SenkoGuru

No chance I will ever buy another Halo and I for sure wouldn't touch one that cost that much. I made the mistake of buying a Halo Twilite and that was money wasted. The rod felt dead and really, really cheap feeling. I fished with it for five or so trips and then traded it to a guy for a Duckett Ghost and felt that the $99.00 Ghost was much better. Halo really let me down on that one because I had wanted one for months and just decided to order it one night. Never again will I buy a fishing rod sight unseen.

I would have to agree that the Daiwa Tatula is by far a better reel than both of those.

That Lew's Team Gold is a very solid reel. It is well refined and smooth both on casting and reeling. The frame is solid and palms easy. Both are good reels so you really can't go wrong but I believe the Lew's is better and it cost less, so you can't get a great reel and save a little cash.

Right now you can find Duckett Micro Magic rod's for $99.00 with free shipping. You can not beat that rod for that price. I would go with the 7'0" Heavy for Frogging.

A great deal of that sensitivity is going to come from the Line you are using. If you use Fluorocarbon and a Tungsten weight, it will add volumes to sensitivity on Texas-rig's/Jig's.

At $99.00 the Duckett Micro Magic is unbeatable.

I will be trying out the new Zillion as soon as it is released.

DTack, I don't take the bait any more on the Dobyn's, so you guys can chill out, I could care less. Any way you ask for the store info and I sent it all to you in a PM.

Well, each one of us has our favorite company's and ANY rod can break. The local boat marina store here quit selling Dobyn's rods because he was sick to death of replacing all of the broken rod's. (any one wanting to call the store and ask the owner can PM me for the store name, The owner will tell what a nightmare of broken rod's) I'm sure that doesn't make any one not want a Dobyn's though, just as any other rod, they can and do break. The Duckett Rod's have a 20 year warranty and they stand behind that so I would say they believe in their rods. Also you're saying that the Duckett rods are nothing more than a carrot stick? OK, so that would mean a Dobyn's is nothing more than a Powell Max rod too then right? If you skip out on Duckett rods, you may be missing the best fishing rod you would have ever owned. The rods are well worth the money and some of the best on the market but you need to decide that for yourself, do not take my opinion that they are really great and do not take the other guys opinion that they are super bad, make that decision for yourself and just enjoy Bass fishing.

I bought the Trap Caster Bucoo at my local walmart for $25.00. It had the tip broken off of it but it was just the tip and not broken down the rod. I replaced the tip and the rod has been good. I enjoy it and see nothing wrong at all with this rod line. The only thing that bothers me is the foam handle on the Bucoo is much larger around than the handles on my white ice and it is tough to get use to it. This is not a knock on the rod though, just something to be aware of if you are use to small grips. Over all, yes, I would say that rod is worth the price you can buy it for. Let us know if you get it and how much you like/dislike it. Good fishing.

Nothing like a good wife. Happy Birthday and enjoy your very nice gifts.

Just be sure it is a Micro Magic and not the Ghost Rods. The Duckett Ghost rods are always priced at $99.00

OK, please excuse my post. When the side plate comes off the exact same thing doesn't happen every time. The first time it happened the line just caught and stopped and the side plate was open. The second time it happened I had tried to bomb a cast and the spool fell out of the side of the reel and the line was ruined, I had to cut it all off and re-spool. The third time it happened It was such a bad noise I was sure something had broken and I again had a very bad birds nest and had to cut my line and re-spool it again. after that I made a few cast and it seemed to be fine but I'm not keeping this reel any longer, I am going to sell it and buy either an older Chroarch E, look to see if the CI4 has the same button, if it doen't I'll buy a CI4, if it does then I will look into buying another Zillion. I owned three Okuma VBS reels a long time ago that had that same button placement and my fishing partner reminded me of the time I lost the side plate and the spool from the Okuma over the side of the boat in 20 foot of water because the side plate came open on a cast. I did remember that and that was the reason I sold my old white okuma's too. I HATE that button.

You are more than welcome to get your boat and come follow me around for a day of fishing, I don't mind. Your statement is simply crazy to me, really, I am sitting here and I'm trying to think of 1 Why would you not believe something just because it has not happened to you? 2 what in the hell would I have to gain by losing out on one of the best reels made because I hit a bad designed button every so often when I cast? 3 if it isn't happening to you, why in the world would you ever care? 4 that switch is SUPER easy to get to while it is on a rod. Are you now saying you have to take the reel off of the rod to open the side plate? Come on now.

Heck, I would buy one at $159.00. You're talking about one of the best rods made. The answer is 100% yes, buy it. If you can get it for $100 you just got one hell of a great deal. Let me know where you're buying them for $100.00 in a PM so I can buy 5 or 8 for myself. thanks

Power Pro

The Curado I is a very nice reel and with out question it is worth the price. I have a couple of problems though, I do not like where the switch is placed to open the side plate and there have been a couple of times that I have cast the reel only to have the side plate pop off because my hand has hit the switch to open it. I wish they would not have changed the way the side plate opened to that switch, the old way was so much better. I also do not like the little cheap feeling plastic brake setting switch on the front corner of the reel, tough to get set right and I feel it is below the quality of Shimano. If it was not for that switch to open the side plate, I would have more of the curado I but as it stands, I like my Tatula Type-R's much better than the Curado I and if I had to choose only one it would be an easy choice for me, I would take the Daiwa Tatula Type-R but that still doesn't mean the Curado I is not worth the price to play because it is.

The best rod you can buy for $150.00 is with out question. It is a Duckett Micro Magic. They will soon have the new Micro Magic Pro rods coming out and it is hard to believe they could improve on the Micro Magic line but they have done just that. The Micro Magic pro is awesome. I would buy a Micro magic but if I could wait until next month "October" I would buy a Micro Magic Pro.

Remember that the Type-R has a much better drag system than the regular zillion too.

You should look into the MegaBass Orochi XX Rods. They are pretty awesome.

I have disassembled a grand total of ZERO reels in my life. I know nothing more than cleaning them, my idea of cleaning them is taking the spool out and wiping things down with a drop of oil, Q-tip's and a cloth. I am a professional on computers though. My job is building and repairing computers. I have the tools and I am use to working with very small parts but a computer is a long ways from a baitcaster and I know nothing about baitcasters. Thanks for the info and help guys. I think I will be sending them off to someone who knows more than I do about this.

I've been reading from a bunch of people that swapping the level wind bushings for bearings is a very good upgrade to make on the Daiwa Tatula reels. I own two Regular Tatula and two Type-R Tatulas and would like to do this. Now my question for people who know how to do this is, " Should a person who has never took a baitcaster apart try something like this?" Or should I send my reels to someone who knows what they are doing? I figured with the internet and a few video's it may be something I can do but I do not want to tear my reel apart and not be able to put it back together the right way. Thank you for any/and all help.

No chuck doesn't know BJJ, they would win by a karate chop.