PhishLI

I've gleaned, while reading the forums and elsewhere, that the ultimate measure of a man using a baitcaster is no brakes and a thumb only. I think the very same proponents of that sentiment would also remove the spool tension knob if they could, and would run a marathon shoe-less. By that measure I'm just a boy. Check. Having said that, I tend to run my brakes at the lower limit, so I get it. I own 3 Daiwas: A Tat SV and two Fuegos. The remaining reels I use are all centrifugally braked only. From the beginning I've followed the Daiwa spool tension recommendations. The Brent Ehler video suggested a slight side to side click. I haven't clamped a reel down and used a dial indicator to measure that play, but from experience I reckon it's about .003"-.005". That's nowhere near 1/16", as some have speculated. It's very little in fact. Soooo, I've set my Daiwas up as told to and fished them. As the brakes do very little braking at the start, especially when set quite low, say 4-5, a specific casting stroke must be employed. It's very different than when casting with a centrifugally braked reel. For me it comes down to feeling the rod flex as it loads, as much as the lure's weight makes it, then not increasing the velocity thereafter. Increasing the velocity, a bit of a snap for example, without perfect thumbing at the start will cause an instant backlash. Understanding this, i don't have a problem and rarely backlash. However, set that way, I cannot cast most lures as far with Daiwas as I can with my others. In most real world circumstances that's irrelevant, but please read on. The county I live in has a No Boats policy in most places which forces bank fishing. The lakes are shallow: 3'-8' with ditches and trenches up to 15' deep scattered throughout. Few of those are near the shore, but some are within reach of a good cast. In the prespawn and early summer this is a mostly a non-issue. The fall and winter is a different story. The banks and flats are devoid of bait fish right now. You've gotta launch one out there. We had a cold snap back in October that brought us temps in the 20s at night. I was having problems with icing using braid when fishing near freezing and switched to copolymer. This solved the problem up to a point. Once the temps reach about 33 with NW winds the copolymer wants to jump off the spool at rest, but overall it bought me a little more time when fishing past dusk. Another consequence of fishing in near freezing temps is that the copolymer "slinkys" after the cast. This makes the pause while working a jerkbait a bit less of a pause as the slinky keeps it moving. Going back to the copolymer jumping off the spool issue-I was able to tame some of this by slightly adding spool tension. Obviously, this keeps the lure out in front of the spool's freespool rotation at the very beginning of the cast and keeps it in check thereafter. I didn't do a lure drop test first, I just dosed up the tension a skosh. I'd previously marked my spool tension knobs at 12 o'clock for the slight side to side play deal, so I had a point of reference. I scootched it up to about 1:00-1:30 or so. This solved the issue especially with lures that aren't very aerodynamic to start with. Fast forward to days with temps in the in the 40s. I've had most of my catches this winter on two baits: The IMA suspending lipless and the Rapala Shadow Rap. The IMA casts like a rock and the Shadow Rap 11 does not. It casts OK, but not like a rock. There are plenty of patches of dead pad stalks and such in the water that I fish. I'm very aware of these points of reference, how far out they are, and which lures I can reach them with or cast past them with. I can say for a fact, that with this slightly dosed up spool tension along with a slightly lower brake setting and slightly harder and carefree casting stroke(more mustard on the cast), I'm getting the Shadow Rap quite a bit farther than I used to. I'm hitting the spots I used to wish I could but never did with my Daiwas. It's my opinion that the SV has benefited the most regarding distance, especially with certain wind-catching lures and lighter powered rods. It's an even greater reel with touchy lures in the wind now. I'd go so far to say that the gap between the Daiwas and my Curados and Chronarchs regarding maximum distance has closed considerably, if not totally in some cases, now that I've fiddled with the spool tension a tad. For some who might read this and have a different experience, keep on keepin' on. For those that have had similar observations as mine and felt you've settled for what you have because of the "Daiwa spool tension rule", give it a shot. You won't break anything trying this and you might enjoy using your Daiwas even more. I certainly am.

Just got back from the World Fishing expo at Suffern. Snapped up some goodies. I restrained myself as I just pigged out at BPS(sale), my local B&T(sale), and TW(no sale, but I had to get me some more IMA suspending Lipless cranks. Crazy goodness right there).Anyway, should be set for a while! FLW(famous last words). The stand up heads at the Mega Strike booth were impressive during the demo. No matter how it's thrown, the bait stands up...in a hard bottomed fish tank at least. We'll see how they do in some of the bogs I fish in. I'm just itchin to try 'em.

I picked one up early last year due to the fact that I needed a 2 pc for a trip. I really liked it immediately. I ended up picking up a second one shortly thereafter. Grabbed a third for 64.99$ during the past TW sale. IMO, it doesn't fish/feel much different at all than the 1 pc. I rarely throw anything less than a 1/2oz. A 3/8oz chatterbait with just about any trailer will reach that weight and more. A 6" senko weighs 15 grams and loads nicely with this rod. They've held up well so far. The first week I had mine I waded a spot that was mostly pad fields. I was chucking a 6" senko with a 5ot superline hook on 30lb braid as far as I could and dragged it up and over the pads. I hooked several 4-5 pounders 100 feet out and fought them back through well rooted pad stalks. I really expected the rod to snap several times but it didn't. So, I've been happy with how it fishes and very happy with it's durability. I fish locally often, and with a truck I rarely need to break the rods down. I fish with these as much as any one piece I have. I don't feel like I'm suffering at all in comparison. Still, it might not be for you. It's a personal thing for sure.

I know people say(bassresource) that a bass is a bass wherever they are, but...It's become clear to me that many lakes, with identical or similar forage, have their own culture that influences what they'll bite in artificial lures. There are local lakes where topwater is a dud when it should be hot and the hardcores that fish them know this. There are lakes where plastic worms rule, jerk and crank baits etc. The numbers don't lie as far as I can see. I fish a particular private lake that has remarkably low pressure. DEC reports claim that it's so clean it's safe to drink. Plenty of grass and hardly any algea. Great bottom contours, coves, pad fields, etc. Alewife, perch , bluegill, american eel, eastern mudminnow, bullhead cats, and a few others make up the baitfish population. You'd think that a number of artificials worked carefully would produce, but they don't. Nothing touches a wacky worm here. I've had numerous skunks or near skunks refusing to give into this fact while my son in law will catch 15 or more bass in a trip throwing nothing but wacky rigged senkos. Once I finally give in and tie one on, it's money. My daughter, who only goes to humour her husband, lazily chucks them out and has had 6 bass days without even trying. In my local spot a wacky rigged worm is just about worthless. Throw a 10' power worm or a sickle tail worm and it's on, but only at night. The daytime bite is brutal, and myself and others have put in the time. Topwater presentaions have some success, but nothing like a large worm. This lake is close to the ocean and it has american eel, so maybe that's why? There's also a huge bluegill population, but typical bluegill imitators yield marginal rewards regarding numbers, so go figure. I suppose my point is that you'll need to discover what works best for the particular body of water you're fishing. It's tempting to stick with what's working when you're fishing an aggressive bite window, but switching things up to find out what else works can be informative too: follow up baits that they'll accept, etc. This past summer I had three super successful week-long runs. I fan casted a frog over weedlines with bluegill beds. No bites. I followed with an un-weighted power worm and hit the same spots. Crazy bites. Great fish. This tactic, using the frog as the dinner bell, worked great after dark the third week of June, second week of July, and the first week of August. My buddy threw primarily, but not exclusively, topwater and swimbaits and only caught a few good fish. During that same time period two other guys we hang with were fishing the other side of the lake and killed it with big worms. I've caught fish here with every bait type I have except for a Fat Swing Impact, and I have tried! But nothing touches the big worm here after dark for quantity and quality. So you'll have to find out what they want wherever you fish. It's not absolutely universal.

Every bit of action I've had this winter in my shallow waters has been on these two lures, except for one pickeral on a worm. Shadow Rap 11 in Perch and the IMA Suspending Lipless. Both fished with slow jerks and long pauses and drops to the bottom. I've tried everything else wintery that I've read or heard about using every cadence I could think of while frozen stiff. Zilcho.

My brother isn't a member here. When I see anything juicy posted in the "Latest sale" thread I send it to him. About 3 weeks ago he left me a voice message. It went like this: "Listen, man. You have to stop sending me these links. I have 10 setups. I've received 79 packages with fishing stuff since you brought me to your lake in April. I'm good for life. I'm done. Please stop." So I stopped. I just got a text from him with the caption "Aren't they pretty?" I had to smile. Such a junky! Brand "never to be said" 7'4" HF with a Curado K. St. Croix Bass X 7'4" HF with a Pflueger Patriarch.

My son in law's home lake is very clear most of the year. Last season he switched to straight PP 15lb green from clear mono. He fishes either a wacky rig, small jerk baits, or small spinner baits only on spinning gear. His catch rates didn't change from previous years. He logs every catch meticuloiusly. As usual, in this particular lake, he had several 15+ bass days. Line choice doesn't seem to matter much in this spot.

I'm right handed and never considered anything but a left hand reel. Wasn't even a second thought. I bought a bunch. I didn't have a mentor, just taught myself casting righty and reeling lefty. I found it most comfortable to have my middle finger wrapped around the trigger. I use the heel of my thumb to depress the thumb bar, and the flat of my thumb to control the spool. This has my hand nearly "palmed" around the reel. I'll usually leave it in that postition while reeling in unless I'm throwing jerkbaits. Then I'll just slide up on the reel a tad and I'm there, fully palmed. It's second nature. Automatic. A while back I picked up a righty Chronarch for a specific reason: To learn how to cast with my left arm. That's a work in progress. I'm getting there. It's still pretty ugly. In the meantime, I've been casting with my right arm and switching hands to reel in. As usual, the reel gets transferred into my left hand, fully palmed, once the lure hits the water. However, last week I was fishing next to a pal and BSing. Casting and retrieving on autopilot. I caught myself casting, switching hands while the lure was in mid flight, then thumbing the spool with my left thumb. It sorta happened on it's own. An absolutely unconscious act. This suprised me. It also showed me that righties using right handed baitcasters aren't as absurd as I thought they were beforehand. I get it now.

My brother picked up 2 Patriarch XTs from that sale. $250 reel for 100 bux! He has Shimanos, Chronarchs and Curado Ks, and a few Daiwas. He feels the Patriarchs feel and fish just as good as his Shimanos. Casts great. Super light too. I've casted with it. It's a fine reel.

An out of the blue garage sale score! When I'm driving by one and see even the slightest hint of fishing related stuff I'll stop. Tends to be total junk. Every now and again....I won't even say what I paid. Rediculous deal!

Here's the truth for me: I have a few $400 combos. I'm a gearhead so I'll probably invest more eventually. I have a few $300 combos, and down the line. I have some budget gear, less expensive reels and Ugly Stiks, for fishing certain lakes lined with trees. It's almost impossible to not swat branches occasionally in these spots. If I'm wading, or on boat, or at a lake where I'm less likely to blow up a rod, then I'll bring my better stuiff. I appreciate how it feels and fishes. However, the buzz of actually hooking and landing a fish is no different than with the bargain gear. I feel the same exact pump at that moment, FishOn!, regardless of the pedigree of the gear I have at the time. I'm not contemplating any of that. I'm just riding the adreneline rush of the moment. It's a pretty cool hobby where anyone with any budget can experience pretty much the same exact thrill.

My brother picked up the 7'H casting and the 7' MH spinning. I tried both out on the boat and thought they were just fine. They're both truly "fast" sticks, so keep that in mind. When he told me what they cost I was really impressed. Before then I'd tried out a number of less expensive rods in the same price range just to get a feel for them. The AIRDs definitely feel like they could be priced quite a bit higher than many in the same range. Also, the build quality does not look like $55 at all if that matters to you. A few months ago I carted the 7'MH 2pc casting on amazon. Just left it there. When you do that the algorithm does what it does and the price tends to drop eventually. I logged on a few weeks ago and was alerted that the price had decreased to $37. SOLD! I'd wanted something I could keep in the back seat for whenever I wanted to drop into any of the local spots nearby for a few casts. I hit by a spot late afternoon on sunday. Threw out an IMA suspending lipless. Got a few swipes instantly and was able to feel what was happenening nicely. A 19" pickeral crushed the IMA and fought well on the way in. The AIRD didn't snap. I didn't feel like I was suffering at all fishing with it. It balances about an inch in front of the reel nut with a 6.5oz Pflueger Supreme XT saddled on. The 7'MH is rated up to an 1 oz. The rod loaded well with the 3/8oz IMA. Definitely not overloaded. I'm not going to rate it on a scale. I will say that lt looks and feels like it could cost quite a bit more than it does. A screaming bargain at the street price, IMO, if you like a fast action stick. If I happen to blow it up on a tree branch I won't cry for too long given the price. I'd replace it with another one for sure.

Some youtube options that tend to cover some of the things you're interested in. Bass Resource. Great info, but I can't use most of it. The majority of our water here is shallow and weed-choked. No canyon lakes or deltas. I have practically zero opportinity to throw crankbaits or open hook presentations that dive much deeper than 2 feet save for a few difficult, or difficult to reach, or restricted lakes. Still, I never miss a vid. Very detailed. FishtheMoment This guy is big on graphing lakes, Navionics, and providing tons of data with a mind toward fishing high percentage spots. I'm not saying he's the best, but I haven't found info this in depth. Check out his latest vid on his catch rates per lure type over the past year. It's broken down into weight of fish caught and season. Definitely give this guy a look. Tennessee Milliken Fishing Skip the ice fishing vids unless you like ice fishing. Occasionally he'll take time out for specific tips in the clickbait titled ones. However, when he takes the time to do actual technique vids he's very specific. I fish like he fishes, so I watch. Check out his recent vid on the Alabama rig. Mostly fishes Nebraska but travels plenty. Up north and down to the Ozarks Brain Latimer Most vids will include, at one point, real, very useful info regarding technique. He fishes the Carolinas and is a FLW pro. If you're interested in swimbaits check out KeepingItReelFishing. He doesn't post vids often, but when he does they're good. They go long. He speaks calmly, and provides details. He fishes New Jersey. YouTubeFISHINGVIDS This dude is chill and always describes the hows, whats, and whys about how he's fishing. Mostly the northeast. There are more of course. I tend to pay attention to cadence and rod action when I'm watching. I'm always looking for different twists, so I watch.

I agree, it was odd. I saw it and it was mouth hooked. Must've been by the slightest of margins. Mr or Mrs bass was heavy and that hook just gave way. Yes, rookie mistake. In my defense, I was was worired it was going to run towards the girders near the spillway and wrap me up. Anxious and frozen stiff I made a panic move. We win or we learn. Any replacements you've had luck with? Thanks, Phil! I'll check out the Owners.

-18 with the wind chill tomorrow! Gettin ready for the soft water.

Hello All, Lots of ice 'round these parts lately. I found some nice open water late this afternoon on the north side of a spillway. It's only a couple of feet deep in this particular spot. The water was like glass. I chose to drag a finesse jig then a 2.8 paddletail. No luck. Just on the edge of darkness a freezing breeze blew in, got a little chop, so on went a jerkbait. The Shadow Rap 11 slow sink in perch has been money recently, so I started there. I was fishing with a MHF stick with 12lb copoly, so I set the drag pretty loose. Second cast: jerk, jerk, pause, Bam! I thumbed the spool as line flew out. Cinched down on the drag just enough to get some pull. Got her in close enough for a good look. A mondo. I'm still letting her pull some drag, then poof, she's gone. With hands raised to the heavens I cried "why, god, why?" Fingers frozen I reeled in the lure. I figured it was spit, but nope. The middle treble had bent out. I like the action and sink rate of this lure, but I now know I've got to upgrade the hooks. Any suggestions for replacements that'll be stronger and not upset the current balance of this lure? P.S. About 15 minutes later I landed a cutie. Maybe a pound and a half. I felt better. Life is good.

Loosen(counterclockwise) the thumbscrew(part 46 on the schematic) until it disengages from the side cover. Twist the sidecover down gently then pull it away from the chassis. The cover will come off. Adjust the brakes.

After the WoW moment there are several cool details if you watch closely. Enjoy! https://www.instagram.com/p/BsbxJvrAzK4/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=pf0jx6xusyvd

Bank fishing in a few of my favorite spots means I'm dealing with a lot of low, overhanging trees. Impractical for a rod over 6'6". I went with the Daiwa Tatula XT M. The rod's lure rating covers a pretty wide range. I chose the BG 2500 spooled with 30lb J-Braid. I can change leaders quickly with a blood knot, or go straight braid for heavier cover. I fish lots of techniques with this setup, and with a sling pack I'm traveling light with 4 3600 boxes. I can cover lots of real estate. The BG has a 1st rate gear train. Super smooth, but most reels are these days. Never had a wind knot even when it was spooled with 8lb mono. I pay attention to line management, but things happen. Not with this reel. It's not super light like a Tat LT, but not a brick either. I have a few XT Bass rods and I've whacked branches multiple times. Happens even if you're careful. Haven't lost a guide or broken a rod. They're pretty tough. Oh, and the two biggest, baddest bass I've caught in my life were both on medium spinning Daiwa XT rods, so i have a soft spot for 'em. Good Luck with your search!

Just picked up another Supreme XT Lefty. Applied the code. $56.47 to my door. Just a silly crazy deal!

Check your spam folder. The welcome email to me from Plueger contained the code.

I fell into a crazy lot of new, older, righty reels several months ago. Amongst them was an earlier model Patriarch XT. It has the thru-frame thumb screw to lock the removable sideplate. The same as yours maybe? Circa 2013? It went to my brother eventually. He has a Curado K, purchased new, and a Chronarch 200E7 from that crazy lot. Loves em both. He loves the Patriarch XT equally as much. He always comments on how fantastic the braking system works and it's casting. I agree. We share rods on the boat. A hidden gem for sure.

My brother has the Patriarch XT righty. Fantastic reel. Casts great. Supreme XT lefty on the way for me too. Sweet!

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