newapti5

Just as others mentioned, it sounds like this reel needs deep cleaning and new grease, especially inside. You could send it to professionals like DVT here, or it could be a fun winter project for yourself.

I have one of these from the auction sit with about the same price you mentioned. Very smooth reel for the price, great quality, the only issue that I have is the big heavy deep spool. It's definitely for heavy lures; handles lure under 3/8oz poorly.

Buying strategy: Always invest a little in for quality gears. It'll save you money in the long run. I learned that lesson the hard way. Reel: Get a Daiwa Tatula SV, or any reels with "SV." If you want Shimano reels, then get a Curado MGL, or any reels with "MGL." These two types of reels are very easy to cast for new users, and they would still be great for any advanced users. 6:1 or 7:1 gear ratio would both be fine. Rod: Let's see how much budget room you still got left after reel purchase. If ~$200, get a Dobyns Champion rod; If $100~$150, get a Dobyns Sierra rod. Both of them are sensitive, well balanced for any reels, and well tapered for most fishing techniques. About weight and action, I'd suggest No.3 weight with fast action, such as 683 or 703. That usually puts the suggested lure weight for the rod at 1/4 ~ 3/4 oz. Again, that covers a lot of techniques. About rod length, that's a personal thing IMO, depending on your height and comfort. PS: Sportsman's Outfitters is having an early BF sale on all Dobyns rods.

Midway USA has one of those customized promotional sales for each registered user's birthday. Currently it gives me various discounts on different items, and the discount for J-Fluoro Samurai is 40% off. It's tempting as I'm eager to try it, but I'm also hoping someone else would foot the bill. So thanks for all the shared reviews and opinions!

I've decided to keep mine as a A-rig/pitching rod. If you want to sell it, I am sure some members in the forum would definitely be interested.

Here's my leader line storage. And if I am on a boat, I'd use the compact size one on the right. I am fancy like that.

I heard a lot of good reviews on the relatively new J-Fluoro Samurai last year. Now that it's been out for a while, I wonder how the long-term reviews are gonna be? Especially compared with Seaguar Tatsu, which IMO is almost perfect in every aspect of performance. I fish rocky bottom mostly. Tatsu has the best abrasion resistance so far, but the price...

I am curious what exactly that "even swap" was. Similar value rods from other brands? Or same series rod but different models?

Sorry to hear that, but I got the exact same rod. It looks like they didn't send the wrong rod, but mislabel the rod on their website. I am still debating with myself whether sending it back.

As others mentioned, the thicker the diameter is, the stiffer the line is, and the harder to do turns and tie knots. From my personal experience, to make sure the improved clinch knot is well tied on thicker lines, you'll need to do less turns, make sure the knot is well lubricated, and tie it slowly to make sure the knot is neat and tight, nothing twist or loose.

There are plenty of discussion here, and on the Internet, about how to tie the FG knot. I recommend the method from Tackle Advisor on Youtube - I don't want to put anything in my mouth, I don't want to pull out some specific tool to tie it, and I especially don't want to put a flame anywhere near my line. His bare-handed method works pretty well for me, and 10lb smackdown on a 8lb leader should be no problem after some practice as I used that setup all the time, with some extra wraps of course. In the last several years after learning the FG knot, it only failed me once, and that was because I tied it in a hurry. My personal experience: 1. stop and check at the beginning, especially with light lines, to make sure all the wraps are neat and tight, nothing loose or twisted. 2. I usually do 20 wraps, but 25 if the line is thin and slippery like the 10# smackdown. 3. I don't tighten the 2 half hitches too hard, as I want later all the wraps cinch into the leader really well. 4. before I pull hard to cinch, I wet the knot thoroughly. 5. At home, I usually wear plastic gloves to pull really hard; while outside, I will just pull as hard as I can bare-handed. But either way, I make sure the transparent fluoro leader turns dark, as that means it successfully cinches down. 6. after that, I tie another two half hitches on braided line only, cut the tag ends It's good to go.

Yeah, I also have had 18# Gliss on a spinning reel for a season now. So far it's still holding up, but I MUST tie a fluoro leader on all the time. FG knot seems working pretty well, of course I have to wrap some extra rounds because how slippery that line is. The only problem is, it's such a pain in the butt to tie a FG knot with that limb loose Gliss line that sometimes I would rather just pick up a different setup.

I think that might be a common situation with all the lately Shimano reels with "Silent Tune." I observe on my bantam, 20 metanium, and the new 21 calcutta conquest. And the solution is just as above: Loose the tension knob, put the spool all the way back in, then close the side plate. Now you should feel obvious side-to-side movement on the spool; just tighten the tension knob until the movement is almost gone. I believe the reason for these extra maneuver is that silent tune spring. As long as brake setting, with the new SVS (white brake shoes), I think 2 on 2 is a pretty safe setting for most experienced baitcaster users. For the old version SVS (red brake shoes), I usually dial down a little, leaving just one shoe on.

I feel like partially responsible for that rod purchase, but NOT the reel though lol. For shallow BFS spools, I usually put 8~10 lb fluoro on to cast 1/4oz jerkbaits. Seaguar Tatsu is a great but pricy choice, InvizX is good as well for the above purpose.

Ned rid TRD is normally considered as a do-nothing bait, but I found out that during Fall when SM are chasing baitfish, a couple rounds of quick winding with a full stop could trigger more fish, just as the creator Ned Kehde narrated in this video:

Momoi Ryujin braided line is the thinnest line I've used - 6kg line is 0.06mm, 8kg is 0.08mm. Smooth as silk; I had to constantly hold back a little so I wouldn't cast into trees. The strength is quite good at the beginning, but the abrasion resistance of this line is terrible. It's kind of expected given its thin diameter.

That's a good rod for the price as well. I couldn't find the specifications of that model except that it's medium fast. I am guessing lure weight should be 1/4~5/8oz as usual.

Sierra is selling last gen Steez AGS casting rod for $250, but only one model - 6'9 medium fast.

Not in any Walmarts near me though. Speaking of Fluoro sales, sportsmansoutfitters is having a sale on Sunline Sniper and Daiwa J-Fluoro Samurai. After reading so many positive feedbacks on the Samurai, I just have to give it a try.

I like it. 1. True to the listed diameter, not like the Berkley 9x 2. Not too stiff like the Fireline, not too limb like the Slick 8 either 3. Smooth and round, which means casting performance is good 4. Abrasion resistance is not great, but pretty good. 5. Color fading is acceptable 6. Available everywhere, with a fair pricing

Scorpion MGL 150 spool in a Curado K 200, I have a good feeling about the casting improvement on light lures.

I fish the same weight of jigs all the time, for clear water river/creek smallies. For those jigs, I think 12lb is the least that I can get away with, but I would need to check the line abrasion constantly due to the rocky bottom. I used 14~15lb lines when I am feeling ballsy.

Alan Hawk also did a detailed review of BG; it's a quality reel way above its price point.

Just $1 for a nice rain coat, still pretty new. Yard sale sometimes can do wonders.

The gears become worn out gradually because of all the winding pressure put on them. Apparently, the more pressure you put on them, the faster they became worn out and lost the smooth feeling. That maximum pressure is exactly what force you set your drag to, plus the extra impact force during hookset. So, the higher the drag, the higher the gears pressure, and the faster they became worn out.