NOC 1

I guess I already have all of the reels I wanted, but yet a guy could always use another Steez, SV103, J-Dream, Zillion or Metanium,....or maybe an SS Air, or a Nice Ryoga or Namiki Steez LTD? I guess I may be an addict...

Keep using the zip tie and wrap it all up cork tape made for bicycle handle bars?

True this. I couldn't tell any difference at all between a Lew's (I think it was an LFS?) and an Abu Revo SX. Same everything except for appearance and spool. And I won't swear that the spool was actually different except for appearance maybe. like everyone else, I'd guess they are having supply problems. They probably have enough parts to keep the reel mechanics working, but not enough to sell right now.

Like someone said earlier, the fishing hobby is very strange when it comes to gear. I know guys who will blow $2000 on a golf weekend flying their very expensive clubs all over the place in $800 golf bags. I know people who will blow $250 for drinks and dinner at a decent restaurant and not think it a waste. I know a guy who ordered a $15,000 engraved special built rifle just to take on his $20,000 safari. But no one gives these guys the kind of grief we here who buy $600 fishing reels get. We even see guys who themselves have spend $100,000 or more on a boat and truck disrespect those of us who buy expensive rods and reels as being schmucks. There are a few people who have some issues to work out I think.

I understand your point. It is, after all one of the very basic tenets of a market based economic. It's just that standing alone, that statement though true as far as it goes isn't the entire story. What something costs is not just based on what people will pay for it, something costs what it costs and if the market won't bear what it costs plus profit, that thing is just not made. I guess all I'm really saying is that it is not just a matter of a MegaBass costing more simply because the maker has convinced credulous dupes into paying more for something that they could find equivalent for cheap. It actually does cost more to make them and they actually are better rods than the cheaper rods. I get what you are saying , that at some point it is possible that there would not be enough people who found them valuable enough to pay that much, but at that point, He just stops making rods that good. It's not like he can just ratchet the price down for that same rod down far enough to compete with the mid level and cheaper stuff. They do make some, like the Leggera which ARE strictly a status/presentation buy, and with those rods, Your saying is much closer to the whole story. Can you feel a tiny gnat landing on your hand? Can you feel a gnat land on your $1000 fishing rod?...I'd say we have some more to go... Perhaps you are not so much enlightened as just not able to feel the difference. Maybe others can?

Because no one else makes much of anything anymore except for them? Hmmm...I've heard stories about stuff like that. As for myself I have ordered a few bling parts from Allie and have never had an issue but that is about the whole of my experience. I don't believe that I would buy direct from some bag of doughnuts guy in China if I knew it.

If you want to keep it all that simple then I would just say that some people don't mind buying and using mediocre or worse gear, while others want better. Of course for the most part people won't pay for what they don't value. Some just don't value the differences. Some do but CAN'T buy the difference. Others just don't know the difference.

I am a fiend for balanced rods and I almost always use a Matagi Butt Cap that will allow me to unscrew it and take off or add weight to precisely fit the reel. That said, if you are trying to balance the rod at the handle where you actually put your hand you are probably going to be disappointed. if you insist however, just weigh the reel and add that for starters and THEN start adding more weight until it balances. The point I'm making is that the way you are trying to do it (I think) requires you to account for the reel weight as well. If you can get it to balance anywhere under the reel you are golden. I usually shoot for a balance point at the front tip of the foot of the reel. The thing is if you balance it at the grip you'll end up with a rod that weighs maybe 15 Oz. and I'd bet that you like that a lot less than just balancing it at the reel seat. If it is a well designed rod it should normally take an once or less.

I've never seen that. Have you?

That, and according to my friend who teaches English at a University in Japan, Americans live in comparatively large domiciles and so it is common for anglers to have 10 or more rigs. Most people live in tiny little apartments in Japan so that people can't buy all the stuff we buy. They have no place to put it. The upshot is that a dedicated angler in Japan might only have 1 or at most 2 rigs, but they want the best. I'd bet that most any Japanese fisherman paying $2000 for a rod and reel has a whole lot less into it than the average American enthusiast does. And the comparison goes completely off the charts when you figure in a boat, trailer and a truck to pull it with.

Or sometimes it is because they are better. I've had a 1911 pistol from the Philippines bought for about $400. It does everything basically required of a pistol. I also bought a $3000+ 1911 made by Les Baer. Guys who argue that it doesn't matter are clueless. They would stand 10 yd back from a target, pull the trigger and hit the 2" bull's eye. To them the cheap one works as well as the expensive one. But, back up to 50 yards and the cheap pistol is unable to produce any better than a 2" group no matter how good you are. The Les Baer will put the rounds into a 1/2" group. And not get a stove pipe or feed failure in 10,000 rounds. The difference is that for $400 you get some minimum wage knucklehead cranking these cheap guns out from bins full of "identical" parts. On the expensive guns you have custom parts being individually fitted by a Master gunsmith. Each part IS different, but not in the sloppy fitting cheap gun way, but in the Les Baer way. He will guarantee that his work has less than 3/10,000" accuracy in any chain of any 3 parts. That sort of thing costs. The difference between a Megabass $600 rod, versus the off the rack $150 rod is similar. Most rods are built with pretty generic tapers. Ito plans and researches each of rod model for years designing and redesigning the taper and guides for a very specific use. Most Megabass rods (the higher end anyway) are made for 1 specific purpose. And then that rod is built in a flawless manner. Now you may buy the rod and not agree with his "vision" for that rod, but that rod is exactly the way he wants it and he has gone through much to get it that way. It makes some guys feel better to believe that there is no difference between a high dollar rod and what they use and it's not on me to prove them wrong. It's just that until those folks actually have some of the high dollar stuff, the value of their opinion on the matter comes heavily discounted.

LOL..You bet it is about me, it's my money.

I had to laugh a little when I read this. If it is not OK to order from China we have a huge problem since about 90% of everything we can buy in the US is ordered from China...

No, but they do make 6'7 and up. Sort of tough these days to find much variety in anything under 7'. It's been a while since I've used them, I use mostly Megabass and my own builds these days so I'm not maybe entirely up to date.

LOL. I typed a manifesto about the rods, but I'm not sure what to tell you about spinning reel size and rod matching. I have a couple of Revros, but they are both on 11' IM6 Crappie rods. I have the 2500 size and it is similar to the size of a 30 size President which I think would be good match for a MH or Med. The 25 size President is about right for a ML rod I think. I guess if I had to choose for you I would probably say go for a Falcon HD 7'6 M rod. It's a bit long and it's a Moderate taper, but since you want to fish for Crappie, Bass, and Catfish with one set up, this rod will at least give you half a chance to do that. The length and Moderate taper will help the rod catch Crappie a bit better using lighter line like a 6# mono and will still haul in a 20# if you have 10lb or bigger line. I would put a Revros 2500 spooled with #6 if you lean more toward Crappie and Bass, or go with a 3000 size if you are mostly fishing bass spooled with 10lb and if Catfish is your main target , go with at least a 3000 and spool at least 15lb. You really need 3 rigs to do it right though. At least consider buying 2 extra spools so that you can at least have an appropriate line that you can easily switch back and forth. The rod and reel should cost about $129

It's just that I thought it was something electronic because of the name. I get it. I bought 5 or 6 of the KastKing reels back when they came out with the Assassin. I used one of them for maybe an hour and the rest are unused to this day. Pretty much junk in my opinion. But, there are plenty of guys here that like to play around with the cheap stuff and some of it they say is better than you'd expect given the price. Many people have raved about the Teton rods in particular. I have 4 PX68s, an SV 103, couple of SS SV and a bunch of old OG Steez and TD-z reels and love them, but as much as I hate to say it everything Daiwa makes these days seems pretty much like a Tatula, which is a decent reel, but when I spend $300-500 on a reel I expect more than a smoother Tat so lately I've been checking out what Shimano has to offer and so far have bought a Scorpion, some Metaniums and Bantams and may now be as much of a Shimano guy as I am an old Diawa guy. I am really impressed with the whole Monocoque Aluminum and Magnesium frames. Lots of stuff out there and nothing wrong with checking it all out if you feel like it.

Personally, I see no use to grease at all in a fishing reel except for a light coating on the drive and pinion gear faces (only because oil will sling off) and maybe a tiny bit of the drag washers if you prefer smooth over maximum power. There are no forces at work in a fishing reel that require grease. The biggest effects grease has in a reel as far as I can see is that it collects abrasive material like dirt, slows down the working parts (especially when it's cold) and makes somewhat of a mess inside your reel when it's hot. Again except on the gear faces where it might help the gears break in a little smoother. TSI 321 is better in all other cases. ...IMO

Or the Poison Glorious...

I've had just about every series Falcon has made and for my money, since you are limiting it to $150 I suggest stepping up to the Lowrider. It is appreciably better for maybe $20 more than the Bucoo, but the Bucoo is a good rod too.. If you can swing it the Falcon Expert will open your eyes. It's a solid $300 rod that sells for $199.

What's a Fishband?

Honest answers? OK. Step away from the Ugly stick. They are tough and...well...that's about it. Otherwise they are probably one of the worst of the popular rods I ever used. I saw the Abu Vengence rod suggested as well. If that is your other option, forget what I said about the Ugly Stick and take it instead...at least it's tough. My suggestions are, in the order I'd look in this price range (sort of) is the Falcon HD series. It's a $150 rod for $69 and puts the others mentioned to shame. The Fenwick Eagle is a surprisingly nice and sensitive rod for a cheaper rod. A lot of people like the Daiwa Aird-x rod. The quality is good, But IMO like most of Daiwa's rods below the almost $200 price point, they seem too stiff and unresponsive. One exception is one of the cheapest Diawas made, the Crossfire. it's $29 rod that weirdly handles and feels better than their $100 stuff (to me). I really like the feel of the Berkley Cherrywood too. It's cheap and feels great, but they can be a bit brittle. There are others too, but this is a start. I would advise you to stay away from ABU rods period. I have owned just about every ABU rod from the $39 Vengeance through the Vigilante, the Veritas (1 and 2), the Volatile up to the $200 Villain (1 and 2) , looking for a good Abu rod. They are pretty well made and you can take them fishing, but they are all dead sticks. Probably OK for catfish or maybe even crankbaits, but don't figure on feeling much. Reels, I've got about 6-8 Pflueger Presidents. They are nothing fancy, but are plenty decent at the price, but a better bet might be The Daiwa Revros for about the same cost. They are just nicer, smoother and while again, nothing fancy, they are a step up from the President IMO.

For better or worse i just use Windex with Ammonia and the a very thin application of some top quality Carnuba wax. Only the good stuff that is 100% Carnuba though because it will dry to a very hard shell that will not attract and retain dust or dirt.

I never use shielded bearings either. I don't want oil or grease on my bearings. Those do provide some protection from the microscopically rough surface of the races, but at a cost of also adding rolling resistance. That is why steel or ceramic I always use the TSI 321. It's better to fill in those rough areas like the TSI stuff does rather than just put some goo over them. A fishing reel never spins fast enough for long enough or under enough pressure to need the heat sink properties of oil and grease.

Braid itself isn't hard enough to cut through SS. But when you fish in salt water or dirty freshwater, the braid has tiny crevices and pores that collect little particles that turn the line into an abrasive saw.

I use the ceramics and just put a drop or 2 of TSI 321 on them a couple of times a year. They are a little noisier that way but they have almost no resistance at all.