FrnkNsteen

^This^ I clean mine with a qtip, then put a couple drops of oil on the other end of the qtip and run it around the ring to lightly lube it. Usually quiets them down

I really like my Dobyns casting rods,... And have quite a few of them, but I dont own one single Dobyns spinning rod. The main reason for my dislike is the grips. I hate a spinning rod with the threads at the front of the grip so your are holding bare threads. I much prefer a spinning rod with a foregrip, or at least one that has hidden threads. My spinning rod collection is made up of Fenwick, Falcon, Daiwa, and Phenix Feather. All of which have foregrips, threads at the bottom of the grip or at least hidden threads

It's just my opinion, but I look at a swim jig as a spinnerbait or chatterbait without blades. I started noticing that most spinnerbait rods tend to be MH Mod Fast and I've liked how they fish. I rarely lose one on them. I currently fish my bladed jigs on a Dobyns 735 cb glass or 736 cb glass. I have my spinnerbaits on an older Fenwick Elitetech Smallmouth MHMF casting or Dobyns Fury 705cb and my swim jigs on Dobyns Sierra 734 rods. All of which are rated Mod-Fast or are a little slower than a typical "Fast" action rod (Sierra). All I can say is they work pretty well for me.

I had a couple Lews LFS and they were good reels. The only thing I had an issue with was the drag. I like both the SLX and Fuego. SLX for cast and wind techniques where distance is key. Fuego for close range or pitching around cover. Either will work for either, but that's where each excelled in my opinion.

I've still got a few of the older Presidents with the wooden handle knob and they are still pretty smooth. I won't trash the new ones as they are still a pretty nice reel for the price, but I'll admit I did return the last two I bought due to being rough out of the box. Most of the Pflueger issues I have read about were regarding the President XT, Supreme, and Supreme XT. Read some reviews and see all the comments on broken bails and handles. I've got 3 newer Fuego LT reels, plus some Regal and Revros models and they have held up well and fish smooth. One of the Fuegos had a little rubbing sound when new but smoothed out quickly. I think it was just a little flash on the inside of the rotor. I have always liked Pflueger reels, but have to say from personal experience that they aren't what they were, but still better than most. I would buy the Fuego over the President right now though, and have with my last 3 purchases!

I personally wouldn't get either of those. I have an SLX DC and Curado DC that I bought at the same time for my wife and I. Not impressed with either of them and wouldnt buy either again. Not a fan of the Lews M iach series at that price either. If you are looking at that $150 - $200 price range, I'd go with a Daiwa Tatula SV, Shimano Curado MGL. Or if you like a Lews,... There are other models that don't start with "Mach" that I would look at. Tournament MP, Custom, or Tournament Pro spring to mind.

In my opinion, the Champion is a little faster action than the Sierra. I liked the Sierra for things like a swim jig, chatterbait, maybe even a whopper plopper. I currently have a swim jig on my Sierra 734. My Champion 734 currently is set up for texas rigged worms.

Typical ?

Are you locked on Daiwa reels? If so, then I would go with the CT. It does better than the SV for that in my opinion. If not,... Then I personally like my Shimano reels for throwing things like jerkbaits, flukes, or anything I want distance. Don't get me wrong,... I like my Daiwa and have far more than any other brand, but I have found the Shimanos cast farther with less effort. Especially the MGL reels like the SLX MGL or the Curado MGLs. Both are in your price range.

I agree to sell it if you don't like it. I guarantee if you post it in the flea market for a reasonable price it will be snapped up quickly. I've kind of gone down the rabbit hole on older Daiwas myself recently. TDZ, TDX, TD Fuegos, T3 1016 and T3 SV..... It's a slippery slope because I really like those reels!!

Is that the 704C like you mentioned, or did you mean 704CB? Completely different rods. The 704c is what Dobyns calls their all purpose Heavy casting rod. The 704cb is what I would call their medium action crankbait rod. If you are talking the 704cb,.. I agree that it is great. I use mine for Poppers, Jerkbaits, and small shallow cranks away from heavy cover.

I agree as well. I have a couple SLX MGL 71, a couple Curado 151 MGL, and a Curado 71 MGL. I don't see a major difference between any of them, but haven't had any of them long enough to speak to longevity, I will say the SLX MGL impressed me a lot. Figured I liked that so much that I'd REALLY like the Curado MGL, but turned out it wasn't much different

I do like them.... I made the mistake of buying a couple old Team Daiwa reels (a TDZ 103HL pitching reel and a TDS 103HVLA) since then I kind of went down the rabbit hole on various older Team Daiwa reels including some more TDZ 103's and a few old Fuegos. They were some good reels I couldn't afford back then! .... and would have a hard time justifying today!! $230 for a Fuego or $350 for a TDZ is quite a bit of money for a reel today. In '98 - '04 it was beyond reason!!! ?

Cleaning the inductor and shaft seemed to help as it is casting more normally now and the spool is much more manageable. Brakes seem to be working normally now. Hindsite being 20/20,... Probably wasn't very bright to hit it with a little brake cleaner as I remembered after the fact that there are plastic parts in that inductor assembly. i think I got lucky though as it seems to be fine. In the future, I will pull it apart and clean more carefully.

Thanks Tom,... I will look into that. I went to swap spools from one of the other Fuegos I have,... not even thinking those are RH hand and the one I am dealing with is a LH ?. I actually got as far as setting the spool in before I realized the line was spooled the opposite direction ?. While I had the spools out and could compare them, I checked out the inductors on each and it does seem like the inductor is a little sticky and harder to pull out than the others. I sprayed it with a little cleaner and it seemed to free up a little. I have it sitting to dry out a bit and will try it again.

Hi guys,... Got a brake question for the reel gurus on here. I recently bought an old school Team Daiwa Fuego (The old TDZ style ones that are red and silver) and it's in really nice shape. Tore it down to check the insides and everything looks great. It reels smooth and the spool is very free. One strange thing though. It's like the brakes aren't working and even on max brake setting of 10, it's almost unmanageable. Far more so than the other TDZ, TDX and Fuegos I have from the same era. I looked inside the side cover and the magnets seem to be installed correctly with the lines on the two magnets aligned when set at max setting. Could the inductor be sticky and not extending correctly at high spool speeds at beginning of cast? I'm going to pull the spool out if one of my other Fuegos to try to narrow down the spool as root cause, but thought I ask the experts while I do.

I have a lefty version of that old SV103 and love it. I always keep my eyes out for them in case I see one pop up. I don't really understand the "Too Smooth" complaint because all I feel with mine is the wobble of the crankbait or spinnerbait blade and I love that! If you happen to decide you don't like it,... Fear not! I'm sure there are others that would be glad to take it off your hands. Including me!,... Even if it is a righty!! ?

Thanks for the info. I think I will go ahead and skip that! ? Don't need another rabbit hole to go down!! ?? Found myself interested in clean old Daiwa and Shimano reels from the late 90s through early 2000s. Started off with a TDS103HVLA and TDZ 103HL. Expanded from there to a another 103HL, a 105HL, a couple old school TD Fuegos, a TDZ103H plus a JDM TDX103H and a USDM TDX103HSD and a few Shimanos like a pair of Calcutta 151s and a Scorpion Metanium MG7. LOL!!! That big ol auction site can be dangerous!! ?

Did a search and found a couple forum threads from 2020, and references on various sites, all outside of the US. Never seen this before.

I like that! Is that something new?

I fish a spinning rod with three fingers in front of the reel stem, so I hate a spinning rod with the screw threads at the front. I like Dobyns rods, but not their spinning rods for that reason. The Tatulas and Bass X have a foregrip, so that automatically makes me like them more. I don't like the plastic handle of the Bass X so that leaves me with the Tatula. Other ones I like are the Falcon Lowrider, St. Croix Victory. I like a Phenix Feather too since they have no exposed threads on the grip.

I don't have a lot of Lews, but they do make pretty good products, so you really can't go wrong with any of them at 50% off. I don't know enough to say much about the KVD Cranking Series, but I did recently pick up one of the 7' GC3 "All Purpose Reaction" rods ( or something like that) and I kind of like it. It's light, has a short handle grip and is rated for 3/16 - 1/2 oz. Trying it out for a variety or light things like poppers, small jerkbaits, and even #3 - #5 Mepps spinners I had a Pro SP and a couple LFS and either sold them or gave them to family. Good reels and they like them. They just weren't my thing. Didn't care for centrifugal brakes on a pitch & skip reel. Never had a BB1 or SuperDuty but they seem well liked on here. Bottom line,... Lews makes good quality reels and their customer service is awesome in my experience. Hold them in your hand and see what you think. If you like them, you can't go wrong at those prices!

That is exactly what I do. Just make sure you wipe it down good before sealing to get all the loose particles off.

I've used both the clear Zara Spook Jr and the Zara Puppy with good results. Especially for smallies on clear northern lakes in northern MN or Ontario

I treat all mine too. I can feel a difference right after sealing, but it usually only lasts for a bit. I've found I notice less of a difference if you make sure to wipe them down really well after cleaning before you seal them. If there is anything like cork dust on them when you seal them, you will lock it in and feel it afterwards. The cleaner it is, the smoother it will be. I also put a very light coat of sealer and wipe off the excess.