fishnkamp

Bearing totals can be very deceiving. You can take a Tatula CT and pull off the handle knobs. If you do, you will find 2 bearings and 2 bushings. It only cost a few dollars to replace those two bushings and it will have the same number of bearings as the Lews reel. Will the Tatula cast any better because you installed two more bearings in the handle knobs? NOPE!!! The CT has a totally different breaking system compared to most other reels and I really like the way it works. I fish 4 Tatula Type Rs, 2 CTs and 1 Exceler. I am not sure how guys are holding their reels that they knock the brake adjustment dial. I think someone thought it up and parrots are repeating it! Anyway it has not happened to me in 4 years of fishing these reels. Maybe I am lucky. I am a Daiwa guy, I have sold off all of my Shimanos and some of my BPS reels in favor for the Tatula reels. So I am biased, but here is my opinion. If you like super small reels than Lews is your company, and there are lots of good reasons to fish their reels. I have no problem with reels the size of a Curado E or Chronarch E7 so I love the Tatulas and Tatula CTs. You would probably like the CT best because it has a slightly smaller body. I really like the Daiwas T wing system, smoothness, durability, Magforce Z breaking system, and their pretty smooth drag. The rest is up to your preference. I can share a place you can order a brand new Tatula CT fro $100 shipped to your door so now the price difference is eliminated from your decision making. I have one other idea. You never listed where you live in your profile. A lot of us use each others profile to help answer questions, like ideas of fishing techniques based on your location or in this case I would normally check where you live and research your closest available store. Anyway, tell us what town, nearest big city and your state. I bet one of our members lives close enough to meet for coffee and a donut and then you could look at a few of these reels. If you were anywhere near MD, Northern VA, PA or DE I would let let you cast a few Daiwas and even use them during a fishing outing. We have a lot of members and it is always nice to meet up and share some time at fishing hole. The only other option would be to see if there is a local bass club nearby. Call the president of a club, most times they know who brags about what equipment and meet up with them. You might even find you want to join them in a few tournaments to learn.

Close the bail by hand! I have been in the habit of lifting the rod a bit to tighten the line as I close the bail. Reeling with the loose line and using the reel to close the bail both encourage line twist. Also many times those complaining never mention they are fishing fluorocarbon , and those lines can be tough to tame on a spinning reel.

Take it back. If all you wanted to do was remove the front nut assembly and remove the spool then you would never even see the washers you are referring to. Take it back and exchange it, it was probably defective missing some kind or part. I own a bunch of these reels and can remove the spool without doing anything with the drag washers at all.

Spinning reels were made to cover techniques that use super light finesse baits. Match a good light reel up with a super sensitive rod and you have a great combo.

My wife loves to fish Pflueger Presidents in the 30 size on her finesse stuff. These are on 6 ft light and medium G Loomis rods. Her crankbait rod and bottom contact rods have 6935s on it. These are 7 foot rods. Her 7 foot frog rod has a Supreme 35 on it. I was more interested in the larger line per revolution retrieved that the 35 offered. It is almost exactly like the Tatula Type R 8-1 baitcaster I fish on my frog rod. She was happy the Supreme was lighter than her Presidents and it is sooo smooth. We use braid and leaders on all but her frog rod and yes I believe it helps her to cast longer.

Let me chime in here. I have a Bucoo micro rod and I love it. I have the 7 foot Medium heavy moderately fast rod they call the trap caster. It is sorta a light medium heavy with its mod fast action taper. It is an excellent rod to throw rattle traps, small to mid sized crankbaits, squarebills, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits. I would have no problem suggesting it for throwing texas rigs, or even a swim jigs too. There is enough power that it would be fine. I fish for both bass and stripers with this rod. Often we even catch big blue cats too. I know these rods are not on your list but take a good look at the them if you want a truly all around versatile weapon. First look at a Powell Inferno 683MH CEF. There is also a Max3D series of this rod but it is about $50 more. I own an original Max series 683MH CEF. I was looking for a versatile all around rod. It won't be a frog rod, it won't be a flipping stick but if you want a rod to throw baits between 1/4 and 3/4 it is great. Interestingly, it handle lures way heavier than advertised. Go read the Tackle tour review of the original rod. I did call out to Powell and they informed me that the Max3d ( the replacement rod for my series) is a bit stiffer than my rod and that the new Inferno is closest to my original rod. I have thrown everything from a 1/4 ounce swimjig and trailer, to a 5 inch Reaction Innovation Skinny Dipper on 3/8 oz Picasso swimjig jig head, they look like a fish head on a hook. I have also thrown spinnerbaits and a crankbaits on it at times. Tackle tour even tested it with a 2 1/2 ounce swimbait, it should not have handled it but it did. This would be a serious contender if it were me. It costs around $99 from Monster Tackle. Go here to read the review: http://www.tackletour.com/reviewpowell683cxfastpg2.html Lastly, Gary Dobyns makes a terrific rod, someone else mentioned the Fury line. Gary is not interested in loud colors, or fancy bling. Instead, he tries to use the very best blanks and best components he can at a price point. He will forgo fancy for quality every time, in order to produce a rod that fishes much more like a rod costing twice as much. Check out his Fury line. If you want a very versatile rod look at the Fury FR 734C or the FR 704C. Gary has said the 734 is the most versatile rod in all of his lineups. I am sure any of these rods will do you well. I have also owned the Veritas rods. They are okay, but run stiff and not nearly as versatile as my other suggestions.

There is another advantage to finding a boat like these. All of the ones I picked were between 2004 and 2014. They are in excellent condition it would seem ( obviously you never know till you see and test drive them) but are well below the cost of a similar boat new. That means more than likely if you take care of it you could trade in or resell it in a few years on a fiberglass boat if you wish. There would be a minimal drop in value, making this a good economical choice to begin learning with. I have owned both aluminum and fiberglass bass boats. The fiberglass requires much more effort to take care of and is much more expensive to repair. When I purchased my current Lowe bass boat I had the same grocery list I would have had if I was purchasing a new fiberglass boat. We upgraded the trolling motor to a 24 volt model, so I installed 3 large AGM batteries, an on board charger, added an electric anchor winch, and chose to have $2500 worth of gps/ fishfinders. I have traveled from MD to PA,VA. KY, TN,and NC with this boat. It fishes almost anywhere my big fiberglass boat went. As I have indicated I think a good, relatively new, aluminum bass boat would serve you well and return enough of your investment that if you decide to upgrade later you will be able to recoup your investment. Just a note, back in April 2016 we looked at an almost brand new Phoenix 618 fiberglass bass boat. We were offered $10,000 for our boat in trade and it is a 2010. Here is a few pics of it just for an example. You might notice a slight engine upgrade. I originally ran the boat with a 20 hp outboard to fish a hp restricted lake. After moving, I sold off that engine and repowered with the 75 that is on there now. I do suggest getting a boat with max hp or close to it, they perform best that way.

I would look at the Champion XP series DC744C. I have heard Gary say that the rod is much more than just an inch longer. The entire rod blank is tapered differently and is much more of a heavier duty rod.

Bunnielab you could try something like 20 pound Big Game. But before you do lets meet and do some testing. Cast a few rigs I have and see if it is the braid you picked, the reel and braid, or whatever. My wife's frog combo is an Irod spinning reel and 30 pound Power Pro braid. My rig is a Dobyns casting rod with a Tatula Type R. It is spooled with 65 pound Power Pro. Neither of these combos exhibit the same type of trouble. I also have 832 on a few combos. Lets see if you have trouble casting my stuff and I will see if you stuff gives me the same trouble. That rod is a joy to cast frogs on. So if you have no trouble with my frog combo, we can swap my reel over to you rod. If it plays better you will have a direction to head, either it is the line or line & reel combo. Of course it maybe a week or so since there is no grass anymore. LOL darn storm.

I use Stren mono as backing on every reel I own except ones filled with mono for top water. I then tie either P line CXX in moss green or braid on using a uni to uni knot. On most all of my rigs I tie on a 4 foot leader made of either 8 pound CXX or 6 pound P Line Halo if I want a fluoro leader. All of those are tied on again using the uni to uni knot. I have been doing this for the last 7 years and have never had an issue with a double uni knot fail. Many of my rods have micro guides and have had no problem with the knots going through the guides either. I was introduced to doing things this way by Craig Powers, an FLW angler and fishing guide.

Your lake does not sound huge so a high powered bass boat may be overkill to begin with. This being your first boat I would suggest a nice used aluminum bass bass boat for half your budget and then you can afford to throw some nice options on it like good electronics. Take a look at a few of these examples" https://albany.craigslist.org/boa/6026230632.html https://nwct.craigslist.org/boa/5984543178.html https://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/boa/6021738855.html These boats have good hulls and seem to have been well cared for. One benefit to learning in an aluminum boat like these is that aluminum is far more forgiving if you bump into a dock or a rock. I have owned 11 boats in over 40+ years and have caught as many fish from a 15 to 18 foot aluminum boat as any of my big fiberglass rocket ships. Another benefit is cost of operation. Most of these boats should run around 40 mph and do it a lot cheaper than any 18 foot with a 150 or bigger boat will. Just my 2 cents.

Go try P Line CXX in moss green. I would try 6 or 8 pound test. I usually use 14 pound Berkley FireLine and the P Line CXX in 8 pound test. Just so you know 10 pound moss green CXX breaks around 23 pounds, 8 breaks around 16 pounds and so you can see you do no have to run heavier line. If you want to stay with a fluoro leader try 6 or 8 pound P Line Hallo. I use Stren mono as backing, the FireLine as my main line and a 4 foot leader. That is all you need. Learn to tie good knots and retie as needed. The Uni to Uni knot has worked for me and I have never had my line break at that connection. An FLW angler showed me that arrangement 6 years ago.

My wife and I own a bunch of expensive equipment, but if we just want to mess with bluegill, perch and rock bass we use two Berkley Cherrywood rods. We added a couple of small Abu Garcia reels and some small diameter braid. I think it was Suffix 832 6 pound test ( equal to 2 pound mono)

Most fluoro will cause issues. Get rid of it. My wife and I fish the President reels and they are great reels. Here is what I have gone to after 40 years of fishing. This approach works great for panfish, bass stripers and big cats. First go get a spool of Stren Original Clear Blue mono in say 10 or 12 pound test. I fish 30 and 35 sized Presidents and I usually use 14 pound Stren. It cost about $8 at Walmart. Next get a 300 yard spool of Berkley Original fused FireLine. I like it in 14 pound test, it is equal to most 6 pound mono. Spool the reel half way up with the mono.. Then fill it up the rest of the way with the braid. Make sure you leave enough space do not over fill it. Lastly tie on a 4 foot leader made of either P Line CXX moss green in 6 or 8 pound test. You can fish anywhere with that combo. If you fish for larger fish like stripers and cats I jump up to 10 pound test in the same moss green. Ten pound moss green CXX breaks at around 23 pound so 6 or 8 are strong enough. I fish off colored tidal water as well as gin clear lakes in TN and KY so do not worry about needing fluoro, but if you feel you do then go to P LIne Halo in 8 pound test. Learn to tie the double uni or uni to uni knot to join the lines together. If you really want. Here are a couple of other things to keep in mind. Always flip the bail over by hand and I usually do it as I lift the rod a bit to make sure the line is under tension as I flip the bail over. I do it so often I do not even think about it. Next NEVER EVER reel as a fish is pulling drag. You will introduce a ton of line twist.

Daiwa that is simple for me. I have sold of all of my Shimanos in favor of the newer Daiwa reels.

I would order some nice Zr spool bearings for it. In fact I think I would add new bearings throughout the reel including the handle knobs. That reel cost you nothing. Add some new stuff to it and enjoy it.

I have a friend ( he builds custom rods) uses them a lot. They have several series but my friend Bryan has had Tom build a few using the Revelation series I believe. He has liked them/

XpressJeff if this will be s predominate weapon for her then the 703 or 704 would be nice.

Lets look at a few nice rods by price range since you did not specify a budget. In the under $100 range I would look at" Dobyns Fury FR 703SF or FR663SF ( go to the website and check out the 702 and 662 also. Dobyns run a half step lighter than they indicate but the lure weights and suggested lures are correct.) A 2 power rod will handle shakey heads, tubes grubs and drop shots. I prefer the 3 power for the grubs and heavier tubes, light texas rigs etc. Look at a Powell Inferno 6103 MEF this is a really nice all around finesse spinning rod too Abu Garcia Veritas 2 6'9 med If your budget can go above that look at the same Dobyns rods in the Sierra rod series. I really like their SA 693SF.

I have a few friends that fish HARD! They have has a few pop out. I fished an original series Veritas for frogging and never had a problem. I would not sweat it. They are good rods and if it happens just find a local rod repair guy. I use a local rod guy and he charges around $10 to fix it.

That reel will last you a long time if you take care of it. My wife and I fish a bunch of the 30 and 35 size Presidents. Some are over 10 years old and feel fantastic even after catching many good size bass, stripers, and catfish. A typical 7 foot medium spinning rod is as versatile as it gets basically. You could get away with fishing a bait like the Reaction Innovation Skinny Dippers on a belly weighted swimbait hook, small to mid sized cranks and traps and many other baits. Go enjoy your new combo.

Go here and watch Scott himself explain the uses for his signature rods https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Okuma_Tournament_Concept_TCS_a_Casting_Rods/descpage-TCSA.html?from=basres From what he is saying you are best off with one of these two the 6'9 mh mod fast or his 7' mh mod fast. They both look good. One thing I will say about Scott Martin, and for that much Mike Iaconelli, they both fish their sponsors equipment and in both of their cases they do fish their own signature rods. I have watched too many SM Challenges and Scott in tournaments. Frequently he shows you or tells you what rod and reel he is using. In Ike's case he fishes some of his signature rods ( it is hard to hide the purple hue to his signature rods) as well as other Abu rods. I respect them both for that. It is the opposite of anglers like his dad, Bill Dance, or Jimmy Houston. They seemed to put their name on anything at any time.

Right now I trust most of the Daiwa products and the Pfluegers. I am holding my breath because I purchased a Shimano Symetre last year and began hearing about Shimano spinning reels locking up. Shimano discontinued the reel, so I hope I did not waste my money. I have never had a problem with any of my Pfluegers

OperationEagle My wife loves to fish her 4 Pflueger President reels, some are over 10 years old and one is less than 1 year old. They have handled many big smallies, largies, stripers and cats ( unintentional catches). One reason to spend more money is to fit a special purpose. My wife only fishes spinning gear. My arsenal includes several high quality spinning rods for finesse baits. It also includes 13 baitcasters for everything else. Some have 6.3-1 gear ratio reels and others run all the way up to 8-1, like the one on my frog rod. I just set her up with a Dobyns 7 foot heavy action spinning rod to handle frog fishing in heavy cover. That requires a more capable reel with a larger inches of line recovered per turn of the handle. This technique requires a fast line recovery in order to quickly retrieve a bait, missed by a fish, so the angler can quickly fire out another cast. My choice was a Pflueger Supreme in the 35 size. That reel has tougher gears and a line recovery of almost 34 inches. My 8-1 Daiwa Tatula Type R is rated the same. The Supreme reel will fit her needs and it cost $99. Not to expensive to match her $170 rod. That rod combo could handle a big heavy football jig fished deep, as well as that frog on top.

Just looking at your combos and your comments, I would probably look at these options. I fish a Solstace and like mine, but if yours is cranky then consider moving the Sahara over onto the Browning rod, the weight is about the same so the feel should stay the same. Now lets lighten up the Veritas combo. I would consider an Okuma RTX30 which is a great composite bodied high gear ratio reel. They can be purchased on line for around $80 on Amazon. It only weighs 6.6 ounces but is tough as nails. My other option would be a Pflueger President 6930. They run around $50. It too weighs less than your two current spinning reels and Presidents are great dependable reels. Here is what I see when I look at your baitcasting combos. Correct me if I am wrong. The Daiwa Tatula rod is rated at 1/4 to 1 ounce and 10 to 20 pound line. That should work bottom contact baits really well, like texas rigs and jigs. The 6'9 Veritas should be a bit stiffer and cover some of the same baits as the Tatula but should be better with heavier weights like the 3/4 to 1 ounce range. Abu rods run a bit on the heavier side in their actions. You should be able to throw some frogs with that rod. My first frog rod was a 7 foot MH Veritas rod. This rig will handle carolina rigs well also. Here is my thoughts on your next option. I would look at a Dobyns Fury rod. Gary builds a rod that fishes much more like a rod costing twice as much. I would get a Fury FR705cb. It is a very light, well balanced 7 foot MH cranking rod designed to fish crankbaits, spinnerbaits, traps, topwaters and even jerkbaits. This rod is designed to handle almost everything your other two rods are not good for. It runs $110 and is available from Tackle Warehouse and other locations. I would pair it up with a Daiwa Tatula CT 6.3-1 and if you email me at fishnkamp@comcast.net I will share with you a source to purchase it for $100 shipped to your house. I went a tad over your budget, between $10 to $30 depending on the spinning reel you choose. Still that is not bad and you could make the spinning reel upgrade a bit later when you could add that bit of extra cash. The difference in sensitivity and distance you will get from the 705CB and the Tatula CT will excite you. My friend Kris just sold off some Veritas, Lightning rod shocks and lightning rods and has been upgrading most of his arsenal to Dobyns Fury rods. He now owns a 705CB, a 765 Flip( a 7 1/2 foot long flipping stick), a 734C,an all around workhorse of a rod, and a 703 spinning rod. They all fish great, cast fantastic and he can not wait to use them in this new tournament season. My arsenal includes some Dobyns Champion series rods( a good bit more expensive series).