Big Hands

Scott Martin visited Tom Monsoor last summer and it (his basement) was pretty insane, especially if you're a jig connoisseur.

I had the Kage M/F 7' spinning rod, and I would tell friends to avoid it for only one reason: the reel seat on that rod allowed to reel foot on every spinning reel I own (almost all of them are Daiwa) to squirm in the reel seat. It was not a Fuji seat like it is on the Tatula of the same specs that I traded it in for. I am very satisfied with the Tatula. Maybe the ML/F version doesn't do that, but I would suggest checking it for yourself. Kage rods are not supposed to be sold online, so I assume you're able to put hands on them in a shop. I have two other Kage casting rods, and love them. One of them is the 7'3" MH/F and I feel the same way about it as I feel about the St.Croix Mojo Bass rod I mention below. I have a Zodias 7' ML/F and a St. Croix Mojo Bass 7'6" ML/XF. I will just say this: I will sell the Zodias to the first person that makes me a decent offer. You can have my Mojo Bass 7'6" ML/XF when you can pry it from my cold dead fingers. YMMV. Daiwa makes a Tatula 7'6" ML-M/F spinning rod that I have been scheming on.

Oh yeah. That I can (and have) dig out pretty easily. It hurts the day you do it and then it's fine after that.

The clip is there, at least until it is finally successful in it's attempt to find a new forever home. It's certainly had enough time to outgas and shrink in the 35 years of it's existence. I took it apart and there is indeed a gap behind it. I recently restrung a drapery rod and I remembered that the restring kit came with a tool just like the one bulldog1935 referenced, so I'll definitely be using that to get that bugger out when the time comes. This one seems to have a little more interference than others. I will be able to use the tool I have that looks like yours next time it get removed. Yea, it's not going back in with finger pressure, but I think if I use a countersunk drift made from a wooden dowel I can gently persuade it with contact being made on the outer race only. . . in theory. Now, after further inspection, I think I have solved the magnet mystery. There is no evidence of a magnet ever having been glued into the open slot, and I see adhesive has been used to secure the others. Also, there are magnets on the red inner ring, and one of those places is empty as well. The magnets are color coded with some having yellow of the face and the others having blue. When they are aligned with the same colors facing each other, the blue plastic magnet holder is trying to lift out of it's position. When opposite colors are aligned, it happily sits down where it's supposed to. My conclusion is that the open spots on the inner and outer magnet holders are intentional and nothing is actually missing. I could imagine that with six magnets in place, and the adjuster max'd out, the magnetic force may have been too strong, but this is just a very uneducated guess. Soooo, back to the bearing dilemma. I think I will just start fresh with replacing all three bearings that reside on the spool shaft. It's definitely a proverbial rabbit hole trying to sort out what bearings would would deliver acceptable performance, especially if I prefer not to overspend unnecessarily. Press fit. Aah yes. I have gone to either the Praxis or Wheels Manufacturing thread together press fit adapters with angular contact bearings. They have done well so far.

After looking so many times over the years, I finally came across a schematic view and parts list for my exact reel: https://www.reelschematic.com/wp-content/uploads/schematics/Daiwa/Baitcaster-Conventional/Daiwa Casting Pt10Zx(86-51).pdf Not many parts available, but at least I can search occasionally for them and cross reference them.

Yes, the lash pad is kept in by the bearing. There is a narrow gap between the lash pad and the bearing. Since the bearing has been out recently, when I replace it, I'll try hooking it and pulling it out. I may try to take a 3/8' wooden dowel and countersink the bottom of it and then sand it down to barely fit the 9 mm bore. Then, the dowel should only be contacting the outer race of the bearing. . . . . Great question. Makes me wonder if that could be a source for vibration. I think this may put the brakes on this project until I can get that issue sorted out.

The only way I could get the bearing out the first time was to drive it out with a drift though that small hole. There is a copper 'spool adjusting cap' (a little square slab) that is behind the bearing and if not for that, it would be even harder to remove it. Trying to hook it from the other side (shown from the pic below) was an exercise in futility.

I can't find one from any of the usual sources. I emailed Daiwa on Friday to see if they had one, but haven't heard back. The non-drive side has one that fits down into the Magforce assembly. There is a small hole (>1/8") in the backside of the assembly. Pics will be here shortly.

Daiwa Tournament Procaster PT10ZX (late 80's vintage) Don't threaten me with a good time, LOL. I see you over there (I am the dim light coming from the corner near the entrance). Having been through the RC car hobby and having my own portable commutator lathe and building my own batteries, etc., and doing things like building bicycle wheels, building my own computers, assembling car engines, swimbait painting, taking over 250,000 photos of my kids and their various soccer teams and bicycle races, and wrapping an entire set of fishing rods for myself. . . well, I have a knack for finding rabbit holes. I have owned this reel since it was new, in fact I had four of them until a few years ago. BITD I used to clean the bearings often and ran them bearings out and oil free because they would cast farther that way (knowing that their demise was being hastened). I sold the others a few years ago as parts reels and just kept one that was made from the best parts I had from all four reels. I'm also attempting to resurrect a newer (but still pretty old) Daiwa Procaster-Z 153iv. I noticed that this reel uses the same bearing on one side of it's spool as the bearings on both sides of the PT10ZX and I have a spare spool, so I had two bearings (one of which I know is new. I put them into the PT10ZX and I still got vibration during casting even though it casts VERY well. The reel has four bearings. One of them is on the drive gear assembly. There is one on each side of the spool, and a third bearing on the spool shaft at the bearing cap. The one under the adjustment cap is the one I can see the radial play in. The spool is supported by the two bearings closest to each side of the spool, and they are retained pretty tightly. So, if it's visibly moving (I am estimating at least .005" and closer to .010") at the end of the spool shaft, there is probably radial play in the two bearings closer to the spool as well. Maybe the play on the bearing at the end of the spool shaft is more important then the one closer to the spool now that I think about it (I know, you warned me about that). As long as were down here, I am wondering what tool(s) are safest for pressing a bearing into a tight bore (where there is almost no room behind the bearing)? I try to apply force to the outer race, but that is not easy and even harder to apply the force evenly. Currently, I don't see myself polishing gears and drag washers. . . What exactly do you use to polish gears and drag washers? I am also seeing a tool (a washer really) to put on the magnets to prevent magnetizing bearings during installation? Is that really a thing? I don't want to buy garbage bearings, but I don't need the Gucci stuff either. I found what I believe are ABEC 7 stainless bearings from HPR for a decent price and was considering going with those.

I have a reel that is making noise and exhibits some vibration during casting. If I remove the bearing cap and push the end of the spool shaft while hold a finger on the opposite side of the spool, I can see it moving back and forth. With the bearing removed, and on a pencil tip, I can see the inner race being still and the outer race can be rocked back and forth. Just wondering what the bearing wizards have to say about acceptable radial play. The bearings on each side of the spool itself have been replaced. The spool axle seems to run true and there is no visible wear on it. How much influence does the bearing at the end of the spool shaft have while casting. I can certainly understand having it there when retrieving line (hopefully with a fish on).? Should they stay or should they go?

I have one of these and it is my dedicated jerkbait rod. It measures 10-1/2" from the butt to the back of the reel seat. The extra fast tip helps to kill the forward momentum of the jerkbait with only having to pull back a fraction of what I do with other rods. The action you impart and the way you do it will determine how it acts for you,. I like that I can quickly stop the bait in it's tracks quickly and easily. If that works for you or not is of your own personal preference. To me, it is the jewel of the Shimano SLX rod line.

Whomever told you that is a liar. You can eat them straight out of the bag.

I had several different hip boxes like the one in the OP, but they just didn't work for me. I have a tackle satchel that I take on the boat that holds five 3700 boxes. If I can't fit it in there, it's riding the bench at home most days. I have a tote bag that holds whatever boxes don't make the starting lineup for that day so I keep them organized at home. Usually it's three or four of the same 3700 boxes that I always take, and I may rotate the other one or two depending on what I want to throw. Any more than that just isn't needed on most trips, especially once I get dialed in on a pattern or two. I don't like stumbling around in a cluttered boat dodging gear. Just what I need, and not a bunch of stuff I don't need. The tackle satchel, four rods, some water (maybe in a small cooler), and a net.

The auction site has a couple of new ones for juuuust under $100 each, brand new, free shipping. . . If you like full cork grip, I'd give it a look.

Back in the 80's when this reel was produced, I was presented an off I couldn't refuse on some Daiwa PT10ZX and PT15ZX reels, so I bought four of them (two of each). I remember that I loved fishing with them, but I fished them pretty hard. I sold three of them that were either going to need some work or be used for parts, and kept the one I felt best about (a PT10ZX). The bearings were shot, but I scrounged a couple this morning from a couple spools from a different (newer) reel just to see what was up. Just put it on a 6' medium action rod with a .32 ounce sinker and went out to take a couple casts. I figured I was probably remembering things a little too fondly, LOL. But, much to my surprise this old dog can still hunt. It feels a little clunky, the bearings were still a little noisy, and the anti-reverse is not instant compared to today's reels, but the drag still feels decent and the casting is still as good as I remember (excellent) at least from the few casts I took with it. I think I'll go ahead and get some new bearings and maybe some new drag washers and put this baby back into the rotation on a newer rod. So, since many of you are still in hard water season or like me where the only lake I can fish without going through quagga quarantine has water quality similar to chocolate milk, just curious how many others are still fishing with reels from 'back in the day'?

The first time I visited Lake Fork in March 1995, we found floating laydowns in several places. One cove in particular (halfway up in Birch Creek, just past the 514 bridge) had a couple hundred yards of floating laydowns similar to the ones in the pic that covered the entire cove mixed in between the still standing timber. The only way through it was up and over each of the laydowns. A popular rigging for bass boats there BITD was a hand controlled TM on a "Gator Mount" with a dimmer switch in each side of the front deck to turn the motor on and off. I would be in the back of the boat and my partner would pull the TM out just as the boat got to each log and put it back in on the other side to get as far as we could on that log, then I would come to the front to tip us over and motor off the other side. If you didn't go up and over, you weren't going anywhere. Imagine a cove full of standing timber: Mixed in with floating laydowns forming small pockets that were only two or three boat lengths across each pocket: A full cast required you to fish through at least two or three pockets. 10" worms, lizards, and buzzbaits were the producers. Since it was my first time at the lake, I figured it would be a normal occurrence, but I have not seen anything quite like it since that trip. I'd fish like that all the time if I could.

A 6" Magdraft Freestyle with a 1/2 ounce 8/0 Beast Hook weighs 1.67 ounces. I throw it on a Phenix X-13 rated at 1/2 - 3 oz.

My daughter and I were playing around and asking moral dilemma type questions in the form of "What would "X" do if robots were taking over the world?" with "X" being various fictional characters. The speed and depth at which it can analyze the dilemma itself and apply the personality of a fictional character to how they would potentially react is pretty astonishing.

Didn't crash. I have three MTB's, a road bike, a backpacking bike and an ebike. The ebike was a warranty replacement because the frame cracked on my first one. The first one had a 40t chainring. The replacement came with a 48t chainring and I am surrounded by a lot of hills (people in other parts of the country refer to them as mountains). The last 1.25 mikes of my commute home is a 450' elevation gain and low RPM cadence on extended climbs is hard on ebike motors. I am going from a 9 speed w/11-36 cassette to 11 speed w/11-51 cassette to get my cadence up so it's easier on the motor. Now I'll have all the range I want and no big jumps between gears. I used to work in a shop part time and could get a SIGNIFICANT discount on parts. This time I had to pay retail. . . Ouch!

I've got something labeled 'Shimano XT' arriving today, but it's a shift lever, not a fishing reel. I'm just glad that Pfizer doesn't make fishing gear or we'd probably be lusting over the latest * rods (any/all puns contained in this sentence are definitely unintentional). EDIT: * I guess you never know where the line is until you cross over it once in a while, LOL. -------------------------------- As for reels, I am a 'sworn to fun, loyal to none' type of angler.

You can screw in a small or medium size centering pin screw (aka "CPS") by itself, and then use a regular dropshot hook like a finesse wide gap putting the hook through the spring after threading the spring in (nose hooked). Sometimes finesse-ish worms (like a 4.5" Robowworm) don't stay where they need to long enough to get bit. If that is happening with something like an Owner straight shank worm hook, I usually use a flat toothpick (I usually have to whittle them down to fit smaller hooks) through the eye and then clipped off flush with the worm. I also sometimes use Rebarb or Cover Shot worm hooks. I have tried the hooks you're using and didn't find them particularly effective. You might also try some different hook setting techniques to see if that helps if you are determined to use those hooks.The twist lock finesse and also the similar hook from Decoy are also very thin gauge and that design tends to bend relatively easy.

I have gone to visit a buddy (RIP Luke, I sure miss my friend) that lived in Waco in early March a couple of times many years ago. I have fished Tradinghouse at that time of year. One thing about Texas in the shoulder seasons is that the weather is ALWAYS a wild card. The power plant is torn down now, but from my recollection, it wasn't a lake that was warmed from the power plant. I could be wrong about that. I remember it being cold and rainy, but we still caught bass up shallow in the reeds. Weather was so bad that there was only one other boat on the water with us. I didn't care. I came to fish. I think they had redfish in Tradinghouse too IIRC. The bass weren't too deep in Lake Waco either. This year, you have a full moon on 3/7/23, so I would wager that there would be some nice bass shallow at that time. With all of that said, if I was anywhere in the central Texas area in early March (and around the time of the full moon), I would be crawling over broken glass to get my donkey over to Lake OH Ivie (a 17 pounder was caught there today).

For my finesse spinning reels that have 10-12 lb braid mainlines (all but one of my spinning reels, and that one has 15 lb braid), I have settled on 7 lb Daiwa Samurai (from a 200 yd spool), but will use anything from 6-8 lb leaders and be right at home. Lots of good lines out there that will work well.