FloridaFishinFool

Yes that brand you mentioned is off the charts expensive. All they are is a paper company with large warehouse who buys low and sells extremely high. And I mean extremely high markups! They do not even make bearings. The can assemble some bearing parts for custom orders, but as far as I know they are not a manufacturer of anything they sell. Simply a middle man distributor with great PR campaign and highest prices on the planet. The full ceramic bearings I use cost me between $8 to $15 depending on when I buy them and quantity breaks. This same bearing on the 'middle man' website is well over $150 for just one bearing! Outrageously priced markups! For that same one bearing price of $159, I can buy more than a dozen same full ceramic bearings. All a ceramic hyrbid bearing is, is ceramic balls inside of 2 steel races. You do not gain much at all that way. They still need oil because the 2 steel bearing races rust and the oil is only there to prevent rust. The ceramic balls don't need oil in fishing reels because its an almost no load situation. No load. Virtually no friction and no heat really. For me it does not matter who makes the bearing. If it has steel in it, its not going on a spool. So all those other brand names who market hybrids that look cool with pretty colors means nothing really. Does it have steel races? If it does I'd avoid it. Full ceramic or stick with steel is where I am at these days. All that in between playing around with unknown hybrids is useless if they still require oil for rustable steel races. For me it is either all the way or nothing at all. Another consideration for hybrids is they make two kinds of ceramic balls for their bearings. One is full ceramic bearings. These are the good ones. The second type of ceramic ball they are making is what is known as a ceramic coated bearing, or a small steel or aluminum ball with a ceramic coating over top of it. These have been known to disintegrate and crack apart over time inside of heavy industrial equipment and most engineers avoid them for industrial and commercial applications like heavy duty motors and where weight support and high heat is necessary, but in fishing reels are an almost no load situation compared to industrial and will work fine, but are often marketed in fishing reel bearing brands without full disclosure on which hybrid they are selling. A buyer may not be aware of which type they are purchasing in the middle man aftermarket. So its a case of buyer beware for sure, but may not really make a difference in casting reels of almost no load. Both hybrid types still require oil just to keep steel races from rusting. If one were to go to full ceramic bearings, now there are no steel races nor steel balls. Nothing to rust. Nothing "needing" oil. Full ceramics can be run dry, but they whine and some people don't like that. I am one who does not mind the whine because it helps me judge the cast. Shimano even allowed the whine noise into their DC reels for the same reason. But the primary reason one might not see any noticeable casting distance increases with the hybrids is because the bearing weight has not been changed by much. Going full ceramics cuts the bearing weight in half (approximately) allowing spool rotation startup to happen earlier with less lure weight. So while one might not notice a casting distance increase difference, one might notice that they can now use slightly lighter weight lures on the same reel setup. Full ceramics run dry provide the most benefit of any of the ceramic bearings but make the most noise especially when ran dry with no oil. And like bulldog said above, the gain benefits are nominal at best. Results depend on the reel, the user, and type of bearing chosen and how it is used. In older reels where the spool axle touches the inside of a pinion gear, casting distance gain may be neutralized by the friction of spool axle touching the insides of pinion gear. In free spool reels is where the most noticeable gains can be achieved. I choose the full silicon nitride ceramics because they offer the ceramic material of the least amount of weight. And they are probably among the most noisy as well I will admit. But if one can learn to accept the noise, one can use it to help judge casts. On some of my reels I not only replace the spool bearings with full ceramics, but also the pinion bearing as well because it sits directly behind the spool, and when someone is reeling in wet line, that pinion bearing is one of the first to get wet and rust. The pinion gear has to slide in and out through that bearing. And when it starts to rust it can begin to hang up the pinion gear. Going full ceramic all the way across the spool prevents any rust of any kind and keeps reels working longer without maintenance or repairs. In my world, this is the ONLY way to go. Skip all those middle men and fancy brand names and pretty colored bearings. If it has steel still in the bearing whether inside the ceramic balls, or steel races, I avoid it. Full ceramic or stay home! Lots of people buy into that "hybrid" game being played on us all. So the question I have for those who buy hybrids, can you say with 100% certainty that you have 100% full ceramic balls inside of your 2 still steel races? Or, do you have ceramic coated steel balls in there? We can all skip this hybrid "game" being played on us all. Either stay with steel bearings and use oil and run nice and quiet, or go full ceramic run dry and skip the 'unknown' mark-up middle man game they play on us all. One could go full ceramic and use oil to reduce the noise, but it also tends to slow down the benefit gains of full ceramics. So when purchasing full ceramic bearings there are primarily 3 ceramic materials to consider which I have listed in order of materials weight with lightest at the top: 1)Silicon Nitride 2)Boron Nitride 3)Zirconia Oxide The differences of weight are so minor to be considered virtually irrelevant for fishing reel applications. The white full ceramic bearings are zirconia oxide This is the silicon nitride full ceramic bearings with bearing retainer that adds slight weight and friction that can be avoided: And ideally, for fishing reels a "top choice" (of some) is the least amount of weight available in ceramics are the silicon nitrides with no bearing retainer! And as for a tool, anyone can make one at home using a standard paperclip. Straighten it some and bend over a small enough portion of the tip that can still fit through the center 3mm hole to hook and pull out the bearing. If one cannot get the rounded tip under a bearing, either file down or slightly hammer flat the tip, then bend over to form a 90 degree hook for a simple do it yourself at home bearing removal tool. In my opinion hybrids are just about useless in fishing reels because they do not offer much of anything in terms of "gains" over what a full steel bearing can do. And you never know what you are buying because those middle men may or may not inform the buying public of their bearings for sale truth. Buyer beware in the hybrid game! Skip the hybrids! Go full ceramics or stay home with steel is how I see it these days. But to each their own!

I totally agree with this. I would add that if a rod is purchased new and it is not straight, to say it is permanently going to stay that way is not always true. It is only true if there is no forces of change applied to the blank. Rods can be bent by improper storage. If a person leaves a rod leaning against a wall in a bent curve for a long enough period of time and say heat is a factor like in a garage with no air conditioning, then the rods will take on a new shape based on this external force applied for a long period of time. It is not the carbon fibers doing the bending. It is the epoxy binder which is a plastic and can change shape over time with applied force. Another example from inside a house with air conditioner is a buddy of mine who thought it was a good idea to build a rod rack on the ceiling of a room to keep his rods and reels up and out of the way. But, he stored them with weighted lures hanging off the tips. When he pulled those same rods down the next season, the tips were now bent out of shape. The rods took on a new shape based on the weight and time they were left stored horizontally. So in theory if a rod can change shape over time, and it comes with a bend, then in theory if one applied the correct amount of force for the right amount of time could in theory begin to attempt to straighten a rod. I have to agree with motoboss that a right or left bend would bother me, but a slight up or down bend not so much. But what he says about the spine or backbone of a rod is accurate. Gary Loomis hired aerospace engineers to develop the new carbon fiber blanks. And they found that there was one degree on most, not all, but most blanks that is weakest where the rod would naturally want to bend into and this was taken into account by top engineers who developed the process to discover and use spine to our advantage. If you listen to Gary Loomis explain it he is very clear. He wants a rod to load up straight into that weakest degree on the blank and unload straight. If this one degree were not placed precisely where he says and his aerospace engineers say it goes, then the rod will not load straight and will not unload straight. Water flows to weakest resistance. A rod blank when thrown back will also flow into the weakest spot. If it is straight back, then a rod loads and unloads straight as Gary Loomis states in following video. If the spine is not placed straight up, then as the rod swings into the cast backswing, it will not load straight and will begin to skew off to one side or the other because it is seeking its weakest spot to flow into which is no longer in the right location. I want all of the rods in my collection that show such a spine to all be oriented the same. So when I go from one rod to another, they will behave similarly. If a person does not follow this, then their rod collection will have spines all over the place and going from one rod to the next will not perform similarly. One rod might skew to the left. Another rod skews to the right in backswing. And the person use such a collection of rods will have to use muscles to try and adjust to each rod. If all are oriented the same way, then less muscle is required and less work involved for fishing. I truly believe what Gary Loomis shares here. This is correct rod science until there is a more compelling physical argument against it. Spining a rod is still standard in rod manufacturing at companies who care. As stated, most rods DO NOT adhere to spine standards and are all over the place. Very few do it, and even fewer do it right. Some companies who try to spine rods place it 180 degrees in wrong location. When I go into a rod shop spine is one of the first things I look for in a brand. If it is spined correctly I know I am dealing with a rod company who cares. If I find spines all over the place it goes back in the rack and skipped and passed over. This important factor in rods has been sidelined over the years and overwritten with unscientific alternatives that do not hold water in my opinion. Gary Loomis gets it right! What Gary Loomis says here is gospel truth. I strictly adhere to this for all of my rods that show a spine or backbone. Do you want a rod collection all over the place? Or, spine aligned to each other to behave similarly? Its a choice based in physical science. This is established science for decades. And there is nothing out there today that changes or overwrites this science. Listen closely and carefully to Gary Loomis do his best to explain it. He gets it right in my opinion. Even Dr. Matthew Cashion posts videos saying precisely the same as what is said here:

Bass Pro service center has been very generous over the years. I ordered parts and an extra spool for a Johnny Morris reel and when I opened the package I saw 4 spare spools! And I ordered 3 drag washers and received 6. So if you are really nice to them, they return it. I am also very pleased with Bass Pro service center. https://www.basspro.com/b/rod-and-reel-repair "If you would like to order parts directly from us, you can call us at (417) 873-5274 Mon.-Fri. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m." I never ordered parts online. Always seems best to give them a call. They go out of their way to be helpful.

Well a not supposed to do happened yesterday when I took my 12 year son bass fishing. He is just getting back into fishing. We did it when he was 3 and 4 with cane pole and bobbers and zebco 33 type of reels. So lately I have been getting him saltwater tackle and not focusing on bass fishing tackle. And so yesterday we took the boat to an awesome clean clear Florida lake with some heavy cover. Both of his rods were mediums with only 10 pound braid line. I tried to keep him fishing around the edges and clear water. The schoolies were busting up all around us and he wanted to try and chase them down but realized real fast the trolling motor was not as fast as the bass. So on the way back to boat ramp as it got darker, he started casting into the heavy cover. Medium rod and 10lb braid. Sure enough, a bass grabbed his lure and dove down into it. No way to get that fish out. And no way for me to reach that location because the cover piled up in front of trolling motor until I came to a halt still 10 feet from where his line went down into it. So he, lost that fish. Its gone from a 1 pounder to a 3 pounder to a 5 pounder before we ever hit the boat ramp. He was yelling it to a man fishing on dock nearby. He said how big was it? My son hollered "5 pounds!" And I grinned at him thinking you know it could be pure BS! So he blamed me. But dad you said it could have been 5 pounds. Um yeah maybe so, but we will never know now will we? So that was our not supposed to do. Using 10 pound braid in thick heavy cover and a rod just not up to the task. Worked great on schoolies. Time to find him some heavier bass tackle. I knew when he started casting into that heavy cover he was not prepared for it, but I did not say a word about it or discourage him in any way. Cast away kid. And then bam! We both find out the hard way. I knew it. But on another note, it was really cool for him to ask to start learning how to use a baitcast reel today. So on his first day learning and several backlashes later, he is getting the adjustments down and managed to catch his first fish on a baitcast reel all in the same day. Doing better than I did at his age. Plus he has the advantage of having better rods and reels than I ever did at his age too.

You guys are finding some cool reels! I am making a list and will be checking some of them out and may even purchase some of these. I gotta compare the innerds! I will let the innerds show how these reels stack up compared to each other. Bells and whistles will count on these reels, as well as function of that flipping switch. Out of curiosity, I would like to ask the reel tinkerers around here about one particular subject that really bugs the heck out of me and causes me to take a lot of time, trial and error to solve. 99% of the time every reel right out of the "new" box whether it be a spinning reel or baitcast reel, they always have some side to side play in the handles. They do try and shim most of it out at tail end of manufacturing as reels are assembled each person has boxes of shim washers they use to adjust each reel before putting it inside their new box for shipping and sales. But what I want to know is if any of you go to the extreme to shim out any side to side play even more than the factory does? Over the years of working on reels this is something I check on every reel I finish up. And if it is one of my personal use reels, if I find any side to side play of pulling out on the handles and pushing them back in to visually check and see just how much side to side play there is in each reel. If I find any side to side play I shim it until there is none. Gone. It bugs me to use reels with noticeable side to side movement in the handles, and I was wondering if any of you also are bothered by it and go the extra mile to eliminate it on your reels?

Geez, as soon as Christmas day is over its coming down. Late to put it up always after Thanksgiving, but super fast in putting it all away. (And I live in the South)

Last week my son and I were fishing in a lake, and as we stood on shore a huge orange goldfish swam by in water less than 18 inches deep so we could see it clearly. Someone must have put it in there since they are not naturally occurring. Looked between 5 to 7 pounds in size.

I have noticed lots of people and even the pro's tend to pick a rod and a reel and line size and then once they combo is put together it almost never changes. Dedicated rods and reels to specific purposes without change over time. I've seen photos posted around here of the same where some people store their completed combos in racks without change from season to season. My approach to fishing rods and reels tends to following in line with some of that dedicated specific use category, but I've gotten myself into a different scenario over the 40 plus years of rod and reel collecting I've gotten into. I keep a few combos ready to go, but most of the rods and reels are kept stored separately because I've collected up around 100 rods and 40 reels on average. And I really enjoy using vintage fishing gear, especially vintage rods. And so the collection has become sort of a rod buffet to me. Never knowing which way it is going to go as far as what reel on which rod. Sometimes its a great combo and sometimes not so much. A lifetime of trial and error, but the enjoyment comes from using so many different rods. So 90% of my rods and reels are stored separately just waiting for use one day on a vintage "flavor" of rod. My current experimental combo is a 1992 Zebco/Quantum Hypercast HC3 reel I recently rebuilt has been paired with a one of a kind "Stiffy" rod made in Texas I plan on posting on the rare rods thread. Its a good match. This way I get to try a 33 year old reel on a 25 year old rod. These two may never get paired up the same way twice. Its kind of nice being able to utilize rods and reels this way. Creating unchanging dedicated combos just does not begin to do justice to a collection of 100 vintage rods. I have to keep changing things up just to really get the benefits from such a diverse collection. This pertains more to the rods than to the reels. I do keep maybe a half dozen dedicated combos at the ready, but I always have to leave room for the variables as well. That's about as balanced as I can get it, while also including constantly experimenting for the vintage enjoyment part I can't ignore.

BigBox it looks like you just may have found other reels with this same feature. I really appreciate you posting those reel. Not one, but possibly two of them I will be taking a closer look when I get back into town. I'm looking forward to researching those reels. Looks like I may to buy one or more of them. It would be great to have at least one of each of all 3 of them so I can compare the internals. The Rick Clunn version has a hefty double drag washer setup perfect for F&P. I have never seen another reel with a double cut away main gear featuring a drag washer up top and on the bottom side. It is unique for sure. And the Rick Clunn reel I posted has one of the first or an early ball bearing mounted pinion gear. And comes with that double braking that includes the Daiwa like magnetic brakes. So I am real curious what is to be found inside the two reels you have revealed here. They do appear to share some of the same parts externally like handles look similar. But you are right these can be dressed up some which is what I do to my reels. I simply buy other cheap Bass Pro reels with the parts I am looking for. Swap the parts out and give the Bass Pro reels to my kid. He don't care. He's only 12 and just glad to have stuff that works. This is what a thread like this one was created for! Discovery of new reels and what's inside of them and how it can benefit all of us. I am looking forward to digging into the reels you mentioned so thanks!

Guess who serviced those Turkey Lake boats? I used to with my Minn Kota boss Greg. As I recall it was the city of Orlando contracting servicing through the shop I used to work for. City of Orlando would buy all the batteries and trolling motors and have them waiting on us inside that small hut beside the dock. I can't tell you how many times I drove down there to Bill Frederick Park to help the old man service those boats replacing batts and trolling motors and wiring because he had knee and hip surgeries getting down inside those boats was a problem to him so he took the younger guy- me- to do some of that for him. We had to repair them while they were sitting in the water tied up to the dock. Glad to hear a member here is getting some use out of them. In the small hut next to dock there they also provide rods and reels and some limited tackle if needed too. Just have to ask about it. Turkey Lake is a clean lake with big bass no doubt about it. And since no boat ramp on that lake it is almost never fished hard. A nice in town clean clear lake with good bass population. About the only fishing pressure it gets is from those rental boats and that is not very much for a lake that size. Every time I was there I saw no one else on the lake. Just us. We would always have to test the boats you know! Bring rods and reels and test the boats out. Tough job but someone's gotta do it. I'm on my way to Orlando now to see old Greg and I'll ask him if the shop is still servicing those boats. Last time I was at the park they were restoring the swimming pool. I bet its all finished up now. This lake is right next to or near Universal Studios. Due west of there is the Butler chain of lakes. More clear clean lakes filled with big bass. I'm taking my rods and reels with me today. Won't be at Turkey Lake though. Heading to north Orlando area around Winter Park and Winter Park chain of lakes this time. I hope you had no troubles with the boats? We make sure they are working before leaving, but some renters have made a mess out of some of them.

An amazing comment BigBox99! I really appreciate comments like yours! And you are the first, one and only to ask about that one of a kind reel. If it was sold under other brands I have never seen it. These are truly rare reels and very good quality too. Since you asked, I will share what it is with you. It is a Bass Pro Rick Clunn signature reel. From the very early days of his contract with Bass Pro. It is the only reel of its kind. Most other reels with so called flipping switches merely create a function that is nothing more than an auto resetting thumb bar. But with that type of reel a human cannot hold down the cast thumb bar to pitch while at the same time also trying to feather the spool during the pitch. With this Rick Clunn signature reel, it is the only reel I have ever found with a flipping switch that resets the reel manually. So with this reel I can pitch as needed, and hit that switch with my thumb and reset the reel all with one hand instantly. So a person could set the hook on a fish with one hand if needed. The second hand is not needed to move over to reset the reel with the handle for those who do not like the auto-resetting reels. These reels are extremely rare and hard to find. I now own 3 lefties. I love these reels for flipping and pitching. Some may say they are heavy because of all the solid metal, but to me it is just about the perfect reel. And I do believe it is a Doyo made reel. I could be wrong, but that is usually who made most Bass Pro reels in Korea. Not sure who to thank for this reel, but at the top of the list are Rick Clunn and Johnny Morris. I wish reel companies today would take notice and bring this feature back. I am sure some users of the old Curado E series reels would greatly appreciate this reel's flipping switch feature. I bet even old Denny Brauer would approve. Any idea when these were made? Anyone know the years of the Rick Clunn line? I read it ended in 2009, but not sure when it began. I think you are on target with late 90's or early 2000's Great comment BigBox! And if you can find and identify the same reels marketed under other brands please share here! Thanks!

Thanks for the story! Life was never meant to be easy. If it were, then what is the point of living? I believe life is meant to be a struggle. And it is the struggle of life that gives life its meaning. And its all about perspective. We can choose to get angry and upset when things don't go our way, or we can laugh it off at the absurdity of it all sometimes. Its a matter of is the glass full or half empty? All depends on how you look at it, and you make fun of it in a good way. The right perspective! I just wish you did not have to swim after the kayak. That can be kind of dangerous but glad you made it OK. Maybe next time everything will go your way! And the fish might even cooperate.

I asked AI about reel speeds for frogging: "For high-speed frogging reels, look for a baitcasting reel with a gear ratio of 7.5:1 or 8.0:1 or faster (like 9.0:1 or 10.0:1), a strong drag system, and a large line capacity to handle heavy braided line. The high speed allows for quick line recovery to extract bass from heavy cover and weeds, while the power and line capacity are crucial for controlling and landing these fish." I don't buy into that idea that you have to have a high speed reel for frogging. I can do that technique on any speed really. Its only used for line take up anyway. I fight the fish with the rod and I can take up line at any speed really. 5 to 8 is primarily where I am at and can do fine with a 6 if need be. Its all about the rod for me. That said, I am guilty of having purchased the only SHLA Rick Clunn reel on ebay right now. Those other two lefties are HLA speed reels. But its not mandatory in my opinion to focus solely on the highest speed reels for that technique.

The blue Rick Clunn signature series reels ended in 2009. Bass Pro kept on making this reel after ending the Rick Clunn series. Bass Pro made the exact same reel with same RCX model number and the only difference was the purple color. But technically it is not a Rick Clunn signature series reel, but kind of still is a Rick Clunn reel. An old timer here on the forum no longer around Goose52 posted it here back in 2011: And right now there are still two blue lefties on ebay. I bought the third one on the way to me in the mail now for $25. This reel and other Bass Pro reels like it actually has a weak plastic part inside that could fail. This is the reel I had that same part, 3 of them, custom made at a machine shop. Wish I still had those parts. I may have to do it again. Its the plastic piece that slides through the frame and into the thumb bar. Over years of use it tends to bend and I've seen them break. So keep it lubricated to reduce pressure on that one part and these will last for years. This one and one more are waiting on you! https://www.ebay.com/itm/336145029836

Hmmm... I'd say design flaw starting with flexible plastic frames that do not hold parts in tight tolerances within the reels. A buddy of mine purchased a brand new Lew's for $110, and it never did work right, right out of the box. It cast OK but when he tried to reset the reel, gears were jumping teeth due to more than likely plastic flexing allowing tolerances to change on demand within the reel itself, and it made a clicking sound. I put him the car and we drove that reel back down to the store where he got a full refund for it, and I turned around and handed him two Bass Pro reels I had laying around the house unused because I primarily use Shimano, so I gave him a Johnny Morris and a Rick Clunn reel, both with solid metal frames and he still uses them to this day. Metal frames on baitcast reels may be heavier, but they make a difference in the quality of function and operation in my opinion and more importantly for durability and reliability over long years of use. Plastic reels simply do not hold up- even right out of the starting gate out of their brand new boxes. When someone is choosing a heavy duty use reel as you mentioned, metal frames do matter in my opinion. So that $30 reel may not be fixable if it is a plastic materials problem. My buddy's $110 Lew's with plastic frame making that noise it made right out of the box was not something I would even attempt to repair. Nope. Return it. Get something worthwhile. And he did. I attribute part of this problem with the market demanding reels and rods that weigh less and less. Anglers demanded it, and they got it, and now we are not happy with a lot of those results of now having cheap plastic reels and reels with increasing quantity of plastic parts inside of them that simply do not hold up. Looks like a case of we got what we asked for, and now living to regret it. So when you see people putting more and more plastic parts inside of reels, is it a good thing to shave ounces off of reels? Reliability and durability says no. I am to the point of already wanting to turn this market around and go back in the other direction and demand heavier reels with better quality metals used inside of them. We are a long ways from that turning point. We are still on the downhill side sliding into more and more plastic. Not sure if the fishing reels will ever recover from what we anglers have demanded of all the various brands. My grandfather and father got to live through time periods of solid metal reels. Myself and my children are now living in the age of cheap low quality reels WITH built in obsolescence which was not there in my grandfather's and father's time period. They had heavier quality reels of solid metal. It is myself and my children who have to navigate today's reels designed to fail on purpose using inferior materials they know will not hold up over decades like dad's reels did. They do this to us on purpose because corporate profits want more income. And if reels lasted for decades they don't get return sales. I don't know about you, but if a brand did this to me there would be no brand loyalty to them from me. Even Shimano has crossed that line with me. One of the greats and I saw Shimano stradic reels coming across my workbench in less than 2 years from purchase when new. 2 years. Meanwhile at my house was 20 year old plus stradics still working flawlessly for decades. I used one last night and was grateful to have it. An older stradic 4000FH. I like how BigBox99 put it in his comment above.... all you gotta do is change your perspective on this subject when he said "if you view the reel as disposable." There! Problem solved.

Glad to hear it. Its a good way to get decent durable reels. To get parts you gotta call them. I am not sure if they do it online, but if you call them you can buy your parts directly from Bass Pro repair shop. https://www.basspro.com/b/rod-and-reel-repair (417) 873-5274 Mon.-Fri. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. But if you need someone to fix your reels this forum has the benefit of Delaware Valley Tackle. https://www.delawarevalleytackle.com/ Let us know which way you go.

I wish I could pull a GLoomis from bottom of a lake! How come its always the cheap stuff?

I didn't think he was talkin' about the top of the line JM or RC reels. I thought he was talking about brand new $50 price point reels would put the OP into some really cheap junk plastic reels if he went that route. So I figured he was directly addressing the OP on that count. Those Bass Pro reels I don't consider as "cheap" reels so I figure that one was aimed past my comment. I was just trying to keep the OP in decent reels for under $50. Be interesting to see what he gets. Hope it does not have plastic frame. Everything else might be plastic though. Kind of ironic I was working on a Daiwa 300 "millionaire classic" yesterday. Mostly metal and its a cheap reel! Pure junk to me. One of the spool bearings is supported on non-handle side in a flimsy cheap plastic piece, and this is a saltwater reel. One would think a spool should be supported by the metal frame in a reel like that one, but Daiwa took an easy way out to cheapo. Gonna give it to my kid to beat up in saltwater. Sucks its a right hander. He may not want it. Daiwa makes cheap reels too- like everyone else.

For $50 you might get a better reel at auction off ebay. There are tons of new and used reels to be found. Many starting a one cent. I'm buying $200 reels there for less than $50. Way less. More like $15 to $20 sometimes. So you make your $50 go further than a $50 reel with some searching. Your local pawn shops quite often have good quality reels cheap and you might get a decent rod in the deal as well. Always ask the people at the pawn shop if they have any reels in a display case somewhere you may miss, or if they have any new tackle coming out of the back onto sales floor. No telling what you can find if you look. This Bass Pro Rick Clunn signature series reel is a workhorse reel. Very reliable. Solid metal frame. Usually has both centrifugal brakes and magnetic. Sometimes various models have triple drag washers too. Rebuild one of these reels and they will last for years and years reliably. This one is only $24 dollars. One of my fishing buddies uses one of these for frogging. And I just purchased one myself-again- for my 12 year old son because of how reliable these are. These Doyo made reels are now 20+ years old and some today would complain they are too heavy because of the quality of metal in them, but for heavy duty workhorse reels for $25 and if a little bit of scuffs and scratches aren't an issue, maybe older quality reels are a better bet for workhorse reliability and durability rather than the brand new $50 plastic junk reels we see today for that price point. You won't get much for $50 today if you seek a new reel. But you can stretch that $50 back in time to when they did make decent quality reels in the used markets. My first rule of baitcast reels is it must have a solid metal frame. NO plastic reels! Or carbon/epoxy plastic frames! A lot of people don't realize these Rick Clun signature reels are almost identical to the top of the line Johnny Morris signature line. When working on these reels if parts were laid out side by side, both share many of the same parts and are basically the same reels. Johnny just likes to put all the bells and whistles into his line and not Rick's. For example, if both lines have triple drag washers, Johnny Morris would put carbon fiber in his line and give Rick's line something cheaper. But the Johnny Morris drag washers will fit right into the Rick Clunn reel. Gears and other parts like pinion yokes, etc. are all the same. Price a Johnny Morris reel of this same vintage and you can expect to pay $100 to $200 with some over $400, while these Rick Clunn reels are often overlooked and are virtually the same reel inside just different color is all. Top of the line Bass Pro quality back in the day. https://www.ebay.com/itm/197697988447 Here's another one. Bidding is at $8. https://www.ebay.com/itm/127371855160 I found a Johnny Morris with box, one of his gold plated reels for $50. Both the Rick Clunn above and this Johnny Morris reel are made by Doyo in South Korea. https://www.ebay.com/itm/357600502261 Here is a newer super high speed Johnny Morris Carbonlite reel. Beat up as heck, but rebuild this reel and its another workhorse reel that lasts for years. This one is an 8.3:1 speed. I love rebuilding reels like this to back to like new working condition, and with the scars of life as a badge of honor. I don't mind beat up looking reels. But they have to be rebuilt to like new and work perfect for me. Looks don't matter to me on an old reel. Some want display quality, but not me. This is how you can stretch that $50 into reels that retail closer to $200 when new. A little paint would help this one, but I'd leave it and just rebuild it as is and use the heck out of it. Reels you don't have to worry about. And BTW, these Rick Clunn reels and Johnny Morris reels are at the top of the line in Bass Pro. The Qualifier and others are midline reels and don't have the extras these reels do. Some of the lesser Bass Pro reels have plastic frames, only magnetic braking, plastic drag star, single drag washer and fewer bearings. But they work too. My 12 year old son now has 2 Rick Clunn reels, and one of my fishing Buddies uses 5 Rick Clunn reels and one Johnny Morris. I rebuilt all of them, and all of them are solid workhorses. The Rick Clunn is his favorite frogging reel too. This next one is $55 buy now and you might haggle and get it cheaper. No doubt it needs to be rebuilt, but if you bought one like this one looking like new this same reel is $150 plus with some going to over $400. I can't imagine why. https://www.ebay.com/itm/388844478613

Big Hands is right on target with this. Sometimes reels come with as many as 3 shim washers of varying thicknesses just so you can play around with it to get it right. Sometimes all 3 are on the reel, or 1 on the reel and spares in the box. Line lay should be even all the way across as you mentioned, but if it stacks to the front, the spool needs to move forward, so add a shim one a time until you get even line lay. If line stacks to the back or rear of the reel, it needs to go back even further so remove shims one at a time and take a look at their thicknesses and start with thinnest. If not enough take a thicker shim off and put the thin one back one. Check line lay. You can play around with adjusting them to get it right. As for line spooling outside the normal line lay channel, I can't explain that one, but BullDog has one... Let us know what you find out. And BullDog, he did say the line lays "fairly even" so who knows, maybe it is a line pickup issue as you mentioned below. He also said it was a $56 reel.

Well a couple of reasons. For one is how close my casting arm is to the water surface, and if I am using a baitcast reel, I am a side arm caster. I don't cast well overhead. And the side arm casting means rod tips dipping in the water in a kayak. Longer rods means more of that. I think for ease of casting shorter is better for me. Spinning I can cast fine overhead and might be able to use a longer rod.

Very true. I see people launch these by hand. I have not personally witnessed anyone ever backing a yak down into the water. So your suggestion is very true. One more thing to mention to the OP here is trailer balance. Have you ever witnessed a tow vehicle swaying back and forth as it drives down the highway pulling a boat? That happens because their trailer is not balanced well and too much forward weight on the ball joint is causing all that swaying which can be dangerous. Your trailer and yak don't weigh all that much and may not be an issue, but when you get finished with it, you may want to check your trailer setup balance. Don't quote me, but for your sized trailer setup and mine, I think the standard weight is between 5% to 7% overall weight of trailer on ball joint. Moving suspension and axle forwards or back on the frame is how that is adjusted. But as I said yours is almost nothing in weight and may not even be an issue. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Forgot to mention, but another idea is to lower the trailer frame on the suspension. I can't really tell from your images, but is the axle on top of leaf springs or below? If below you can possibly move the axle to above the leaf springs and lower the overall height down slightly.

Why couldn't the rod box that I see up top be moved to under the Kayak and eliminate all that rack above all together? It looks like the Kayak is already lifted up off the trailer frame. Making it high enough to put the rod box under the kayak might be another way to go? I see plenty of room there under the kayak. What I see is bulkier and raised to above tow vehicle catching wind as noted. If you were to eliminate all of that upper framing and construct space under the kayak it would become a condensed package and stay low enough behind the tow vehicle and be more aerodynamic than it is now. If you were to construct a deck on the trailer frame itself like a plywood or PVC expanded foam deck extended forward, and a raised deck above it for the kayak, then you could have a sealed up larger storage space below the kayak, and lockable as well, and the kayak would still be down low enough behind the tow vehicle to not present extra wind drag. The kayak appears by eye now to be what 8" up off the trailer frame? Make it say 15" and have a storage space under the kayak for rod box and other gear. If you were to do something like this, it is possible you could use the current framing I see there to do it. Just cut it down and do some rearranging of it. I use Alro metals to source materials and start in the scrap bins for lowest priced pieces before going to new stock which is much higher priced. Any local metal distributor should have what you need. Just flip that trailer idea upside down! The kayak would not be much higher than it is now judging from thickness of rod box.

Awesome! Thanks! Looks like I may be going back for that box after all. I can buy the whole box for what just one of these lures will cost me off ebay. I knew you guys would know. I greatly appreciate it. Thanks!