F14A-B

I use the old school one with the butane and pads on top. They have a rechargeable model but mine failed within minutes (exchanged for the original model)

I do use a Thermocell and they absolutely work.

Seems to be mixed feelings on whether they are or not, but I’m vested now 😂

I’m a recent convert to the crossover ring/tool system, just curious on the ability to reuse them. Also, I have several bags of the large FlickShake worm, wondering what ring size works better, I’m guessing a 6 but that’s a guess. TIA..

I guess you better hurry

Funny thread, here’s why.. I’ve sold all my Metaniums and Bantams, save one. I much prefer the Zillion HD over the Metaniums and it’s not even close. Even the zil 1016 will out cast all my metaniums except the shallow spool edition. I’m not saying the micro module is bad but I’m not convinced. Anyway, thanks for your opinion and now ya got mine..

Depends on the crank baits. You're not gonna have success with say 6xd but a typical squarebill or DT 6 you’ll be good to go. Will you have success with a frog on a medium rod? Dunno.. braid to mono won’t hurt but using a medium power rod probably will.

Can’t believe he came from so far behind , reminds me of the Pacer’s 😁

A medium light spinning is handy on a couple things, under a 1/4 ounce crank baits and pop r’s , definitely not a general use rod at all though. rangerjockey is right about that. You should step up on power imo. I use a ML spinning for small Shimano crank baits,pop r’s and small float n fly presentations. On line for me I use Yozuri Hybrid and PLine CX and CXX as well as Daiwa Samurai FC. No braid for me.

Wheeler struggling a bit, I’m a little surprised.

I appreciate that tip on Zero set.. I did not know this information. Quite frankly that’s pretty d**n important to know and incorporate.

You’re welcome..

Haha, I’ve heard that more than a few times.. so I’m assuming that means the FL Stradic and old-new Vanford are sporting the same bearing?

Totally understand concerns about chemicals vs storage vs children but bearings (ceramic) will only carry you so far, my point is there are plenty of other parts that will need attention also. Clutch parts, main/pinion - idler gears, worm gears etc. that’s when I’d simply hire out a skilled reel tech who can provide the exact service for you. You could use a beaker for bearings which cuts way down on the amount of chemicals you need while using water in an ultrasonic cleaner. The ideal comes from another board member whom I hesitate to tag and put on front street 😉 but it’s a great game plan for sure. Simple green is a great cleaner but you have to have mechanical agitation for it to be effective. (Toothbrush on gears etc is perfect) I use to do my own, particularly baitcasters. Spinning is a bit more involved and now I’m hearing Shimano has re-engineered the anti-reverse bearing and it’s supposedly a pita..

Nice jig fish.

Kentucky lake is special for sure. I always do well down there. It would be a great place to live. Water is still a little dirty according to Wheeler. Nonetheless it’s fishing like you’d expect. One of these days I hope to fish Pickwick.

I agree with you on the spinner bait speed. I do have a couple 6.2:1 reels I don’t use now, but my workhorse reels are 7.0 8.1 and 9.0 & in my experience the faster speed elicits that reaction strike. Excepting Texas rigs etc

There use to be an item that was about a 3” piece of heavy duty nylon maybe a 1/2” wide w lead balls stuffed into it, a swivel at the top and bingo! They worked too but I haven’t seen those in a long while. You could probably make something similar at home..

They’ve never forgave us for it either🤣🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Last order I made was tariff free. Shipped FedEx. Bulldog is right, I’ve been monitoring prices on a couple reels that have jumped on average of $42 dollars since December of 24. Inflation is one thing and tariffs another. Both suck for those of us who want/need to order from Japan. Has another price increase occurred? (June)

I’m saying manufacturers list prices are always higher, street prices are always cheaper..

Nobody goes to Daiwa and wants to see street prices, good grief.

I believe that generally you get what you pay for, with that said all reels need proper maintenance for longer life and more satisfying use. High quality reels that have been properly designed, will give you much longer life and incentive to maintain them.

Use to catch them all the time as a young teen.. wading creeks n rivers, they fight hard lol

Yes Sir, on my flip and jig rigs it’s a Palomar but everything else is a Uni.