PhishLI

Nope. It's actually too soft for stretchy line like BigGame, IMO. Had to go to Izorline xxx for some of the heavier treble hooks.

I won't say specifics are unimportant, but that they typically matter less than most of us think. Drag management and line selection(stretch) can be used to work around a rod's nature. There are lots of swimbait rods in my orbit, and like any other rods their actions and powers are all over the place. Swimbait rods are to standard rods like inshore rods are to standard rods, but there's crossover in a standard rod when they're higher power. Several years ago I bought a Tatula XT 7'3" HF for frogs. I thought it was a turd for this application. Too stiff and not enough tip, so I would overpower the cast trying to get a standard-weight frog out there. It was relegated to jig pitching duty on the boat. If the stars align perfectly I'm on the boat once every two weeks, so the XT mostly sat idle. A few of the lakes I wade have huge trees overhanging the shoreline. I can only wade out so far to avoid them on the backcast, and my regular dedicated swimbait rods are just too long. Daiwa has or had a Tatula 7'3" swimbait stick, but I just didn't feel like rolling the dice on it. I decided to throw a swimbait reel on the XT instead to see what's what. I spooled on 20lb Big Game. It has decent stretch. Between that and drag management I've barely lost any fish throwing hard baits up to 2 ozs. Besides that, I actually like using it for this purpose. I'm often ripping casts with full force, and it hasn't broken yet after 3 seasons using it this way. Would I rather use my DC794 in this circumstance if it was possible? The answer is yes, but I'm not suffering at all using the XT this way.

I have nothing to say about these particular Kistlers other than I agree with the concept of using the shortest, practical handle on a yak where I can't stand and cast. This isn't an original idea. St. Croix,13, and others have yak-specific rods with shorter than usual handles for a good reason. I had a FR795SB. I fish out of a small yak that really isn't good for standing up on, and that rod was killing my left wrist and shoulder. It was its handle's length which is pretty standard for a dedicated swimbait rod. I moved to an iRod Swimbait Jr. 7'8" for my yak with its much shorter handle and my troubles vanished instantly. My buddy who's a serious swimbaiter and yak fisherman, and also casts righty like me, has the FR795, and other standard swimbait rods with handle lengths ranging between 21" to 23". He's been having real problems lately with his left shoulder, wrist, and elbow, but hadn't connected the dots. I'll be lending him the iRod when he gets back from the stick marsh next week. I have a good feeling that his problems will be reduced or solved. I'm not claiming that this is an issue for everyone. I'm saying that it might be for some. It was for me, and I quickly resolved it by choosing a rod with a shorter handle for my yak swimbaiting.

Your wingspan and the rod's handle length will determine that.

You're missing the point here. It was an example. "How" you'll be fishing, sitting down, is automatically self-limiting. Therefore, if you trust what Trey at Kistler told you, you'll be ok.

This is where only hands-on experience and reps come into play. We all calibrate ourselves to this dynamic spring/lever.

Coastal 80?

Then stop trying to understand it and just listen to what the rod maker and people here are telling you. Rod ratings are merely a suggestion in most cases and are quite subjective. ^^^This. I believe that you were neck deep into this syndrome when you were searching for waders. I understand research, but from the outside it was as if you were selecting parachutes for a newborn. From one of your previous "last time I'll ever ask this question" posts, we've established that you'll be casting from a seated position in a kayak. Correct? What this means is that you'll never get the energy on a cast that you would if you were standing. It's not possible. Picture swinging a baseball bat or throwing a hardball while standing. Now imagine sitting down in a chair with your legs up on an ottoman. You cannot match the energy from this position. Heavy baits on heavy, long sticks are somewhat unwieldy here. Your casts with a swimbait setup will not have the same energy. Max lure ratings for a rod imply what overload might be on a max energy cast. After time you'll come to understand by feel when you're overloading a particular rod. However, by reducing the energy of a cast, you can moderate the overload. This is why in a pinch you can throw a 2 1/2 oz bait in a rod rated at 1 1/2 oz using a lob cast. Over time you'll come to understand where the boundaries of your rods lie, as well as other peculiarities. it takes time and it's conditional. Don't make yourself crazy.

Unless they snuck one in somewhere, Shimano doesn't give you a metal handle-side side plate in a USDM freshwater reel until you get up to a Bantam. The SLX's is injected molded plastic, so it would cost much more if it were metal. Be careful cycling in the two bottom coarse threaded screws into the plastic sideplate. The top two screws coming in from the outside are machine screws which anchor into the metal main frame, so no problemo there. It's also missing the second larger bearing on the crankshaft above the roller clutch. The Tat 150 and all Daiwas starting with the Fuego have this bearing, so the cranking load isn't on the roller clutch. None of this makes the SLX bad necessarily. It's built to a price point after all, and if it were built to the standards of the Tat 150 it would cost far more than it does. With that said, my brother's SLX, SLX XT, and SLX MGL have all gotten geary where the Fuegos and Tat 150s haven't, but we fish extremely choked out water with nowhere to hide. It tests reels. He likes his MGL the most out of the three, but he's frustrated because even after multiple services per year and new pinion bearings, they still went geary on him, so he's moving away from them. It's just a quibble though. They're totally fishable. His Chronarch E7 is still like butter, so the SLXs bother him. He's like that.

It holds down the pinion bearing into the frame and guides the yoke from and back to its resting position. Look at the spool shaft on any Tatula. There are larger and smaller diameters present in the length of the shaft. The pinion is supported in its resting position by the bearing and the larger diameter section of the shaft shown in the pic. Not ideally, but that has nothing to do with the post assembly if it's tightened down correctly. It nor the yoke is part of the pinion support system while the gears are under load or not. The yoke's only function is to move the pinion away from the spool's pin and back to it whether it's in a FFS Daiwa or a Tatula. You may have been unlucky with yours. I've serviced a bunch of these reels and have never encountered loose screws or a misaligned post assembly. As a matter of fact, the screws are often scary tight from the factory. I'm praying I don't cam them out they've always been that tight. You'll get no argument from me on this matter. I've babbled on about fully supported pinions on this forum plenty. However, the post/retainer is a different issue altogether.

The Icon PT has a metal frame. I have two, my brother has two, and my friend has two. No fitment issues at all, and no glitches. The plastic side plate even has a brass insert embedded into it for a machine screw. One of mine is mounted on a heavy rod with 50lb braid for throwing 5"-6 1/2" soft baits with Owner Beast hooks. The other on a swimbait rod throwing wake baits. My brother throws frogs on his. They aren't now nor have ever been geary, and are still reasonably smooth given what they've been through. Brass gears and NMB bearings in all the right places too. Quite good drag. Zero regrets.

Agreed. I typically lube the worm gear and its bushings every 3rd trip. I'm not worried about bushings in this position.

It looks like phenolic impregnated fiber/cloth. This part is both the yoke posts and bearing retainer. The screws which fasten it to the frame often come installed with Loctite Blue. I've never encountered loose screws here. Besides that, this part has nothing whatsoever to do with the pinions' alignment to the main gear. That's done by the O.D. of the spool's shaft and the frame mounted pinion bearing only. If the screws somehow became loose, this could be problematic obviously, but not because it would affect the pinion to main gear meshing. I'm with you on that. IMO, this reel is the sleeper of the series. I don't care if it's a 2013 design either. It's a good one. Then it becomes a $269-$300 reel. For $159, before the recent price increase, not many quality reels gave you a metal handle side side-plate. I just got another one for $119 during the sales.

At some point in the past, I've measured the spools I've talked about here, yet somehow got my wires crossed on some of those numbers. I suppose sparring and gym wars without wearing headgear is finally catching up with me. Lesson learned. Never bring a punch-drunk memory to a caliper fight.? Faux pas aside, my opinion remains the same on these 3 reels regarding their lower limit performance which was a concern for the OP given frogs are part of his objective. Since you've put in the effort here to add to this post with real numbers, I've done the same. Unfortunately, my Tat 200 righty isn't present for actual arbor diameter measurements as it was sent packing after my left shoulder declared that it'll no longer be involved with setting hooks. I'll have a new lefty soon, but if I see my brother before then I'll measure his and update this post with pics and measurements. 200K and Tat 150 spools. Dimensions are extremely close, and so is the line capacity, which confirms what you've outlined regarding claimed line cap weirdness. P.S. For the love of Christmas, get a new lens for that dial. My heart...

Both aren't so hot with wind catching baits at or below a half ounce. The 200s fully loaded spool is quite heavy. Try bombing a flat sided crank on a windy day with a K. Not fun. The 150 with Magforce Z is superior here, IMO.

The Tat 200's spool is taller at 38mm O.D. and wider at 28mm. The K's is 34mm x 25mm. It holds way more line than the K. The K is much closer to the Tat 150 in line cap. The aluminum handle side-plate makes it pretty beefy. No unfortunate coarse thread screws into a plastic side plate like the K.

Og, Last year I did a number on my shoulder and knee. Because of that I was less inclined to trudge back to shore to swap rigs after I'd waded out. That issue, and because I was in puppy love with my Zillion G/Ark Essence 7'6" MH/15lb Tatsu combo, had me throwing plenty of treble baits with what wouldn't be thought as ideal. Far from it. All I had to do was adjust my drag down, and I can't remember losing a fish. This particular ARK is a crisp, fast rod. You'll have no trouble if you really have to have the Champion as long as you manage your drag for the bait you're using.

Calling yourself a fanboy is fine. Peaches and cream. Calling other people fanboys is cringey and might not end well. It's impolite, even if you polish it up with "LOL". I use and appreciate the strengths of too many different brands to technically be called a fanboy as that word suggests mindless single brand loyalty. Still, when I see the word, I wanna go on a rampage. Just sayin'. LOL.

Keitech Swing Impact and Fats and their various clones work in many places. However, in some places they don't. It doesn't matter if they're rigged on a swimbait hook, a jig head, how they're retrieved, or if prayers are chanted before they're thrown. In four of my favorite lakes the bass won't touch them whether they're thrown by me or anyone else I know. Perhaps each water body was hammered with Keitech types somewhere in the past and now the fish are simply resistant to them? Perhaps the tail wag is too extreme? I can speculate all day long as to why, but nothing will change the fact that they simply don't get bit here. Not for me, or for anyone else I fish with. That said, it's quite possible that you'll have the opposite experience where you fish when using them, but if you do not, don't throw in the towel on paddletails. There are plenty of other options out there with more realistic profiles and actions, and several of those are amongst my top producers in the same four lakes I mentioned earlier.

Same difference, silly.

Yeah, but what would happen if you only had 80% of the spool filled? Hmmmm??

I'm only a little bit south of you. From late February through May 1st and, aside from the wicked cold fronts that drop on us, water temps typically range between 38 to 49 degrees. Once we hit a stable 43 degrees, then going forward, the bite is hot. Some of the best fishing of the year. Males will start making beds around here by the time the water hits 50 degrees, and the spawn happens quickly thereafter. Find the right bite window during that 2 month interval and your reward will be great.

He's saying you're good enough, you're smart enough, and doggone it, people like you.

I like the Owner 6/0 hook shown in the pic. Typical 5/0 shown for comparison. Swap out the CPS spring that comes with the hook for a Large. Makes a big difference. It won't pull out. Owner Twistlock Light Hook - Tackle Warehouse Owner CPS Centering Pin Spring - Tackle Warehouse Shown is the wacky tool for the job, IMO, if you like O-rings. You may need to go to a hardware store to get the right size. 7/16" I.D. is about the correct size for this worm. You do not want them tight. Just snug with this particular worm. Crisscross the rings and do not nick the worm when hooking the bait. It might simply split in half on your first cast if you bomb it. Also, some colors are less durable than others. The O-Wacky Tool "The Brute" - Tackle Warehouse The #11 size work well for 6" GY Senkos and 6" BPS Stick-Os The O-Wacky Tool O-Rings 25pk - Tackle Warehouse

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