offsidewing

St Croix LE 6'10" MLXF paired with a Shimano Vanquish 2500HGS and 6lb Tatsu. 5 lb smallies feel like a swordfish!

I'm waiting for a mod to chime in and say they've sold all their Dobyns and Loomis rods for Kast Kings...

Thanks everyone for the input!

I've fished braid on baitcasters for a while. Was thinking of using straight 20lb Maxcuatro on a St Croix 68MXF spinning rod. Is 20lb braid too much for a 6'8" MXF rod? Going to use it for smallie beavers and wacky rigging 4 inch senkos.

Magic potion: get a 1/8th oz bell weight. After you hook the head/nose of the fluke, slip the bell weight onto the hook. Then pierce the body of the fluke as normal. The bell weight will hang on the hook below the belly of the fluke. Change the weight of the bell to change fall rate and/or depth of retrieve.

Sweet looking combo, matches the boat! $40 worth of fluoro on a $60 reel tho...

MGL spools are not made of magnesium. Also, there is a saltwater version of the new chronarch. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-SHIMNOREEL.html?from=basres

I prefer the JDM Metanium MGL. I sold my Shimano DC reels in favor of them. The new Chronarch MGL is no slouch. The Aldebaran will not feel as "robust" as the other reels you mentioned. I'd also like to add that the Curado 70 reels are a really understated reel. Not as "smooth" as the Metanium, but a solid reel and great performer for a 6.5 oz bass reel.

Own a Supreme XT and current model Stradic Ci4+. I prefer the shimano. If I could only spend $100 there is nothing wrong with the Supreme XT. If I could afford the Stradic I'd get it and not feel bad at all.

Its ebay. The place where you can list a Kastking Stealth for $600.

My Steez SV TW 1012 came in a black box. JDM reel.

Lure size? Elephants eat peanuts.

I like to fish the northern end of Long Lake. Heading out there again next week. Drop shot, tube jigs, and the Ned Rig all work great this time of year. This time of year you've got to fish the deep side of depth transitions spots. Fish parts of the lake where the water goes from 10 to 20/30 feet. Smallies usually aren't picky eaters this time of year, just a little hard to find. Also, structure in deep water will hold some big ones. A couple summers back I even whacked a 7lb Largemouth drop shotting a rock line in 15' of water.

You turn all your brakes off?

I own both, prefer the Met MGL over the Alde 50 for jigs in that range. Keep in mind the Alde 50 is a magnesium alloy frame and Ci4+ side plates. It is a solid reel, but it will feel plasticky.

The reel seat is fabulous on the casting rods

I don't like the exposed threads on the Elite Casting rods. Love the rods, tolerate the casting reel seats. When you palm the reel, your fingers are often in contact with the exposed threads. The reel seats on the new LTB rods seem to solve that problem. Avid X rods have no exposed threads.

Looks like the seats from the Legend Elite. Great on the spinning rods. Looks like the changed the seat on the casting rods from the elite so your fingers aren`t constantly rubbing exposed threads.

If t will be a dedicated reel, the Curado 70s are great for pitching n flipping. If you would like some versatility, look into a Daiwa SV103. There are so many spool options for it that you can have a reel that can flip, pitch, skip, finesse, and then some all purpose stuff.

The Chronarch fo sho. Another option is to go to Japan Lure Shop and order the JDM Shimano Metanium MGL. Shipped airmail to your door for about $310. No customs issues or anything like that with reels. Its a 70 sized spool so you'll "only get" about 300 feet of 12lb fluoro on it.

I use fluro on everything and have never used line conditioner. When I was learning to cast a baitcaster, I used mono for the first few thousands casts. Is the backlash at the beginning or end of the cast? A trick I've learned on both spinning and casting gear when bass fishing with fluro is to only spool 90 to 95 percent of the spools capacity with line.

Try straight braid. If you think you notice a decrease in bites, add a leader.

Has anyone tried or does anyone know if the brass micro module gears of the new Chronarch MGL fit and work in the metanium MGL?

I am a St Croix guy and all my back ups are Cabelas Tourney ZX or Arachnid. Wait for them to go on sale and pick a couple.