JediAmoeba

I have never owned a Shimano product. I have about 50 Daiwa reels and have had every other brand of reel and rod imaginable but have never had a single shimano product.

I do it pretty frequently when flipping.

For buzzbaits I use a zillion 10.0. For skipping and pitching I use Tatula SV reels. I have many Zillions, A few alphas, svs, cts, type r's and the SVs just skip phenomenally.

Is this another one of those "we killed all the turtles with straws" things?

Depends on how the reel you are going to use balances with the rod. Always take the reel, with line spooled up, and put it on a rod to get a true feel for YOU. Not everyone holds a rod the same - only you can truly answer the question.

Basically all internals are doyo.

A few years ago I put 10 of my rods in the back of my buddies boat, with the tips pointed towards the rear of the boat. When we got to our destination I had 0 rod sleeves left. I learned this lesson as well!

2.5 years ago I lost a megabass vision 110 fx I ordered from Japan while fishing from my kayak. It was my first FX version and I was very upset my leader failed me. Today, while fishing the 80 acre lake, I saw something floating - it was my jerkbait with all the hooks rusted away and the long Fluoro leader still attached. I drug that area at end that day and never found it. It was floating pretty close to where it went sailing. I think it's shot but it's cool to find it...

To me it depends how you are fishing it - I employ Popmax and Yellow Magics. Yellow Magic are fished a lot faster like fleeing alewives.

Megabass or jackall.

Our club just fished Cayuga and we only had 1 Smallmouth weighed in, in 2 days. 38 guys and 1 smallie. The smallies seemed to be 60+' down and didn't really want to cooperate. The LM weights were great though.

If you need a handle without knobs I have a few....

I would get a Deps 250. They retail for 150 but the 2 i have I only paid about 100 each. This year I lost a 250 dollar bait to a Muskie and a 150 dollar bait to a large bass that broke me off on a concrete pipe. As upsetting as it is, it's all part of the game.

I direct tie for more responsive action.

I throw large swimbaits a lot of the time - if you want the biggest, oldest fish - that's what you throw. A lot of the guys throwing those go by the saying "zero or hero". I have a lot invested in my swimbaits and setups and enjoy throwing them - most if the time I would rather skunk than catch a bunch of 3 lb and smaller bass.

When all else fails a jug always produces for me. Others will flip a small creature bait but I usually opt to flip a small Flippin jig. They flat out work

Yellow Magic or PopMax is way better than a Rico IMO

Maybe not so big but, I thought this was an interesting article which is backed by science. I can say for certain the bass have gotten harder for me to catch in many places I go. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.outdoorlife.com/story/fishing/the-science-on-why-bass-are-getting-harder-to-catch/%3famp

I don't know about that. I love mine, but they are small reels. I love my tat sv's just as much for many techniques.

You know they will be inputting the wrong line type and diameter to show people how far they can cast...

I have a long threaded bolt and on each side of the spool a tapered rubber washer. On one side I have 2 nuts with a lock washer between them. I put this in a vise and tighten it down so there is tension - reel in.

I have never owned or had a Shimano reel so I can't really speak to them. I have only cast a few... I can cast just as far as any modern reel with my 25 year old Team Daiwa X so that's my favorite.

It's crazy how light they want things - a heavier and balanced setup is way better than a light awkwardly balanced setup...

I agree with you- Braid is far and away the easiest line to pick a backlash out. I use braid with all my reels and never have a problem casting far. I can't comment on a Shimano though as I have never had one...centrifugal brakes are totally foreign to me

Most rods eventually break - I am pretty rough on my stuff and after a few years they all seem to break. But nothing breaks like a Duckett rod!