PhishLI

Anyway, I was simply trying to make a point that fishing prices have remained reasonably stable and within reach for even budget types.

Plenty.

Thanks for getting it.👍 Trust me. I know. I'm all tube too. Build, repair, etc. Thankfully I super stocked on tubes 20 years ago. Set for life.

I 'aint against them. My CD deck is all vacuum tube, so I can bear it.

I really don't see what the big deal is here. Taco bell for two goes in one way and out the other in mere hours, sometimes minutes. What's that?? $25-$30 if you go cheap? Fishing gear lasts years or decades. Tens of thousands of casts. How long did anyone expect $100 aluminum reels to stay at that cost? Forever? Besides, what hobby doesn't cost money and have price increases? Wanna have a stroke? Play around with real high-end audio. Here you'll find the land of $17,000 phono cartridges. That's a record needle for you old timers. 20 years ago, that same cartridge listed at $10K. Fishing is by far the least expensive hobby I've ever had, even with their measly price increases. I'm not wheezing over it, and no, I'm not rich. Just a good saver.

I wouldn't argue that your picture of very sleek bait with a lead head will fly on your rig in your hand. I read enough of your posts to understand how you fish and why you fish the way you do. I agree that taller spools always have a specific advantage where distance casting is concerned. That said, a BFS bass bait like a Zman TRD BugZ 2.75" or a 2.5" TRD CrawZ on a 1/16 head and fine wire hook clocks in at about 3.5 grams which is the upper limit of what purist consider true BFS. Beaver baits like the BugZ, and craw baits like the Crawz are air catchers. The polar opposite of what you've shown. Lower the head weight and things only get worse. IMO, this is where smaller diameter spools have an advantage regarding consistency for general casting of typical less than aerodynamic bass baits but not bombing baits for distance. Your experience might be different.

The first thing I did when I picked up my first few bait casters was to tear them down for a look inside. The Belleville washers were an obvious-to-me reason to back off my drag, but the main drag washer was too. They're always concave with respect to the drag disc(s) and main gear on what I've encountered, therefore, just like the Bellville washers, they're subject to fatigue and ultimately deformation under pressure. I'm not going to try to prove this is a fact or measurable, but I trust my instincts after decades of R&D, so I back off my drags. Just made sense to me without ever having heard the suggestion made beforehand. If I was able to learn to tie my shoes after untying them the night before, I can remember to re-tighten my drag.

This a tad more complicated because it depends on your goals. I'll assume that your Daiwas are 34mm spools. The ARK's is 28mm. Tall spools and aerodynamic soft baits with lead heads or hard baits with weight transfer systems above 4 grams can be launched, but below that weight and with less aerodynamic plastics the smaller diameter spool is much easier to deal with. At 1/8oz and under, thumbing before splash-down isn't really an option as there isn't enough total weight between the spool, bait, and inertia. You'll need to really modify your casting stroke allowing the bait to fly to a target and only stop it before it lands. There's a learning curve with lighter baits in the true BFS range, and here the smaller diameter spool has advantages. However, if you're never going to go that low and want to play in the borderline BFS range, you may be OK with what you have. That said, random aftermarket spools are no guarantee and might need to be tweaked to the user's strength or weaknesses. It could be a rabbit hole depending on "you", or you might be OK off the jump. No way to know for sure until you try. The ARK is nice as it uses a fixed inductor which allows for three adjustments into the magnetic gap via stepped dogs. The passive/active portion of magnet assembly really doesn't do much. Nothing as radical as what Mag Z or SV does. It's essentially equivalent to a Daiwa spool with a fixed inductor/ linear mag system, which works quite well with super light baits. I'd say try what you have and see how it goes. If they fit your needs, stick with it. If they don't, at $149 you have nothing to lose. And believe me, this isn't a cheap reel at all with typical cheap real compromises. It just happens to be a bargain that will compete with anything out there in its ideal bait-weight wheelhouse performance/wise, IMO.

Silliness, especially if you haven't heard vinyl done right, young man. Still whips digital today, even the eye-popping expensive versions. Ever hear anyone claim that analog vinyl sounds almost as good or as good as digital? Nope, you never have, but you'll hear the opposite claimed routinely by wishful thinkers. Maybe someday, just not yet.

Agreed. One of the great things about night fishing is that bass are far less committed to structure or cover as ambush points. In fact, they become reckless in open water, especially where schooling baitfish are set up whether that's super shallow close to the bank or above weed tops offshore. I agree, however, I think there are higher percentage areas than wood to focus on, especially right now when bluegill/pumpkinseed are suicidally committed to their beds. Catch the right night-bite window and you will find bass tail-slapping their way out of the shallows after snatching gills off beds. Get a bait between bedding gills and bass and your reward will be great.

Do yourself a favor and skip the so-so SLX/Curado BFS. Wish I had. Pick up the ARK BFS instead which clobbers both (IMO) and competes directly with the Alde BFS (IMO) and may actually be better due to the range of adjustment and definitely regarding touchiness. Hard to believe? Believe it. Ark Fishing Gravity Limited Edition BFS Casting Reels | Tackle Warehouse

That's the norm around here too, but way worse, right up to the top. How to fish it? Stout rods, straight braid, heavy baits, and patience. Throw in Spatterdock just for fun.

Daiwa Steez A with a suite of aftermarket spools would cover the gamut in bass lures from BFS up to 2ozs. Precision build. Disappears in hand. Connected feeling, and with Daiwa's smartest and wicked-cool looking brake-dial-side-plate design.

Friends, laughs, and photographs. If that's a waste of time...don't know what to say.

It's unlikely that the Tatula X uses a plastic frame. First, they're claiming a Hyper-armed housing. Second, they clearly state on their Doyo builds like the new Aird and older CC baitcasters that they're composite frames. Also, the TW pics show the sideplate being secured with Daiwa's odd slotted screw head which indicates machine threads into the frame. While there's an outside chance that they're pulling a fast one by embedding machine screw inserts into a plastic frame which allows for machine screws....I doubt it.

From TW: Overview Combining entry-level affordability with Daiwa’s peak engineering excellence, the Daiwa Tatula X Casting Reel leverages HYPERDRIVE Design to deliver peak performance for a wide range of fishing applications. Built with Hyper Armed Housing to provide enhanced rigidity, the Tatula X Casting Reel operates with extreme smoothness under pressure thanks to the updated HYPERDRIVE gearing system, which has bigger and stronger gear teeth to extend gear life. Daiwa Tatula X Casting Reel | Tackle Warehouse

Those who were active here in '19 will recall @dodgeguy's metronomic insistence that the 2020 Lew's Tournament Pro LFS was a special reel. I can't say whether he convinced me to try it, or if I simply just cracked under the relentless pressure, but I snagged one. Turns out I agree with his assessment. I had lots of reels then and have added many more since, and this reel remains my most used one right next to my Zillion G. It's a great braid mainline reel. To me, the ACB centrifugal brakes are the most predictable and consistent I've used when compared to other brand's centrifugal types. The day I find out that Lew's is discontinuing this model I'll pick up a few more to last me until the end of my ride.

Seems like aluminum framed reels from the major players will start at $130 going forward.

Don't discount this idea. I preach this to friends who struggle often. Finding out what doesn't work under specific conditions is as important as finding out what does. File it away and you'll be more efficient in the future. Personally, I'm more than pleased with the amount of big fish I've bagged in the past, so I'm apt to experiment if I'm in the mood. I'm not fiending to catch numbers or too bummed out when I skunk. There's more to fishing than just catching to me at this point and figuring out how to properly present a particular bait is the entire ball game.

One thing to note is that discreet pinion bearings mounted in the frame under the yoke have thin-walled races and small balls. They aren't as robust as typical bearings. Also, they are subject to water intrusion, especially with braid mainline, therefore suspended grit. Often, these bearings are the culprit and not the gear set when reels start feeling gear-y. Other frame bearings can also cause the same feeling, including the roller clutch bearing. Work on enough reels and you'll learn this firsthand. BTW, Curado 70s were/are notorious for their pinion bearing failures, even carefully fished ones. Point is: Don't assume gears are the issue right off the bat. Might be but might not be, aluminum or not.

Like I said earlier, the Tat 150 holds nearly as much line as a Curado 200. Comparisons are in the eye of the beholder. Deep divers with big bills getting high-arc launched for distance catch wind. If you have a slick thumb, centrifugal brakes are fine. If you'd rather cast mindlessly, then Mag Z is simply a friendlier braking system in this scenario. Plus, if you'll be using something like typical 12lb flouro the T-Wing is the chit. Coil-y line just flows through it.

The new Tatula 150 would be perfect. Capacity is closer to most other brand's 200. Nice tall 36mm spool is good for long casts and T-wing is great for plastic line.

What's the range in weight of crankbaits you intend to throw?

They have more than one version. I like this one 'cause I find it irksome un-skinhooking skin-hooked plastics. * Fuji Multi Hook Keeper MHKM Color variation | eBay

Hard to say. My buddy re-caught a bass one month after breaking off a jig in its mouth. This fish was well fed, healthy, with no apparent infection, and he got his jig back with a unique JDM trailer. One thing you can be sure of is this: If you accidentally kill a fish after breaking off or releasing it bleeding, it's going to be consumed quickly. At least twice after releasing badly tongue hooked fish who clearly weren't going to make it, I've watched snapping turtles seemingly come out of nowhere to T-bone them and take them away. Quite remarkable. I imagine catfish and other bottom dwellers making quick work of them too. Note: We're not allowed to remove black bass from most waters on this island for any reason, so they go back from whence they came no matter what.