reason162

If you're going to get Costa, get the 580G lens, and if you're only going to get 1 pair, I'd get the 580G in blue mirror. It doesn't darken nearly as much as my Maui Pure lenses for the same light transmission. I find the Green mirrors to be just a shade inadequate in bright, full sun, while the Blue mirrors are perfect and they're just fine in lower light conditions.

400G/P is, in my mind, just a good pair of polarized lenses, comparable to Oakleys. 580G is truly special, the contrast and clarity is remarkable. I would get the 580G for sure. Ebay has good deals.

Hawgtech took care of me:

Well, I got the Decoy swivel hooks in the mail today, and they are slightly beefier gauge than the VMC spinshots. Are you referring to the hooks being relatively thin-wired? Any saltwater dropshotting advice is appreciated. The fish I'm targeting are Fluke, aka Summer Flounder in the northeast. Fluke average under 3 lbs, anything over 5lb is a fish of the day and anything over 10 a fish of a lifetime. With the invention of Gulp and braided lines...the tackle we're using are almost identical to the freshwater bass anglers': lead head jigs and bucktails with gulp trailers. Until late in the season they're usually found betwee 12 - 40 ft. Of course if a bluefish finds my dropshot it's bye-bye rig no matter what kind of hook I'm using. Here's a 7+ that took a 7" gulp jerk shad on a jig:

Just ordered a pack of Decoy's swivel dropshot hooks, hoping they're beefier than the VMC spinshots. Anyone have experience with the Decoy hooks on TW? Also, dropshot sinkers: I'll be doing a lot of casting from a boat in saltwater and hopping/dragging it back, as well as dragging behind the boat on a drift. Wouldn't a sinker with some kind of keel work better to thwart line twist? Any suggestions on quality 3/4-1 oz dropshot sinkers?

Thank you. Friend told me how in Korea all they use for Olive Flounder (very close cousin to "fluke" on the east coast and california halibut on the west) are DS rigs. They're fishing 60-80 ft in the ocean, with 2-5 oz sinkers.

I'll be trying out some saltwater dropshotting this season, and I'm wondering if weight really matters. One of the advantages of a DS rig, imo, is that you can present a finesse bait regardless of how heavy your weight is. You could tie a dumbbell to the end of your line and that 4" shad is going to twitch just the same. Am I wrong in my assumption?

I have a giant fat head, and Costa Fisch were the only ones that fit me comfortably. I will say this: Costa's 580G lenses are unparalleled for optics on the water. It's the one instance where all the marketing literature turned out to be true. I find the blue mirror 580Gs to be a great all around pair of shades. They cut glare in bright conditions, but also very comfortable on overcast days. They don't flatly darken the way my Maui Jims do, and Mauis make great lenses too.

The tone of your response points to an ongoing discourse re TWS I wasn't aware of. After spending some time on google and various other fishing forums, I am now better informed, so thank you. Just took out the spool on my Tatula R and looked at the back of the T wing: 2 grooves appear. After cleaning the area with rubbing alcohol on a qtip, they seem to be merely residue from new pp super slick, thank god. Fact remains that there is no discernible reason why the back of the T Wing needs to rub against the line upon retrieve. You said there's "not one picture of proof" on the TWS wearing out; if you're speaking of the grooving issue, there are dozens and dozens of examples provided in forums. Anyway, I agree with the rest of your post, and I do think my Tatula R is a quality reel. I don't like the TWS for reasons already mentioned. I wish I can buy the reel w/o the TWS tbh.

It is rather disappointing that the Zillion is just a cosmetic upgrade from the Tatula, but my main gripe with the whole line is the T-Wing gimmick. I fish saltwater mainly and I like the big gears and power of the Tatulas...but the T Wing is just one too many moving parts to fail. The entire worm gear post has to turn, and after 1 season the thumb bar is already much stiffer to depress than it was when new. Drifting from a boat where you're constantly letting out/retrieving a few inches of line to keep bottom contact, can be extremely annoying to have a creaky thumb bar. Also, vertical jigging: when you reengage the reel from free spool to set the hook on a fish, the line doesn't necessarily settle in the groove of the T wing level wind right away, and often line will pop into the groove under tension...which I don't like one bit. All this for a feature that as far as I can tell, is completely unnecessary on a 100-200 sized baitcaster with such a narrow spool to begin with.

Fishing from the beach/surf is probably not a good idea, not necessarily bc of the salt but bc of the sand. From a boat or a dock where your reel is not likely to get sprayed by saltwater or dunked...should be perfectly fine. You do need to gently spray down the reel with freshwater afterwards. Lock up the drag and use a spray bottle or garden hose set on a very low mist...never a hard spray bc then you force salt into the reel. Wipe dry, loosen drag, and air dry. Then quickly oil the bearings and worm shaft etc, no need to completely take apart. I use my Curados and Tatula strictly in saltwater from a boat, and they're fine.