FrnkNsteen

The answer in my world is no! 😁 I have tried but just haven't gotten to the point I trust it. It holds for a while, then all of a sudden the cast goes woosh and my bait is sailing towards shore!! 🤣

I caught about a 10" piece of shale one time on a crankbaits. I was swimming a crankbaits along a shore one time when it got heavy. I was reeling it in as it swam back and forth just as you described. Finally got it up to the boat and just as it came into view, they flat piece of shale slipped off the lip of the crankbaits and sunk back into the lake. The lip of the crankbaits had caught on the rock and it flipped up and caught water like a wakeboard. I was also watching a video one time where someone snagged a dead walleye that had been filleted and tossed back in the lake for the turtles. He even hooked it in the mouth. The look on his face when he pulled the carcass out of the water and it still had the fillet skins still attached at the tail. The video started as he was pulling in the line and by the look of confusion and disgust on his face, the video HAD to be real.

I have struggled with finding a dropshot combo I really like. My current two setups are ML/F Phenix Feather spinning rods. I originally tried a Vanford and a Tatula LT on them, but those rods are so light, especially through what little handle they have, that they feel a little tip heavy. I found a little heavier Stradic 2500 balances them out nicely. The other thing I found I like about them is the hook keeper at the butt of the rod, because I can hook my weight on it and it helps maintain the line without the weight swinging around. If I nose hook my bait so the hook isn't exposed, and catch the weight on the hook keeper at the base, I can twist the line and not have a mess when the rods are stored in the locker.

I don't care too much about the "Latest and Greatest" but I HAVE found that I am a bit of a reel geek and like the variety. I find myself saying "Hmmm,.. I don't have one of those. I wonder what they are like". Whether that is new or old doesn't really matter.

Doesn't really matter to me as long as they are properly balanced. I have seen some instances where a heavier full grip handle balanced a rod better if the manufacturer didn't take the time to balance it properly. I prefer a full handle when casting and grabbing the bottom of the rod with my offhand, but have many of both and it doesn't matter THAT much.

Makes sense. I could see the extra weight at the nose maybe causing an issue with how it suspends on a jerkbait, but I wouldn't expect any impact on other lures.

This was SOOO sad to hear, and what a terrible time for this to happen! I haven't been on here as much lately and hadn't been on the General Fishing section to see the post. I always enjoyed hearing @WRB-2.0 stories and him sharing his mass amount of experience. He will be greatly missed on here!! My sincere condolences to all his family and friends!!

I believe I have 10 or 12 lb flouro on pretty much all of my regular cranking setups. The only thing that may change is I believe I am running higher 15lb on one of my squarebill rods, and 12-15 lb mono on a couple of my real shallow crank rods running things like a wake bait or Hybrid Hunter.

Yep... That's the one I have. Really like that reel, and for what it's worth,... It looks really good on the orange Carrot Stix rod I have it on! 😜

Ok... So quick question... Probably a silly one because logic says the answer is yes. To those of you that said you use them on your cranking rods.... I assume you the remove all the split rings on your baits? I wouldn't think you would want a snap AND a split ring? I've thought about using clips, but always hold off when I think about pulling off ALL those split rings off all the baits. And what if I am in a situation I don't have a clip and now my baits don't have split rings. Suppose I could keep a few rings in a compartment and add back if/when ever needed. Just curious.....

I don't pay TOO much attention to weight, but I do check out what things weigh. I'm typically just more concerned with how they feel in the hand and how balanced they are. I think my lightest casting setup is a Phenix 606l Ultra MBX I picked up a couple years ago for VERY cheap in basically mint condition. I currently have an older Daiwa Alphas SV105L on it throwing light little Mooch Minnow and Paddletail swim bait rigs. Strange little rod in that is called a Light/Fast rod, but has a lure rating of 1/4-1/2oz and a line rating of 6-12. Feels more like a ML to me. The whole rig weighs a bit under 10oz. I think the rod weighed 3.1 and the loaded reel weighed right around 6 - 6.5oz. The rest of my rigs tend to run in that 10-12oz range for the most part. My lightest spinning rig is I believe a Falcon Expert 6'9" ML with a pre-MQ Tatula LT. Nice light setup for various things. I understand the need for lighter weights at times, especially as my age grows, but balance and feel are still my driving focus. I often move things around looking for that just right setup I like.

I have one of those T3 SV reels too. It was the first T3 I had bought. Bought it used, nice and clean on the big auction site. Liked it so much I picked up a couple other versions. Mine is an 8 spd.... Maybe all the T3 SV's are for all I know. I currently have it on a 6'6" Carrot Stick M/MF throwing Rocket Shads. That thing casts great and the 8spd lets me burn those little Rocket Shads by lay downs and rocks for reaction bites. Really like that setup!!

I tried them when the Curado DC and SLX DC came out. Bought the Curado for me to try and bought an SLX DC for my wife because it was a little smaller. The thought was that it may help her get the hang of casting reels as she was just starting to use them. I can't say it really helped her and we have sold off both of them. She much preferred a Tatula SV 70 that I had picked up. She is also running a Daiwa T3 that I had picked up. The 3D braking on that T3 reel gives her some options she likes. She has been throwing her bladed jigs on that reel. My experience with the DC reels I had was that they worked fine if you had a firm consistent cast. We found that if she hesitated at all on the cast and didn't get a full cast, the likelihood of backlash increased and she would get different levels of over-run. Traditional braking on the Daiwa reels worked better for her, and she also liked the smaller size. As for the noise,... It was kind of a novelty when we first got them that wore off quickly and became a little irritating after a while.

For me, it would have to be the Zillion as many others have said. That being said, I really like my 2018 Bantam for it's heavy duty build feel. I know it weighs more, but I honestly don't notice it. I DO admit that the casting suffers a bit on the 2018 Bantam due to where the line be guide is in relation to the spool. I've heard the 2022 Bantams addressed that, but I don't have one to compare. I don't have the 2020 Metanium and I'm not a fan of the DC reels, so my order would be Zillion, Bantam, Met, Scorpion.

"Old" is such a relative term. 😊 As I get older, the stuff I used to use years ago still doesn't seem old. "Old" to me is my Grandpa's old casting reels, if you call them that, that look like the images @bulldog1935 showed. Those are safe and secure on a shelf in the hobby room. I do have some "older" reels that I still really like and use quite often, surrounded by lots of newer offerings. Things **** TDZ and TDX 100 and 103 reels in both RH and the left handed ML versions, plus a handful of the left hand versions with the clutch lever on top like the 103HL. Throw in a couple of the SV103 LH and some LH TD Fuegos and Sols too!! I've also still got some older Shimano reels like the E series Curados in LH form, some older Chronarch 51's, and a couple Metatium Scorpion MG that are similar to the Core reels. There's also a mixing of Gen3 Revo S and STX reels that are becoming "Older" now that I still like. I believe most of the ones listed above that I still use were from late 90's to early 2000's, with a couple from the early 2010s. Some of those reels just feel right in the hand and I still find myself reaching for them..... ESPECIALLY the TDZ and TDX. Those were some comfortable reels. Never understood why they stopped making those.

Thanks @bulldog1935! May not be worth the hassle for a used Alphas spool. When I initially saw it and posted the question, I hadn't realized they were outside the US.

Wondering if anyone has ever used Reelmaster.shop? They came up while I was doing a search for Alphas 33mm spools and they had one, plus a bunch of other reel parts listed. I've never heard of them, so I was wondering if anyone has any experience with them. Not much info available online about them. Looked up there website again, and their "About Us" page says they are a fishing reel service specialist company from Ukraine. What's with all the fishing reel companies from Ukraine? Isn't SDS Customs from there too? Strange to me, but when I think fishing, Ukraine doesn't spring to mind!

Blasphemy!! 😂😂 What is this "Reduce" word you use?? 😁

I really liked the Revo S and STX reels, and still have some Gen3 versions. The brake systems changed from model to model with the S being Centrifugal, the SX being mag, and STX being dual braked. Gen4 saw some significant changes I personally didn't like. All of them got heavier with a change to brass gears, and the braking changed. SX went to dual braking and STX went to there variable centrifugal,.... IVCB6 I think they call it. I never liked those brakes. I've never bought any more Revos after they released Gen4. Some people do though! Worth checking out clean used models, but just know things changed between the generations so be sure what you're looking at, so you know what to expect. At $100 new.... I think I agree with Fuego or SLX. I wasn't a fan of the Lews Speed Spool,.... Especially it's drag.

I haven't pulled a Lexa apart, but in most of the ones I have done, the handle side cover needs to come off and the levelwind and drive gear are pretty alone at the front of the reel. In my experience you don't have to disassemble the "Whole" reel, but you DO need to go inside. Usually a little e-clip holds the levelwind shaft in place. If you pop that loose, the shaft pieces typically come out from both ends after the pawl is out of there. Just keep a finger on that e-clip so it doesn't go flying. And take pictures if you haven't done this much. Another option is to just send it Mike at DVT. He's well known around here for doing nice work!

Oh, Good Grief.... So don't huff it, spray it all over yourself, burn it or eat it?? Got it! No problem! I choose to just have some common sense and not overthink every little thing! If I ran from every product that had warnings on their MSDS, I wouldn't touch much of anything!

The one I bought did. It seemed to be a standard 34mm that fit in all the normal crowd (SV103, TDZ, newer Zillion SVTW)

I wouldn't say that! I have some of the Sol reels, and I recently picked up a clean LH Alphas SV105, but I'm not even sure what a Type F, Ito 103Ai are,... Nor do I have any of the purple ones I have seen. I DID like the Alphas SV105 though. I put it on a little 6'6" ML Phenix Ultra MBX rod I had picked up a year or two ago. VERY light setup. I think the combo weighs in around 9.5oz! Probably a good thing though as it would just make me want more of them!! 😁 Sounds like we have a mutual liking for the old Daiwa reels, along with many others on here! You are absolutely correct. I ordered an orange spool that was called an SV105 spool, hoping it would fit the Sol. When it arrived, I found it didn't fit in the Sol, but fit perfectly in the TDZ. I made the mistake of thinking it saying it was for SV105, that it was automatically for the Alphas, but instead they were likely speaking of the Zillion bodied style SV105. It fit fine in my SV103.

I planned to try using it for light to medium crank baits. Funny that @FishTank says it is best with a 3/8oz crank because the exact weight casting plug I have on it at the moment testing it out in the yard, and I like it so far! I was thinking OG Tiny or OG Slim crankbaits, and others around that weight. May have to try it on a Jerkbait as mentioned above, but I currently have St Croix LTB and Kistler jerkbait rods setup that I really like! I'm thinking the Zillion is a nice fit on there and I like the feel of it so far. I've had issues with bumping the brake knob on the Zillion on other rods and the fit on this rod seems to keep that from happening, so it may be a nice combo for a few different reasons.

I have three other Sol reels that I had picked up along the way that I plan to play with and tweak. This new one is so pristine and smooth, it will likely stay as is. That said though... on the others I have... The handles are riveted and have become a little sloppy, so I am looking at replacing them. For now, I have found a few that fit. The nicest and most convenient, are actually a couple Revo STX handles I had laying around that I had replaced with some lighter carbon fiber handles. They bolt right on the the Sol and even clear the flat drag star (Barely!). They have bearings and have been shimmed to remove all slop. Very smooth! I have 3 sets of 7.2:1 gear sets coming from Tackle Trap that I noticed they still have in stock. Having trouble finding many options for the 33mm spools that @redmeansdistortion said these take. I did some searches on Amazon, the big auction site, as well as Google and didn't find much. The few I DID find were a little ridiculous on price. Have a hard time paying more for a spool than I did for ANY of these Sol reels, including the NIB one I just got. I do really like these reels! They are small, compact, and the ones I have are pretty smooth. I believe these are 5.8 gear ratio if I'm not wrong, which is fine on the light crank rod I have one on, but I have another on a Kistler Jerkbait Special rod and one on a top water that could maybe use a little faster gear. Overall I am pretty happy with these!