JediAmoeba

I have 3 heavy rods - all Tatulas/elites. I love them and they do the trick.

Did you know a guy that use to have a track in his basement? I went there a few times to race superstores and screw around with TJets. I raced HO all over the country...lol

In Horseheads NY? I raced a lot of TJets...I used to make parts for a JW

That noise is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I am glad there are very few people I fish with that use them.

6th sense makes some good ones.

I am aware - it started in my club and guys I know. I have always tinkered with my reels going back to when I was a teen. I used to work on HO slotcars I tuned them, tested them and sold them for decent profit. Reels are similar in the goal - free movement while working with centrifugal and magnetic forces. I am very good at tuning a reel and offered to do it for guys. Now I have dudes giving me 10 reels and upset when I tell them it's going to be 10 bucks because I had to order a bearing, spring or handle. It's easier when all the reels are the same as you can just tear em all down and have a little assembly line but often it's 5 different reels. I enjoy doing it and have tested umpteen different oils, greases, bearings, polishing compounds, bushing materials I machine, different washers, drag materials, etc. I have learned superruning a reel really doesn't offer any upgrade to performance unless you are a professional distance caster. I have also found that freeing up a reel causes a lot of guys problems as they were more consistent with a dirty reel that was slow from the gunk. Lol in turn they end up cranking down the tension knob to reduce backlash.

All I know is I need to start charging people. I have done about 75 reels this winter that weren't mine.

Yes, the Zillion and 70 are just about the same size.

Probably - what type of dobyns rod is it? A 5 power crank stick isn't going to be it. But a 5 power graphite would be alright. I usually use a mh 7'-7'3" MH Power, Fast Action rod for up to a 1/2 oz weight and smaller plastics. If the weight or the plastics are heavier I will use a H Power, Fast Action graphite rod.

My dude - this post is almost 5 years old and the person you are asking only ever made this post and hasn't been on the site since June 2019. Probably not gonna get an answer...🫤

I have one of those bug old tackle boxes with 4 trays and then 3 other rubbermaid boxes.

Finer tuning is a good thing. I would add though, always back off your drag when done fishing so it doesn't freeze/lock up.

I have two of the 21 zillions and they arent a mile ahead of a Tatula SV 70. I have my Tat 70 on an old Seth Feider Jerkbait rod and a 21 Zillion on the updated Seth Feider Jerkbait rod and its a toss up to me. Both are similar in ergonomics and both cast very well. I don't think the extra $100 the Zillion costs (Salamandura is about 130 on Ali Express and Zillion is about 230 from Japan) is equal to the performance upgrade. I still use a few of the old zillions and love my old tat sv's for the bulk of fishing. 🤷‍♂️

It's a translation thing- if you look the salamandura has a fire dragon on it(hence the red). A more apt translation would probably be Dragon. Every country has nuances to the marketing. Apparently we won't buy baitcasters with drag clickers.

I have both but the Tatula 70 I have is the Asian market Salamandura model. Both are very nice reels but you can get the Salamandura for about 140 off Ali Express. It's legit and not that the US market has a model the price will probably go up and they will be harder to get. For the price you can't go wrong with the SV 70 reel but the Zillion is a hair smoother. There are many differences between the Tatulas. The newer models have Aluminum sideplates and are leaps and bounds smoother. There are so many iterations of the Tatula, it gets a bit confusing. SV, HD, different years, different sizes, the old 100 size is the new 150 and 200 frame... The Tatula sv70 is 6.7 Oz and the Zillion is 6.3 Oz. Also, the Asian market Salamandura has a drag clicker, the US sv 70 does not. Both reels are very close to the same size

Don't ever put neoprene covers on a wet reel. If the cover gets wet, take it off and let everything dry. It causes major havoc on the internals as it keeps in all the moisture.

I see this as a goal. Are you my wife? Lol

All these will fit tightly in 2- 3700 deeps. But if they bounce around in the bottom of the boat for a bit, that's cool too. The bait monkey is on speed dial. This really isn't that bad and I do fish them all. Fishing big baits is one of my favorite techniques. Last year i caught a fish on every bait I had but one- the one I threw into the abyss. When I love a technique, I go all in! My wife thinks it is unhealthy and I should get another hobby.

It's OK- places they can be ruined or lost is the places bass live. That's where they were meant to be thrown

I got a few new ones over the winter and trimmed some out but the lineup for 2024 is pretty much complete for me. Excited to smash some bigs! I should preface this by saying "hard bait lineup". I got a bunch of softies to throw too!

You can skip a Hudd 68 so far under docks. It's amazing

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Put all those lures in one of those old plano tackle boxes with 2 sides that folded out and that looks a lot like the lures I would lose from Dad and Grandpa as a kid. Back when I learned the adage, if you can't tie a knot, tie a lot

Outrageously priced? This is one of the few things in bass fishing that isn't overpriced.

If you fish Nockamixon - you should join the club Nock Mafia. It's a great club!