FloridaFishinFool

The following image shows a Shimano AR clutch bearing. Aftermarket repair/maintenance attempts where a person used grease became such a problem to Shimano they began putting "NO GREASE" right onto their AR clutch bearings since the message was not reaching those who needed to see it. AI Overview: No, you generally do not use grease on an anti-reverse bearing; instead, you should use a very small amount of light fishing reel oil or run it dry, as too much lubricant, especially grease, will prevent the small rollers or cams from gripping the clutch sleeve, causing the anti-reverse to fail. Over-greasing can lead to the anti-reverse mechanism not engaging or engaging too slowly. Why Grease Is Bad for Anti-Reverse Bearings Grip vs. Slip: An anti-reverse bearing works on the principle of grip, not slip. The rollers need to bite into the clutch sleeve to prevent back-play in the handle. Compromised Grip: Grease creates a film that reduces the friction between the rollers and the sleeve, preventing them from locking up effectively. Catastrophic Failure: Using grease on an anti-reverse bearing is a common mistake that can lead to the clutch failing entirely, allowing the handle to spin backward when you are fighting a fish. -------------------------------------------------------------- ***ADDED: Grease acts like a solid inside the bearings filling open gaps the steel needle bearings need to stay open so they can move into place usually helped along by small, tiny springs. Using any form of grease fills the necessary open spaces preventing movement into place, and acts like a glue preventing the needle bearings from moving into place causing AR failures. If grease is found inside an AR bearing, soak it in appropriate solvent to remove all grease. Clean back to bare metal and plastic, and use light synthetic oil only. As stated above, viscosity is everything in an AR clutch bearing but relating to oil only- not grease. And only use synthetics! Petroleum oils thicken up over time leading to AR failures same as grease causes. Good synthetics maintain same viscosity indefinitely. Next issue is lubricant that remains in place on parts inside AR clutch bearings to lubricate as well as prevent rust and corrosion. If one were to search the Alan Tani reel repair information found there, one will find numerous acceptable oils mentioned. One of the best that is often mentioned there is same one I have used for years without any failures of AR clutch bearings. Corrosion X or Reel X. Corrosion X has the highest corrosion prevention rating by U.S. military standards.

I think the fog issue is being misunderstood. I see it differently as stated below: It has been brought into the lawsuits over liability on the part of the tournament organization MLF. Smith lake has more than 500 miles of shoreline and is 35 miles long. It does not matter if conditions were clear where the accident took place. The lawyers are saying that if there is ANY visibility issues anywhere on that lake, then the MLF should have suspended or delayed the entire tournament until conditions everywhere on the lake are clear. You cannot shut down half the lake while the other half is still open. It does not work that way. Even if conditions were clear at the accident location, does not mean there was not visibility issues elsewhere meaning MLF is negligent if proven beyond reasonable doubt. Lawyers, not police and prosecutors, but at least one victim's lawyers are saying yes there was fog or water vapor and or visibility issues on the lake at the time of the accident and are basically saying the MLF was negligent in not suspending or delaying the tournament. And because of them not doing that is in part behind their liability in this crash. The fog or visibility issue may or may not be brought into the criminal case, so it is still premature for any of us to say it was not an issue. It will be up to the courts to decide in both civil and criminal courts of law as to whether or not fog or visibility issues apply and where blame and liability belong. We may all agree the video shows visibility was clear at site of accident, but that does not show the entire 500 plus miles of shoreline of that lake, and whether or not other locations were with fog or visibility issues the MLF officials may have ignored that could have or might have prevented this accident if it had been delayed by MLF officials. That lake is 35 miles long. And fog and visibility issues were reported on that lake on that morning which is why it is being brought up and included in the lawsuit(s) "Broadly, the suit alleges that Major League Fishing failed to exercise reasonable care as the tour’s second day opened: “By organizing and incentivizing high-speed boat operation in foggy, congested conditions on a public waterway shared with recreational and guided fishing vessels, MLF created a foreseeable risk of serious injury or death,” it alleges. “In the early morning hours of April 16, 2025, dense fog, mist or clouds covered parts of Lewis Smith Lake. MLF nonetheless commenced the day’s launch without delay, limitations, speed limits or public safety warnings.” The suit alleges that at the start of the day, “Tournament anglers launched at the scheduled start time, with many, including Davis, traveling at excessive and unsafe speeds.” It claims that Davis and Holcombe didn’t take enough care while they were in high-traffic areas with low visibility. Holcombe, Flint and at least one other person were treated at hospitals for injuries suffered in the crash." The suit seeks rulings on a range of counts including negligence and wrongful death. Rules for the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include a clause that prohibits “boat operation in an unsafe or unsportsmanlike manner.” The rules also require that “safe boating must be observed at all times,” and say that the tournament director is empowered to shorten, postpone of cancel events due to unsafe weather or water conditions. Tournament rules also specify that participating boats must carry insurance, as well as a camera providing a view of the boat’s front deck that tournament officials can monitor throughout the day. Whether the camera aboard Davis’ boat was recovered and whether it can provide footage of the crash has not been revealed." Those lawyers are going to stick it to the MLF and its officials. Those lawyers are claiming the MLF violated their own rules that led to this tragedy. It is their job to do so. And again, I have to say, it does not matter if visibility was clear at the location of the accident. Fog, dense fog was reported on that lake on that morning and MLF officials ignored it, and ignored their own rules and did not enforce licensing, and basically just turned them all loose without any safety promoting of any kind. MLF is going to get grilled on this. And you can bet it will all revolve around fog and visibility ANYWHERE on that lake and did MLF ignore and break their own rules that led to this tragedy. This is how I see it. I know others see it differently. But we have to take a step back from this and not just place ourselves in Flint Davis driver seat on this one. We have to try and wear some lawyer shoes and look at it as if MLF did some very wrong things. And if these can be proven in courts of law, then we can say for sure whether or not fog was an issue or not. It is way to premature for any of us to second guess it in my opinion. Think about it. That lake is 35 miles long with 500 miles of shoreline. So what if it was clear at accident site. What if 20 miles to the South the Southern end was covered in fog? Or the northern end at the time of the accident? If it can be proven in court, then MLF can be proven to have broken their own rules further placing more and more liability on the MLF and tournament officials. I agree from the point of view of driving that boat it appears clear. But MLF rules were in play, and if there was fog anywhere on that lake and MLF did not enforce their own "safety" rules, those lawyers are going to stick it to them on this point hard core. So its not an incorrect assumption at all. It is key critical detail and core to the civil case(s) maybe not the criminal cases, but let's all wait and see how this plays out. I am just playing devil's advocate here on this one trying to look at it from way outside and looking at all the pieces to the puzzle and not just the immediate driver's seat in question. So I ask each of you, if there was fog anywhere on that lake should MLF officials delayed it? Should they follow their own rules on safety? MLF does not have a specific fog rule, but they do have safety rules to employ. If you were a tournament official and you KNEW there might be fog anywhere and I mean anywhere on that lake, (even 20 miles away) is it a safety issue that would compel you to become concerned enough to call a delay? Where is this line to be drawn? I can assure myself at least, the lawsuits in this case will surely draw that line for all of us very clearly. The criminal cases are pretty much cut and dry. He had clear visibility and he became distracted. End of that story. Guilty as charged on that. But for MLF officials its going to be another story. I do believe fog is going to be an anchor placed around each of their necks on this one! I bet a jury would agree too. MLF will pay. And MLF will have to change how they do business in my opinion. The lawyers are more than likely seeking all the forward view video footage of every single boat participating in the tournament. You can bet side by side comparisons of all footage may show fog visible on one or maybe some camera views. If so, MLF is in deeper trouble. This issue is core to the lawsuit(s) You can bet lawyers are looking for plenty of witnesses from all over that lake to testify that yes there was fog on that lake at time of crash. If they can prove this in court, MLF is toast. They will get roasted in court. It is going to be interesting for sure. This is how I see it right now. Back to regular programming... what fog? Its gonna get foggy in court! That fog!

Why do you need a dock? Curious about this. Here in Florida we just pull 'em up on shore, but then again sandy shores are easier on the hulls than some northern rocky shorelines. Some of the guys with new fiberglass boats don't want to scratch up their nice gel coatings tho' but for us tin can boaters sandy shores work just fine. I checked craigslist in your area and you have quite a selection of close by available old aluminum boats very similar to the one you found for quite a bit less money. The primary difference is age of boat and motor. https://maine.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=aluminum boat#search=2~gallery~0 A metal dock, winch and ramp? I'd say don't let any of that stop you or, slow you down! Always some workarounds like you can launch small lightweight boats from a good shoreline fairly easy, but what is the dock necessary for? Save some money on the boat and trailer, and put the rest towards that spot lock you are dreaming of! 😉 Don't let anything slow you down!

I hope you get that taken care of soon Mike! Don't need a grouchy old man in the boat with a toothache! I don't think the stereo and 80's heavy metal is loud enough to cover that up! Ha! I'll text you info about a good local dentist. Hopefully you can get it taken care of fast. Soooo, today I am going to take a brand new set of teeth out fishing in Keystone Heights if weather stays good. Get your old set of teeth all fixed up and let's go! I still gotta find out where your hidden secret spot is now that I know its not in your backyard.

All the time. Especially with the kids. Gotta promote safety first. Here in Florida we have to stay on top of our surroundings. Gators can be lurking anywhere closeby ready to launch an attack. So I have to stay on the kids about always scanning the water. Look for gators. Stay away from shoreline and splashing along the shoreline is bad news in Florida especially as light fades. So I am always on them about safety and picking up trash and not leaving things behind and always take home line you cut off and cut it up into small pieces before throwing it away so birds and other critters don't get tangled up in it at the landfill. Just little details to hammer away at them on as they grow up. But when out on the water myself, I tend to leave others adults alone to their choices. Many of the old men who move into Florida don't take it too well when another guy is getting on to them even if doing it tactfully often does not go over too well, so I have learned to just let others be with their bad choices. Kids are another story. They need some guidance in their directions of growth.

I have never found a satisfactory explanation online that tells me the specific differences between the A, B, and C models. You got yourself a B model. I picked up an A model for $25 last month, and my latest one in the mail now cost me $20 plus $7 in shipping, so a steal of a deal for a beast of a reel. This one is a C model. I am hoping this one comes with both centrifugal and magnetic brakes. The A model I just received only has magnets. I wonder what features your B model comes with? You will find out when you get inside. When I used to watch Rick Clunn fish I recall he had like 2 or 3 rods on deck and all were the same. He did not like to change it up much apparently. Rick Clunn One Rod, One Reel Monday, October 15, 2001 The man with arguably the greatest record ever in the sport of bass fishing uses just one rod and just one reel for 98 percent of his fishing: a Bass Pro Shops Rick Clunn 704 series heavy-action 7-foot rod, and a 6.3:1 Rick Clunn XPS signature reel. Why? Read on. "If you look in my rod box you won't see a different rod and reel than those unless I'm fishing a spinning rod," Clunn says. "The reason is that it's a fallacy that you have to have different rods and reels to be a bass fisherman." --------------------------- I was surprised to see Rick Clunn using the really rare signature reel. The only one with a real flipping switch that resets the reel manually. I had thought this reel was the only one, but apparently Doyo made this same reel for other brands with this same rare feature. ***The flipping switch on this reel is a manual cast reset switch. It is NOT the same old common flipping switch that simply makes the cast thumbar an auto resetting situation. This Rick Clunn signature series reel can be cast and reset by only one hand by way of that button on top. You can pitch a lure, feather it as needed, and with a quick easy movement of the thumb on that switch, the reel can easily and instantly be manually reset to set the hook instantly without using two hands to do it. I thought I had found the only reel that does this, but members of this forum have found that Doyo made other reels similar to this one marketed elsewhere around the same time period as this one around 2000 to 2001 era. This is the first and only image I have ever seen of Rick Clunn actually using this reel. And when Rick Clunn fished with this reel he had a slight advantage other fishermen did not have- the instant reset switch. All other fishermen had to manually reset their reels with a second hand usually turning the handle to reset the reel so they could set the hook. Rick Clunn and this reel was one step ahead of the game back then. A really cool reel to have, and modify it slightly with newer swept handles and metal drag star. This reel also came with a double cut away brass main gear with full sized drag washer on top and bottom side of main drive gear. It also comes with one of the first ball bearing mounted pinion gears, and has both centrifugal and magnetic brakes. Old Rick Clunn was not fooling around with this reel. He made his career on it! And if anyone else is interested in picking up an old Rick Clunn reel, one of the purple right handers just hit ebay with starting bid at only .99 cents. https://www.ebay.com/itm/197746448900 Technically it is and is not a Rick Clunn signature series reel. It is because it is the same as the blue colored signature series reels Bass Pro made for him. And it isn't a Rick Clunn signature series reel because the endorsement contract ended and Bass Pro simply continued making the exact same reels beyond the Rick Clunn contract, and the only change is the color from a navy blue to a Barney purple while keeping the same RCX model numbers intact. Rick Clunn article says: "When Bass Pro Shops approached him about a sponsorship, he asked the company to make him a composite rod with the type of action he liked. "I kept testing the rods, and the one rod I liked is the heavy-action rod. "Anytime you go away from a heavy rod you will lose fish," he reiterates. "Most people want light-tip rods because they think it's better for casting and it wiggles better in the store. Heavier rods are like a cue stick in the store. "But on the water, it will hook and land more fish any other rod." Despite Clunn's conviction that the one rod, one reel method works for him, he says that it might not be right for everyone. "If you're not losing any fish and you're happy with what you're doing, don't change," he says. Try his method "only if you're losing more fish than you think you should be, or if you're not happy with what you're doing. "If that's not a problem, don't change." ------------------------------------------- I won't Rick. This is the one thing I may find some disagreement with you on because for 1, you fished for $100,000.00 paychecks. I fish for fun. I can afford to lose a fish or two. Using heavy rods for me is not fun. I do prefer the MH's most of the time, and even a M occasionally. But rarely will I pull out a H. I did tonight using a frog. But 90% of the time its MH for me. "High-Speed Reels The matter of reel choice is simple: You can slow fast-retrieve-ratio (6.3:1) reels down, but "you can't speed up a slower reel without wearing yourself out," Clunn notes. He also says that durability and castability are key factors in using one reel. "They have to be able to cast those big baits -- making 3-4 casts a minute with a big 3/4-ounce spinnerbait -- without breaking down." "Without breaking down" he says! Thanks for the solid reels! Here it is 25 years later and we are still buying them up and getting good use out of them. I think Rick would get a kick out of that. I would like to ask him one day who came up with that manual reset switch? You or Doyo or Bass Pro?

I knew there was other sinking lines out there. I quoted from the Sunline website and ran with it: https://sunlineamerica.com/products/almight?srsltid=AfmBOoqW8WYqgqhN5qfcstpZFF7ejP89Bu6WlOcAU_AYLFIfVKK47MNO "Almight is currently the only sinking braided line in the US market." And artificial intelligence search also says the same: "AI Overview Yes, Almight fishing line is marketed in the U.S. as the only sinking braided line available, featuring a unique construction with a high specific gravity core for enhanced depth control and is sold through SUNLINE America Co., Ltd.. Key Characteristics Only Sinking Braid: Almight is positioned as the sole sinking braided fishing line on the U.S. market." I wasn't making it up! And if anyone reads the comments on tacklewarehouse website, it sounds exactly the same as this thread- except for the last guy: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Sunline_Almight_Pink_Sinking_PE_Braid/descpage-SABL.html TrashI have bought 3 spools of this stuff one being the 600 yard 16lb and two of the fillers in 13 and I'm here to say it is absolute trash. It is crazy how easy this stuff breaks when tying leaders. I've tried everything to make it not break at he connections. Huge fail. Pickwick Pirate - MS, United StatesAugust 04, 2025 --------------------------- WeakUsed the 18.5 line for mid strolling and had a lot of issues. Had the line break or come undone at the braid fluoro connection knot. Never had these issues before and tie good knots. Breaks like sewing thread would not recommend. G - NC, United StatesJuly 22, 2025 --------------------------- Excellent qualityThese other folks are tying bad knots or not using their drag not sure. I’ve landed several fish over 4+lb in the last few months fishing a lake with a ton of timber and thick grass with this line in 18.5lb and I have drug fish over logs and everything and have had 0 issues to mention. It’s Sunline quality at its best. It sinks very well too almost identical sink rate as fluoro. 10/10 would recommend this line. Big Stan Bassman - KY, United StatesJune 30, 2025

Florida has a law that makes it illegal for there to be any visual screens to the driver that shows any sort of moving pictures like a video broadcast or pre-recorded video. MOTOR VEHICLES Chapter 316 STATE UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL 316.303 Television receivers.— (1) A motor vehicle may not be operated on the highways of this state if the vehicle is actively displaying moving television broadcast or pre-recorded video entertainment content that is visible from the driver’s seat while the vehicle is in motion, unless the vehicle is being operated with the automated driving system engaged." I'm curious if those screens mounted in full view of the driver of the boat can show any type of moving pictures or display any sort of "broadcasted" signal? Like maybe moving maps or GPS or underwater video, or moving sonar video? Anything that might fit into the existing law? My point is, if this law were to be expanded to include boats, it might go a long ways to removing driver distractions from boats? They may also find an "out" in the law: (3) This section does not prohibit the use of an electronic display used in conjunction with a vehicle navigation system; an electronic display used by an operator of an autonomous vehicle, as defined in s. 316.003(3); or an electronic display used by an operator of a vehicle equipped and operating with driver-assistive truck platooning technology, as defined in s. 316.003." Would those large screens in the boat drivers face also be considered as part of the boat's navigational "system"? I guess my whole point to this would be, does those large screens not only block forward vision to some degree, but are they also distracting the driver with moving information that might fit into the land vehicle law? I am wondering if maybe in professional bass fishing the boats should include a navigator separate from driver? If the pros are to "promote" safety in tournaments, it seems to me the first thing they should move away from are all things that would block forward view, and all things that could distract a driver. The boat driver should have just one job. Drive the boat. Nothing else. I have noticed boat drivers while operating at high speeds are using their fingers to poke at screens or maybe screen controls. This is clearly a distraction. The texting while driving laws maybe should apply to boats as well: 316.305 Wireless communications devices; prohibition.— (1) This section may be cited as the “Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law.” (2) It is the intent of the Legislature to: (a) Improve roadway safety for all vehicle operators, vehicle passengers, bicyclists, pedestrians, and other road users. (b) Prevent crashes related to the act of text messaging while driving a motor vehicle. (c) Reduce injuries, deaths, property damage, health care costs, health insurance rates, and automobile insurance rates related to motor vehicle crashes. (d) Authorize law enforcement officers to stop motor vehicles and issue citations to persons who are texting while driving. (3)(a) A person may not operate a motor vehicle while manually typing or entering multiple letters, numbers, symbols, or other characters into a wireless communications device or while sending or reading data on such a device for the purpose of nonvoice interpersonal communication, including, but not limited to, communication methods known as texting, e-mailing, and instant messaging.

I have followed the manufacturing process for braid line for a number of years so this thread is of interest to me since this JDM fishing line is the only sinking braid marketed in the USA. When I began researching it years ago there were only about a dozen PE fiber manufacturers in the entire world with 7 of them in China and a few in Europe and 1 or 2 in USA. Today there are dozens of PE fiber manufacturers. What was originally happening was this dozen factories or so made all the PE fibers for all the world's braid fishing lines. A company or brand X would go to one of these factories and simply purchase the PE fibers which looked sort of like cotton candy. Each brand would simply weave the fibers into a fishing line and change its color and often put a coating on the line like a bee's wax or similar which quickly wore off the line during use. So early on, most braid lines were all sourced from same sources and were all using the same technology of the day. But this is where the change is happening also because now engineers are changing and tweaking the manufacturing process to change the PE fibers from strictly PE fibers to now becoming more like chemical cocktails of unknown additives and changes. And that is where this JDM "sinking" line comes into play. The Japanese apparently were not satisfied with standard PE fiber created braid lines. Their desire to invent a sinking braid line has brought about some interesting changes in manufacturing to reach where we are now at. So I asked AI to tell me what it takes to increase the specific gravity of PE fibers and found this: "To increase the specific gravity of PE (polyethylene) fibers, you can add dense inorganic fillers, such as nanoparticles or mineral powders, during the fiber production process, or process the fibers at high temperatures to increase crystallinity, which in turn increases density and specific gravity. Another approach is to create denser composite materials by using a higher proportion of PE fibers within the matrix, or modifying the fiber's surface to enhance its compatibility and density within the composite. Methods to Increase Specific Gravity Add Inorganic Fillers: Incorporating dense inorganic fillers, such as specific nanoparticles, during the melt spinning process can increase the overall density and, consequently, the specific gravity of the PE fiber. Increase Crystallinity: High-performance polyethylene fibers are often produced by hot drawing processes that significantly increase their degree of crystallinity. Higher crystallinity leads to greater density and thus a higher specific gravity. Optimize Fiber Composition: By using higher molecular weight polyethylene or ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) (gel) in the spinning process, you can produce denser fibers. Increase Fiber Content in a Composite: In fiber-reinforced composites, using a higher volume fraction of PE fibers can increase the overall composite's density, although this doesn't directly change the fiber's specific gravity, it changes the composite's specific gravity. Surface Modification: While surface treatments like ozonation primarily focus on improving bonding with a matrix, some surface modifications might increase the overall mass or density of the fiber. Key Considerations Balance with Mechanical Properties: Many high-performance polyethylene fibers are designed to be lightweight for applications where high strength-to-weight ratio is crucial. Increasing density might compromise these lightweight properties." ------------------------------------------------ "Standard braid fishing line made from PE fibers has a specific gravity of approximately 0.97, which is less than water's specific gravity of 1.0, meaning it is naturally buoyant and tends to float. However, some braided lines incorporate high-density cores or other fibers to increase their specific gravity and make them sink faster, offering better lure contact and reduced line bow in windy conditions." So when I dig into the SunLine Almight braid line I find this: "Almight has a specific gravity that is 50% heavier than traditional braided lines. By reducing line drift and bow in the line Almight provides an angler with better lure contact for enhanced bite detection. Almight is currently the only sinking braided line in the US market. Almight has a specific gravity of 1.48 compared to water at 1.0 and traditional braided lines at 0.97. Almight is constructed with a four plus one fiber design that features four outside PE strands with a high specific gravity core in the center." Confusing language for sure, but clear enough to determine they are modifying the PE fibers themself and not adding in a sinking core. They are redesigning the PE fibers chemically. AI says they can do this with additives, and they can do it by increasing the temperature of the PE fiber processing to "increase crystallinity." If additives are added to PE fibers, does the additive bond well to the polyethelene? If it does, then no problem. If it does not, then a structural problem is now built in that pure PE fibers did not have. There is also the possibility of using a higher molecular weight PE as well, and could be combined along with the higher temperatures used. The increased temperatures crystallizing the PE fibers is troubling because this would tend to make them more prone to breakage and snapping as described in this thread. Crystallizing tends to make one think not only more dense, but also more brittle. And this may be behind what is going on with this line. Just one observer's opinion. But, the science behind PE fibers was solid and sound when it started, but has now changed and morphed into an entire field of modified PE fibers for various applications. And it appears this JBM company may be among the first to jump ship and change away from pure PE fibers to modified fibers. But its a double edged sword for sure because modifying away from the tried and true science of PE fibers manufacturing leads one down the path of compromised structural integrity. AI takes notice of this in its conclusion: "Many high-performance polyethylene fibers are designed to be lightweight for applications where high strength-to-weight ratio is crucial. Increasing density might compromise these lightweight properties." In other words increasing fiber density decreases its strength to weight ratio. The JDM company behind this line is hoping to score a hit with the sinking aspect of their line as long as they can keep it strong enough to actually work as a fishing line without breaking. They are trying to reach a balancing act and this thread shows they are failing. So what the Japanese have done as an entire country is to measure braid line radically different from the USA: "Sunline Almight is a JDM braid and is rated based on the Japanese PE or goh/gou rating system. It goes by diameter and actual breaking strength, unlike braids in the US market. The Sunline Almight 16lb is PE0.8 which has a diameter of 0.148mm/0.0058" and has an actual breaking strength of 16lbs. Power Pro Original 8lb has a diameter of approx 0.185mm/0.0073 which is equivalent to PE1.2 and should have an actual breaking strength of 23lbs. The way braid in the US market is labeled is crazy." Not my comment, but good enough! We should have an international standard. We don't. Its a largely unregulated market where outlandish claims have become the norm. Another issue not brought up but is danced around is that yes .97 braid floats, and yes 1.48 specific gravity line sinks, but is this the whole issue? For me there is a water resistance issue as well. Round monofilament line can cut through water fairly easily, while .97 braid line has a much harder time cutting through the water due to its weave, and the sinking line may very well sink, but since it is a woven braid line it also has the same or similar resistance trying to cut through the water to floating braid. In the future, if this trend is to continue, I would expect to see more changes like rather than going from .97 specific gravity up more than 50% to 1.48 specific gravity, that to keep structural integrity, they may tweak it to say 1.27 specific gravity to still have a slowly sinking line with greater strength, rather than a 1.48 faster rate sinking line with compromised strength and durability. Its an interesting subject to follow. When PE fibers first became available on open market it was a godsend product too good to be true. But now with so many changes, modifications, alterations, and additives, we as consumers can never really know what it is we are buying. This JDM SunLine Almight braid line is NOT the same product as say power pro braid line is. They are marketed to same people in same way for same purposes, but is an entirely different product at the molecular level. And I now think and believe this is what is behind the issues noted in this thread. I should also bring up one more subject that came up in my researching today: "Improper Knots: A knot that is not lubricated before tightening can cut into itself, weakening the line and creating a breaking point." I guess I will be sure to "oil" my knots from now on. (sarcasm) I am not sure if it is sourced in the knot or the line at this point. Maybe both. But if the PE fibers are crystallized for density, and may also now contain additives disrupting the PE fiber's structural integrity, the knots are more like a fold in a piece of paper being a weak spot for breakage. Even in the product description they mention this 4 times: "A sinking braid helps reduce line drift and the bow in your line" and " to sink more quickly in water to reduce the bow in an angler’s line" and "By reducing line drift and bow" and "Sinking braided line that reduces line drift and line bow" Standard PE fiber braid lines soften with use and become more limp over time, meaning more susceptible to line drift and "bow" in the line. By them telling me their line avoids this "bow" is telling me their line is more rigid and possibly more crystallized. They are literally telling me their sinking line WANTS to stay straighter. This goes to the core of their fibers and what tinkering they have done to achieve this. So to answer the OP, I seriously doubt if your sinking line has been damaged by UV light exposure. I would tend to place blame on their manufacturing process and what the brand SunLine is or was trying to accomplish here has exposed that maybe they went too far in trying to achieve a sinking line at the expense of a strong durable line. If other brands are to follow them down this same road, then more tweaking will undoubtedly happen. How much do you wanna bet the next sinking line we see hit the market will show a specific gravity between .97 and 1.48 trying to reach a more acceptable balance? Somewhere in here: https://stw-faser.de/en/raw-materials/polyethylene-fibre/ "Polyethylene is now mostly produced by means of organometallic catalysed polymerisation. If ethylene alone is used in the synthesis, the stronger HDPE (high density polyethylene) is obtained. If butene, hexene or octene are introduced through co-polymerisation, the significantly softer LLDPE (linear-low-density polyethylene) is produced. An older process for producing PE is high-pressure gas-phase polymerisation. Unlike catalysed polymerisation, this does not produce straight chains, but rather branched polymers. Since these are less able to crystallise together, this technique results in the softer LDPE (low-density polyethylene)." Clearly Sunline went in the OTHER direction! And on purpose too! JDM is leading the way to new technology in fishing applications. I appreciate threads like this one.

Not sure how it is in other locations, but here in Florida we used to have an unwritten boater respect courtesy rule to slow down when passing by another sitting boat. Once you pass on by then go back to higher speed. Very few people honor this old courtesy. I still do. I even swing out wider to stay away from them as much as possible. Yet when I sitting in a boat I can't tell you how many people fly past me in fast boats and jet skiis way too close. The jet skiiers chase fast boats just so they can jump over the wake. We need more water law enforcement, but it seems they choose to put the most money on the roads and highways on land and tend to ignore waterways enforcement to a large degree. The primary law enforcement I see on the water are all wildlife and game officials. Every once in a while you will see a sheriff or police boat. Very rare. And now Florida has passed a law making it so police have to actually see a law broken before they can stop you to check you out. So they are making law enforcement tougher on the water. The police are now forced to do less policing and can only react now once an offensive has been observed. The old saying was an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It seems like prevention is going out the window, and now only the cure is legal and funded. Surely there is a better way?

Just to be clear on the charges, the state elevated the manslaughter charges to the reckless level, and it will be compounded by the fact he did not possess a valid operator's license at time of the accident. https://www.cbs42.com/news/boater-in-deadly-smith-lake-crash-indicted/ CULLMAN COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — A professional fisherman was indicted Thursday on multiple counts, including reckless manslaughter, following a boat crash on Smith Lake that killed three people earlier this year. On April 16, Joey Malone Broom, John K. Clark and Jeffrey C. Little were killed when a boat driven by pro angler Flint Davis collided with their boat during a fishing tournament held by Major League Fishing. Two others, Gary Holcombe and Luke Morgan, were also injured in the crash. Officials with Cullman County EMA said the crash happened around 7:07 a.m. that Wednesday in the area of Burr’s Island outside of Miller Bottom. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Davis was not paying attention when he hit another boat at nearly 70 miles an hour. Davis was indicted on three counts of reckless manslaughter, two counts of first-degree assault, reckless operation of a vessel, failure to follow boating rules of the road and boating without a boater safety certification. Davis was arrested Thursday night. He was released Friday morning on $115,000 bond. “The lake was not congested,” said ALEA Marine Patrol Chief Matt Brooks. “Vessel traffic was light, even with the fishing tournament ongoing. Alcohol was not a factor. The weather was not a factor.” Brooks said the main contributing factor to the crash was Davis not paying attention. Davis traveled in a straight line and a consistent speed with an unobstructed forward view for at least a mile before the crash, Brooks said. “Mr. Davis did not possess a valid Georgia boater education card, which is required to obtain before operating a vessel in the public waters in his home state of Georgia, and he did not possess a valid Alabama nonresident vessel operator’s certification or license,” Brooks said. “The Code of Alabama, specifically Title 33, required Mr. Davis to have held one of those at the time of the incident in order to have legally operated a motorized vessel.” Along with the indictments, a grand jury also gave three recommendations, which Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker shared. “Number one, that all fishing tournaments in the state of Alabama require participants to provide proof of boating safety certification, boating licenses and any other license required by law,” Crocker said. “Number two, that all fishing tournaments in the state of Alabama facilitate safety education for participants. Number three, the facilitators of fishing tournaments owe a duty to participants, to nonparticipants who happened to be on the water during fishing tournaments and the general public to promote safety during fishing tournaments.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Penalties for Reckless Manslaughter The penalties for reckless manslaughter can vary widely depending on the jurisdiction and the specific circumstances of the case. However, they typically include a prison sentence, fines, and probation. In some cases, the defendant may also be ordered to pay restitution to the victim's family. Jurisdiction - Typical Sentence U.S. Federal - 10 to 16 years U.K. - 2 to 10 years Australia - Up to 25 years ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Flint Davis could be looking at some jail time out of all of this. 3 counts of reckless manslaughter 2 counts of first degree assault (with injuries) 1 count of reckless boat operation 1 count of failure to follow boating rules of the road 1 count of boating without safety certification So many lives affected by this. Hopefully it never happens again, but what does that third recommendation mean? What sort of safety can tournament officials "promote" in the future I wonder? They make it clear the tournament officials "owe" it to everyone on the water and off the water- "the general public". So I wonder where this is headed? It seems rather vague at the moment. Any word on the condition of the two injured men and extent of their injuries and recovery? This was all I could find: "CULLMAN, Ala. (WBRC) - Two men are recovering after a deadly boat crash on Smith Lake that left three others dead earlier this week. The survivors, Gary Holcomb and Luke Morgan, were seriously injured during a professional fishing tournament on Wednesday, April 16. Attorney Ken Riley, who represents both men, says while their recovery will take time, they remain in good spirits. “I’m pleased to report that although they both had very serious injuries, they are recovering,” Riley said. “It’s going to be a long road, but they and their families are holding onto hope.” Holcomb, a longtime fishing guide who has worked on Smith Lake since 1992, was reportedly sitting still in his boat when it was hit. The impact left him with extensive injuries."

I'm going back for this same deal myself! Grabbing a second one of these- now that one is listed for the right price. Have you rebuilt yours yet? Wonder how it turned out? And Swamp Girl, be glad you have the older tackle that still works! Most of the new stuff will never last as long as what you have now.

Can you post some model numbers of these rods? I found some timeline dates online to dial it in some: "Morgan McCain owned it back in the late 80s early 90s. He sold to Brett Crawford sometime mid 90s to 2000. Then in 2004 or 2005, K2 (Holding company- Shakespeare and several other big outdoor brands) bought it from Brett and drastically cheapened the brand and components over the next 3-4 years." And this one: "Allstar was started by Morgan McCain, Johnnie Schulte, Helmut Kasiskie and Gary Colqourt (spelling?) period. Then came Billy Kistler, Ray Putney and Ray Henserling into Allstar, bought in as partners and that lasted 3 or 4 years. Billy broke off to start Castaway with 3 other partners and that lasted so many years, Trey Kistler came to work for Castaway after he returned home from the Army, learned how to build rods and when his dad left Castaway Trey was soon to follow. Morgan left Allstar who was bought by the Crawfords til they sold to Shakespere, Morgan and "Uncle Robert" started American Rodsmiths, that lasted only so long and so on and so on, partnerships in the rod business have a tendency to not last very long." You rods fall into the Morgan McCain years which are by far the best years for the All Star brand. When Morgan McCain took it over he began buying his rod blanks from Gary Loomis and Don Mook's company called Loomis Composites Inc., or also well known as LCI. Morgan asked Don Mook to come to Houston, Texas to build him a rod blank factory in Houston where he began to make his own rods. This is historically significant because for one Morgan McCain is widely given credit for having created the first technique specific rods, and because for two, what he and Don Mook created was unique and changed rod blank design and manufacturing forever. I don't want to specify what that change is right now BEFORE we find out what rods you have. You could have a combination of both LCI and Morgan McCain rods. You can tell the difference by where it is made. Going from memory, the LCI blanks Morgan McCain purchased from LCI and marketed as All Star rods I think say "Made in USA" on them, while the rod blanks Morgan McCain began making there say "Made In Houston, Tx" on them. In your post above you said your rods say "Made In Houston" which tends to indicate that your collection of rods were made in the factory there that Don Mook built for him. This could mean you have one or more of the particular historic rods I was referring to that changed rod blank history forever. So I hope you will post some models numbers and maybe some photos if you can. Thanks. And as Eric stated you will find some interest here if you should decide to sell any of those rods that are in good condition. I'd be interested in them as well. I collect that brand and this era of rods. I buy both LCI and Morgan McCain rods when I can find the ones I'm after. Looking forward to seeing what you have.

Yes, I would like to read it as well. And would you please post the model number of your Fenwick rod? I also have one and would like to compare model numbers to see if same or not. Thanks! (Columbia Craw posted photos and model number of his Cabela's flipping rod in the "What's Your Flipping Stick?" thread)

Time for another rare rod! This next rod is so rare that not only can I not find another one like it, but I cannot find or locate anywhere on the internet anything about Stiffy Rods other than what I have already written about elsewhere. Stiffy rods began in Texas with a man named Kevin Shaw. When he first started his own business it was making his own rods by hand. The blanks and the completed rods were all made by Kevin Shaw. But the sad part is that he was not able to generate enough business selling fishing rods to stay in business, so he had to change gears and switch over to making another much needed fishing product the push poles. Today his push poles are rated as some of the best made. And they are also made by hand. I came across only one of his "Stiffy" rods in all of my years of being in and around the used tackle business. Just one. And I kept it. And I still enjoy using it to fish with when it should be in a museum somewhere. The Stiffy rod I have is a model MS7. A 7 foot long medium to medium heavy fast action rod. It is real pleasure to use this rod and I used it in the last few days doing some bass fishing on a remote Florida lake. I put a Shimano Stradic 3000FI on it with 14lb braid line. It casts like a dream. And handles bass very well. And the name stiffy fits its character too. It has some great backbone and is a really great rod. I have searched high and low for a second one, or even other Stiffy rods and I just can't find them. They are now that rare because Kevin Shaw and his brother have been involved in making their push poles for the last 30 years so that tells you this rod is more than likely between 30 to 35 years old now, and still easily rivals anything made today. And one thing I have to say is that I surely wish Kevin Shaw would get back into making his great Stiffy fishing rods again. I know he has turned over his business to his brother to run and Kevin may have retired and taking it easier these days, but I can tell you that the fishing rod industry has lost one of the greats almost no one has ever heard of. The name of Kevin Shaw should be right up there with Gary Loomis, Don Mook, Dick Kantner, Kistler, Batson, and Morgan McCain and others who deserve to be in the fishing rod hall of fame if there is ever one created- then Kevin Shaw deserves to be in it! His rods are exceptional judging from this one and only example I have in my collection. And I can tell you this is a prized rod indeed! I hope one day Kevin Shaw will read this comment and maybe think twice about making his rod blanks again. What a shame it is to have lost him from the fishing rod blank designers and builders! Kevin Shaw This rod is now so rare that google and AI basically say it does not exist. And google and AI cannot find any others out there. They do exist! So if you can find one, you know you have something special! Thanks Kevin Shaw!

What are the odds that on the same day two members here actually use the same almost unheard of word in back to back comments? Citori. Pretty rare indeed. I have had a Browning Citori round reel for decades. I call it my frankenstein reel because I have to part out other reels just to find parts to keep this one up and running. So it is frankestein'ed together. I can use gears from other Browning reels like the Aggressor, and Zebco and Quantum reels as well. And now maybe also Bass Pro. Since I think Doyo made it, the tooling is all the same or very close. After reading this thread I pulled it out to compare with the Bass Pro Pro Qualifier round reels and found the Browning Citori is just a little bit larger in diameter. So now I am curious what is the story on this Browning Citori? It is almost a Calcutta knock off as well. I have had Calcuttas but got rid of them and have kept this knock off Citori instead partly because its so rare of a reel to find, and because its just an experiment reel I keep zapping back life using other reels. Is this Citori also made to compete with the Calcuttas or those Abu reels? This old Citori is so smooth to operate. Well broken in. I have gone through about 6 sets of gears for it parted out from other reels. I've never seen another lefty. I have come across same reel with handles on the right only a couple of times. It is a rare reel so I have held onto it. I like to say this is my shiner reel if I ever get around to using shiners. Super smooth and casts really well and built like a tank.

So I was fishing this kind of remote lake in Florida a few days ago when I boated up to this strange looking dock. This lake and others nearby have had water level troubles since the 1970's due to over pumping of ground water lowering the aquifer levels, and lakes' water levels go up and down because of it. In this lake by 20 or more feet it looks like. So this guy who owns this dock must be an engineer. He is the only person I have ever seen in my lifetime or anywhere for that matter, a completely all metal sectional rolling dock. He can simply pull it back when water levels rise or, push it out into the lake as water levels drop. Nearly all other docks on this lake are high and dry right now, and with lower water levels the fish are compacted in more tightly and have to compete more for food, and I think it makes bass fishing easier, and makes the fish more aggressive to bite. Like monkeys in a barrel. We caught a boat total of 11 bass on this day, but I just wanted to share with you the most unusual dock I have ever seen. Classic Florida engineering right here! A rolling dock! I have to wonder if you can call someone up to buy docks like this, or if this landowner here simply made it himself. Either way, a pretty cool solution to changing water levels beyond his control.

BigBox, my son and I both don't want to switch hands when fishing. We both watch videos of fishermen who cast with their right hand, and then switch the rod and reel over to their left hand to fish with it. But I don't try and cast from a palming position. I get my full cast out there and then go back to palming if needed. Switching hands is something I have avoided for decades- more than 30 years. I started out doing it that way with right handed reels, but quickly made the switch to all left handed reels. My son has followed suit. That said, I am about to hand him a saltwater reel, a Daiwa 300, that is right handed just to see if he will use it. I got it for free because it had been used in saltwater and was completely locked up when I received it and was basically going into the trash, but I said let me see if I can save it. I am a softy for old salty dogs no one else would attempt repairs on and tell me I should just throw it away as well. I guess I view them as a challenge that I won't let a reel beat me. No. I gotta whip it into shape and make it useable again if nothing else. This is how she looked when I acquired this reel Trying to disassemble this one required bigger heavier tools than normal. I could not remove the line guide pawl cap. It was glued onto the reel! I had to use one of the largest screwdrivers I had and a lot of force to remove it. Maybe I should have heated it up some first, but I did not know it had been glued on permanently. But I managed to break it loose and take reel fully apart. I had to replace the handle as one of the grip posts was too loose and bent to the point of falling out. I ws not able to straighten it back, so I tossed it, and used an old Bass Pro handle I had laying around that works just fine and now has 4 bearings in it. This images shows the glue still inside the threads and pieces of solid glue all over inside the cap. And now all finished up and shined up some and ready to fish again in saltwater, this time treated with corrosion x to try and prevent further corrosion issues. I replaced a couple of bearings in this one as well and repaired the baitrunning clicker that was not working. But she's back! I am hoping my son will give this one a try, but he may reject the handle on the right side. For a free saltwater baitrunner type of reel hopefully he won't complain. If he does, its just another reel to sell or trade in at some pawn shop for something we do want. I just traded in some reels to a pawn shop and got him a $200 rod he will use, in exchange for a handful of reels neither of us would have used. So it all works out. And last week I dropped by the old rod and reel repair shop I used to work at, and found a new growing deeper box of customer abandoned reels I need to dig through. This box represents maybe a couple of months of abandoned customer reels. By the time I get back down to central Florida to dig through this box again, maybe it will be filled up! I think I will grab those old stradics if the shop does not want them. That old gold Daiwa looks interesting too. I love boxes like this! The shop not so much. But at least they can use them for parts same as I do- or repair a few and use them.

I agree with you 100% but the problem is that fishing has been over commercialized. It is profit driven corporations driving it and controlling it. Everywhere you look it is sell, sell, sell. And I truly believe that is what is behind it all. A pro bass fisherman cannot open his mouth without trying to sell us something. They are paid to push products on us all. Bigger, better, faster boats and all the technology, and every product known to mankind is pushed, pushed, pushed. It overflows into every facet of fishing. Top to bottom. We cannot escape it. I agree we need to get back to fishing, and one day hopefully try and remove the over commercialization of it all. Fishing has become money driven and may be found at the core of this case as well. Maybe a case like this one can compel some much needed change. Then again, maybe not.

Days like today are days I either love or dread. Depends on how it goes, and this time it went well with trying to rebuild a 33 year old Shimano 6500 Baitrunner spinning reel from the 1991-1993 era. But this old reel threw me some curve balls I could not miss. The first thing I did was overhaul the reel top to bottom to see where it stood as is. I found I needed a new rotor bearing as the old one was rusty and super noisy even though it worked fine. My son did not like the noise. So I ordered a replacement for $3.50. I knew from the initial rebuild that I had no rear drag. But I decided to put it off until I received the bearing, and had reason to go back into the reel. When I disassembled the rear baitrunner drag mech this is what I found in there, and photo shows the order the parts were in when removed: So I pulled up the schematic for this reel and this first one shows the correct schematic for this reel. Just a plain old standard 6500 model: The parts found inside of this reel I have did not match the original schematic. I found parts inside from a later 6500B model 2003 era, and I found parts missing like the shim washer under the drag tension spring RD113 was no where to be found. So I then pulled up the 6500B schematic to compare it with the parts I found inside: This is the order the parts should have been in: Hmmmm... my older reel has a newer part that is not supposed to be in there. RD6780. So what was going on? Why wasn't the rear drag working? I found the reason was incorrect drag stacking height was not correct for the threaded adjustment to tighten down on drag washers. I could crank the rear drag knob all the way down tight and had no drag whatsoever. Someone, possibly a reel repair shop had attempted a repair maybe, or someone at home attempted a repair trying to increase the height of the drag stack to get some pressure to screw down on the drag washers. But they missed a key critical detail. And that is RD4631 shim washer under the tension spring was missing! This meant the tension spring was buried down inside of its holder and did not stick out far enough to even be able to put tension on the drag washers. This is how I found it: I added back into this reel a slightly thicker shim washer than stock to account for years of compression of drag stack. This way I could reuse old drag washers without having to replace them. Not only did I add a thicker shim washer, but I also removed the newer part that is not supposed to be in this reel. And now I have more than enough spring sticking out to screw down good tension on the drag washers. And now I have a fully repaired original baitrunner 6500 with plenty of baitrunning rear drag again! I think someone realized they did not have enough ability to screw down this tension spring and they attempted to increase drag stack height by the addition of that newer part and by putting it in the wrong location to cover over an indented cut out in the frame for the drag washer. By adding in this part it increased it the thickness of the part which is not much, but by covering over that cut out area it added some drag stack height by preventing the drag washer from being seated properly in there. But what happened to that washer under the tension spring? I have no idea what it was missing. That was the important part! What was really missing was the tension springs ability to give and take. The way they did it removed all spring tension and when screwed down tight it was a solid screw down like a vise. Adding that extra thick shim washer under this spring lifting it above its holder really did the trick on restoring that rear drag mech. This rear drag threw me 2 curve balls this morning and I knocked both of them out of the park this time- fortunately for my son. He should now get many more years of use out of this reel catching big reds, black drum, snook, and whatever else he hooks into out there. One more detail bugging me, but I won't touch it unless it becomes a problem, but I noticed the pawl tension spring RD3012 looks kind of weak, and not engaging the pawl as hard as I would want it to be, but I will only address this if necessary because that spring is buried down deep under all of the baitrunner clutch mechanism. Its an easy job, just lots of disassembly again and as long as it locks in solid and does not jump it will be fine. Spring RD3012 can be adjusted to increase tension on the pawl if needed one day. I have found in other baitrunners that heavy duty use can bend the pawl. So one day if I got back inside of this reel to work on it I will more than likely install a new pawl and increase spring tension- but only if needed. Now all my son has to do is figure what color braid line he wants on this reel. So far I have ordered bright blue, and bright orange. He likes the colored line for some reason. I'll be curious to see what color he chooses for this old reel now back to working like new again. It may not look like new, but we don't care so long as it works like new. A near $300 reel for less than $40. Just needed a little long overdue TLC.

Yes sir that is exactly what I am trying to do right now. Get my kid some older metal frame baitcast reels for cheap. He's 12 and wants to fish in saltwater, and I want to give him some decent reels he can dunk in the ocean, and its nothing to cry over if he damages or destroys one. The problem I am having is finding lefties. Most of these reels are right handed. Thanks to you putting me onto some brands I had not previously considered, I am now finding some real oddball reels along with some that look all too familiar. I may buy a couple of them just to try them out. But probably not this one... an Abu. This one looks to have that same flipping switch on my Rick Clunn and the reels you mentioned: Here's a strange one just listed on ebay. A Pinnacle YPB10 listed as parts only with starting bid at $2.99. I found one that bulldog might like... she's a beauty, just too bad handle is on the wrong side. This one is probably more like the Pro Qualifier you posted above.

BigBox is this round Pro Qualifier a Doyo? I just rebuilt two of them. I have enjoyed using this very same reel for things like a rat'l trap or a spinner. These are fairly well built and durable and reliable reels. Is there a Doyo equivalent to this little round reel? I just handed my 12 year old son his first baitcast reel and it is also a Doyo Bass Pro 'Pro Qualifier.' I gave him specifically the Pro Qualifier because it has both centrifugal and magnetic braking to hopefully help him learn how to cast with fewer backlashes. He was able to catch 1 fish on the same day he started learning how to cast one of these. Since he is only 12 and still half sized, he wanted to use his 7' rods but I said no, I think you would be better off right now using the old pistol grip 5' rod. It will be far easier for a little tyke to handle and learn on. I showed him the round Pro Qualifiers and he said no way dad. Don't like those. Hopefully this will change in time. But is there a Doyo round reel equivalent to these I am wondering?

Absolutely! I love my stradics. I fished with a stradic 4000FH yesterday. Great reel for the price. Its around 20 years old and works like new and will more than likely still be working long after I leave this world. Who can ask for more out of a reel? As for Loomis rods, those are a specialty of mine. I have followed Gary Loomis for decades. He is my rod blank hero for sure. I have a nice collection of Loomis rods through all of his companies starting with LCI from over 40 years ago. I even collect Loomis blanks he sold to other companies like All Star and Browning and others like Shimano to name a few. I study his history in rod making. As far as your comment "My gut tells me that the rod makers are all working with the same or similar blanks" is not one I am following well. I am not sure what you mean by same or similar blanks? I'd have to say that each rod company wants something new and different to set them and their rods apart from everyone else. So from that perspective I would say they all tend to be different in materials, especially the epoxy binders used, the tapers and rod designs and construction are all over the place and how the fibers are woven and interact with each other. There are lots of differing ideas on how to make rod blanks. Some work better than others and we all tend to notice too. Your next comment shows you notice those differences. Your description is exactly what I believe Gary Loomis would like to hear from people who use his rods. That we notice how much effort he puts into creating rod blanks that are indeed noticeably different- and with backbone and still lightweight. Gary Loomis rods are at the top of my list. Todd Vivian found that out and got kind of angry with me about it. Tough. Gary Loomis rods are made in USA. Todd's rods are not. I collect Loomis rods while Todd's rods I have, but don't use or use as much as Loomis rods. You have good taste in rods and reels from my perspective because it is right in line with my own tastes. I'd say Gary Loomis is one of the greatest rod blank designers and builders of all time. Number 1 in my book. I do have some other favorites that rival Gary's rods. Some you may not have even heard of before like Stiffy rods out of Texas, and Airrus made in California, and Graphite USA and a new one has jumped up my list called SixGill made of Japanese Toray fibers. Some really incredible rods to enjoy for sure! But Gary Loomis is still tops for me.

BigBox that RyobiCa Caspro is still a $100 reel. I have a couple of searches programmed to alert me to any new ones that pop up online. I'll be looking for one. I found an old Quantum with one of those flipping switches that makes the thumbar an automatic return situation. Not keen on that feature but the price of this reel made in Japan is super low below $20. It might be a good one for the kids to have to play around with. Just found out this same reel was made in both Japan and Korea. I have decided to purchase a Japan made version. This one is made in Korea. I assume by Doyo? Not sure who in Japan would have made the Japanese version? Anyone know? Thanks ahead of time for any information. When I get mine in the mail I will probabaly install an all metal drag star and swept handle and improved drag washers and see what it might need as far as bearings go. Looks like a solid metal reel for under $20. Perfect for me to play around with and pretend to give the kids dad's stuff. (They won't know unless they read this comment.) For some reason the kids always want to get into my tackle. I have to keep a close eye on my rods. Reels I could care less about. Those are replaceable. Rods, not so much.

You have discovered a reel secret! That you can get performance almost equal to high end reels in the midline reels. I do have high end products, but I won't pay new retail prices for them. I am strictly, or almost strictly in the used tackle side of things and have been for more than 40 years. Saves a ton of money. High end new retail is a luxury I choose to not enjoy. I was a bench tech on reels and learned this one long ago. Today I avoid all high end reels for exactly the same reason you mention. My stradics have provided excellent performance at a fraction of the cost. And maybe even more reliable with fewer parts and less to go wrong inside. We can do the same in both spinning and baitcast reels. A free spinning spool is a free spinning spool whether in a $100 reel or a $1000 reel. Its all about what one can afford and their why? To each their own though... but I completely agree with you on this one. I do not think they are worth the costs. Never have. Never will.