Phil77

Always keep the reel schematic next to your work area. If you don't have the original you can download one.

I've used it on a spinning reel but not on a baitcaster. It will bleed for the first few trips. It's not bad but Berkley Solutions Braid is a little cheaper and works great for me on both casters and spinning reels.

I'll second this. I was weary of the frame but this is hands down my favorite reel. It's very compact and palms very well for how I like to fish T rigs. Can't go wrong with the hypermag either.

My bad, the only Daiwa's I've pulled spool bearings on are the old TDZ's. Those look like spools from the newer t wing reels which I don't own. It has worked fine without damaging any of the spools I do use it on.

Bearing upgrades can be a heck of a rabbit hole. I have noticed a small gain in distance but nothing drastic. I do a complete teardown on all my reels once a year and use an ultrasonic cleaner for all the internal parts. A properly flushed and properly lubed factory bearing works best in my opinion. I would suggest flushing and re lubricating your stock bearings first before dumping a bunch of money on ceramic bearings. You can get a spool pin tool off ebay for ten bucks, I've used the one pictured on almost every brand with no problems.

Just upgrading the stock cog wheel to a bearing supported one will do far more than a polish. I can almost spool mine with the flick of the wrist. I've been fiddling with them for over a decade and all of mine will outperform any modern low profile reel. You can get a complete upgrade kit for $55-$65 with drags and bearing supported cog and worm gear. Not to mention you can pick up most reels at auction for under $50.

Curado all the way. I have three that are dedicated kayak duty for their reliability. I have abused them over the last two years and only clean them once a year. I only throw three baits out of the yak, senko, square bill, and T rig/Jig and the K does all of them effortlessly. Haven't liked any daiwa with a t wing so no help there. The SLX is a cheap capable reel you couldn't go wrong with either.

The 5600 C3's or C4's from abu make great bass reels if you upgrade them with parts from dadsoletackle.com. It's an easy reel to take apart and upgrades are fairly cheap. I still use an upgraded C3 for big swim baits and glide baits. You can pick up the stock reels dirt cheap on ebay.

I might agree if it was a 100-150 dollar reel but this is one of Shimano's flagship reels. At that price point it should be flawless out of the box. BTW I'm the guy that makes the dealership fill the tank before I take the car off the lot.

I would still return it. Shimano and most of the other reel manufacturers have good Q/A but just like everything in life nothing is perfect and mistakes get made. It's good to learn how to take a reel apart, will save you money and downtime over having to send it in to get repairs. I dont shop at TW but I'm pretty sure they would exchange for a new one no problem. A $400+ dollar reel should have zero issues out of the box. I have both of those reels but right handed JDM models. Might want to check out Asian portal fishing if you plan on anymore high end shimano's.

Depends on the depth and cover you fish. If you fish shallow and dont encounter many snags the 70 would do well. If your fishing deep and around heavy cover I would suggest the 150 for more line capacity to deal with break offs.

Almost seems over filled with line. Cant tell from the video, is it the ALDMG51 or an older model? Did you buy new or is it an Ebay reel? If it's not over spooled the bearings might need a flush and re lube. You can soak them or get a bearing blaster and flush them in about 5 seconds. I've found brake cleaner or electronic contact cleaner to work best. Good luck, if that doesn't improve it I would return it, lot of money for it to not be smooth out of the box.

The TP1 Black rods are great rods for the money. I have the 7'3MH for jigs and spinnerbait. I would go with the tournament pro if your budget allows. The ACB braking system is way better than their dual brake and linear magnetic systems. I can't speak for the dobyns rods but a lot of people rave about them. Good luck.

I use a gen 2 Revo SX on an ugly stick lite pro 7 ft rod with 50lb powerpro for frogs. Laugh all you want but that $35 dollar rod works very well. Most any 7 to 7'3 medium rod paired with the line and reel of your choice will work for top water.

If you are going to target and I mean no disrespect rough fish I would opt for better gear. I've had channel cats bite trick worms, and a carp took one of my goldfish swimbaits once lot of fun. I would go with a round reel of your choosing, Abu Ambassador, Shimano Cardiff, or Daiwa Millonare. They are all basically the same with centrifugal brakes and are a winch for big fish, pair it with a heavy rod and you should clean up. I still have a back up Cardiff for when the bass bite slows down.

You will be happy with the K. I had a defective DC and exchanged for the K. No cool sound while casting but smooth as butter and casts very well.