freelancer27

Right choice! An AMAZING reel for big swimbaits. Get the 300 if you just do freshwater or the 400 if you need more line for the salt.

Got the Spinnerbait special, though I swore myself not to get anyhting else after my Black Friday shopping spree... but you know how it goes...

But the mag break on max and spool tension pretty tight as well. Guess the reel need a bit fine tuning in the set up. Lets see...

No worries. You are right that practice is the way to go.

I know... Just wanted to see if people have advice to overcome the learning curve quicker.

Hi all, received my Aldebaran BFS yesterday. I spooled it up with 10# braid and a 8 pound Azuri leader, put it on my Belkei UL (1/32-1/4) and went out to test it. Here is what I noticed in my 30mins of use: * Magnetic breaks I had to put to 5-6 and the spool tension knob had to be pretty fixed as well, otherwise I always ended up with a severe backlash. * Also the way to throw those lighter lures (1/8) had to be very carefully. It was more of a lob cast rather than a overhead. Distance was good. I compared it against my Spinning 7' rod (1/8- 1/2 oz) and the BFS set up casted slightly further and more accurate. Is there anything that I can do further increase distance and avoid backlashes? Thanks all

Hi all, I am looking for a light (robust) casting reel that I would like to pair with my Kistler Helium 3 7' Heavy (the rod weighs something like 3.9 oz). To make this a super light and sensitive combo that does not break the bank (I paid 150 USD for the rod) I am looking at the following two options (both in the 7 gear ratio): * Team Lew's Hyper Mag Speed Spool SLP * Quantum Tour MG 100 This reel (combo) would be mainly used for Jigs and paddle tails. Wondering if people have any experience with either of the two and make a recommendation. Thanks very much. Cheers, Seb.

Just ordered one, but would be interested to see how people like it (longterm) that have fished it. Cheers.

Would be interested as well. Do you want just a replacement spool or do you want to go even more finesse?

So, which ones you love and why?

Yep, thanks again guys. Hobie purchase is planned for early 2018. Hence the reason to get the 7 foot rod rather than the 7'3. As it has been said before, super sensitive rods shine when fishing deeper water, which is not always possible from the shore. So, I will revaluate next year to see if I have to upgrade my choice. Thanks again!

I have the 2017 Helium 3 Heavy 7' 0" X-Fast Fishing Rod on order. ( I am going to do Kayak Fishing next year, hence a shorter rod). My first Kistler. With the 30% off it is just too good of a deal to pass on. I think I will use the rod and see how I feel about it. If I still crave for more, I will buy a high end rod then. Thanks all for your comments. Again, learned something!

What I forgot to mention: I also have a damaged St. Avid X. that I could upgrade to a St. Croix Legend X Series Casting Rod 7'1" Med Hvy

Hi all, I got a little raise at work and decided to buy one high end rod that should be kind of my all around rod with a heavy emphasis on jigz (up to 1oz) and paddle tail swimbaits. I would pair it with either (SV103 XS, Metanium MGL, Antares DC). Here are some options that I am thinking of: * Shimano GL Conquest Cast Rod 7' Heavy 844C MBR * G. Loomis NRX Casting Rod Blue 7'5" Heavy 894C JWR * Daiwa Steez Compile-X Cast 7'1" Hvy * Daiwa Steez SVF AGS Casting Rod 7'1" Heavy Since i am bankfisherman for the most part, the rod should be as robust as a high end rod can be Thanks for your thoughts! Happy Thanksgiving!

Agreed. For the money, hard to beat. This is my current deep cranking reel.

Interesting! I would have thought that a 200 Calcutta Conquest or a Ryoga, or Megabass would be the best that money can buy here.

Just wanted to get people's thoughts on what they think the 3 best reels are for deep diving cranks (10xd, etc.). Cheers!

You can throw these lures with the right rod and line, but I think the reel shines at 3/8 - 1oz lures. I use it for lures that I need to bomb out there (mostly lipless cranks and smaller paddle tail swimbaits).

Hi guys, I am looking for a great head light that I can use for night fishing. I have currently one of these here. But i am not very happy with the quality (brightness, size of light circle and the duration) of the light. I mean it is decent for 24 USD but I am looking for something better. Any thoughts/recommendations?

I have a 2016 Antaress DC. Great reel! Casts a mile! A bit heavy but that is to be expected. THe Antares has also more line capacity than the Exsence! If you only fish fresh water, get the Antares, no doubt!

Ended up using a fork that I bend in the right place. Was harder than I thought to unscrew...

Hi all,I am having a bit of a hard time to figure out on how to change the handle knobs on my Daiwa Coastal TWS. There are two pins and I am not sure how to remove the cover here.Any instructions on this? Do I need a special tool for this?Thanks

Texted with Lews and they are sending me some free knobs with the spool that I ordered. Really great service!

Hi all, I currently own a Lews BB2 Inshore for which I would like to buy a new handle for (not a fan of the round knobs). Instead of buying just a new handle I am wondering if I could buy a lower priced Lews reel and switch the handles and maybe even the spool. A bit of a weird question, but I am wondering if people could help me figure out which lower priced Lews reels would fit this picture. Thanks all. Cheers.

I like that rod too. I have the Okuma Scott Martin TCS Casting Rod 7'3" Heavy. That is the rod that I use right now for those applications. It is underpowered for anything above 2 oz. I am thinking of transfering the rod to become my Jig, Chatterbait, small swimbait rod and replace it with something beefier from above.