The Bassman

Really appreciate all you guys making me feel welcome. Just wait til you get to know me!

I'm primarily a Shimano guy but Kidflex got it right. Reels are so much more ergo friendly these days. Even reels like 100B and D Shimanos which were once considered compact feel like a goose egg in hand now.

2500 and 3000 have same IPT. 3000 has a deeper spool for more capacity. That said the 3000 has a better handle.

If they would have made them the original B platform green I'll bet they couldn't make enough of them.

One has to be a Seinfeld fan to get the joke. I sense that you are.

Hi everyone. I've actually been posting for the past several days already. Guess I should introduce myself. My name's Bill and I've been fishing most of my 62 years. I don't own a boat and back issues even keep me from loading and carrying small craft. I love to wade creeks and walk small waters. I also enjoy tinkering with tackle and hope to provide some beneficial input.

I use greased carbon fiber drag washers in my baitcasters and they're smoother than ever. It's never wise to fully lock down your drag regardless if your gears are aluminum or brass. I like carbon fiber mainly because they don't degrade like stock. They're becoming more common from the factory now anyway.

The key to throwing light baits is having a rod that loads easily and a spool that's as light as possible. Other than spending 100 bucks on an aftermarket spool one thing that I do is fill my spools about halfway with thick braid (40-50 lb). This serves to reduce spool weight by a few grams. Then I fill with my line of choice fairly close to the spool edge. Clean and properly lubed spool bearings really help, too. I'm real big on TSI 321 oil. Speaking from experience with Shimano reels (50 series) start with three brakes on and very light cast control tension. Go down from there as experience and conditions allow. The newer 70 series that Darren mentioned have a newer braking system that encourages one to use all four brake tabs and set braking with the external dial.

Simple. Get the 2500 or 3000 Sahara if it's only 40.00 That's a good deal. I would opt for the 3000 because I believe it has a more substantial T handle.

I'd be the first to say I love my baitcasters. That said I have to admit that spinning wins hands down for shore work. I can't remember how many times all it took was one weed stem to fluff a spool of line for me. One way to compensate is to use shorter rods. Sadly, they're harder to find these days.

It's oversized to balance well on most bass rods. 2500-3000 is optimal. 4000 is better suited to heavy freshwater or light saltwater. I will say that at 12.5 oz. it's not any heavier than the Mitchell 300 I grew up on. Spool diameter and capacity just makes it overkill. What's the sale price? It's easy these days to find good spinning reels at reasonable prices.

Thanks. Caught that on your earlier post. Just being lazy and looking for something ready made. I have taken fly/spinning bubbles and added a screw in the end. That works pretty well. I like to cast in my front yard next to our street which is busy. It embarreses my wife. She razzes me by asking if I've caught anything. I tell her no but I got a few looks.

I just wish someone made a practice plug that didn't hang up on the grass. I know you can fabricate something but I leave my rods rigged on my rack. Egg sinkers and such aren't particularly attractive.

Great reel but much too big for bass. What are you using it for?

Most of my smallmouth fishing is summer wading. Four lures stand out: 1. Wackey rigged 4" senko type worm 2. Zoom Super Fluke Jr. on Gammy 1/16 oz. jighead 3. Ned rig 4. Small buzzbait (just for fun)

Why don't a lot of guys have some good reels they've owned previously? The Bait Monkey is a formidable force. We're always buying and selling. When I was a kid my dad was always trading shotguns and rifles but rarely went hunting. Same concept different sport.

The Core 100 was (is) a great reel. If it was me I would leave the stock gearset in. I owned a 100 mg7 and could feel a definite resistance when retrieving spinnerbaits and cranks. The core series was before X-Ship was introduced. Others may counter that the 7:1 drive gear is brass vs. aluminum and is smoother. Either way it will serve you well.

Something's definitely amiss with those deep breakoffs. YZ is pretty tough stuff. 6 lb. is actually most manufacturer's 8. I would suspect that some of your backlashes left some hard kinks in the line. If you're really wanting to pursue BFS with mono 6 lb. YZ is as stout as you want to go. Also, rarely do you hear reference made to bombing baits with BFS. Try easy sidearm casts.

10-15 braid is going to dig in. Stick with at least 20.

Looked up J Braid 50. At .36mm 50 is 12 lb. equiv. I think most guys who use braid on these reels go with 20-40. I'm an old timer who still prefers mono.

I've owned several Shimano 50 series and always did well with 2 or 3 brake tabs on and no spool tension unless it was windy. How full is your spool? More than an eighth inch from the edge will really slow things down.

Hi all. New member here. I've been following this thread for some time. A Jay's & Preytorian's input has influenced me to put this stuff into my spinning lineup. Here's my takeaway: 1. 24 lb. is the bomb for just about all my applications. 2. The stuff is great new but degrades fast. Not a big deal because cost is close to most 4 strands. 3. My go to knot is the double eye loop uni or "fishin' fool" knot. No slippage issues. 4. Abrasion resistance is on par with thin braids (not too great). 5. Don't use a leader. Just don't like the extra knot. 6. No wind knot issues if I don't overfill spool.