ResoKP

* Heavy Jig and Paddle tail swimbait - morethan * 3/8 - 1/2 oz Jig and Worms - Steez A * Small cranks and poppers - Steez SV * Medium Jigs and Paddle tails (that is mainly used for skipping docks) - Zillion SV jimho. glhf.

Can definitely supertune reels to perform better than a stock more expensive one. Get a lot more of your money's worth. Sometimes that's not a choice though. If you want a magnesium frame, or a more sophisticated DC braking system, gotta be willing to shell out the coins from the get go

As for reels, if you open up a $200 reel and a $500 one, at a quick glance, they look the same. Where the money goes is in tighter tolerances, better materials for components such as gears, more attention to finer details like paint/finishing/clearcoats, which all typically leads to improved longevity and less failures. To me haptics are generally improved as well. The gears feels smoother, there's less "play" in the handles/knobs, and overall less "plasticky" feeling which is nice if you're holding on to it for hours. Majority of cost is really just overpricing and companies squeezing out extra $ from the enthusiasts because enthusiasts are willing to shell out for those bits of improvements.

I'm not talking about diminishing returns here. Of course there's diminishing returns going up the price point and this obviously applies to every materialistic thing in life. It's redundant to even talk about it because it's implied in these types of conversations. My North Face jacket is $300 and my Mackage parka is $1,200. I didn't buy the expensive jacket because its 4x warmer. NOBODY buys it for that reason. But are there benefits? There's still lots of benefits. What you said about no benefit to going above $300+ on rods is so far from truth it's not even funny. Again, think E6x vs NRX. Also, difference between Toyota and Lexus is "almost entirely" psychological? Are you trolling?

This is very untrue. You're saying there's not much difference between an E6x vs NRX or a Levante vs Destroyer. There's still a world of a difference even if you go beyond $300. You obviously have not tried actual high end gear. Please don't talk about things you have no experience in and spreading misinformation. Anyways, to OP, I fish on both $200 combos to $1000+ combos side by side. They both catch fish but of course I enjoy using my high end gear more. I actually own both a Toyota and a Lexus. They both get me from point A to point B... and I think you know where I'm going with this. Regardless, besides just "feelings", high end gear also uses better materials, components, and usually also come with a better warranty. Which comes down to the individual if it's worth it to them or not to have lighter blanks with higher quality graphite, better guides with premium insert materials, etc. Some people like leather interior, some people are fine with cloth. Truth is, I don't get to have too much time on the water. So when I do get the precious chance to be out on the water, I would rather be fishing with equipment that will maximize my enjoyment and to me higher end equipment helps with that.

NRX 854/894 Conquest 844/904

Like Kidflex said, if you're maxing out at 3/8 oz jigs & t-rigs you'd want a 3 power loomis like the 853 or 893 for best sensitivity. The US Destroyer doesn't have a 853/893 equivalent casting rod which really bothers me because I think it's missing such an essential technique in the lineup... Megabass newly added Brigand to the Destroyer lineup but it's in Spinning... Really wish they made it in casting instead... You're probably best going with GLX 853/893

I'm pretty sure we have the exact same reel. It's the 19 morethan with 8.6 gear ratio right? I don't remember the length numbers off the top of my head for mine with 20# but 180ft seems low for a fully spooled morethan with 16# sniper... Do you fill the line right up to the bevel? My braid to leader on my other setup I do Sufix 832 30# with 15# blue label fluoro leader in FG knot and never any issues. But for heavy cover I’ll do 50# braid no leader.

How are you having line capacity issues with the morethan PE 1000? I'm running straight 20# Sunline FC Sniper on my morethan and I can bomb cast jigs farther than I care for with plenty of line left over on the spool... I'm legit confused... Did you swap in a different spool? Sufix 832 braid for me as well. I absolutely hate Sunline FX2. Have had way too many break off issues with 50# FX2 which I've never experienced with the 832. Maybe I just got a bad FX2 spool. Also, the FX2 is so loud through the guides it's unpleasant for me. I just don't see any benefit to FX2 over the 832.

Best example of high gear ratio that applies to me is when trolling along a bank and pitching my lure in, out, in out, in, out, in, out, in out, in, out, in, out, in out, in, out, in, out, in out, in, out, etc... Still Don't think 8+ is "necessary" but nice to have. 7.5 is still plenty fast. Only drawback might be weaker gears with the 8.3 unless they reinforced it.

For $250 Tatula Rod + Tatula/Fuego CT reel Curado Rod + SLX reel I think it's worth saving up a little more to $300 and if you can score some deals under MSRP: Tatula Rod + Tatula SV reel Curado Rod + Curado K reel

Brand new Daiwa reels fresh out of the box don't have any side-to-side spool play. Your's could've been a return item that was resold to you or the box was opened in store for someone to "check out" and dials were played around with.

My buddy has this. 7'1" Tatula H/F (TTU711HFB). It's a textbook 1/2oz jig rod. Excellent rod for all things bottom contact but also very versatile. Easy to pitch & skip as well and can handle frog duties.

First thing I'd do is re-spool all the reels you plan on using with fresh new lines.

12lb mono!? OP would get REKT at my lake. Only way to get the biggins is punching 1oz tungsten in thick cover here. I was breaking off with 50lb straight braid. Moving up to 65lb braid solved that issue. Then I'll go down to 6lb fluoro for huge smallies in deep rivers. 15lb to 20lb fluoro for bottom contact plastics & jigs. There's a place for all different lb-test lines. Saying "12lb and lighter only" is simply amateur at best.

ML over M for finesse because ML is inherently more sensitive and can cast lighter lures farther and more accurately. And you're also typically dealing with smaller hooks, you don't want to rip it out of the fish's mouth. You can go down to 6# leader if you want to be more finesse. Personally, I'd prefer a longer rod, especially for trout. However, if bass is priority, 6'10" ML/XF is somewhat of an industry standard when it comes to finesse. Some of the best 6'10" ML/XF rods come from St. Croix Legend Tournament Bass, Legend Elite, GLX 822dsr, NRX 822dsr, etc... JIMHO. DYODD. GLHF.

If it was me: 1. 7' to 7'3" Heavy/Fast 8:1 ratio baitcaster (50# braid & add 15# fluoro leader when needed) - jigs, texas, frog, pitching, "light" flip/punch 2. 7' to 7'3" Medium Heavy/Moderate 6:1 ratio baitcaster (12# co-poly) - crankbait, spinnerbait, chatterbait, swimjigs, jerkbait, spooks, popper 3. 6'9" to 7' Medium Light/Extra Fast spinning (10# braid to 8# fluoro or #8 straight mono/fluoro/coploy) - dropshot, ned, wacky rigged senko, lighter shakeyhead & tubes, finesse stuff Pretty much as versatile as you can get with a 3 combo setup while being better tuned for each technique compared to the traditional 3 combo setup in OP. JIMHO. DYODD. GLHF.

Nice video! You already got the Otomat. Let us know how you like it. It's an interesting rod. I was hoping Megabass added a Braillist version to the Destroyer line. I'm looking for a weightless t-rig plastics/senko rod and the closest Megabass has in the Destroyer line seems to be the Daemos. But I'm thinking NRX 893 or Conquest 903 are going to be better. I noticed you use GLX 893 for light t-rigs. Does it perform better than Daemos for this application?

Casting for me. Because unlike spinning where you have a pendulum-like weight of the spool swinging below the rod on every twitch, with casting, I can be more precise with "walking-the-dog" and do tighter/cleaner twitches.

How much are you willing to spend? Megabass is coming out with a couple of new additions to the Destroyer lineup and one of them is a dedicated Dog-X Diamante & PopMax rod. F4.5-71X Otomat - taper: regular, lure rating: 1/4oz-3/4oz, line rating: 8-20lb. Traditionally, poppers and walk-the-dog lures are fished on shorter (6'6"-6'9") medium fast action rods but it seems like Megabass is going with the opposite. Would be interesting to see how well this rod received once available on the market.

If I was to do it all over again, I would buy decent gear to begin with instead of going the cheap route because eventually they all got replaced and I ended up spending more money that way. Problem with going the cheap route, is they have no resale value. They become 100% sunk cost. If your budget is $700, I would go with no less than Curado, Tatula level of gear (with exceptions to things like Fuego). JIMHO. DYODD. GLHF.

Some people tie braid directly to the spool and put a piece of tape over the arbor knot so it does not slip. I prefer mono backing simply because I don't want sticky tape residue on my spools. Tape or mono backing is an absolute must for braid (unless your spool has holes you can tie the braid through).

Isn't it the line that transmits "sensitivity" to the rod which then transfers it to your hand? Wouldn't you feel the "sensitivity" sooner directly from the line itself?

Daiwa morethan PE 1000 TW & Steez A TW

Same. Have had braid slice my skin open on hooksets. I get a little too excited at times and forget to move my index finger out of the way first lol.