Eric 26

@Swamp Girl Those big old Maine bass will be there when you’re ready to go get them. Also this just means more time with your new puppy.

As someone who owns and owned quite a few of your choices including a SLX which I still regret selling although I have a SLX 71MGL I would probably say the SLX would have been my first choice followed by the Tatula CT only because as others have said the Tatula CT is a wee bit bulkier. Now if you were referring to the latest Tatula 100 I may have changed my response. As far as upgrading from the Kast King I currently have a Royal Legend 2 and all of your choices above and especially the Daiwa Tatula & Shimano SLX are going to be 100% more refined.

Hello Filipe from New Lenox Illinois.

If you have a decent tackle shop near you try asking them for help, if not I’m not sure if this is close or not as I’m trying to see where the trigger lines up in your other post but this one appears similar.

Welcome from Illinois

I’m hoping this isn’t flagged as political 🤔 My daughter bought this for me a couple Christmas’s ago. I also love my shelter/rescue organization animals.

Several members on here recently spoke highly of the Zebco bullet including @bulldog1935 who fishes quite a range of reel’s and although it was bought for his father it’s worth looking up the thread. Unfortunately I forget the title or who started the thread. Now that I typed all that out I think it might be the Zebco Omega😬

I don’t think my wife would buy that story…but hey if it works for you 😂😆🤣

Oooh @redmeansdistortion I for one love your and @bulldog1935’s show and tells😃

I had the Carbonlite 2.0 casting combo and sold it, not that there was anything wrong with the combo mind you and if I’m not mistaken it’s the same reel as a Lews LFS (older version) but I could be mistaken. As far as the spinning gear I have a Carbonlite 2.0 1500 size reel that I love paired to a Carbonlite 2.0 rod and I love the combo. I also have a JM Platinum spinning reel and I couldn’t be happier. The BPS salesman said Daiwa makes the spinning reels and I can see that for sure. I will agree with @volzfan59 that if you can wait for the spring classic the trade in program is absolutely worth it but if not as @KP Duty pointed out BPS has fabulous customer service in my opinion. As far as best value my opinion is the Carbonlite and I would prefer the technique specific as the reel is more comfortable to me followed by the Pro Qualifier. Best of luck and keep us updated.

He’s back🤣

I wish I could be a bit more helpful but I’m not going to lie I don’t know much about that reel and it definitely isn’t a clone as far as I can tell. I will add a quick search on E-bay and this appears to still be available if you’re interested in a donor reel.

@Blue Raider Bob I appreciate the compliment and I’m sure your hands look like mine but the difference is yours are far more talented and I say that based on your beautiful pond and the gorgeous gazebo you built with your hands.

Although I have a few reels that are not being used I keep them for sentimental reasons but I’m the type it drives me crazy if I have either a rod or reel that is not paired up even if I’m not going to use it as I feel I will someday. Another problem is passing on a deal such as 40-50% off that I just can’t pass on even though I don’t use everything I currently have.

First and foremost welcome from Illinois. As far as the rod choices I don’t own any of the above but do own a few different Lews that are in the same range and I think you’ll be happy with any of them until you get hooked on baitcast gear and are ready to upgrade. As far as the reel I don’t own the exact one you’re referring to but I have some experience with both Piscifun and Kast King reels, the Piscifun was extremely difficult to keep the settings where I needed them and the KK a Royal Legend 2 although not horrible would not be my first choice in your situation. I would opt for a name brand simply because as I’ve said in the past parts and service is virtually non existent for the “off name” brands unless you can find the name brand reel they are based on such as my Piscifun Saex Elite which is a rebranded Ardent Elite. I have a Daiwa CA 80 which a quick search on Amazon I saw for right around $80.00 and it’s a Doyo platform I believe which means it should be serviceable by none other than site sponsor DVT should the need arise. Sorry for the long winded explanation.

I decided to back off the IPA’s this weekend, especially after a 12 pack of these guys last weekend 😜

Hello old faithful friend 😉

Welcome from Illinois

Stopped at my favorite pond for about 1/2 an hour yesterday. Bad news is the drizzle turned into rain but the good news is I was all alone. Got 2 off my new spinnerbait.

Although I edited your post @Blue Raider Bob I too was in that position as a carpenter and you absolutely summed it up with those words above. And @Swamp Girl good on you for being the bigger person. Many years ago ironically when I was a carpenter a coworker and I decided to fish a retention pond after framing a house on it at the end of the day and one of the home owners called the police on us even though we never stepped foot on her lot😡 Turns out it worked in our favor as the officer gave us a tip on a different pond and how to get there and when we did my coworker caught what was easily a fat 3-4 pounder in our first handful of casts. I only had an ultralight at the time fishing for panfish but I was definitely happy for him.

Also a poop expert😜Sorry I couldn’t resist the opportunity 😆

I finally got out yesterday late morning for about 2-1/2 hours. Went to a local pond that gets hit pretty hard and yesterday was no exception but out of the 5 of us fishing 3 peeled off to fish a much smaller pond behind the main pond. I caught 2 on a new to me BPS spinner bait with a single larger blade. I then hit my favorite pond but it was a bit of a disappointment with only 1 also on the same spinner bait.

That is fantastic! Although I’m nowhere near the person to be doling out health advice I’m going to suggest seeking out a nutritionist to help you regain your body mass with food so you can do it properly without too many carbohydrates/sugars which is the easiest way to pack on pounds but also very unhealthy in the long run.

@Swamp Girl because you’re the best Bass Resource cheerleader in my humble opinion 😉 Here’s me and Swamp Girl back in our heyday 😆😂