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Delaware Valley Tackle or Lews???
I'm not the biggest fan of Lew's but they have always went by above and beyond with the things I requested. Took a little while but they have never let me down. I even lost a side plate and they just sent me one. I even offered to pay for it but Lew's does have the best customer care.
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The wrong one
Yeah he does. I've never been in any position to really do what I can now... Even now being sober for some years find myself saving pocket change and dollar bills. My dad instilled the power of saving up, and putting money back early on. It finally sunk in. I have nice stuff now but it's for sure modest compared to a lot of people. But my dad came to the rescue again and instilled the power of not comparing myself and what I have to another man. You will never win that battle. Just do the best you can and keep it pushing, but also remain grateful and humble for your blessings. I ended up giving my dad all my old custom spinning rods and to this day he doesn't put them down.
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Braid+leader vs floro
Modern FC in my opinion has better castability, manages better than any mono or copoly, has more abrasion resistance, and is generally much higher and better quality... But, I've found it does kind of depend. I've never been let down by red label, invisx, or abrasx. I also use braid to FC on baitcasters more often now.
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I’m new and have no clue what I’m doing
My advice is to spend 250-300 on a new set up and the rest in tackle. People often forget tackle... I know I do. Lol. If I was in your boat I'd get a 7' medium heavy slx rod, slx DC reel, and grab some bps EWG hooks size 3/0, some weights, some red label 15lb fluorocarbon, some creature baits, some senkos. If you're more into spinning gear the bps pro qualifier is a good start. I also like the daiwa Fuego both baitcasting and spinning.
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Lower Profile Reels
Lew's SLP frames if you like Lew's. Personally I would pick the curado 70 mgl or tatula 100. If those are too much to handle maybe work on your technique to solve the issue.
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BPS Pro Qualifier Tournament PQT10HB
Over the years pro qualifier reels have actually been really good. This was a set up I would generally get if I needed to get a few rods that I knew would hold up but didn't have super big funds. They perform well.
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Some guidance if you will.
If I were in your position I'd grab a shimano slx xt or curado. The Lew's tp1 is a nice light rod. I have heard they do tend to break pretty easily but I think that's with any rod company. Your equipment will last so long as you keep up with it and don't trash it.
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Straight Fluoro for Texas Rigs
Bro this is a great knot. I've switched from so many knots. I don't think there's a knot I don't know how to tie. But this one at least as far as FC goes is excellent. I use this and the double pitzen almost exclusively.
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Brakes or Magnets?
I generally prefer centrifugal brakes but daiwas magforce brakes are amazing too. I find I get more consistent braking when using reels that have one or the other versus having both. Just an observation I've made over the years.
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All this Flouro talk lately
I've never had to treat any FC line... Ever. There was a time in the early 2000s that I let bass pro spool my reel and it came off a baitcaster spool looking like a freaking slinky but I just chalked it up to the whole "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."
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Lew's way overbraked
I prefer centrifugal brakes, but am fond of the magforce z style magnet brakes. I am a neat freak when it comes to my gear and before I go fishing I always clean my gear and get it ready for the morning. I appreciate the advice and thank you for taking time to respond.
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Lew's way overbraked
I have 2 on 2 off, mag dial set to 0. The spool just feels slow. I used to love the pro qualifier, i prefer to run my reels loose, and I think possibly it's just going from magforce z to a linear brake. I can't say that if I used a pro qualifier now I may feel the same way. Daiwa really does have the best mag brakes available. I don't get my feelings hurt easy and I appreciate any input. Tournament SLP, I've also had this issue with other Lew's reels but let's focus on this one. I'm pretty knowledgeable about gear. I could run it super loose but this style mag braking is always on. I'm thinking that's the issue. It being always on plus 2 centrifugal on 2 off used to be how I would go on the pro qualifier. I never tighten my spool passed just taking away any side to side play. Maybe the magnets the old pro qualifier used were much weaker therefore it felt better. So I might actually try doing this.
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Lew's way overbraked
Just because I started buying other reels doesn't mean that's the only experience I've ever had with Lew's. I'm not even saying there terrible reels it feels good, it's nice and small, I generally like the reel. I'm just not getting the performance I had hoped for. I've used several Lew's products because most of my friends buy Lew's. I bet I can get this reel going pretty good with some bearing upgrades, or soak the bearings and use better oil. I have a feeling you think I'm trying to dump on Lew's products and I'm not. I am no elitist. Generally I save up for months in order to buy good products. This was no different. If it was really that bad I'd be taking it back. I just don't think Lew's mbs is as refined as the magforce z/svs infinity. I'm gonna update this after I've upgraded the bearings.
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Lew's way overbraked
It's not just one Lew's reel, but yeah I'm gonna tear it down and upgrade the bearings. It's a new reel pretty much.
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Lew's way overbraked
Yeah we all have different experiences, this happened with multiple Lew's reels. Not just one. It's ok, again I don't want to completely trash the reel it just isn't any comparison to me versus any Shimano and most daiwa reels. Maybe I just enjoy a really loose reel. My thumb game is up there.