GetFishorDieTryin

I always saw SC as a traditional company that valued their customer base more than chasing the nex flavor of the week fad. When split grips became popular, SC took a few years to put out a split grip model. The first ones were a Cabelas exclusive Premier line, that just thew a 13" handle on spinning and casting rods without attempting to correct already slightly tip heavy balance. The result was a line of rods that were good, but so tip heavy they weren't fun to use. I think SC is trying to stay ahead of or even set the curve with the trigon grips. The problem is that triangular grips weren't new 20 years ago. Some JDM companies put triangular grips on their pelagic and heavy jigging rods. Initially they feel good, just picking them up. When you have to fight a tuna or big GT the shape of the grip does an outstanding job of creating hot spots on your hands during a prolonged fight. Cramps were a real problem as well. When you have a potential tourney winning Tuna on the line, thats can literally be a million-dollar cramp. Most companies quickly went bad to traditional grips. In a lake I dont see it being an issue for most guys who FW bass fish. For our more seasoned anglers who are plagued with arthritic issues, yet still chase brown bass, the Trigon grips may be a bad idea. The Mojo line was SCs largest family...I think. The Mojo Bass, Mojo Inshore and Mojo surf sold and performed so well, especially at the price point, the rods received an almost legendary status in a short time. Along with the disastrous performance of the new Inshore Mojo, the trigon experiment caused so much damage to the Mojo name, it may not be able to be redeemed. It wasn't so much the trigon grips that I didnt like about the new mojo. The reel seat and locking nut are made of a plastic that doesn't feel very good or look good IMO. I'm curious of the grip material as well and how it will hold up. In comparison the PhysX line feels much better, as it should for the price. I like the contour on the rear grip, it gives you a reel secure lock on the rod. The blank and components on PhysX are outstanding. I do think that if SC used more traditional style grips, like carbon fiber, they would sell better. At the very least I would buy 1 lol. Now SC has pushed the Trigon into the LX family, which I didn't coming at all. Glad they didn't sacrifice the LX line for a Trigon LX as well. They should upgrade the LX and LX inshore to the SCvii.

The 832S JWR and 902S SJR are very tempting, but I would get the most out of the 822S SYR.

I doubt it's the material, probably just a better drag system. Personally, when using light line or any kind of fishing where a smooth light drag is required, I still prefer felt. Ive never been in a situation where I needed more drag while using a 2500 or smaller reel. Not that carbontex isn't smooth, Ive got so much in confidence in felt after using it so long.

The standard("power") line of Stradics FE-FM. The MG, Ci4F, Ci4+FA and FB share the same design, but use plastic components to cut the 2oz of weight. While there are plastic parts in newer Stradics, they hold up longer than the finesse series Stradic Ci4. When you compare the more recent Ci4+ FB and Vanford to the Ci4F, the durability and longevity of the reel have significantly improved for multiple reasons. The deletion of the oil port and AR toggle, as well the upgrade form core protect to X protect along with stronger materials keep the reel running like new for longer than ever. When I worked in a tackle shop as teenager, I found out real quick that most people dont take care of their reels as well as I do. Even with that said, the vast majority of problems were caused by the user. I cant tell you how many times people have come in claim the drag is broken, when they failed to use backing under the Fireline or PP. We had a lot of people complaining that the super stopper feature isn't working, when the reality the AR toggle was in the off position. When there were problems with reels that had been out for sometime, we generally had a good idea of what went wrong. We saw quite a few FGs and FHs that had issues with the drag being jerky. If those drags weren't heavily greased from Shimano, or maintained and greased by the owner, they had problems. The older Stradics also had some problems with premature bail trip in the late fall, winter and early spring. We had heard from other shop techs that the AR could get a little sketchy in cold weather, but I don't recall seeing that with any Shimanos consistently, but do remember it being a common issue with Penns and Abu spinning reels. When I hear people say the Stradic is "bulletproof," I cringe on the inside and jus nod my head. At that time ZeeBass wouldn't exist for a couple more years, but we did sell quite a few Van Staals, which at that time, they were the toughest spinning reels you could get. You could drop them on the jetty, smack them against bridges, crank them under water and bury them in the sand without damaging the reel. You just rinse it off in the surf and go back to fishing. As tough as those reels were and still are, trust me, there are people careless enough to break them. So a single anecdotal instance of a broken plastic component, or a worn felt washer (that has been replaced by carbontex for over half a decade in FL, FM and Vanford), in a Stradic Ci4 FB doesn't mean its a bad reel, even if it was relevant to the matter. My FK is turned 9 on 3/22 this year. Its pretty much only been used in SW. My FK has been dropped on the jetty a couple times, whacked bridge rails, dunked several times in sandy surf. it still feels better than my older Stradics, which feel good too, just not quite as smooth. Although Shimano has significantly improved the felt drags in the 2500 and smaller and carbon in the 3000 and up, deleted the water ingress points at the oil port and AR toggle, and solved the premature bail trip in cold weather, it still had the roller bearing that begins to scream after a couple season in. I've upgraded he roller to Ti and added an additional bearing which makes it butter smooth and silent. Shimano did upgrade the stock roller bearing on FL (which is pretty much unanimously agreed upon by more than a half a dozen certified reel techs, and majority of Anglers and tackle nerds as being "the best $400 reel for $200") Shimano also upgraded the FL with slower oscillation tall spool, cut the weight a further .2-3oz al without a price increase.

The FL has done fine on the whole. Composite parts have replaced all kind of metal components on everything from vehicles to firearms. Its not just about weight, it's about manufacturing costs too. Sometimes composite parts can be better, especially in SW because they don't corrode. Hes comparing 2 different reels like its a Megyn Kelley gotcha interview. The Shimano has had power and finesse lines for decades. Stradic MG/Ci4 was the finesse series, same design just different materials. I worked in a tackle shop as well. If I had $1 for every googan who came in with a reel they bought the day before and said the drag was broken, because they didnt use backing on their fireline or super stopper failed, because the AR was toggled off. The new Van Staal guys who would bring in qa reel they had bought earlier in the week that had obviously fallen out of kayak or boat while on the way home or runover after a night on the sods, the vast majority would SWEAR they bought the reel like that.

PLASTIC!! WHAT THE DEVIL!....This is an outrage! I was miffed about Daiwa trying to push a $300 Saltist with a pot metal main gear, but THIS....this Ci4 plus main gear is criminal. Does Shimano know you have found their secret? We MUST presume Shimano has tapped your phone and is going through your garbage. Does Tackle Advisors know? He mustn't, he would have surely made a video torching Shimano by now. I run into him a few times every fall run in MoCo, Ill alert him then. Unless....they've gotten to him too. They mustn't get away with this.

832 is a durable line, even its lighter iterations. I used #30 832 on a bridge jigging outfit. It held up to 20lb+ stripers dragging it against barnacle covered concrete pilings. Every now and then it would sustain enough damage 10 or 20 yards into the spool to warrant cutting it, but not very often. Out of the hundred of spools Ive had only 2 that I truly think were defective, not counting Stren as Stren should be a synonym for consistently inconsistent. 1 was a spool of Vanish leader material that had abrasions every 8-10' making it worthless. The other spool was 12lb InvizX from BPS, that was failing at 6-8lbs right off the spool. I would think defective spools of braid would be less likely, but not impossible. The issue is once your confidence in the line is shaken, you're expecting it to fail. At that point its better to respool with something you have confidence in.

Stradic is one of those reels where the new models actually merit the upgrade. Stradic consistently lost weight, became less vulnerable to water intrusion and ran smoother. Shimano moved the AR toggle from the rash guard on FH to the bottom of the frame FI and finally deleted it altogether on FK. FL saw the introduction of the taller spool and as usual a slight reduction in weight. Strangely, I I fish with a tackle shop owner who thinks FK actually has slightly superior water resistance to FL. I don't know if its true, but there are so many FLs on the water, its water/debris intrusion resistance is more than proven.

Its a very clean FJ. The Xship stamp on the side of the handle is the giveaway. I was just thinking to myself, that the FJ isnt that old, then I did the math. I still not only use the following gen, Stradic, I rely on it and several Spheros SWs(essentially an FK -a bearing and different color scheme) for inshore. Shimano needs to expand the smaller Spheros SW line. They only come in 3 and 4k. They have a little weight, but you get a butter smooth reel that can take a beating and still feel great for $120. I like the color scheme too. Its a navy blue with gold and silver accents. Its still got the older grip with the Shimano stamped cover plate.

I bought mine because I had bought an SLX DC. Out of all the mid and higher grade Shimano's Ive used, I really liked almost all of them. Its a budget rod, so if I didn't like it, it wouldn't be a big loss. It would be good for my niece or nephew to use when I take them out. Honestly, I was surprised by the sensitivity Shimano was able to get out of a 24T blank. I suspect that the unusually stiff action plays a role in that. Usually 24T blanks have some bend to them and are a bit slower in recovery and action, when compared to higher quality blanks. I noticed the blocky grip and sharp edges right away. I thought I had an oddball reel seat until my local tackle shop got a bunch in. I haven't used it in years it just sits with a bunch of rarely used rods now.

#50 is more than enough to bass fish with. #50 likley breaks closer to 70lbs than 50. When uncompromised #40 or > PE breaks from overload, you'll know, it sounds like a .22 long. A cracked insert can cause the line to fail on the hookset or right after, but it would be a reoccurring problem. Although 4 carrier PE tends not slip as much as 8 or 9, its still slick, especially when the coating is still intact. Try a SDJ, uni or palomar knot, they tend to hold really well. PP has always been on the louder side. Since the early 2ks, OG PP has improved as far as shape and texture. While its still a 4 carrier PE, it holds its shape longer and the coating lasts a little longer which helps with noise. I favored 832 over PP, because its shape is more round and isnt as loud through the guides. As far as which line is better, its all preference and purpose. I think PP V2 in its lighter iterations is a solid performing line for spinning gear. When I use PE on heavier casting gear, I don't want a thin, smooth, limp PE, like X9, JB Grand or G Soul. 832 performs pretty well with casting gear. Its very strong, abrasion resistant, knots very well for an 8 carrier and once the coating begins to wear, theres a little texture to it, which helps it cut through sparse grass and algae. IMO the biggest problem 832 has is that once the coating is compromised, it tends to soak up water. That dramatically increases weight, drag and is detrimental to casting distance. If you want a fairly quiet 4 carrier that can cut grass and algae, you might really like X5. You can feel the texture of the weave, but its a fairly slick line. The smoother feel helps it to cinch easily and the texture binds well when cinched. I do think PP and 832 have a higher abrasion resistance when comparing by breaking strength. While I contend that Berkleys' claimed dia is wishful thinking on their part, its noticeably thinner than 832 or PP. When you compare X5 to PP or 832 by dia instead of breaking strength, X5 holds it own. IME, I find that X5 doesnt absorb as much water as 832 or PP for that matter, which means the performance of the line is more consistent. Im not certain about other colors, but the dye in flame green X5 does tend to bleed until it wears in. I'm not saying it cant happen, but after fishing X5 for a couple years, its only bled on my skin, never my gear. I haven't extensive with this line, being I only have it 10lb test and its on an outfit I rarely use anymore. Vicious is a 4 carrier PE, somewhat similar to X5 in some regards. I bought it out of curiosity and was really surprised at how well it performed. like X5 its smooth, but I would say it has more texture to the weave than X5. Its a wiry PE, with very good knot strength and good abrasion resistance for its dia. What really impressed me was its castability. Usually wiry 4 carriers arent the best for distance, but somehow this braid not only performs well for a 4 carrier, it out casts some 8 carrier lines I've used in the past. I suppose that due to the thin dia and slick feel. Since then they have come out with a No Fade line, which I haven't tried. The regular Vicious is fairly cheap, but since trying it out Viscious has put out a No Fade braid, which I have no experience with. Im sure some member has more info on it if you are interested.

I get it. It was curiosity and the frequent discounts, that I decided to try one. It seems like they focus on getting the best quality blank for the money and components are secondary. I dont know of any other manufacturer that offers a 36T toray for under $100 and a 40T for $120. Usually, you're paying $300+ for a 40T toray. If I was going to rate Ark rods on a 1-10 scale, most of the rods Ive handled would score between a 7 and 8, which is above average. There are no major problems, but aggregations of small issues that hurt them in the long run. Like semi micro fazlite guides on a $200 swimjig rod. The eyes get filled with grass an algae real fast. As far as performance goes, Arks are more than serviceable. The 7'3 MH F is about as close to do it all rod you can get without really spending money. They make their own reel seats, which are modeled after fujis' and feel very similar to me. With most of the budget used on the blank, components can suffer and that as well as balance is where Ark could possibly improve. If Ark could manage to improve balance, even by counter weighting like Dobyns, some of those longer rods would be outstanding. I really dislike my SLX. The 7'2 MH F is extremely tip heavy even with the heaviest SLX on the market. The tip is very stiff, more like broomstick, which limits its versatility and greatly reduces casting distance. You can use baits that fish tip down, but you cant get around the handle. The grips have the sharpest edges Ive ever felt. It makes using it very uncomfortable. IMO there are rods at the $60 PP that are much better and rods at $100, like Tatula XT that blow it away. I agree about the Tatula. I think the previous gen Tatula could hold its own against rods several price points higher. Daiwa knows how to make a rod that not only performs great but looks great too. The only thing I didn't like about the last gen full cork Tats, was the way the reel seat flares out. I guess they figured it would be like a contour to wrap your fingers around, but the left side of it pushes into the palm. It must have been brought up to Daiwa, because they've reduced the size of the contour considerably in XT and Tatula Bass. Haven't had the chance to feel a new one yet. Hopefully they are as the prior gen.

Generally, I want a shorter, lighter power blank if I'm shaking a swimjig. I fish a chibi and other finesse swimjigs a lot, either 1/4 or 5/16 and I use a 7'1 M F. Those jigs dont have heavy guards and the hooks, especially in the case of the chibi are lighter wire and needle sharp, I dont even have to set the hook. For a general all-purpose I like Greenfishs' standard 1/4 swimjig with a 4" swammer or Dwalker 100. I usually throw them on a 7'3 MH F essence or 7'2 MH F M1. I like the M1 over the essence. Even though essence has a full grip, its a little tip heavy. The M1 has a shorter rear grip, which essentially gives you as much or more length aft the reel seat, as the 7'3. The essence is a little faster speed wise and has a little more power, but either rod can handle heavier jigs very well. Im not over the moon about Ark rods, but they're pretty good for the money. My essence is about 5oz, which isnt terrible, but the way its balanced makes you feel the weight in tip. If you like Ark rods, you may want to check out the Wes Logan. The 7,5 MH F was actually designed to fish swimjigs. Its a decent looking rod, unlike some other offerings Ark has. I really like that the handle doesn't have an insert. They actually got the weight down to 4oz, which is great for a 7'5. The rear handle isn't as long as most 7'5s, which helps with shaking a swimjig. Being a 7'5 I'm sure there's some weight in the tip, so keep that in mind. I think the guides are semi micro too. Check out the tackle tour review ARK Fishing Wes Logan Signature WES75MHFC Product Review #ARKfihing #arkwesloganrod

A new hook I face straight down. Just trying to slide it across the nail, the point should bite right away. When I roll a point and have to thin and draw out a new point, you can get a burr on one or more sides. Before I nail a hook I sharpened, I make sure I don't feel any burrs with a finger on my off hand, running it in the direction of the point on every side. I then test the point on my nail in every direction. If I do find a direction that doesn't bite well enough, I run over a fine very lightly and repeat the process until I'm satisfied. It's not very common IME to get a new hook with a burr, especially if you stick with good companies, but it happens. OMTD is an Italian tackle manufacturer specializing in hooks. Molix, also an Italian tackle company, uses a lot of custom made hooks, uses OMTD is the company that makes them all. They make a really good do it all jig. I haven't had any issues with other Molix baits that use OMTD hooks. It just seems that particular jig has a high number of hooks that aren't as sharp as they could or should be. The vast majority of my Trokar hooks have been finesse hooks, DS, wacky and light wire finesse. It doesn't take too much to roll those points. Hardwood can do it. The hooks on the skorpion shakey head are a pretty heavy wire. I've rolled quite a few on lily roots. It depends on the weight. I use lighter weight shakey heads most of the time. Finding 1/16 or 3/32 shakey heads with a long 6/0 is a little difficult. Picasso makes a really good one and its one of the only spring lock heads I like, tungsten takedown. They offer them in 2/0-6/0 and 1/16-1/4. Expensive, but they're great heads. Gambers Big Giggy is good, Dirty JIgs has a good 1, there's a bunch of companies with good shakey heads.

Every hook I tie on I nail constantly before and while using it. Ive gotten a few trebles that had a dull point or 2. The vast majority of single hooks sink right into my nail when they are brand new. I dont use eagle claw, but have used most other brands. The only company that has had dull single hooks consistently is OMTD. I really like Molixs' jigs and they use OMTD hooks. I've had quite a few slide around on my nail. If you take 5 minutes to learn how to use a file and or hone, there's no excuse to ever use a dull hook. Mustad would be #2. Most of their hooks are moderately shap new. The problem is they dont stay as sharp as an Owner or Gami. A good amount of SW designed jigheads like kaline, lunker city and TT lures use an owner hook. If youre fishing a jetty it only take bumping a few rocks to considerably dull the tip or roll the point. I dislike eagle claw, but trokar are very sharp hooks. Their drop shot, wacky hooks and scorpion shakey heads are responsible for landing thousands of fish for me. That shape does seem to tear holes more so than cone pointed hooks, but I dont feel it has caused me to lose many fish at all. The long tapering points is what makes them so sharp, but IMO there is a downside. The points get so thin that when they contact hard surfaces, they are prone to rolling. Once that needle point rolls, you have to thin it out, reshape and sharpen it to get that super sticky point back. Its possible with bigger hooks, but with a #2 or #4 helix, its much harder to do. I still use the wacky and DS hooks, but Ive gone to other long shanked shakey heads.

The water is too shallow around here for heavy C rigs, the swivel gets all gummed up. I do however really like mojo rigs, which are essentially a finesse C rig without the swivel or beads. I like to peg a light tungsten cylinder weight, usually an 1/8-3/16, 12-18" above the hook, depending on the height of the grass and action/buoyancy of the bait I'm using. With 10lb and under Ill use Vikes' cylinder (not barrel) weight as it has a rubber core which protects the line. With lines #12 and up, ill use VMC tungsten slider weight. I use those weights specifically because they are real slim and long. That shape spreads the weight out, so they don't sink into slimy bottoms or get covered in grass easily like the short wide barrel weights. If it does pick up and, a quick snap of the rod will clear it. It will pick up more grass than a cylinder shape, but a bullet weight with a T stop or pegged with a toothpick is serviceable. As for baits, I like floating baits or neutrally buoyant baits. Biffle bugs are great, you can pack the cavity with an ear plug to increase buoyancy. Berkleys water bug was great, but they discontinued it. The Palmetto bugs work really well. A pack will last all day. Tubes work well too. I like lighter wire hooks for buoyant plastisol and heavier hooks for high floating baits like elastomer. I prefer straight shanks, like Hayabusas FPP, they call it a flip, pitch, punch hook, but its a med wire. I like using it on #10 or #12. For bigger or more buoyant baits, I like the G finesse heavy cover. I used to use the Gami EWG, but I found straight shanks to work much better. The problem is straight shanks tear up plastics. Decoys dream hook, Ichikawas muscle wide gap, Ryugis standard and offset wide gap all work really well. I think its because the point is open a few more degrees. All of those hooks are lighter wire and are stupid sharp, so it just takes a little pressure to get a good set.

I think the PR is superior with lighter line. The leader you have in the picture looks #30 or #40. At that point, I dont know if the PR is much of an advantage, if it is at all. I'll use an FG if I'm tying a leader the night before, or before I leave the day of. Once I'm on the water, I tie Alberto knots. I've never had an alberto knot fail on a fish

Ive been looking at the Coastal line for years. If they had they had JDM versions I would have bought one by now. The older SV 103 was very close. It had a good amount of CRBBs and handled SW well, so I just grabbed one of them. A little over a year later, Daiwa put out the Coastal 80 the next year, wish I had waited. I think the 80 uses an Alphas frame, really small, but like the rest of the coastals, it has more capacity than typical reel of that size. I've been curious about them for a long time, but they aren't super popular up here, not many shops sell them. The color makes them easy to spot, so every time I do see someone using one, I ask them about reel and how they like it. Most every one I talked to really likes them. I found that guys who have both and fish deep water, jigging or dragging, or throwing heavier plugs, say they like the 200 over the 150. The guys who drift for fluke, tog and toss lighter baits at bass and weakfish in the ICW really like the 150. No matter what the guys said, most of them who bought the 150, bought the 200 shortly after and vice versa. Bearings are a point of failure in a SW reel, so a lot of SW reels have a lower bearing count.

If you want brown line, just get some X9 crystal and fish muddy water. It will blend in no time at all.

Spiderline had a braid in the mid 90s, but it wasn't really popular. Fireline got some momentum in the late 90s, especially with inshore crowd, but that's not really a braided line, its fused. I like the hi viz flame green in #14. It helped limit gut hooks when using senkos. Power Pro was around, in the late 90s, but it didn't really get a whole lot of attention in my area until guys went from Fireline to PP in the early 2ks. Within a few months PP gained a huge following, particularly with guys slinging clams and bunker. The Sports Authority near me carried very little PP under 20lb and it was all moss green. I did try it, and it was ok, but it was OG PP, stiff, loud and soaked up water after it wore in. Suffix came out soon after. For light artificials, I thought suffix 832, was superior to the OG PP. Berkley tried to get back into the game with several attempts that failed, like Gorilla and Ironsilk. I recall Stren having a superline. After my experiences with Stren, I wouldnt have used it if it was free. I didn't watch a ton of professional fishing, but I do remember them pushing FC really hard at that time. Both for mainlines and leader material.

For spinning gear, its all braid to leader. Water around here is generally not very clear. Blackwater lakes average about 2'-3' avg viz most of the year. In the winter it can go to 5' or a little more. There are lakes in and around the pine barrens that are gin clear, especially in the winter, you can see 10' plus. Thats pretty much the only time I will bring a spinning reel loaded with light FC. All the other eggbeaters are braid to mono. In water with viz under 3', IMO I don't think most of the fish are overly line shy. I like the advantages of braid on casting gear, but the reason I only run 1 or 2 casting outfits with it, is how loud it is. When braid rubs heavier grass and especially wood, I can hear it, and if my feet are in the water, I swear I can almost feel it too. If I can hear it, must sound and feel like a tractor trailer driving by to the fish. I really prefer FC for fishing anything but the heaviest cover, where you almost need braid, or topwater where FC hurts the actions of the bait. I like to set the hook hard, within reason anyway. FC allows to really put the screws to em and without harming the fish or my gear. Like anything else, FC has some drawbacks. For one, its far more costly than any other line, excluding leader material. With decent PE, I can get at least a year of fishing in on 65 yards. Going cheap FC is going to hurt in the long run. Youre better off getting a quality FC off the rip, as cheaper FC can be really frustrating to use, especially in cold weather. Like mono FC stretches. Unlike mono, once you put enough strain on FC to really stretch it, it weakens the line considerably, particularly if its lighter FC. FC doesn't have the knot strength of mono. FC is harder than mono and has a higher density, which resist binding when knotted. When it finally does bind, certain knots can actually damage the line by cutting into each other. Its important to lubricate the knot very well before you cinch it down, to avoid damaging the FC. When comparing mid level FCs, like InvizX, to cheaper mono, like BG, IME the mono has superior abrasion resistance. When compared with mono, I think FC isn't as strong as far breaking strength goes. If I run BG and want to go to FC I will go with a size larger. Say im running #10 BG, I'll go to #12 Invizx. Memory can also be an issue as well. Good mono generally has less memory, and in can be more manageable. Flagship lines of FC can solve, or at the very least minimize some of the previously mentioned issues. Although everyone has their preferences, its up to you to find the FC that best suits your needs.

Its difficult to tell from the angle of the pics, but if there is really a gap, its not real bad. Its much better the bottom of the spool vs the top. I've had quite a few reels that cost more than 3x that price and they had terrible issues with line management. You would get a 1/8 or 3/16 gap at the top of the spool. When you would fight a good fish, the line would stack into the gap on the top. The first cast after releasing the fish would be real gentle, just to try to get out any line that has dug into softer spots on the spool. After a while you become confident there isnt any looser line stacked over taught line. Eventually you try to reach a school past the breakers and BANG. The spool sneezes a bird nest that wraps around the stripper guide and your plug is on its way to international waters.

When it comes to casting gear, I prefer FC on everything, but dedicated topwater outfits. When getting into FC, I implore you to start with a quality mid level line, InvizX comes to mind first, especially if you like mono. It has give, more than adequate knot strength and handles really well even in cold water. (as long as you stay under 15lb) Red Label is ok, in 10lb, but as soon as the water gets cold it hardens. Normally Sniper is good, but there has been quite a few people who claim that there have been some QC issues lately. I heard Spros Gouken is really good and so is P Line Tactical, might need to try them out myself.

It looks like there may be a really small gap at the bottom of the spool. The reel should have come with some spacers. Try adding 1 to the spool shaft and see if it helps.

Im not crazy about a lot of SKs hard baits or jigs for that matter. As deep as my bias is against some SK products, the effectiveness of both the KVD HC 1.5 and shallow HC 1.5 are undeniable. Theyre consistent, the paint jobs hold up, and they come through cover fairly well. If I snag one up, I dont mind marking it, breaking it off and getting it later and if I cant find it its not a big loss. Sure, they're not going to fish like a higher quality balsa bait, but they are more than serviceable.