Eric 26

C’mon Man be a trendsetter 🤣

The JM reel is a different colored Lews LFS. Also just wondering if you have any tackle shops near you where you can handle the Curado?

It appears the Lews is a bit over a $200.00 reel which is a bit higher than I’d spend but I’m happy to give you a recommendation of the Daiwa Tatula Elite and if that’s a little higher than you’re looking to spend you can grab the Tatula 150, both will get you plenty of line capacity for your needs. Full disclosure I don’t own either reel but I do have enough Daiwa reels that I can comfortably say they’re braking systems are the easiest to use and perform well along with being really well built in my opinion. Best of luck in your search and make sure to share a photo of the combo.

I really enjoy the trip reports.

@Mobasser I haven’t seen an ugly bug for many years but if I had access to my late brother’s tackle box I’m sure he had at least one stashed away from our younger days. If I may ask where are they being sold these days as I’ve not seen them in my favorite local tackle shop and he carries quite a bit of “locally “ made tackle.

@Mobasser I feel the need to share this about Ardent. So yesterday at 10:30 am I  contacted the Ardent customer service with an E-Mail inquiring about a reel part that they promised to respond to within 48 hours. At 7:00 am today I received a response E-Mail asking for my address and by 11:40am this morning I received yet another E-Mail stating the part I inquired about was being shipped with a confirmation number via USPS and the kicker is they never asked for a dime for the part or shipping. Very good customer service that I’m hoping your grandson doesn’t need to use.

I really enjoy both my ultralight and light powered bps panfish elite rods.

I have 3 Carbon X spinning reels that get used quite often. I have a Saex Elite casting reel which is a dual braked/different colored Ardent Apex Elite still available on overseas sites, I got mine when they were blowing them out and no longer selling them direct. And I have a Spark I paid around $35.00 for shipped to my door. The Spark won’t hold any adjustments longer than a dozen casts and wasn’t used much and will no longer be used. The Saex has honestly been an extremely enjoyable reel that I feel would benefit from a deep cleaning/service and the Carbon X reels have been used every time I fish. With that said I’m not targeting 5 lb plus bass but I’ve enjoyed them enough to recommend them several times on here. I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on the Alloy M as I’m looking at one for a specific rod and I’m thinking it will be similar to my Daiwa CA80 that I’m a fan of.

I’m with MN Fisher the 1-1/2 size seems to work good. You can also try Blakemore Road Runners or Bass Pro Shop stump jumpers in 1/32-1/8 ounce sizes. They come with marabou, plastic body trailers or my personal favorite no trailer just the jig head itself. I have good luck with a 1/16 ounce chartreuse head, no trailer which I put a Berkeley gulp or gulp alive minnow in 1”-3” on. Catches bluegill, crappie and bass when it seems nothing else will.

I bought a first gen Tatula Type R for $99.00 last year new in the box. Also as far as budget reels I’ve got a Daiwa CA80 I paid $65.00 pre tax with free shipping off Amazon, I have no experience with the Caius B but I do love my SLX. I’m seriously thinking about upgrading 1 maybe 2 reels to Fuego CT’s for next season.

I don’t have any experience with Dobyns other than handling them in store, but I have been using my Carbonlite 2.0 med-fast for the past two seasons and I’ve thrown spinner bait 3/8-1/2 oz no trailer with no problems on the cast or hook set. But my favorite use for it is lipless cranks, again 3/8 -5/8 the tip is soft enough to really launch em and then keep them hooked up but enough backbone to rip them through the weeds. I also really like the Wynn grips.        Hope this helps.