Big Hands

From Japan Lure Shop? Yes, expect a tariff, and it will be collected by a shipping company. You will pay Japan Lure Shop for the reel plus shipping, and then the shipping company will collect "duties, fees, and taxes".

Bass: "Hold my shad."

Sounds more like they’re your American Express cards, lol 😝 That’s what I would say about my elbiw straps when I had tendonitis and carpal tunnel.

I saw @Derek1 post about the Fury FR705CB for $120 and was thinking, where are they selling for $120? LOL. When I do a google search for a specific topic, the results for this forum will be grouped up and sometimes the threads are from 5, 10, 15, or even 20 years ago.

That could happen.

Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom, , , , At least in theory, LOL.

The price of fishing rods has increased for many brands, but the semi-good news is that if you're interested in some of these rods, there are sellers that have not yet raised their prices, at least in some cases. These price increases are kind of re-shuffling the deck with regard to what had been considered great "bang for the buck" rods. It does seem like the increases were mostly for higher end rods, like $250 and above, which is good news for budget constrained anglers. The Daiwa Tatula is still IMHO in the "GBFTB" category at around the $150 price point. And you cab still find some of the Tatula Elite rods at the old price ($189) at some places if you were willing to stretch a bit. Now, they are $220 at most places. **cough-Dick's-cough** You can also stay vigilant on the jungle site and be ready to pull the trigger when you see one you want. I recently snagged a Dobyns SUF690c there for $97 with free shipping. The next day it went up to $200. I also found a Daiwa Zillion rod I liked for 30% off on a Labor Day sale, but it was 30% off of the price marked on the rod, which was $329 and brought the price down to $230.99 instead of the now normal $399.99 price it was selling for at most sellers. My suggestions: It's best (less risky) if you can put hands on a rod before you buy if possible. Sometimes there's things about a rod that you can't truly know until you have it in your hands. Take a reel that you want to use on the rod with you if possible too, or ask you mount one of theirs in the rod if possible. A rod you don't need and won't use isn't really a bargain at any price. Veteran's Day is coming up and tackle shops may be having sales to honor our veterans. (incoming hot take): I like good deals as much as the next angler, but I will also willingly pay more for items at the tackle store because I think it's important to support them lest they fold because they can't compete with online sellers. Sometimes big items. I don't want them to close because it's great to have a local tackle store. (rant over) Rods you would use a LOT might be worth paying a little more for. Rods you won't use a LOT might be ones you don't invest as much in as you would for a rod you use a LOT. Have some rods in mind that you'd like to have, even some that sell for a little more than your budget. Be vigilant about searching and scouring for deals. Be ready to bust a move when you find a good deal on a rod you want. Sigh. . . . Now that I look, it appears that the OP has not been back since posing his inquiry. Oh well, maybe someone else will find our feedback useful.

Weightless super fluke or an underspin haven’t been mentioned yet.

Livescope isn't really going to map out the lake, although you can most likely do that with whatever Garmin unit you choose that has livescope. The chartplotting features of a traditional sonar unit will allow you to do that. Livescope is best utilized to see a live representation of fish and what they doing as they do it. You can see how they react to your baits. "360" will allow you to see a 360° view if what's around your boat, especially cover and structure and cover. You don't see fish moving in real time, but more of a snapshot every so many seconds.

Not that I fish a lot of places like this, but I like to start with a good old fashioned spinnerbait for this type of water. You can cover a lot of water from top to bottom (in a lake that's only 12 feet deep), bass can find them in stained water due to lots of flash and vibration, they're pretty good going through cover, and relatively unpressured bass seem to like 'em.

Wow, I think that's what young folks call a "hot take" in the year 2025, LOL.

I already have a 2018 (standard) Tatula, and a Fuego CT. That's how I know the Tatula SV TW is. . . . not like the others. I have previously consulted two tackle shops, and several bass angling friends, along with hours of online research and queried the issue(s) with this reel six ways to Sunday and hadn't received the insightful feedback I have here in this thread. I certainly don't rely solely on any form of AI, but use it as an additional resource. It's far from perfect, but often does lead me to verifiable information and ideas. I will often pose the same query in several ways, especially if I have doubts about the veracity of it's findings. I don't find that it harms me to look at it as a "me problem". In fact, I think it empowers me to use all resources available, to be vulnerable to others knowing I don't know all the answers, and to be cognizant myself of the fact that although I may know a bit about some of this, I certainly don't know everything. ==================== Thanks to all that have responded. I think I have renewed hope that I can develop this visually striking right fielder into a first string shortstop and have a plan in place to do it, which is exactly why I started this thread.

I would be THRILLED to have a combo dedicated to skipping, especially if it's able to rhythmically glide across the surface into the nooks and crannies of natural structure and cover. I was given a 660 yard spool of Sunline Shooter (I know, lucky me) and I've been wanting to find a good use for it.

Turns out it's more or less what I originally thought it would be: 13.5g

So, I removed the monofilament down to the line and the monofilament that I removed weighed 5g 😮

Great question. I have three "BFS" reels for the tiny stuff, which is 1/16th oz and heavier. I have a Curado BFS for stuff just above the three BFS reels I have. I keep reading that this platform is great for throwing lighter (not BFS light) baits, and I have tried it for just about everything. I'd be very pleased with 1/4 oz or heavier AND just trying to find something it does well. If it lent itself well to skipping, that'd be a bonus as it is something I currently have neither the skill nor gear (that I know of) to do that. If it can't compete with a Fuego CT somewhere, I'll just try to find it a new home and move on. It's too nice not to have a purpose. I'd thank this twice if I could. TBH, I will be too, and I intend to do just that. Soon.

I concur 100%.

Just for the heck of it, I asked the question more or less as you phrased it ("what is the effect of overall spool weight on casting light fishing lures"), and got much more of the answer I would have expected, so it appears that the way I phrased the question definitely affected the answer I got. I had already tried several different ways of asking the question, trying to keep the difference between braid and mono as part of the premise, and maybe that is why it felt that it wasn't as significant as other factors. Apparently braid weighs about 84% of what monofilament does on a grams per cubic centimeter basis, which is much closer than I thought it would be.

I am probably using "Temu AI".

To me, this seems more realistic. Comparing the look of the stock spool, it's hard to believe that the aftermarket spool saves less than a gram with all that porting. Thank goodness this is a rhetorical question 😉 Not trying to be dense here (pun intended), but are you saying that AI answered my question correctly? Seems to me that it doesn't matter if the weight was from the weight of the line or the weight of the spool (other than maybe where the mass is concentrated: closer to or further from the axle of the spool). I could be wrong, and I can accept it if I am. Just trying to understand the forces at play as they truly exist. At the end of the day, I am trying to maximize the casting potential of a reel that has not performed for me thus far the way I think it should have. If that means filling the spool halfway with 30 or 40 lbs braid to give me whatever advantage(s) braid might give me over monofilament, I'd like to try it before abandoning hope for this reel's place on my team.

I asked: "Does the rotational weight of a spool of braided line make it cast light lures better than monofilament?" AI returned the following: No, braid does not make it cast lighter lures better due to rotational weight; instead, its thinner diameter and lack of stretch allow it to cut through the air with less resistance, enabling lighter lures to cast farther than with thicker monofilament. The rotational weight is less of a factor than the line's characteristics for light lures. How braid helps cast light lures Lower diameter: Braided line is significantly thinner than monofilament for the same pound test, reducing wind resistance and drag during the cast. Less resistance: A thinner line moves through the air and guides more easily, allowing a light lure to achieve greater distance. No stretch: The lack of stretch in braid allows for a more direct transfer of energy from the rod to the lure with every cast. More line on the reel: For the same strength, you can fit more braid on the spool than mono, which can also contribute to casting distance. Why the "rotational weight" argument is misleading for light lures Momentum: Light lures have very little mass, so they lack the momentum to pull line off a spool quickly, especially a baitcaster. Spinning reels: This is why spinning reels are often recommended for casting light lures because they are better at handling the low momentum of light lures without causing backlashes, notes this Reddit thread. Braid's advantage: Braid's thinner diameter is more important than its rotational weight in this scenario because it requires less force to get moving and maintain speed through the air. The reason I asked the question goes back to my frustrations concerns with my 2017 Tatula SV TW. I'd like to give it another go to see if it's a "me" problem, fully open to the idea that it is that and hoping to unleash the magic so to speak. Maybe it just isn't a design that I find useful. . . . I'm really hoping it is in fact a "me" problem (like maybe the spool tension and mag brake settings) so I can use this reel and not feel hindered by it. I considered replacing the spool (and possibly bearings) thinking it's probably got some pig of a spool, only to learn the the spool weighs 7g at most and the replacement I found weigh in the low 6g range. The Curado BFS spool weighs 8.5g. Then I weighed the stock spool when filled with monofilament: 22.9g I admit to being a serial spool filler, but it got me to thinking about all the factors that make a reel cast better or worse. I was a little surprised that AI would suggest that spool weight was a much less significant contributor than line diameter and guidetrain friction if I am interpreting the response as intended. If the weight of the spool isn't so significant, why do we concern ourselves with it? Or is AI billowing smoke, and not so brilliant after all?

I rarely check this section forum, so I hadn't seen this or any other news of his passing. I have really been thinking about him quite a bit recently and kinda knew that if he hadn't been on here since early July that he may have passed. I am grateful what he has known, he then transformed into the collective tribal knowledge of this site, and I would loved to have shared a boat with him fishing Toledo Bend at night.

I hung up a shakey head at night right at the water's edge. Pulled a little harder and it launched like a slingshot. Ya know how Levis 501's used to have that copper rivet right at the place where all the pieces of the pants meet in the middle? Ya, it hit me right there. I didn't see it coming, but I could hear it right before it found the bullseye. I'm thinking more like a protective cup.

Keep trying, I'm sure your call is important to them 🙄 Maybe they could leave you a message with a way to respond via email or text message. Bummer, I have one of those jobs too.

It's not their fault we're implementing tariffs. And, FTR, I ordered from JLS just a day after the new policy went into effect (Labor Day weekend). I received two shipments (bought some baits too a day after ordering the reel) in the same box. Then after I received the orders, I was contacted by FedEx to pay the tariffs, fees, and taxes. So, JLS chose a path to take regarding what is admittedly a challenging situation that in practice isn't working out so well. Hopefully, they can adjust their program so it works well enough for all. Digitaka has chosen a different approach that seems to be working better from their USA customer's POV. In hindsight, it makes more sense because costs to the customer are known upfront, and the buck stops with them. Bravo to them. I hope JLS can adjust their practices to work better and smoother. I have used them a few times and consider them excellent to deal with, and they have responded reasonably soon when I had any questions, including questions about the tariffs. To @2earlye, I'm sorry that happened to you, and I hope they get it fixed soon. I'd be upset that my goods were being held up too, and I think that you're justified to purchase elsewhere at least until you can be assured that this won't be happening going forward.