Further North

I wear an XXL glove, when I can find them...you'd think that'd mean I'd like a certain size reel, but it doesn't.

Could be. I'm not terribly sensitive to things like that; I'm pretty adaptable.

Yep. There is such a thing as too light. Happens all the time with shotguns. Not one person in 20 can shoot a sub 6 pound shotgun well...but lots of people think they like them... ...but guys selling one thing to buy another doesn't tell us anything. they're convinced whatever is new is better than what they have and they've gotta have it...

All my gear reels, except one, have braid on them. I put fluoro on one...two years later, I still don't love it. And no, I'm not anti-fluoro. I love it, and use it, for leaders all the time. About half my fly rods run fluoro leaders, anything I'm trying to get subsurface with and need durability from. YMMV vary, but I'm wondering what benefit you think you'll see from rigging with fluoro?

That's heavy-ish compared to the LTX and MGX...almost an ounce more...~18%...but weight isn't everything...how it balances your rig, and how a reel casts for you is much more important.

I don't own an MGXtreme2, but I won both an "regular" MGX and an Aldebaran. I also own an an AbuGarcia LTX. Abu doesn't really change their size or shape much...if you like it, you like it...I like it, and have several. Shimano seems to have more varibility in the external shape/size. I have a Calais DC, a few Curados, the Aldebaran and a coupe others...I like them, too. I don't see much real difference in performance. If I was pinned down, I'd say the MGX sits lower, but the Aldebaran "feels" smaller...though I don't know that objective measurement supports that. The Aldebaran is certainly narrower towards the front of th ereel, if tha tmakes any difference.

Slow is for lures/baits where reeling them in imparts the action. Fast is for lures/baits where you, using the rod, impart the action. Everyone's definition of fast and slow is a little different. For me, 7:1 is my middle, below is slow, above is fast.

I have 27 fly rods. Nine of them are 8 wt. rods. But I'm selling two...that's good, right? I don't even want to know how many gear rods I own. It'd make my hair hurt.

Exactly. ...I just don't need to catch fish bad enough to troll... Mmmmm...I've done both; I've trolled with people who are acknowledged experts. It still bored me to the edge of sanity. ...and I don't buy that it's tougher. Seems like a very subjective evaluation. ...my problem with trolling is that it bores me. I love that other people like it. I have the same issue with professional sports...they also bore me. It's my problem, not theirs.

I wish I could say that... I went on a 10 day Canadian walleye trip with some friends a fe years back...all they did was jig over the side of the boat...I was ready to throw myself on a sword by the end of the 2nd day... I haven't trolled in decades, other than hanging a a rig off the side as I motor between spots, and won't. I admire the dedication of folks who do it...but I can't stand the boredom of driving round dragging lines...

If I have to troll to catch fish, I'll not fish. It's a me thing, but I cannot stand trolling. I don't care how effective it is. I feel the same about jigging over the side of the boat. I don't need to catch fish enough to do either. He probably wants to see if he can throw it 100 yards. ?

Cheese and rice...I had a 1974 Plymouth Duster with a three speed slushbox and a 225 CI POS engine that sounded better that that... Just sayin'...

Don't be usin' logic and objective evaluation on an emotional subject. People can't handle that...

Because popular ≠ best. Never has, never will. I tend to agree...assuming we have open water by opener.... ? A cleaned and tuned Calais DC can open your eyes, if you're paying attention...."specially if'n you're willing to accept the input of Esox... I'm not sure 1 in 50 Americans even know what a Toyota Hilux is...

That's a fair distance. For you folks that live in the city, assuming normal 1/4 acre lots, that's standing on your lot line and casting almost all the way to the far edge of your neighbor's lot... Want to really be impressed, check out the fly casting records: http://www.americancastingassoc.org/assoc-membership/national-records/fly-dist.html

Not really; FG 1st choice, then Alberto, because of knot size. I won't use anything else. Almost all my rods have either wire or fluoro leaders with braid main line.

Ineresting tests, and narrative; thanks for taking the time to do it, and share it. I'm an FG fan, and don't find it hard to tie. My 2nd choice is an Alberto. Since neither fails (unless I screw them up) I'm good to go. I've had FGs on wire leaders for pike and musky last an entire season...same with Albertos. My line almost always fails (ore gets beat up) before there any chance of a know failing, so I tend to go with knots I like tying (and that work). I don't have to have the best, just something that's above the failure point I need. For some reason, I hate tying Uni-unis...and I have little faith in a knot that relies on one thickness of each line at the critical juncture...dunno why, given that there's all kinds of objective proof to the contrary... Surgeon's and multiple iterations thereof, are great, but the Alberto and FG are smaller...and look neater when done right. For a real exercise in line to line knots, tie your own fly fishing leaders. You have leader to line (typically loop to loop), then usually two step down (call it 30# to 20# to 10# to keep it simple) and then your tippet (could be a section of wire for toothy fish, or another step down for anything else. Since all those (except to the wire tippet) are mono to mono or fluoro to fluoro, I use Albertos. You get really good at them after a while...

That's going to be a Ford/Chevy argument. The real answer is "neither", the question you should be asking is, "Which do I like best?" There is no "best" here, and the only person you have to please is yourself.

I like long rods, but they sacrifice accuracy. What is important to you?

They might have...it was easier, and faster to change the bearings. A bit of an upgrade as well. Line on the spool was tight, but I went ahead and re-spooled it anyway, it was a few seasons old.

I have two...but haven't fished them yet. On dry ground testing, they seem to get it done as well as my Calais DC, but in a smaller, lighter form. I'm going to try one on a 7' 9" ML TFO GIS Inshore rod, which is feeling like a winning combo and the other is hung on a rod a use almost exclusively for chucking T-rigged Smokin' Roosters. We'll see what the season tells us. Unlike most folks, after years of DC ownership, I'm not convinced a DC is better for distance. I am convinced it's better for wind, and for just banging away without worrying about backlashes. I feel like I can get more distance out of other reels, if I give them the attention needed to get a long cast. My DCs have a time and place (The Calais is on 7' 9" Heavy I use for chucking spoons at Esox) and I'd not trade them for anything...but they are not the best for every application, as far as I can tell.

This isn't gonna help any, but: Lamson Force SL Series II Fly Fishing Reel. The size 3. It weighs 3.7 oz. and has a drag that'll slow down a baby tarpon. It's more drag than I need for smallies, pike and musky...but...oh...so...sweet...

Update Cleaning the bearings looked like a PITA, and I wasn't confident that it'd get the job done 100%, so I opted to get new ones, and a tool for getting to pin out of the spool shaft. The former were cheap in relation to my time, and the latter is a one-time buy useful on all my reels. Bearings (Hedgehogs) got here today, and I swapped them out when I got home...total time...maybe 20 minutes. Everything looked good, tied on a 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook, threaded a Senko on, and pitched a cast into the bach yard. Still buzzing. #$(*it. Definitely a rotational sorta sound In the conversation with the gentleman I bought the bearings from, we talked about a 3rd bearing, under the cap of the spool tension knob. It isn't engaged during a cast, but what the heck, I've nothing to lose...so a carefully backed the cap all the way out, then in a bit a tossed the Senko. No buzz. Tightened it up a bit... No buzz. Set it like I'd use it...no buzz. It's working great now, time will tell if it all shakes out. Subjective evaluation: It casts wonderfully with the new bearings. Distance is surprising. If it matters, Dawn at Smoothdrag never bothered to call me back. Disappointing.

There's a world of difference between a bait casting roll cast and a fly fishing roll cast...

About the same, but smallies, mostly. I appreciate the perspective, from the other end of the Mississippi-ish. ..and I don't like fishing vertical...that's what walleye fisherman do. If I get senile, or half my brain falls out...maybe I could learn to like fishing like that... ? I actually have little patience for deep water fishing at all...if I have to do that, I'll go wade a river and catch those same smallies in current in 3 ft. of water...