NOC 1

LOL...so you think that using something like an NRX or Z-bone will only make 1.0001% difference in feeling vibrations? Baloney. At that point you wouldn't be able to tell much difference between a Dobyns Fury and an NRX and anyone who has ever used an NRX will tell you that is in no way shape or form true. It's OK to use budget gear if that is what you like, but there is no point in pretending that there is no real difference. Yes. You do.

Depending on what rod I'm using I can still feel soft mud, but you are right that depth will reduce the feeling. But even then I can feel when the weight leaves the rod as it hits but that gets pretty subtle too if you are using say, anything below 3/16 oz. I find the biggest difference other than the rod is using Tungsten weights. With a Tungsten Shaky head and my most sensitive rods I can feel individual pebbles on a gravel bottom.

If nothing else you should be able to feel the weight come off of the rod tip when the lure hits bottom even on something not so sensitive. On a sensitive rod you can usually feel the little thump as it hits down and feel the weight change. If you can feel neither then you are either fishing with a broomstick or you have ham fists.

I think that this would depend on how you do it, I've caught many a 8-10 lb Hybrid Striper on Med rods, not to mention a few 20+ lb Flathead catfish. Last year I landed an 8-10 lb striped bass on a ML with 8lb line. my son landed a 40+ lb Flathead catfish on a med rod with 10Lb line the year before last. Of course if you do unwise things like high-sticking the rod or try to boat flip a 20lb fish...yeah, the rod will snap like a toothpick.

I would think so. The Asian folk I know seem to be smaller people in general than Americans and have smallish hands. I have smallish hands myself and prefer 80 to 90 mm handles and thinner grips and so have never replaced a JDM handle for size.

Is there only going to be a 2 ft. difference in capacity between a 100 and 150 sized reel? I have a 150 Scorpion and it is spec'ed at 130 Yd. of 12 lb. I suspect that both the USDM and the JDM are both 100 sized reels since they hold the same amount of line (100 yd). I don't have the USDM to compare so I can't prove it. I'm just reading the specs from the USDM but it appears to be the same reel the only difference being that the line cap. is listed in metric on one and English on the other. They weigh the same which I would find odd if they are different sized reels. But the USDM one IS called a 150 in the name, so I don't know.

The president is a pretty decent reel in my opinion. I use them on all my crappie rods and have had some for years with no issues.

Back in the day everybody used glass rods.... ALL glass rods. They were a big improvement over the steel rods w use to use. They weren't as nice as the split bamboo rods, but the bamboo rods were spendy and kind of fragile. Yes they will stand up to a bass. LM Bass aren't big fighters to begin with. The reason folks like the glass rods is because of what you saw in that video. The parabolic bend. Makes it easier to keep tension on the line when fishing with small treble hook like the ones that are on most crankbaits. Without that constant tension fish have a way of spitting out the lure. The can cast really well too, though the slow or moderate action can feel a bit odd if you are used to using only fast graphite rods.

I don't have the US version but I do have the JDM version and the spec sheet from the USDM reel and while the JDM is a compact reel it doesn't seem like a 70 size to me. The US version specs say it will take 110 yd. of 12lb and the JDM is listed as 100 meters of 12lb. that is only around 23 inches difference, not what I would expect when comparing a 150 to a 70....They weigh the same and the JDM (I have the 6:1 version) measures 83.59mm between the shaft centers on the handle.

I deal with them all the time. As far as I can tell the 20 Met is the same reel as the 150B, though being JDM might have a little bit of shorter handle or grips that are a bit smaller. Neither case is any consequence to me as I prefer JDM reels anyway. When I order from Asian Portal I get free shipping and it never takes more than 4 days to get to my door in the middle of the CONUS.

Let me simplify it for you then..it is crazy to pay $239 for a Curado when you can for not very much more get a much better reel, or the JDM version for much cheaper. Unless you'd care to argue that some how a Curado is better reel than Aldebaran...regardless of the fact that they were designed a few years back. I have a whole stable of OG Steez and TD-Z reels and each and every one is a better reel than any Curado and they haven't even sold those for 10 or even 15 years. I mean if a guy wants pay near Metanium money for a Curado so be it it's his money. I prefer to spend mine more wisely and was trying to inform someone who might not be aware that he even has a choice the he also has options for his money. THAT is the point of the recommendation.

Or, get a new one for $122. This was my main point in my previous post when I said I wouldn't pay $239 for a Curado when I could buy a Scorpion for at least $60 less. I wasn't saying that I wouldn't ever buy a Curado just not for $239. like I said for a bit more I can get a Metanium. You have to shop around some. If you just look at Bass Pro and Tackle Warehouse you are leaving a lot of gear on the table, getting 2 reels for every three you pay for as I see it. Or buy the Metanium and the Scorpion for the same price as a pair of Curado... https://fishing.asian-portal.shop/category/select/cid/352/bid/49/pid/29525

I prefer magnesium to either in most cases, but Aluminum makes a heavier reel that balances a long handled rod or a long rod in general better than a lighter Mag reel. I don't have much use for graphite reels in general but I am thinking about picking up a new Chronarch this year just to see what a higher quality version is like. Most of the Graphite reels I have had or used have been cheap reels.

I wouldn't pay $229 for a Curado 70 when I can buy an Aldebaran BFS, 50, or 30 for around $290 or a Scorpion 70 for $175 ordering from Japan with free shipping to my door in 3-4 days.. Of course right now everything is pretty hit and miss to catch in stock. To me the added pinion bearing in X--Ship is a pretty big deal though I could live without the micro gearing I think, though they does make the reel feel very smooth..at least when they are new..I'm not sure how long that will last though.

I don't really see any way around it. The technology has certainly made it easier enough so that even a rank beginner can still get it somewhat done making it more fun to learn as opposed to spending your first month with a bait caster little but learning how to pick birds nests out of your reel. But as far as I can see you still have to use your thumb to do it well.

I had the same decision last year when I bought my 6 tear old Grandson a spinning rig. His first "real" set-up. I went with the Ugly stick Combo. The reel is not very good, but then it isn't much worse than any of the other junk that they put on that kind of combo either. My logic is that the Ugly stick has a good chance of outlasting a 7 year old and if the reel shoots craps, I'll just replace it with a $30 Pflueger. So far so good. Both rod and reel are intact.

I have the 20 Met (MGL spool), Bantam MGL, and Scorpion MGL. I don't pitch a whole lot, but from what I can see, the Bantam would not be my choice unless you are pitching something pretty big. The Met and the Scorpion MGL work well. As far as I can tell, anything by Diawa using any SV spool pitches pretty darned well. The Met 20 is such a great caster that I wouldn't want to "waste" it on a pitching rod when a Tat SV will work just as well. Put it to use bombing something out there. YMMV

Spot on...I always try to take the hook into account as well. Some hooks require a massive hook set swing and others not quite so much. Usually goes hand in hand with the lure weight, bigger bait bigger hook, but sometime you get a bigger HD hook on a smaller bait and sometime a thin hook in a larger size. In addition some brands of hooks are super sharp and others not... The point is that it is possible that the perfect rod based on lure weight is not long enough or powerful enough to provide a long distance deep hook set. At least that is my story when I have to explain why I need 30 rods....

You are of course entitled to hold whatever opinions that you choose to hold but I think that someone who doesn't use high end rods is least competent to judge their lack of benefit. Use whatever you like, but don't justify your taste and or budget for lower end gear by characterizing my preference for better gear as somehow uninformed or wasteful.

I don't think that anyone sets out to make a rod tip heavy. In a perfect world the rod would balance right in the center of the reel seat so that whatever reel you put on it would balance. In the real world that is not always practical. Depending on the length of the rod and the characteristics of the blank itself, and the intended use of the rod, perfect balance is tough to achieve. For example, if you want a short handle on a rod for using as a jerk bait rod, it's probably not going to have great balance but you have to ask yourself which you value most in THIS rod. Would you rather have a handle that is in your way the whole time you are using it or a balanced rod. It is possible to add weight to the butt of the rod to improve the balance but again you have to decide what it important to you. For me I will put weight on a top water rod to improve its balance because the way I fish it the better balance helps me produce tiny walking vibrations and I might also add weight to an out of balance rod I'm going to use for bottom contact rods and some finesse stuff. To me balance is important in these techniques. I usually wouldn't add weight to say a Carolina rig rod. a crank-bait rod or a jig rod because you'd have to add so much that the extra weight would in my opinion be worse that the out of balance rod past a certain point. And these are going to have weight pulling on the tip no matter how balanced the rod is. The only exceptions would be where the rod is so tip heavy that I lose casting accuracy. Everybody has the choice for themselves as to what they prefer. I am kind of a stickler for the best practical balance I can get, while others don't care much about it at all.

You might like the 20 Metanium then. It is built on the solid core and is a very nice reel. Very similar to the Chronarch in my opinion. If they changed the Chronarch from composite to solid core, I don't see why they would still make both reels.

Amen. Falcon rods beat out most all of those listed at their respective price ranges. Most people who actually try Falcon end up as fans.

Spot on about the Flouroclear. One spool might be great and the next would break all the time. Very inconsistent. I used it for awhile until that day when I was fishing in Texas with my son and lost 3 10lb Hybrid Stripers in a row because the Flouroclear broke as soon as they hit it. I changed rods and got the next 3 so I know the approximate size of the ones I lost. Now I know that the Hybrids hit like a freight train and there is no hook set involved on my part, but that was 12 lb line and should never have broken. I had been having occasional break offs with it all along I guess, but that 3 in a row was the last straw...never again.

I'd take a Falcon XD over the Aird-X, but both are decent rods for small cash.