GetFishorDieTryin

I put more stock in consistent performance. I feel like more than a couple times setting a new PB, luck was more of a factor than skill.

Recently a guy I know had a custom Century Weapon built by one of Black Pelicans builders, pretty sure it was Trent. The blank alone is close to $500 and the total build was about $1000. Turns out the builder used a bent blank. When he contacted him, he was a real condescending POS and said it would perform just as well and there was nothing my buddy could do. The builder said that they can't send back blemished blanks to Century in the UK, which is a lie. My builder is a Century dealer, and he won't accept any kind of blemish. A slight bend in the blank isn't going to be detrimental to performance, but you wouldn't expect to pay full price for a new car with a huge gouge in the paint. Personally I dont think a bend in the tip really hurts anything, but I would never buy a rod with a bend. Even if it was like half price, it would bother me to no end. I did get a bent preordered Mojo Bass from the first batch out of Mexico and it had a mean bend in the tip. I had broke 4 rods in an automatic window mishap with a new Passat. I didn't have another 6'10 ML, so i kept it. It bothered the hell out of me, but I don't think it was detrimental performance at all. I've caught thousands of fish on that rod. When the thread started to unwind from the keep and some of the guides I retired it. I think some lighter blanks can actually take a bend if they are stored with tension on the blank. I've got an UL Fenwick that did that. Its a 7' Moderate UL, so it was like a whip anyway. If the blank has a bend from the factory, I don't think its going to straighten. I don't think most good quality graphite blanks will bend enough from normal use to where you can actually notice it with the naked eye. Thats just my experience, but I could be wrong.

Most used reels on eBay or w/e are insanely priced. The Japanese vendors seem to have used reels that look like they taken a beating. Buying used is a game of chance anyway. You're better going to a JDM site to get a good discount, unless your work discount is really good. The only bad part about ordering from Japan, is that you lose your warranty. The Curado 70 is great, but Metanium is awesome. Casts well, light strong, butter smooth and very solid. Either way you cant really lose.

Outstanding, you're pretty much set then. Ill tempt you with this one. If you can, see if you can just look at a SOL MQ. I ran into someone who had bought 1 on the jetty. Super cool dude. I noticed it right away and commented. We swapped rods for about half an hour. The bite was good, so I got to really feel how it handled a 5+lb fluke on a new moon sweep. I was VERY impressed. He had it on an 8' ODM DNA 1/2-2.5oz surf rod. I pulled her off the bottom, let her go back down again. I wanted to tighten the drag and see if I could feel any flex in the stem. She wasn't buried as much sand like she was initially, but it still takes a good amount of pressure to break her off the bottom and the heavy surf just added to her weight. The reel was outstanding. Powerful, butter smooth main, feather light, and felt rock solid. He had gotten an 8lb that morning, he said no flex at all. Ive heard that they west coast stripers don't run that far north which seems strange to me. On the east coast there's a huge population that winter and spawn in the St Lawrence.

Your blessed to living in that area. If I could ever part with the NE Atlantic, I would wind up on the Olypic Peninsula or just South of it in youre neck of the woods. The 873 CRR is a super versatile blank. As a c rig rod, its has a slower action when compared to JWRs. It will be an excellent football jig and bottom contact rod, light pitchin jigs/T/free rigs, mag shakey heads, spinnerbaits/open water chatterbaits and more. If strolling minnows is your thing, I would suggest looking into a 6'10 solid tip ML or M XF spinning rod with a light high speed 2500 like a Vanford or Luvias. The shorter rod gets better action of a minnow bait, the excellent balance allows you go very light on a reel while maintaing that balance. The overall lightweight of the outfit wont just be more pleasurable to use all day, it will be more sensitive in hand. Do you guys see stripers up that far?

To me, there are 2 kinds of services, well 3 I guess technically. 1)Preventative Maintenance-Light oiling/greasing, cleaning. Lightly oiling bearings, contact points(like bail arms and a minute amount of oil between the reel handle and knob) and applying very light grease if needed to metal on metal contacts surfaces and cleaning debris out of the level wind, line guide and frame, without digging deep into the reel. 2) Would be a "deep clean-" Complete tear down, cleaning debris and components/purging old grease, replacing any bearings or parts that aren't working properly. Checking drag and gears for normal wear. Reoiling and greasing parts/components and reassembling. A lot of my reels see heavy saltwater use. Heavily used reels should be deep cleaned at least 1 time every 12-24 months, or after submersion. 3) Trouble shooting/repair- Reels will have problems from time to time, weather warranted or not. When the reel isn't functioning properly, its best to stop using it and try to figure what's wrong if you don't already know. If you're not confident in stripping the reel or trouble shooting, I cant implore you enough to take it to a reputable certified tech. Repair by guess and test can get expensive quick and losing parts or failing to reassemble properly can make things much worse. I cant tell you how many times someone came in with a bag of parts and asked me to fix it. Trying to reassemble the reel with missing or incorrect parts can significantly increase the price for service and time it takes to get the reel back. If a tech has a bunch of reels to service, they usually take care of the quick jobs first. You dont really need to buy top quality or specialized oil/grease for your average baitcaster. Thers a lot of good grease and oil that is inexpensive and or comes in kits. I like Penn blue grease for corrosion resistance in heavier/bigger reels. Ive found the Ardent kits that include their grease (reel butter), oil, cleaning solution/degreaser (reel kleen) and it may have a brush and or rag, while coming with a case to keep everything in. \ As far as what to use where, grease is for metal to metal, protecting metal from corrosion and or using it to span small gaps to discourage water intrusion, i.e. spool shafts, AR switches and auxiliary ports/bearing covers. I do discourage the use of WD 40 and many silicone/protection sprays in reels or firearms. WD 40 and quite a few silicone solutions do have lubricants, but contain solvents as well. Solvents have a detrimental effect on grease and oil. Good Luck

I know what you mean. I call it gettin lobstered. I've always used bannana boat because it works. I just have to put more on after 3 hours. I've gotten burnt bad after putting on, but I didn't reapply it like an idiot. Until I get tan, I get burned pretty good. Thanks for the recommendation, ill have to check it out.

Low in the water column/Slow Rolling, Burning Keitech impact shad Net Bait STH Flat Sided Shad (like a skinny spunk shad with a longer tail section. Great Lakes Finesse Drop Minnow Zoom or Spro Split Tail Arizona Custom Baits AFG Gill Bass Assasian Baby Shad Higher in the water column. Zoom Swimming fluke Jr Zman curly tail streaks Xzone Swammer Mid depth/do it all trailer (IMO) GYCB Shad Shape Swimmer Charlie Brewer Slider 3" Paddle Tail Grub Net Bait Flat Sided Shad Zoom/Spro Splittail Keitech Swing Impact Yamamoto/Zoom Single/Double Tail

You mean Bizz? I found them through TW. I really like the soft plastic they use. Its buoyant, but not unnaturally buoyant like some unsalted Zman baits that float like a cork. The quality of the plastic is good too, its soft, scented and the colors are good. Sadly, TD is done. The first location was this little place in OC, NJ that was STACKED with tackle. I was glad I didn't work there I would have never made any $ at all. The last location was a bigger shop, but they coult only display like 10% of the merchandise, everything else was in the warehouse in the back. I knew something was wrong last spring. They stopped auto restocking and started thinning out selections. The store that was wall to wall tackle and gear a couple years ago, is now literally a couple cheap foldable tables and the rest store is roped off. I heard they lost an investor. Such a shame. saltwater edge, fishermansheadquarters, tomostackle are all good, jandh has some good deals every now and then.

Ben and Geoff at thehookup tackle are great if youre curious about anything JDM. They even drink JDM beer lol. FishUSA is good, they pack rods better than the last few TW orders Ive gotten. ALF is great for rods as well. One place that I didnt want to talk about for years because they often advertise a few reels or rods at half price because the box is damaged, and they liquidate often. Ive gotten PIcasso HC carbon fiber dredger Pros, which were like $20 for $4per, the little spottys for $2 and tungsten FBs for $3. Their shipping is next level too. The orders are picked and ready 15 minutes after the purchase is confirmed. Midway is no secret anymore. VanDamme warehouse s good too. Heres a good one. For you guys hat fish in cold weather, check out Rogerssportinggoods. around black friday. They have incredible deals on good quality waterfowl grade gear, waterproof warm, bibs, parkas, fleece, merino base layers, Drake and Sitka. They tried to get in the fishing market, but it didn't work out. They had really good rogers brand performance shirts and button ups that were made in the same factory and production line that Huk was using to make their shirts. They went on clearance for like $10 for hoodies, long sleeve shirts and double caped button ups for $12.

I've got a lot of family in the medical field and all of them say that the cancer rates are almost doubled, and more than doubled for people under 30. Some disorders, diseases and syndromes that manifest in newborns and infants are >10x what they were in the 90s. What's strange is back in the day when my parents were kids, everyone in the neighborhood would chase the trucks spraying clouds of DDT, literally poison and yet they're much healthier on the whole. Life expectancies for dogs that sleep in bed every night and have personalized Christmas stockings, are at 2-4 years less now than it was when most dogs lived outside in the late 60s/early 70s. Somethings very wrong.

I cant stand any of it either. Ive got fair skin, so I have to wear it on my face and the back of my legs and top of my feet. I just hate the greasy feeling of it. I have to shower right away when I get home. The bug repellant is worse IMO. That stuff smells and feels like it's a carcinogen. Theres a lot of guys making really effective stuff with natural ingredients. A guy that's semi local makes one called green beret spray. Its like cedar oil, with peppermint and eucalyptus, I think. The older stuff had a really strong cedar smell, which some ppl don't mind, but I'm not crazy about it. It really works though. I run my dogs at a preserve in the pine barrens and its the worst place for ticks I've ever seen. You can watch hundreds crawl up your leg in like 2 minutes as soon as you step off the dirt road. I cover my dogs in that stuff and spray my legs, and they don't bother me at all. If you spray a tick with it kills it quick. The regular stuff is like a thin liquid, and they have more concentrated kind too, that a little thicker and stays on longer. Ticks seem to be getting more dangerous. My aunt in Huntsville a few years ago got a tick and swore it gave some disease that caused her body to reject, dairy, gluten, beef, pork, lamb, pretty much any meat besides poultry and most fish. Shes always been a little odd, but she likes to eat. I saw her fry up minnows she had for bait in a wok with a fluke I had caught. Anyway, I thought she was just playing web MD with the diagnosis. Her son got bit too and got it last year, and I knew that was for real. I was thinking it was just a southern thing and then my mom got bit and got this year. It's called Alpha Gal. It's like an autoimmune disease. I think it's a lone star tick that carry's it, but I could be wrong. None of them do anything to gets ticks on them. It's not like a deer tick either. The tick only has to bite you and your screwed. Everyone is a little different, some people can handle limited amounts of beef or dairy. If you go overboard and eat too much or any at all for a sensitive person, you can get violently ill. If you like med rare porterhouse or NY strip every now and then as much as I do, BE REALLY CAREFUL out there.

Ive found there are differences in qualities of polyester. Ive got performance tops and hoodies from the Amazon to the midgrade Huk and Aftco to Solarflex and Orvis. The material on the budget tops doesn't breath as well and feels heavier weight wise. I've noticed that it seems to hold more moisture as well. I found about all of the cheaper stuff pills after a few uses and washes. The biggest difference IMO is how it breathes. The Aftco stuff is probably the best dollar for dollar and Pelagic is good too. I have noticed that pretty much all of them are good with blood, pro cure, line dye and gulp juice. When it comes to the caped button up shirts, there the way to go IMO when its really hot. You cant cheap out on them though. I get free ones from subscription bonuses and stuff. Some of them are horrible. Your better off with cotton lol. The Orvis and Simms button ups are great. They weigh nothing and are double caped on the back and arm. Any breeze goes right through it. The water can be warm here until almost thanksgiving. Some years I can wet wade until the 2nd week of Nov. When the suns out at least, once the sun goes down it drops like 20 degrees and you freeze when you get out. I just wear the heavier stuff between now and then.

I use an Alberto with heavy mono/FC leaders up to 50lbs. It gets clunky using $40 and 50 Momoi. If I'm using custom plugs, I use heavy HD carbon or blue label. Its not as thick and IME it runs through the guides better.

Yep. If you dunk it or drop it in the sand, as long as you avoid running it full of sand and deep clean when you get home, you shouldn't have issues. Prolonged use can wear bearings out and felt drag stacks as well with heavy use. Both are easy to replace.

Any reel can fish SW for a short period of time, so long as you maintain it. Rinse gently with cool water, higher pressure and warm water breaks down the salt deposits and works them farther into the reel. Beware of sand, it can damage a reel quickly if it gets in the right places. Vanford will do fine in SW, so long as you arent chasing monster fish. The MB is a great rod. Its more power finesse IMO, but it can handle strolling smaller baits well. Ive never heard of U Call before. Looks nice, and from the component I would bet U call was trying to make the build as light as possible. For MLs I usually like a mid or slow speed 2500 and the shorter handles. I feel I have a better connection with the shorter handle and I knob over the T paddle on 3000. For slightly heavier finesse rod, for neko, shakey head, wacky rig, and unweighted T rigs, I like a higher geared 3000, especially if your using braid. I like the longer handle and faster retrieve on the 3000. That speed will come into play when using senkos or flukes or anything that gets bit often on slack line, as you can take up the slack faster. The larger dia spool on the 3000 would work better if you plan on using fluro. The Vanford 2500H matches perfectly with the MB shakey head. The other rod is slightly longer, so using the heavier reel, whether it's a Stradic or TwP, it should balance better. Honestly you cant go wrong.

Very nice. I don't think I've ever seen a reel seat like that. Looks great.

Im not familiar with 131, but in any case I couldnt imagine using straight braid on a finesse outfit. Ive heard 131 floats, suspends and sinks, so I dont which one to beleive. IMO a leader, particulary a FC leader helps keep those super light baits down with floating braid and gives a more natural look to the bait. I use really light (#8 and #10 X9) and somewhat delicate PE for jigging tog on jettys. Without a FC or mono leader, that super thin light braid gets damaged very easily by barnacles, mussels and rocks. It also helps the spool of braid last long as you aren't cutting it every time you swap a bait. There are a couple important things that don't get mentioned too much. If youre using a long enough leader that your connection knot is buried in the spool while casting that is going to cause an issue. The mono coming off the spool will form wider archs than the braid. Once you get to the braid the mono drags the first few inches of braid into a wider loop than the braid following it. At best it hurts casting distance, worst case is a blow by knot, which is a nightmare on a casting reel. What I like to do, even with spinning gear, is to have my knot in between the stripper guide and spool. That way there's no deviation in loop size and little deviation in velocity, which= a smooth cast. If I were you I would try keeping the knot between the spool and stripper. (first guide) The 2 knots I recomend are old, but they have accounted for taking so many large hard fighting fish in current with very light tippet, there isn o question that they are plenty strong enough. The obvious knot is the Albright. You have to double the leader though. You could try #6 blue label or #6 yo zuri HD carbon. The blue label is thinner than mono, with a hard surface and the HD carbon is another high quality FC, but it has a soft outer layer, which is great for knots and giving the bait a natural look. You just have to remember to trim the tag absolutely flush. As good as the Albright is, the nail knot IMO is the way to go. It doesn't rely on forming a bend or loop with the leader or mainline. You just wrap the mainline around the nail or hollow tube perpendicular with the mainline, and using the nail or loop, run the tag end back through the gap caused by the nail(or through the tube) so that mainline tag is running towards the bait. You can use half hitches to lockdown the tag and protect it from damage when you cut all of tag away from the knot. I bet you if you downsize the leader dia,, tie, seat and trim the knot correctly so that its compact and smooth, it should flow through the guides with no issues. If I were you I would give this knot a try before you go straight braid. I made the nail knot sound harder than it was. Hope it helps, good luck. Nail Knot | Fishing Knots | Animated Knots by Grog

What kind of line/leader and knot do you use?

Even better. There is no need for 100 yards of braid on a reel that size IMO. If you're chasing fish that can run like that, a larger reel would be much better. The real bennefit of the 2000 spool is the larger dia. It reduces friction slight because it doesn't change direction as often when comparing to a 1000. So long as both reels are the same gear ratio, the larger dia spool will result in a slightly higher retrieval speed.

The reel is simply another component of the outfit. The rod you're using is just as important as the reel. You could have a reel that has great distance casting, but if you put it on a broom stick its not going to perform as well.

Daiwa has been the obvious undisputed king of meaningless marketing jargon for at least a decade. Does T wing actually result in an increase in casting distance that merits the addition of another vulnerable function that the reel CANNOT operate without? IMO, no. When nylon lines dominated the market, I could see T wing being worth the hassle. Currently, the amount of braid users grows every year. Many connection knots and the T wing system don't mix well together. As guides become smaller and more braid friendly, its only natural for the T wing to be included in that evolution as well. Daiwa is stuck. They have pushed that feature too long, to just omit it out of the blue without coming up with some other marketing scheme. T wing is essentially a proprietary novelty at this point. In order for Daiwa to begin to phase it out, they would have to come up with a line guide that legitimately is a net gain for reel performance. If Daiwa does come up with a possible replacement, they would introduce it on a mid to high-mid grade product like Tatula or Zillion. If it succeeds then they will put it on a flagship reel like Steez and if it fails, it will be a dead end.

I'm fairly certain the 2000 is just a 1000 frame with a larger cap. spool.

Its just a light oil to keep the plastics from bunching up and setting a bend in them. Zoom is just one of those companies that either puts hardly any in the bag or a whole bunch.

Taking virtually all the stretch out of the equation is world of difference. I was going to get rid of a MH MF I had because it felt too soft and slow for pitching and didn't have enough power in the mid-section for chatterbaits. When I use a reel with braid, it's like a different rod.