newapti5

Come back after work and this post is already 7 pages.

Yes I understand that. Some of my mid range reels, not many, got crappy unexpectedly soon. What I tried to say is, that's acceptable, as those extra money is not just paying for the quality. A lot of them goes to the design, as you're paying for the unique designs that other reels don't have. When paying top money for a reel, people expect to have the best experience on every level. But the OP is right - from manufacturing perspective, high end reels aren't that much different than low end ones. But high end reels have way more features. You can't put an exact price on how much the design effort behind a T-wing or a MGL spool is worth. You might not like them, or the extra money they charge for them, but you're paying for them when buying a reel. It's a package deal. I value the smoothness and durability of a reel just as everyone, and scorn some of the useless "features" they push so hard for, but some of them features really work. If you truly don't care about all those features and original ideas, then yes, low end quality reels definitely have the best value.

I can't tell the difference between $10 wines and $100 wines, so those things are a waste to me. But I can definitely tell the differences between a reel from Walmart and a mid-range reel, say Tatula CT. I see most replies here are talking about the "smoothness" or manufacturing tolerance or craftsmanship. IMO a reel's value is judged not only by how smooth it is, but also by its design. You can call those features such as T-wing, SV spool, MGL, micromodule... marketing gimmicks, but I see they put a lot of time and money to design those. And some of them do work, whether you like to have them or not. Anyway, if low range and mid range reels feel the same to you, I wouldn't suggest high end reels. The higher it goes, usually the smaller differences you will feel. BTW, I don't think anyone needs a mid-range reel to improve his/her game - a better reel just adds some extra entertaining value to the game.

7x4 is the right hole size, but if you're talking about the 20 Metanium MGL, I doubt that offset handle would fit its rather large and flat drag star. You'll have better luck matching a straight handle with that reel.

For me, it's just one number difference - 843C. The 3 power seems more suitable to be all-purposed.

But inside is the fun part?. Also, you get to see which reel is truly the best value. Look at the inside of a Daiwa SV103. With all those metal parts and riveted pinion supports, you can see why it feels like a tank. Been there, done that ?. Screws are worse - they all look alike.

Ideally, the spool speed should match the lure speed, but in reality, as long as it doesn't backlash at the end, it's fine. The way to use your thumb, is a little hard thumbing at the beginning, then ease out a little during, and finally hit a full stop at the end. So, hard, soft, hard. I don't know about the click sound before lure hitting water though. Is it because you set the spool tension too loose, so that your thumbing at the end causes the spool moving sideways and clicking? What reel is that?

Cant' remember what it was but I am sure I saw that somewhere as well. Mind blowing stuff.

Oh I did more than that. It's actually an annual maintenance cleaning/weekend pastime, but this time I broke a piece that I didn't expect to?. I did get the chance to change the level wind bushing to a bearing while at it though.

I was cleaning a Shimano reel, and this happened. Luckily, I have a spare from another reel. Lesson learned - don't rub it too hard while cleaning ?

Susquehanna is famous for its rocky bottom and shallow water. I mostly use my spinning setup with 10lb Seaguar Blue label as leader, which has an equal diameter to 8lb mono. When it's really pressured, I sometimes go to 8lb fluoro, but as suggested above, I would check the line constantly.

One of those days, huh? It'll pass.

Yeah I wouldn't suggest that for single hook application. I have the last gen Fenwick HMG moderate fast MH, and various other Fenwick rods. Their rods' top sections are a little soft compared to other brands, which is a good thing IMO, but their "moderate fast" rods are a bit too parabolic for single hooks. For an all purpose rod, I would recommend their fast action rods.

I would argue that 20 loops is fine. I usually use 20 loops, and for slick braids like Seaguar Smackdown and Ardent Gliss, I'd use 25 loops or more, depending on how slick it is. As long as the first two knots after all the loops and before the pull, are not too tight (but tight enough for the braid to cinch in), all those loops will cinch in tightly and nicely.

The thinnest leader I used is 8lb fluoro, with 15lb braid, and I can still tie a secure FG knot, although it might need more time and attention. As mentioned above, the first two knots after all the loops and right before you pull, are the key. If those two knots are not tight enough, the braid line won't cinch into the fluoro when you pull; if too tight, the top section of the loops will have trouble cinching in, too. If tied rightly, all the braid will cinch in and change color a bit, but sometimes you'll notice on the top section of the FG knot, those loops are still sort of loose, didn't change color. That's either because of too many loops, or because those two knots before you pull are too tight.

Yes there're some reward points from previous orders, but that's a different feature. The shipping discount was automatically applied whether you use the reward points or not. I have been able to use points for some discount, and then on top of that still get free shipping. There aren't many second-handed reels that can be shipped to US, but yes there're some. What I usually do when browsing Amazon Japan for reels, is to find any baitcaster (or spinning reel), and then click on the "baitcasting reels" category on the top, and then choose only "Daiwa" and "Shimano" from the search filter on the left, and then sort the result by price.

It needs a deep cleaning for sure. Send it to professionals as suggested above, or do it yourself as a fun summer project. But a little warning, Orra S's design is a bit different from others; you might need an offset screwdriver to reach certain screws inside.

I got a few (actually 5~6) reels from Amazon Japan, and it's been great. The price is among the lowest on JDM tackle retailer websites, they don't charge tax, and shipping is pretty fast. A few things that I've observed: 1. Not all reels listed on Amazon Japan can be shipped to US, mostly just the ones that ship from Amazon. Once you list your shipping address as a US address while setting up your Amazon Japan account, it will automatically filter out some. 2. As mentioned above, the shipping cost is about 2000 yen, but the interesting thing is, once your order price is above certain amount, say $150, Amazon Japan will give you some shipping discount, sometimes almost free shipping. You can see that right before submit order. I still haven't figured out how they calculated that; maybe you could. 3. If you're using US credit/debit cards like me, you can choose to pay in US dollar or in Japan yen. If you choose pay in US dollar, Amazon will give you a currency exchange rate slightly higher than the current market rate; if you don't like that and want to pay in Japan yen, then consult your credit/debit card bank, as they might as well charge certain exchange fees (I used Wells Fargo, and they charged a $10 fees for over 20,000 yens I think). 4. You can try items that are sold by Amazon itself; that's the safest but not always the cheapest. If you want to choose third party sellers, check their ratings first. On that note, the third party sellers on Amazon Japan don't have crazy amount of ratings/reviews like those on Amazon US. Usually 10~30 ratings/reviews is all you will get. I guess Japanese don't like online shopping much. 5. There are some second-handed reels on Amazon Japan as well, listed by third party sellers. I haven't tried them yet, but the prices are pretty good, like this 14 Calcutta Conquest in great shape for just $180 tyd. Good luck and have fun!

All right, I guess I just need to stop whining and suck it up. I will give it another go next time.

Yes, that's how I hold my spinning setup. Actually it's not the balance on axial direction that feels awkward. It's because the spinning reel is far away from the axle of the rod. When jerking, I don't jerk straightly up and down, but more to the side. So I feel the spinning reel will also create a little twisting motion in my hand, which makes me uncomfortable after awhile.

Not likely, but being baked like that for a long time, the grease and oil inside may breakdown and vaporize, also some small plastic (not carbon) parts may get damaged. I would just put a reel that I don't care about much inside the car all the time.

The IVCB brake could be a bit touchy and unstable, especially on the low setting, but other than that, IMO Revo 4 STX is a solid reel with great gears.

Do you feel discomfort with the jerking motions? Randy's theory is good on the paper, but when I try to use spinning for jerkbaits, the off-center weight distribution just gets in the way and feels awkward.

Yeah, some might like the more coherent story-telling style of the Discovery series, but I prefer this "story of the week" style. Sorry I forgot to mention it's exclusively streaming on Paramount Plus currently. I got hooked to watch that beautifully shot "1883." Again, I digress a bit.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 1 Episode 5. To be fair, this new series is actually quite entertaining so far, better than the last one.