redmeansdistortion

I keep my reels covered when not in use, and when brush busting the streams, rod butt goes in my wading belt when a fish is in the net.

I know OP isn't in the USA, but for those of us that are, McMaster Carr has any size you can think of. I buy them in packs of 50 for $6 or so and keep sizes from 1-5mm in my stash.

Coho are a complete hoot on thread line, highly suggested.

Dorado get very large and are among the hardest fighting freshwater fish. They're a distant cousin of piranha IIRC. The Zillion HD would be a great reel for them.

These SVS brakes are similar in that regard. Set it for your minimum required weight and it's pretty hands off afterwards. The braking curve is a little less aggressive than a 6 pin Abu since you're in control of the contact surface of the brake shoes in relation to the pipe. In essence, when the dial is turned you're controlling how much friction is applied.

Think of it like setting up a 6-pin Ambassadeur brake, except you have the added luxury of finer tuning with the brake dial. Turning the dial moves the brake pipe in and out, adjusting how much contact the brake shoes have with the pipe. On my Conquest SE 30, I have two of the four shoes engaged and run my end tension at zero, with no lateral play. It's pretty competent from 5g on up set this way. Brake dial is set to slightly less than half.

Area rods will often be made to cast very light lures, some are rated sub 1g at the low end. They're built for put-and-take managed fishing ponds that are stocked mostly with hatchery rainbows. Those fish typically are in the 8-12" range. I see a lot of newcomers to BFS in general chasing the dragon; wanting to cast tiny offerings like Trout Magnets and Euro nymphs and they often gravitate towards area trout rods just because of their minimum weight rating. The problem is they take them bass fishing and wonder why they're struggling. It's because the area rods don't have the backbone of a stream rod and it takes skill to cast such light lures. For 99% of finesse fishermen, lures of such a small weight aren't even on the radar. Most of those guys do it for bragging rights and nothing more. Native trout rods on the other hand come in 3 flavors. First are mountain stream rods which are short since the water is skinny. Here in the states the mountain stream rods are right at home on the brush choked headwater creeks that feed larger river systems. They usually come in fiberglass, graphite, or composite blanks. The rods are usually rated 2g+ and meant for sinking minnows. Fiberglass and low modulus graphite are often the preferred choices for keeping fish pinned and the ability to quickly load the rod tip in a confined space. Trout fight differently from bass and are very good with throwing the hook, so something that keeps the heat on during the fight ensures the hook stays put. They will often be in the 4'6"-5'6" range and come in powers from UL to L+. Speaking of L+, it's a middle ground between a L and ML. My Palms Egeria 53L+ is rated for 3-18g and 4-10lb line, great for busting big fish in the bush, and also a killer rod for river smallmouth. Next are what are known as mainstream rods. These are meant for moderate sized rivers and almost all are graphite, usually low modulus with minimum resin on the blank to provide flex, durability, and light weight. Mainstream rods are usually in the 6'-7'6" range and meant for spoons and minnows of 3g+. Larger fish are found in those waters and the rods have the backbone for 20"+ fish. They're also light enough to cast one handed so they can be just as accurate as their shorter mountain stream cousins. Their length also lets one cast far upstream and work the deeper pools on the retrieve. These are probably the most ideal for a newcomer to trout since they can also be very effective in all but the skinniest of creeks. Remember, trout are predators and the tiniest lures aren't required. I've fished side by side with guys stripping dries and caught more and larger fish on 5g minnows. These are your Swiss Army Knife rods. Last, we have main basin rods, made for large rivers and the lakes they flow into. Here in the states, think of something like the Ohio River or other large flowing river. Those are often 8'-11'+ and used for lures 7g+. They have long handles to facilitate the landing of larger 30"+ fish and designed to be cast with two hands. Some can be rated up to 2 oz or more on the top end. In the USA, these would be great rods for late summer Chinook or late fall lake trout. BFS reels are out of the realm of these rods since the target species are more inclined to hit much larger baits. Most of your Lamiglas, Loomis, North fork, etc USM salmon and steelhead rods would be in this category if they were available in Japan.

If you watch Amazon, they frequently go for $100 and a bit less.

The big takeaway with trout rods is they don't just cover smaller resident fish, but also bigger migratory fish. I have rods that are designed for steelhead (simply called large rainbow in Japan), sea run Dolly Varden char, and cherry salmon. The rods can go all the way to heavy power and typically are capable of a wide range of lure weights. Those rods are meant for thread line braid and have a more moderate action to better keep fish pinned. Those that are fast, like the Major Craft offerings are meant for fast water, where the rod isn't going to flex as much in that environment. BFS rods by comparison are meant for thicker fluorocarbon in the 6-10lb+ range and their action facilitates the use of that line. My Smith Troutin'Spins are rated for 3-12g 0.6-1.0 and 5-16g 0.8-1.5 respectively. One is a ML and the other a M power. Lots of fun on the river, but definitely not the right tool for the job fishing the slop for bass.

Are you a rod builder or know somebody that can tie a blank for you? The type of rod you are looking for is also very popular where I am for those same species, but not many manufacturers make such a thing. The guys here will tie up a 4wt or 5wt blank with a spinning reel seat and guides. They mostly use them for fishing live bait under a float or drifted with a small shot pattern in the streams.

The 1600 is closer in physical dimensions to a Calcutta 50B, and the 3600 a 100B. The Abus are markedly heavier than their Shimano counterparts due to Abu using a cast frame while Shimano uses a much lighter forged frame. The Abus did have the lighter spools from the factory though.

I'm all round over here. Thanks to Ron, I'm going to grab a JKS 50 and play around with it. It'll be my first CDM round reel and looks ripe for the bench tuning.

I fish a 1/16 with a 1.5" paddle tail grub and the total weight of the rig is just above 3g, slightly below 1/8 total weight.

The only way I can picture this happening is trying to break free of a snag. A repetitive jerking motion will shock the main shaft, which further does shock damage to the oscillator or even frame mounting point. I get it, some people don't free a snag in a more gentle manner, but this still shouldn't happen as your average fisherman isn't very careful, especially in the heat of the moment. The Ballistic LT on the right even had the mount on the frame break off, the customer was not happy and decided to cut his losses. The gear on the left is from a Tatula LT 2500, one of 8 for me this year.

I'm 100% braid to leader and exclusively use 0.8 to 1.5 diameter. This gives me a solid foundation to build on, because modern polyethylene is so strong that I only need to focus on the leader. My leaders are all in the 3 to 8lb range depending on factors such as target species, water clarity, and the presence of cover, structure, and vegetation. I keep a leader wheel of 3lb, 5lb, 6lb, and 8lb in my pack. As I'm working a body of water, I can change out the leader according to the conditions.

You haven't lived until you've dyed your cork grips pink with spawn goo 🤭

Spool and knobs received. I used to have AMO rosewood knobs on this reel but I didn't particularly care much for them. These I-shaped finesse knobs are great, got gunmetal caps to go with them. Here's a photo of the SV 700S I ran previously compared to the SV PE 700. The inductor on the PE spool is a little shorter and the inductor cup is just a little thinner material. The inside dimension of the spool is also more narrow, and probably closer to the 28mm Alphas Air TW and Silver Creek Air TW spools.

It isn't AMO. It's a small Japanese manufacturer. They were a US market reel only.

I have gauged the interest of a well known company to undertake this. They never considered the Max reels because they weren't sold in their country, but a US market model only. They already have an Ultracast 4500/4600 spool and brake so that is not needed. I provided them with a video of myself servicing one from start to finish and told them about how the 1600 and 3600 took the place of the small Ambassadeur in the USA during the 90s, while those classic small Abus stayed in production until 2009 for their own market. The Morrum ultimately replaced the round Max reels in 1999. There's a small shop in Vietnam that has been making spools for these reels for a bit now, but they are no longer able to ship to the USA since June of this year.

Considering the popularity of this reel platform and the fact that 1500Cs and 2500Cs are getting hard to come by at a fair price, I have been in talks with a manufacturer about bringing shallow lightweight spools along with a magnetic braking system to market for this particular platform. I was told by the manufacturer to gauge a little interest in order to see if it would be viable for them to do either a limited run or keep it in regular production according to uptake. Since the 1500C and 2500C can cost a small fortune for some, the price of admission can be high by the time all is said and done. A $150 reel can quickly turn into a $500+ reel. By contrast, Max reels can be had cheap at the moment, just like the 1500C and 2500C could be had cheap before BFS came on to the scene. For those unaware, this is the reel in question. Originally released to compete with the Shimano Calcutta B, featuring a low reel foot, one piece aluminum frame, and disengaging level wind.

Shimano Ultegra is what I would be looking at. It's the poor man's Stradic, same architecture with a few differences that make it a little heavier. Guts are the same though! Digitaka has them for $117 + 7.5% tariff shipped. $125 gets you a fantastic reel right to your door. They retail for $190 here.

Lately I've been replacing oscillator gears in Daiwa reels. They use a nylon spur gear that's prone to breakage. I've been through mostly Tatula and Ballistic LTs, and have somebody sending an Exist my way for the same issue. Instead of cutting quality, Daiwa should return to the level wind oscillator. It's much more durable. I can't wholeheartedly recommend a Daiwa spinning reel just because of that. Until they fix their mistake, I will only recommend Shimano.

I too have a Pixel 9 Pro. You can go into the photo editor of Google Photos and change the aspect ratio so everything stays nice and clean.

@FrnkNsteen, I believe I have an orange SV105 spool in my parts bin. If you are interested, let me know. I will have to do some digging but I am pretty sure I still have it. This is the spool in question. https://www.hedgehog-studio.co.jp/product/1992

Why not both? Reels will stay in excellent condition as long as you are mindful of placement when landing a fish. Some guys I see will drop their rod like they just witnessed a purse snatching. I understand the excitement, but not the carelessness.