PhishLI

The Baby: The TD-X if re-issued and duplicated to a T and called the Tatula X? would be considered near SOTA, based on performance alone, and sell for big bux today. It was and still is a fine reel. It was offered to a member for a pittance but was rejected, sadly. The Bathwater: Most big bass were caught on gear from yesteryear. Uh oh, lock your doors! And that's all folks. The baby got thrown out with the bathwater. ?

I just gobbled a 2-for-1 burrito lunch special. There'll be a change in the air here too, and soon...not someday.?

It depends on the reel. Not all are created equal. I've had 15lb PP Super Slick on my Tataula LT 3000 CHX with the spool filled right up to the chamfer on the spool's lip for 2 years and haven't had a single wind knot. So try it out first with "your" reel and see what happens. Spool lip friction kills distance with light baits. You want as much line on the spool as you can get away with. Your reel will tell you what's what.

Good. Mix in lots of pitching practice. Pitching is mostly about thumb control. This will shorten the learning curve greatly for casting control. You should be happy with the reel. It's very capable with light baits due to it's spool's weight, so it's very versatile. I'm very happy with mine.

Just a word on the 2020 TP LFS. You'll be thrown in the fire with this reel as your first baitcaster. The spool is very light and the ACB braking system tilts toward quite free. It's more of a seasoned user type reel. These qualities are all good stuff after you've gotten a grip on your casting mechanics, but as a newbie you should probably look elsewhere, IMO.

Do you sniff your rods? Are you a rod sniffer? This sounds like a story line for an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Thanks! I'm gonna pitch it: Susie catches Larry sniffing Jeff's fishing rod...Hi-jinx ensues...

and another Quantum ICON PT. Just like Pistachios...

If you're fishing snaggy spots go for the 40 lb. I'd go straight braid and fill the spool. A 1/2" x 1/2" square of Scotch Super 33 electrical tape placed over the line at 180 degrees apart after you've tied on to the spool will do the trick. It's never slipped on mine.

Any of the reels you've mentioned will be fine, including the Fuego. I bought mine a few seasons back specifically for frogging, then another because I liked the first. The one on the frog rod has been brutalized, but remains smooth somehow. I've caught more fish on the other one than any other reel in my collection and it remains smooth also. Nothing wrong with a Curado K, except I don't think it's as versatile as a Fuego if you plan to use it for things other than frogging. It'll outcast the Fuego with frogs over a 1/2 oz, but the Fuego is more capable with lighter baits and there's no fooling with brake blocks or the tedious external dial of the K when you switch lures. But the K is robust and a silky smooth cranker, and no doubt a cut above either the Fuego CT or the Quantum in those areas, but... I'm a fan of the Tour S3. It's been nothing but a pleasure to fish with, is versatile, easy to adjust, predictable, and I can chuck baits a mile with it. If I'm out wading a flat and I want to cover water with a bunch of differently weighted baits, this is the reel I'll be using more likely than not.

It sounds as if you're quite comfortable fishing with Lew's reels. You're obviously sensitive to the shapes of different reels, so why not stick with what fits you best? If "cutting edge" comparisons actually added up to something significant when you're actually fishing, which they don't, you'd have a good reason to spend a fortune or search out discontinued vintage reels. I'm not discouraging either, a Steez or Metanium are both lovely, but why bother being sucked into doing mental gyrations over what's written on the net by people who suffer greatly with what are, in the big picture, practically meaningless differences when you're actually fishing. They're nits at best and add up to almost nothing where actual casting and catching performance is concerned. Some people on this site who've gone to both extremes have admitted as much. Understand that I'm not poo pooing the conclusions or feelings of anyone who has to have things "just so" to be happy, or to not be miserable. I'm just saying that the current braking and spool tech right now doesn't put one brand that far over the others in the real world. Various Magforce versions and SVS Infinity are far from perfect. Lew's ACB isn't either, but it's just as manageable as SVS is, for me, and definitely more convenient to use. I'm not bothered in the least palming a Daiwa Catalina all day, which is a bulkier reel than a Tat SV, so I'm not affected much by wider profiles. But if I were, and enough to start a post about it, I'd choose something that felt best in hand and stick with it. Why worry about the so called tech or lack thereof, or what tech/spec gurus or the nit-pickity say?

The much bigger issue is that the lineage of basic competence has been relinquished. Up until about 5 years ago I was still consulting for U.S. manufacturing companies taking prototypes to production. I designed and sometimes built production lines and specific equipment. All of it worked well, but without skilled management that had some degree of mechanical aptitude, and a workforce with a modicum of the same and some work ethic, none of that matters. There are still some people with what it takes to do certain jobs, maybe lots of them, but to find them clustered in one area to serve the needs of even one small manufacturer is very difficult these days. They tend to be older, if you can find them. The mindset necessary for quality manufacturing has died off, for the most part, especially where teens and 20-somethings and beyond are concerned. U.S. manufacturing is possible, but good luck rousting up the necessary teams of old timers from their easy chairs to resurrect it. That's assuming they'd be willing to given the attitudes they'd have to deal with today. They're the last link in a broken chain. Short of that, good luck.

Braid rigs the night before. Mono/copoly/fluoro right before I leave.

Daiwa put a metal handle/gear sideplate on it to reduce flex for heavier duty applications.

Mann-s Baby 1 minus in Tennessee Shad get's bit way more here than bluegill or bass versions and we have no shad or anything even close. I'm glad I took a shot.

What everyone else has said, and check your line roller. BG's use a bushing, which is fine, but if it's not spinning freely that'll add to the issue.

Ideally, they crank smoother and stay that way, but that's not always the case. Increases in casting distances are marginal, if at all, but there are exceptions. Think 10% greater with real fishing lures, maybe. Fit and finish is better, but only you can decide if the juice is worth the squeeze. If you're miserable without touching finer things, then buy up the ladder, but don't buy up with the expectation that you'll get twice the performance going from $300 up to $600 because you'll be very disappointed.

If I caught my PB on live bait it wouldn't count. I'd put a bag on my head for the selfie.

40lb J-braid in green tied directly to a Fat Ika has been the deal lately, in broad daylight. Maybe they see it as garnish. Yummy.

I use these, especially when night wading. Re-tying wet braid waist deep in water in the dark is not for me. They're super strong and come through muck and weeds quite well because the clasp faces in. The only thing is the clasp doesn't fit certain smaller sized hook's eyes.

Nuthin' like a perfect coincidence! Nice.

So sad...So true.

My Lew's reels are made in Korea, if that matters.

Reaction Innovations: Dirty Sanchez. Don't google it. Just don't.