LCG

I called Shimano today and they are sending me a replacement screw, they are just trying to find the substitute part number as the one in the schematic is discontinued. Looking at the reel schematics, I think I had too much pressure on the top face plate that the screw goes into (sideplate,then face plate and into frame). Live and learn. Thanks again to all the members here and Shimano was very pleasant to deal with.

No unfortunately I don't have any junk reels. I have a few spare parts, but the screws I have are all too short. I will just give Shimano a shout and see what they can find me.

Oddly, we use both imperial and metric, even though our official unit of measurement is metric. But we have good beer

Yep, that's a pretty accurate analogy except here in Canada it's more like $375 (our dollar sucks, inflation, taxes). I was able to remove the broken screw as mentioned above, so the big problem is solved, now to track down the discontinued part number which may require a direct call to Shimano, see if they can help a brother out.

First and foremost thank you to all the people who responded with tips. Much appreciated. I am not the handiest guy in the world, but I am stubborn After a few adult beverages and a good night sleep, I re-examined the situation. Turns out after I removed the top/nose face plate cover, I had the tiniest bit of screw showing. Originally I never thought to remove the face plate. Used a pair of tweasers and a ton of patience / time to finally remove it. Screw not cross threaded or broken at the tip, just sheared off, probably my fault. Now to find a replacement screw. Thanks again everyone.

Not sure if I put too much pressure on the top face plate while screwing back in the sideplate after cleaning or I used too much pressure screwing it in, but I broke the top screw of the sideplate. The break leaves the thread portion in the frame of the reel.i removed the sideplate trying to get the thread portion out, but it's flush so I can't grip anything. I am sure I can find a screw at a local hardware or hobby store, but I need to get the threaded portion out first. It's a Curado 71 MGL HG. Everything seems fine when reassembled, it's just there are only 3 screws securing the sideplate, missing the top outer portion. My OCD will not allow for this Any ideas? Bonus points if you happen to know the screw size for part No. BNT6669 Checked Shimano's part store and the part has been discontinued???

I looked at these briefly, saw a few YouTube clips of the Zodias 5 piece. From what I saw and read they fish a bit stouter than their one piece models, something to do with the mutli joints I would assume. Interesting rod.

I have been finding great deals on older rods that are still amazingly light and sensitive that would compare with $300 rods today. Just found my second Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth 6'10 M-F rod for $70 Canadian. Way better value in my book.

May I ask you to describe the "feel" with the miniwax applied, both dry and wet? Saw this on YouTube awhile back and kind of intriqued me a bit. Thanks in advance.

Looking to explore some options for a super versatile set up. A 6'10" M-F rod, 2 piece, rated 1/8-5/8oz lures and 8-14lb line. Pairing it with a SLX 70 MGL reel. Will be throwing weightless trickworms/senkos, Ned rigs, mepps inline spinners, 1/2oz spinnerbaits (true weight, 5/16oz on the package), 1/4oz finesse jigs, and under 1/4oz Texas rigs. This combo is meant to be an all purpose/multi species combo for travel, fishing from the bank or kayak. Fishing all types of water from ponds, rivers, to lakes. Currently have 40lb 832 braid as main line and was going to use 6lb and 10lb Yo Zuri hybrid as leaders or straight braid around light to moderate vegetation. But now I am wondering if I should go lower on the braid main line for the lighter stuff due to diameter. What's the lightest all purpose braid you would use? I want to avoid dig in issues with the braid. I have a spool of 20lb 832, but not sure if that's a bit thin for the spool/environment/shock strength.

X4 for 832. Literally threw away a bunch of older braid spools yesterday to simplify my line choices. 832 is the best all around braid for a reasonable price. Usually find it on sale which is always nice.

I have two Carbonlite 2.0 rods that I really like. They are good values in my opinion. Comfortable, sensitive, and durable. The pros use what their sponsors want to sell consumers at the end of the day. Hence the nascar style decals . I may have the same rod a pro uses, but that doesn't mean my skills are at a pro level. That's a much bigger conversation. no experience with their reels. I prefer Shimano or Daiwa.

I will never understand that behaviour. Most of us here are advanced enthusiasts who like and appreciate certain level of quality gear, but why would someone look down on another angler for the gear they are using? I recall watching a guy out fish me by a ton while fishing for crappie and he was hand lining. I learned a valuable lesson that day.

Since becoming more proficient with baitcasters, I keep debating selling my Stradic FL to fund the purchase of a Curado BFS reel. Keep going back and forth on the issue. The control and mechanics appeal to me, but skipping and vertical fall seems like it would be easier with spinning reels. Line capacity can be an issue, although it has never been for me so far. I have both the SLX MGL and Curado 70 MGL. The lightest thing I throw is a weightless trickworm and a 1/16oz Ned rig (3/16oz total). These reels can do it, but I need a proper rod to really help further. Bait monkey at my door...

I had an HMG 6'9" ML-F, the model from two generations ago. I really did like that rod, but ended up selling it. Kind of regret it. The new model looks decent for $100. There are better rods if you spend a bit more, but I am sure the new HMG's are still good rods. I might grab one as a two piece combo for the car.

I have the SLX MGL 70 and the Curado 70 MGL. Both are excellent reels and excel with light lures. Just got the Curado, but I have been pitching around the house and it does just as good as the SLX but in a smaller slightly more refined package. Highly recommend.

All good reels, but my vote goes to the Curado 150 mgl. I don't have the paticular model,but I do have a SLX 70 MGL and a Curado 70 MGL and they really are great reels. Very solid, smooth drag, great for my style which is on the lighter end of under 5/8oz lures. The 150 MGL would cover a lot off bases with plenty of line capacity should you use larger lb test line. But from what I have seen,it can also handle lighter stuff well too .

Junebug is a huge confidence color for me. Works really well everywhere I have fished, from dirty to clean water.

There goes not buying any more gear this year

Caught a few in a firetiger skirt spinnerbait. Works well in dirty water. My confidence color is still white/chartruesse though.

Same here. Life and drop followed by a pause. Sometimes draging works too, depends on the day.

XF kind of has two sub categories. Some rods are XF with a stiff tip, while other rods are XF with a soft tip. I like XF rods with a soft tip.

I landed a 18-20lb pike on 10lb big game this year. The line is plenty strong. But all lines will fray or get Knicks. Check often and re-tie as needed. I use braid as well in dirty water, vegetation and algae. It can fray as well.

I chose the Stradic FL about 2 years ago. Super smooth, excellent drag, solid reel. No wobble on mine, could have been the drag was loose and the spool wasn't seated fully. Zero complaints with mine. I didn't like the feel of super light weight reels when mounted on the rod, didn't feel balanced to me.

I bought a brand new Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth casting rod (discontinued back in 2013), 6'9" M-XF rated for 3/8-5/8. Found it on a buy and sell site, guy never used it, just say in the rod rack for about 10 years and still had the plastic on the rod. $100 CAD. Used it last fall for a little bit of finesse, Texas rigs,and spinnerbaits. It handled everything well. Very unique rod. Super short handle, so rod length past the reel is a typical 7ft rod length. More of a fast action that loads really nicely with a fish on. Lure rating is the sweet spot, but range is more 1/4-3/4. Super lightweight as well. Just paired it with a Curado 70 MGL. Going to give her a good workout in the spring, but so far she's a gem.