4 typically worm/ jig spinning cb frog or c rig I might rotate different rods out like jerk bait, skipping, swim bait, second spinning rod.

Let me start with the fact that the brigand does a good job keeping fish hooked up. I was throwing a Ned rig from the yak and really felt confident bringing that fish in. I want to attribute this to the rod length and action. But dam that Brigand is heavy. I’m comparing with the 7’ Dobyns extreme 702sf. While I was throwing a ned rig successfully, I know the rod is kinda over powered for a Ned rig. Why wouldn’t folks get a bait caster rod at that power? Is it simply a preference thing. I initially bought a brigand after watching the review Punch did on YouTube. I however missed his spinning rod weight video so I was surprised by the weight and the rod ended up better for heavier presentation that I would typically throw on a spinning rod. If you have a brigand, why do you like it? Do you prefer spinning instead of bait caster? Is there something the brigand does especially well that would be better for a spinning set up? Maybe for windy days? Anyway, I was just curious what other Brigand owners thought. It’s a really good looking rod though. I don’t own anything that looks so nice. I almost don’t want to use it. ?

For some reason, chartreuse does well in Texas with 3 FOV. Definitely didn’t run a scientific study. I wonder if you have any opinion about chartreuse? Does it just show up as black as well?

I think the skunk I have seen plenty. It’s when your buddy crushes it when you skunk, that’s the stinger. I can’t even feel happy for ‘em haha. There is a long road to being good at fishing. Even KVD will lose tournaments. Now if I can only learn to be at least half as good as KVD, that would be a great success.

Same story, I had a falcon lowrider 6’10 MHF rod I think meant for worms or something. It was just sitting around. The rod feels really nice throwing a megabass vision 110 on a curado 50 e. The green reel on the brown rod is pretty ugly but hey, gets the job done. I’ve never thrown any megabass 110 special rod but I also saved 300 bucks.

The worse part is the beautiful day, couldn’t even enjoy it and the day was beautiful. @galyonj I was definitely not throwing the same way. It was same color Ned right same lure. Honestly, he might have found a few and got the ones that would bite. Line, weight, retrieve might have all be subtly different.

I got my pride handed to me on Sunday and it hurt bad. I was out there on my yak for a few hours throwing a senko, a jig, and a jerk bait (and later a Ned rig). It’s like clear sky’s on a river system, a slight breeze between 11am and 4pm. It’s a beautiful Texas weather 70 degrees and water temp was 55. Got skunked. Meanwhile, I got a buddy that throws nothing but Ned rig all day. He fished 30 minutes behind me, same spots. This guy catches 5 fish in 30 minutes. I run back, throw the same stuff, nothin. Well, actually I got my Ned rig stuck on some weedfish and broke my lure off. Days like these, I wonder, am I that bad at fishing? I packed it up and I think I need a break for my ego to recover. Who’s got some stories for a guy feeling down in the dumps?

Good call out, totally forgot about the MM gearing.

I think any new Met DC would have to be bigger than 20 Met B to get the chip on there. Would be cool to see a smaller Met DC though, maybe something with core solid and DC would be awesome (and pricey). I haven’t heard anything but as a product person, I assume a Met DC is going to come down the pipe in 2021. There isn’t much left for Shimano to refresh. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new Chronarch as well.

I think marketing works and Daiwa might sell a few more reels with the branding. Unfortunately, the enthusiast like TA will see past the marketing then the question becomes, is the SV boost spool and a paint job worth $100 bucks. The Curado 70 MGL is the same story, price bump for spool and new reel color.

Got out of control with spending this winter picked up a 20met, megabass Daemos, megabass brigand, and NRX 894. The NRX lives up to the hype. definitely feel more like a tackle junkie than an angler this time of year.

Looking forward to how you feel about sensitivity and power be the helium. how does the rod feel under load? Does it handle the upper lure weight level well?

I don’t think I can find a date. I actually used it on my spinning reel. Haven’t landed a fish yet lol. Not for lack of trying

I have a box of the treble. They are sharpe and cheap enough to replace on some throw away cranks when I find them at the lake. If you want to use them for that I say go. I do however love the size 1 for drop shot. The hookup is perfect and no ripping up the fish’s lip.

Local tackle store still sells this. Maybe they shouldn’t ? I think I looked it up and it was from the 80s