masterbass

I bought a bunch of megabass and lucky craft lures over the winter (bait monkey is too strong in the winter). As spring is upon us I'm trying to get up the courage to actually use them this year. I've lost my share of lures, but up to this point the most expensive lure I've lost is an $18 yozuri and it made me sick. It's bad enough losing an $8 rapala, but a $25 vision would ruin my day lol.

My first baitcaster was a righty. I switched to lefty and sold it and never looked back.

BPS Carbonlite 6'6" ml if you want to use the gift card.

A few years ago I used nothing but spinning gear and I didn't feel like I was missing out at all. My curiosity about bait casters triggered me to buy one and I back lashed like a maniac so I went back to my trusty spinning reels. The mistake I made was I went cheap on my first bc reel. My buddy bought a lews and raved about it so I became curious again and bought one. Today I use bc gear for 99% of my fishing because it's my preference. For the techniques I use I could still use spinning gear for everything, but I just enjoy using a bait caster.

Doesn't your emtf work for you?

Since my most recent post here where I bought a stupid amount of stuff, I've added a few more unnecessary things: td ito, sv 1000 spool, tdz 100 spool (for a zillion), 3 pre-rapala warts, 2 megabass 110's, 2 megabass dad x's, and bunch of terminal tackle from dsg during their last sale.

I will definitely recommend the xx

Arv, let us know how the nrx compares. I've been struggling with the monkey over an 893/853. I have a dx 743 and x7 extreme mission currently and I'm wondering if I'm missing anything not having the legendary nrx.

Congrats on your new combo! I own that rod and use it for wacky rigs, tubes and weightless senko and I really think it fishes above it's price point. I think you're going to love it and it should balance well with the smoke.

Megabass xx perfect pitch and zillion when I'm pitching into cover. I don't flip much.

love mine

I'm not sure about the who makes the gsx, but a buddy of mine works at gander and said all of the newer rods are made by 13.

x2

OP, imo if you are used to spinning gear and reeling with your left hand then get a lefty bait caster.

It's funny because I recall this question coming up about a year ago and at that time I was completely satisfied with using < $100 reels with the best quality rod I could afford. Now I'm all about the reels. I really like daiwa reels in particular and enjoy tuning and upgrading spools, gears and bearings. Don't get me wrong because I still have my share of megabass rods, but my last couple of rod purchases were under $125 each and one was $60. I still have a budget in mind for reels though which is why I love finding used reels at huge discounts.

I think lefty reels will become more popular as new first time bait caster users buy their first reel.

Thanks, great idea about using tape on a drill bit!

What kind of mandrel do you use? I haven't been able to find any that fit different bearings.

I actually prefer 80mm except when I'm using heavy resistance baits. I like rolling quickly with a smaller turn radius.

I'm a huge fan of the tdz platform. It's amazing after all these years they are still some of the best performing and highly sought after reels. I love how many spool options are available that can transform your reel for any application you could ever want. I've got 2 103ml r+'s, tdz 103hl and finally got my td ito that I've been lusting for a year.

This deal can't be beat imo on a great reel.

It's a familiar story for a lot of us and it is a slippery slope. A few years ago, I was using a walmart spinning combo and night crawlers. Fishing was ok, but not an obsession. Then my buddy bought a pack of senkos and 3/0 hooks and to both of our amazement started catching fish after fish. I remember that day well because up til then I never understood why a fish would choose to eat an artificial ever. A couple of years ago I bought my first casting combo. Then I found this forum (actually I blame these forums, lol) and it's been down the slippery slope. I believe if you found this forum then you are most likely already cooked

me too

When using the hedgehog tool, put a piece of tape on the spool under the tool to avoid scratching the spool.

Basically they are used for casting/pitching lighter lures. They are more shallow than stock spools so they hold less line, but most people use light line for finesse applications. They are also much lighter than stock and have faster start up for light pitching.