FrnkNsteen

I've used both the Big Game and the Suffix Titanium and have been happy with both. I agree with Tom that the Tritanium is a little stiffer and has more memory. In my opinion it seems to have a little less stretch than Big Game. I have spools of Big Game in 10, 12, 15, and 20lb and spools of Tritanium in 12 & 17lb. I mix and match as desired. I kind of like the Tritanium for single hook baits like Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits where I want a little less stretch when setting the hook.

I think he shares time at my place too!! 😆

If that's not typical of this site, I don't know what is! LOL!! Original question was looking for sub $200 option to a Mojo and gets recommended a $500 GLX. You ARE the bait monkey, aren't you?!? 😂😂

Depends what type of top water lures you are wanting to use it for. I use a Dobyns Sierra 682C that I really like for poppers (Pop R and Chug Bugs) or small walking baits like a Spook Jr or even a baby spook, though it's a little bit light for it. I have a SLX MGL 71 on it that works well for lighter baits and the Sierras are a bit slower of the Dobyns rods and seem to do well with the trebles. If you're talking prop baits like a Whopper Plopper or Choppo. I throw those on Medium Heavy Moderate Fast. In my case, specifically a St Croix Mojo 7' MHMF "Spinnerbait" model

I typically dont notice a LOT of difference between them, or even necessarily know which are which in some models. I have an SLX, but dont know if that is considered a 100 or 150. I have a handful of SLX 71 K models and a Curado MGL 71 I use for anything from poppers to jerkbaits or light texas rigs, a couple 6spd Curado MGL 151 models I use for crank baits, and a couple old Calcutta 101s I use with braid for Chatterbaits. I'm not a long caster so spool sizes don't have a big impact on me, so to me, either works. I'd say if you use heavier lines for long casting, maybe go with the 150, otherwise either will be fine.

If you say you are comfortable servicing your reels, I assume you flushed and reoiled the ones currently in the reel? I've seen those bearing sets, but wondered what the quality was like. I kind of like the idea of being able to order a complete set without having to measure and order individual bearings! Anybody actually use them before?

I have two dedicated spinnerbait rods and a few dedicated vibrating jig rods. All of them have a 6.4 or slower reels on them. The Spinnerbait rods have a TD Fuego in 6.3 and a TD 100ml in 5.7. The vibrating jig rods range from Calcutta 101 at 5.9 I think, to a 2018 Bantam MGL in 6.2 and a Tatula CT Type R in 6.3. Swim Jigs are a little different for me. They will work with those speeds, but I prefer a 7spd. When I fish a swim jig, I'm typically casting in around a particular area of cover, swim it in and around the cover, then retrieve it quick and cast back out. I like a little higher speed for that reason. I have a hard time slowing down as well so I like a reel in the upper 5's to low 6's for the lures you mentioned. I understand what Tom is saying about IPT and agree, but most of my reels are in that 100-150 size and I'm not dedicated enough to assess spool diameters on all my different reels, so I just go by ratio ti get me in the ballpark. I typically don't worry about casting a country mile, so I'm not as worried about IPT drop off on long casts, even though I understand the impact.

I clean the cork as Tom said. A Magic Eraser works well. I started applying U40 with a small foam brush. Now I just use a paper towel folded down, dip it in and apply a light coat to all the cork and let it dry. You don't have to use a ton. If you do, the excess just lays on the surface

I'm that way too sometimes! I've been fishing with someone slaying them on a particularvplastic and refused when they offered to share because I was too stubborn! It's silly! But I'm guilty of it!

Agreed that the original post was about the old Team Daiwa fisherman. It just got me thinking of how much I like those reels. And nope,... I have a TDX 105H. This isn't mine, but a pic I found online of obe like I have. I have mine on a light little TFO rod that I can throw small Mepps on.

I kind of went down the rabbit hole on older Team Daiwa reels over the last year or so. I started with the TDS103HVLA and TDZ 103 HL left handed reels with the pitching clutch on top, Then expanded out from there to TDZ 103H, TDX 105 H, TDZ 100ML and TDZ 103ML, as well as a Sol, and a number of TD Fuegos. I have come to REALLY like those reels!!

I haven't fished them, but held a few in the store. The rods felt good, but the new grips felt different and didn't grab me right away. I was at our local shop's spring open house and the Pure Fishing rep was there representing the new Abu and Fenwick rods We were talking about the new grips and he said they brought an ergonomics expert in on the design to help design the handle for extended comfort and use. Don't know if that's true, but that's what he said. Like I said,.. I didn't care for the handle, but do LOVE my Fenwick spinning rods. Sounds like I may have to give one a chance (Like I need more rods!!!)

I need to try that! I recently bought that same rod in GLX when ALF was clearing them out for the new models. So far I have only had a small Sieberts Mini Swimjig on it. I have been throwing MiniMax on a pair of older Fenwick Techna AV 7' Medium rods that have a little slower action than their "Fast" rating. Bottom line is you can use a Medium power rod for LOTS of things! And a "Medium" rating means different things for different manufacturers. For instance, an Abu Garcia Medium are typically a little heavier in my opinion, while a Dobyns tends to run a little lighter. Others are somewhere in between. It's kind of like Goldilocks and the Three Bears! 😁 Look at a bunch and find what you think is Just Right!! 😁

Mike can confirm because has the expertise, but in my experience, look for marks on the outside of the AR sleeve that sits on the shaft. I had a Tatula CT Type R that had an issue with the AR. In my case though I went to sit down in waves and missed the chair and came down hard on the deck with the reel in my hand. It hit hard enough the AR bearing rollers left indents in the sleeve. You can find something to put inside the sleeve and then roll it in the AR rollers to feel for smoothness. Maybe a small screwdriver wrapped in paper towel.

I was going to suggest the Tatula XT as well. I have a couple Tatula and Tatula Elite in casting models and have been happy with them. Another option I might suggest in that price range is a Fenwick HMG. I haven't fished the most recent version yet, but have been pretty happy with the 2 generations before them. They are typically light, balance well, and usually have good sensitivity.

Who was being passive aggressive? All I said was that I disagreed that a M or ML didn't have enough backbone for Bass , and I said that in regards to spinning rods too. I just didn't take the time to look back up to see who said it. No reason to get upset!

Old thread, but seems to have been revived,... I have a short shooting length marked off for initial sighting in of scopes that is 50yrds from our Cypress tree to the woodpile of the fire pit, and an additional 10yds to the treeline of the woods. I set my shooting stand next to the cypress and the target next to the fire pit. When I cast from the Cypress, I can gauge distance pretty well. If I reach the firepit, I'm at 50yds, if I drop over the hill at the treeline, I'm at 60. (For the safety minded people, there's a ravine just past the treeline in the woods with a hill beyond it that makes a nice backstop for shooting! 😁) When I have a setup I like, the majority of casts max out between 30-40yds. Lighter casts and pitching are more like 15-20 at the most.

I use it on casting reels too on everything but the spool bearings. For some reason I hadn't thought about using it on the spinning reels. Might be worth a try

While I agree that MH make up the majority of my casting rods, I have plenty of medium power rods, as well as some medium light and use them for many of the techniques mentioned above. Mainly cranks, weightless plastics, swimming a grub on a jighead, and small texas rigged worms and tubes. As for spinning rigs, I don't have any heavier than a medium. I disagree with the statement above that a medium doesn't have enough backbone for bass. I have caught numerous smallies up to 5-6lbs on my medium light rods, and a few northerns up to 40+ inches. You just have to have your drag set right.

Well, I've been fishing for around 50 years starting with old Zebco spincast reels. Always used a RH reel in Baitcasters as well. About 15 years ago I started wondering why I was casting with my right hand and then switching hands to reel with my right. I bought a LH reel and it came to feel comfortable pretty quick. I now have more LH reels than RH, but do use both and can cast with either hand. Setting the hook and fighting the fish was never much of a challenge for me. The part that I initially struggled with more than I thought I would was landing the fish with my left hand. My suggestion is give it a try and see what you think after giving it a chance.

Well,... My memory didn't serve me as well as I thought. My Fuego reels on the HMX rods were actually 1000D models, not 2000 like I thought. You can see in the picture that they are nearly identical on size though. Line capacity is 160yds of 4# on each.

I have a pair of Daiwa Fuego 2000 reels mounted on light little Fenwick HMX rods and a pair of Shomano Stradic 1000 reels mounted on some ACC Crappie rods. If memory serves, they are pretty close to each other in size, but the Stradics are a bit heavier. I will try to take a look when I get home and take a picture of both and try to get line capacities. I had the Fenwick rods and bought the Fuegos when someone was closing them out for 50% off. Wanted another pair of Crappie rods for my wife and I and picked up the ACC rods and bought closeout Stradic FLs when the were being closed out. I like both setups a lot!! The ACC sticks are longer and the Stradics balance them out nicely! EDIT,... While I am thinking about it,.. I think the only difference between Daiwa 1000 and 2000 is the spool with the 2000 being slightly larger for more line capacity

Oh,.. And in response to the original question,.. I am more concerned with balance than weight like others have stated.

See, I'm just the opposite. I like my bottom contact rods to be light in the tip because I typically fiah tip up while working the lure. (Jig, tube, or worm) If I have a tip heavy rod, I would typically prefer that to be on a moving bait like a spinnerbait or crankbait because I typically fish those tip down on the return anyway, so a little tip heavy helps place. The rod in a natural tip down position.

I do it 9n occasion, but typically only on Hi-Viz green or yellow braid, and only when running straight braid