PhishLI

Oy vey. Peace be with you.

Yup

Down the line maybe. Smoothness aside, the G is the best general purpose Daiwa reel I've touched. It's a fantastic free caster with a near perfect braking profile for my mechanics.

Yes, and he got his answer from other "anglers" before the Hi-jinx began. This is a fishing forum, not medical school. I contribute plenty around here, good sir. Occasionally I'm actually helpful, I think. Lighten up.

Now now. The OP has a beard, so I doubt he needs a Prince Charming. It's not like he's 9. Plus, he received the correct information before I viscously assaulted him. Grown men can have a little fun around here once in a while with some gentle ribbing, wouldn't you say?

No magnets in either reel. The dial on the outside you think controls magnets actually controls the lateral movement of the conical friction surface that interacts with the flying brake blocks.

Besides a tiny minority here and elsewhere, and short of actual metal on metal grinding, very few people care whether a reel is super smooth or not while cranking under load. A degree of gear meshing that can be felt is typically fine or unobtrusive to most people, obviously. I'm probably about 15 hours into cranking a Zillion G, which is like cranking air, but I don't want to vomit when using my other reels that exhibit normal minor gear meshing, but that's just me. Others are hyper focused on this issue above all else it seems.

I did the "thumb load" test on the 80 I got last night. Definitely a different feel than any recent Tat series reel. Not even a slight pulsing. Who knows if it'll last? We'll see.

The color isn't a thing for me at all. I already have a standard Zillion G. The fast level wind and brake tuning is what's attractive about the PE Special.

Aint that tempting? Hmmm?

I tighten down the drag and run the line through a thick catalog with some weight on it which causes enough tension and doesn't burn my fingers. Works fine.

He did a good interview yesterday on Bass U Live 3/22 on YT. Apparently they've recently taped a seminar where he's demonstrating the same tactics he used to win at Santee. Not sure if I'm allowed to post the vid here, but his segment begins at the 17 minute mark.

My confidence goes way up during cooler weather when southern winds are blowing in. Some of best outings by far.

There were no horses under sheets in this tale, but Don @SproDD79 made me an offer I couldn't refuse... Thanks!

I have a pretty short window around here where I can get away with 8-12 lb mono.copoly/fluoro. Once the thick weeds and lily pads are in full bloom breakoffs become a big problem. 20lb braid is a no-go too. I can get away with straight 30lb Daiwa J8 for senkos, flukes, Fat IKAs, etc as long as I'm don't let them run too deep into the pads. It's a bit worrisome if they do, but even then I've never had an issue with 30lb. I will throw topwaters using the same line if I've waded out and don't feel like trekking back to swap rigs. It's doable if I back off my drag. However, I prefer to throw treble topwaters on straight 15lb Big Game. It's hard to beat the durability and strength of BG and the stretch is about perfect for trebles baits on the crisper rods I prefer using.

I tried out another spot tonight where I've had no luck in the past and spent 2 hours in a short-strike-athon. I didn't matter what I threw, I just kept missing. It was windless and chilly tonight, but finally a puff of wind blew through and a pocket of ripple about 100 feet out moved across the water. I went into zombie mode and bombed out a black/blue Jackhammer-Diesel Minnow into the ripple and finally got a few decent fish to commit. The second fish had a buddy who followed him in right up to where I scooped him up. The follower freaked when he saw me and tail slapped away to safely. Took a few swings at where I thought he might be, but no dice. Things are finally getting going around here. I'll take it.

Pinky bets only

I'm taking bets on whether or not he's already hammered it flat. Who's in?

Try a 5" Strike King Caffeine Shad. Rig it on an Owner Twistlock Light 5/0 hook. No problem bombing it for distance on MHF casting gear and light line. I'm using straight 30lb Daiwa J8 most often, even in clear water, and it gets bit. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Strike_King_KVD_Perfect_Plastic_Caffeine_Shad_5_8pk/descpage-SKPCS.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Twistlock_Light_Hook/descpage-OTLL.html

I'm not sure what made me tie on a 6" GY senko to throw in 44 degree water, but I did. The problem was that it was actually a 6" BPS Stick-O. The action is OK, but it smells just like rubber. I had some pro Cure Craw scent so I slathered it up. I bought a pile of these things in bulk on sale and have not done well with them even though they look exactly like a watermelon black flake GY. On top of that I decided to work a part of a lake where I've had terrible luck in the past. I worked the Stinko slow-n-low near the front of a creek inlet and a stumpy chunk ate it. Then a few more cuties ate the Gantarel jr. OK for an unexpected quick after dinner sesh in a spot where I've taken untold whippings. #nomoreshame?

The SV boost in the Zillion G is a different animal though. Not much in common with standard SV types. There's nothing choked off about it at all.

He loves everything DC. If Shimano comes out with DC underwear he'd buy it.?

And sometimes nothing you do matters. Look at Jason Christie. He just won the Classic last week, and now he's out of Santee Copper with just one fish caught on day 1 for 93rd place.

Yeah, me too, but I did the "should be married" thing, so... Amongst the list of minutiae on her list today was taking down all of the bathroom fan vents because she saw a fleck of lint in one of them. I really can't complain about marrying a clean freak though, because that's not me left to my own devices. I try to keep up, but this caveman can't hide his spots. I'll do my part now and hit the boat on Wednesday with my brother and have a clear head.

Nice NY chunk, LMS! Congrats! 6 lbers up here is where my heart really starts to get pumping. Feels like a big jump up from a 5er. How long did it take for your hands to quit shaking?