newapti5

For heavy cover I'd go with 50lb braid, with 17~20lb leader. Better safe than heartbreaks. In this scenario, it's not casting distance you're after anyway.

If you're talking about ceramic bearing upgrades, they mostly allow you to cast with less effort. The improvement on casting distance is small. If you're casting light lures, the improvement may be more significant. Also, they tend to make your reel less smooth due to the hardness of ceramic balls. Those reels you mentioned are good reels, I would keep using them if they're still functioning properly. If you really want to upgrade them, get them reels with "MGL." You will see some casting distance improvement if that's what you're after.

The first gen 13 Fishing Envy series, Black or Green, is equipped with recoil guides as well. Mine have no problem for leader knots or anything.

I only use acetone in an ultrasonic cleaner to clean my bearings, which I don't need to rinse after. All the rest of parts are cleaned by good ol' Dawn and a toothbrush. After a thorough rinse with tap water, I don't see any residue. I've never used Reel Kleen, and don't know how the "protective barrier" it leaves behind will react with new grease/oil.

Megabass USA website doesn't list the Evoluzion series, I found it on its Japan website here: https://www.megabass.co.jp/site/freshwater/evoluzion-c40-hdts/ It seems like the closest model for jig fishing would be Super Diablo Type-L, the one Punchfishing reviewed in his YT video. It might be a good fit for me, as I like my jig rods to have a little slower action. The problem is finding one in US store to try it out first. The few stores that have it are nowhere close to me. I might eventually go with a P5 first, which is available nearby.

Don't get me wrong; I am quite fond of 13 Fishing's rods. I still own several Omen and Envy series, Black and Green, and a couple of Muse Gold spinning rods. None of them gave me any problems. As for the broken Fate Black, I got the refund from the merchant, so I had never dealt with 13 Fishing's customer service. But I heard it's pretty good as well.

Haha, no specific reasons, just because they have a different mindset on fishing, especially finesse fishing. I think it's mostly influenced by Japan's fishing culture; nonetheless, it gives me a lot of new ideas to think about. Thanks for the info, like I said, I have a lot of research to do when I have more free time. BTW, what's Phase 3 standing for? Bummer, that's what I plan to use it for mostly. The craftsmanship is MB's strong suit no doubt, but I heard their warranty had improved somewhat recently? Not sure, maybe rumors.

I used to have two Fate black rods, the first generation, not the green 2nd gen. The spinning Medium one broke like a twig after a couple trips. The whole top section was brittle. But the 7'6 medium heavy has been a stout rod for many years now, after handling many big ones. All I am saying is, watch out for the quality of that line of rods, the QC on it isn't that good IMO.

Yeah, Orochi rods are really temping, and I prefer full grip rods. But many Asian anglers I talked to suggest a P5 or Evoluzion to truly experience what MB rods stand for, if I only plan on "sampling" a couple of MB rods instead of a whole deck of them. I fish jigs a lot, especially finesse jigs, so naturally a Diablo Type-R may be best for that? I wasn't talking about the exact model Punchfishing used. Maybe a Diablo Type-R or a Super Diablo? I need to do more research when I got the time, but Arms is definitely out of the question for now. I want to fish a rod, not worship one like a piece of art.

Gee, I totally forgot them. Thanks for the heads up!

Academy's online deals kind of suck in the last couple of years. Back in the days, I had scored a Lew's BB1 reel for $60, some Columbia fishing shirts for $4 a piece, and a tons of other quality tackles in dirty cheap prices. Now they have one clearance after another, but mostly for sports clothing and sorts, not many solid tackle deals. I heard their stores down south still have some great deals occasionally.

Yes, I have already watched his review video about that rod. Good info, but if I purchased one, I'd probably use it for jigs.

Thanks for the detailed info! I am looking for user feedbacks so I could decide which series is worthy of future purchase. The MSRP of Destroyer Evoluzion isn't cheap, but it came up when I told others that I'd like to try one rod that makes MB different from other brands. For that price, I could as well get a NRX or Conquest, but it's the unique taper of Evoluzion that attracts me more than sensitivity.

Even for finesse jigs and T-rigs, the combined total weight would be over 1/2oz, so in that class I think the Curado 150 would be perfect. Curado 70 or similar small size spool can also handle that with no problem, but the 150 size would be right at the sweet spot IMO.

I wonder how they get the exact IQ number. Through a test of some sort? I would say a fish that can finish a test is pretty smart, wouldn't you agree?

From the other thread about rod brand ownership, I can see that not many Megabass rod owners here. I personally never handled one, thinking the performance won't justify the high price. But recently I've been chatting with many Asian anglers, among whom MB rods are dominating over everything else. I may be persuaded a bit to try out my first MB rod this year. Among all the series, the Destroyer Evoluzion, or 鬼斩 in JDM market, seems to get a lot of praise for its performance, which mostly due to its application of Titanium threads through out the blank. I wonder what others in US think aobut that rod, or other MB series?

Why not combine them all together?

The same frame, similar spool size, same free floating spool... Put a SV spool in it, it's pretty much a JDM 21 Alphas SV TW, which can be had now for ~$200. I love mine; it's been a joy to cast light lures.

I am still looking for a little spring from my Abu Orra Winch lost in last year. The most frustrating experience was when I changed a Daiwa reel Magforce inductor cup. I dropped and picked up the e-clip and spring so many times that I almost gave it up.

I placed my first order with Monsterbass on 11/24, and still haven't received it. They use UPS Mail Innovation to ship their orders. My shipment first got lost by UPS, and I got a replied email from UPS to confirm that. But Montsterbass insisted the shipment was not lost but just delayed. I waited for a couple more weeks, and threatened to solve the matter through Paypal. Finally they sent out a replacement shipment, and gave me a new tracking number. This replacement shipment seemed to pass through UPS just fine, but get lost by USPS this time. The shipment status has stayed the same since 1/4. I am not sure how Monsterbass will handle this case, but we'll see.

St. Croix G. Loomis Dobyn's Shimano Daiwa Abu Gacia Fenwick Okuma 13 Fishing ALX rod Wright & McGill Powell Quantum Edge rod Falcon TFO Berkley No loyalty whatsoever. I like to sample things.

I do my own cleaning and maintenance, and I start to think it's similar to oil change in cars - 3K miles or 3 months, whichever reaches first. If you've left your reel unused for a long time, the grease would be dried up and you'll need to re-lubricate as well.

The slack line sensitivity of braid is terrible, so I always use fluoro or mono for jerkbait. Although for the majority of time fish hook themselves on jerkbait fishing, I still want to feel the bite on slack line if possible.

Similar fishing scenario here, and I use both. I use braid+leader when I want to maximize sensitivity, like in the winter days when the bites are very gentle; fluoro when I want stretchability, like most moving baits and other lures with light wire hooks.

MGX's is specifically designed for casting light lures. Although it's totally doable to use it for frogs and pitching/flipping, it'll be a waste of talent IMO. A STX would be perfect for that task.