MAN

I'm only one guy give me a break. ?

Ok...I will try

I do

I have used them and never seen a significant difference. I have done the minced sardine oil trick mentioned above for soaking chicken hearts for catfish....and have concluded that may be the worlds best turtle bait. I just think bass are reactionary feeders and don't go around smell testing first. If it gives anglers more confidence then keep on keeping on with the scents.

I'm thinking maybe their reel factory made them a heck of a good deal on some reels another customer backed out on.

understood

I have never had a problem..even as little as a month ago.

Ive seen plastics in redfish and trout almost completely dissolved. Though I don't know how long their stomach has been working at it. As with everything...Eventually non decomposible plastics for fishing will be a thing of the past.

I voted them as one of top 5 items at ICAST this year. Plano stepping up their game!!

Mainly cost, appearance and braking system. Bearings have never been a big deal to me and its just less that can fail if I have less. Gear Ratio isn't that important as I can turn the handle slightly faster or slower if needed.

Thanks guys. Was just trying to get a rough consensus on the an acceptable life span of a reel. Obviously this mindset has changed drastically from our grandfathers days when you expected to be able to hand your Garcia down to your grandson. I would wager a 5 year life span on most reels these days is acceptable to majority of fisherman.

What is an acceptable life span for you..for a baitcast reel in the $59-$79 retail?

Bass get to much credit from fisherman in my opinion.

China is getting devastated over there because of the Tarriffs. Seen it first hand and will see it again in a couple weeks when I head back. Part of the benefits of having a government controlled media is you simply don't allow negative news to be reported on. They probably are in a better position to hold off until further elections..simply because they don't have to answer to the people who are suffering.

The type of things that have came back to the U.S. generally are not going to be sitting on a retail store shelf with a Made in USA sticker.

I catch way more on live bait that I do artificial. In fact I have started fishing live bait almost 70% of the time now with my son. I get the same rush when that red/white bobber darts under water as I do when I feel something smack my fluke.

Thanks! I have been eyeing these reels myself for catfish, gar and some light offshore. I need to see if they have an option that doesn't have such a large power handle.

We have moved millions of dollars in production back to America from China..where it made sense. Like someone mentioned above..hearts in good place but there is a lot more to it.

We are splitting the additional tariff cost with our China factories and absorbing the difference in our fishing product line. But a lot of companies are just raising the retails to absorb. Additionally I am looking in Vietnam for lower end fishing rod business. Vietnam, Cambodia and the Phillpines are all gaining very quickly from this Tarriff. It just takes time to get the infrastructure up and running as well as training these folks to make lures, rods and reels that are worth a flip. One thing for sure is China is taking a beating and once these industries are gone from China...they will never return.

What is the background story?

I'm the opposite....I started out using everything and have gravitated to Abu (sweden made) and Shimano. Mainly having been in the industry and learning first hand about all the companies.

Surprised you even still allowed to fish in Cali !!

I heard they are releasing a new Mettle reel soon. So if you like the current one...stock up.

There was a gentleman that had a booth at this past ICAST show I talked to...he was previously a federal game warden out of Texas and had invented a tool just for this situation. Pretty cool and probably a MUST CARRY for the original poster of this thread. ...for the life of me I can't remember what he called his gizmo.

Twice this year already...ya missed em. Which style H20 bait are you chunking?