.RM.

6'6" to 7' Custom Spiraled Med/Fast w/ a super tuned 97 Curado 201 mounted..... Tight Lines!!

I agree and disagree at the same time, I dont know about bats..but golf clubs...well take a 120 avg player (Im a very low 80's very high 70's player playing from the white tees) and lets say he plays a set of clubs that was 100 bucks at wally world...then have him a custom fitted set of high end irons made dont even worry about the driver it wont make much difference in a high handicap players game some high end drivers will make there game worse...but the Irons will make a HUGE difference they will lower there avg 5-10 strokes quick because they are much more forgiving then crappy Irons the sweet spot is MUCH larger and they feel much softer at impact and put much more bite on the ball allowing more control from 140 yards and in... Now about rods... if you take a novice bass fisherman that isnt a dummy and understands what he is trying to do just doesnt know how to find fish yet and doesnt know how to adjust to changes through out the day... he will be a better fisherman with a rod that he can feel what the lures doing with... now I dont think a novice needs to spend over lets say a max of 200 dollars on the soft plastics rod because you can get a hell of a rod for 200 bucks in the Zillion and Cumara line... I know the Zillion rods are VERY sensitive rods that with Braid will provide all the feel you need and the tips and actions are all spot on for bottom contact baits.. and I think that the only rod a novice should spend much money on is a bottom contact lure rod anyhow...you can buy a 40 dollar lightning rod for cranks and stuff and be fine for a while with that... Novice fisherman wont be as intune with his lure as we are and needs a very sensitive rod for bite detection till he/she gets a feel for what hes fishing feels like and can tell with ease when the lure "feels different" truthfully I could put mono on a lightning rod and fish a jig with it with ease and detect bites pretty easy im sure.. I wouldnt do it because im used to and only fish the high end stuff but because I have so much time on the water I could get by with it if I had to... when someone ask me how can you pay 800+ dollars for some rods are they really that good? I will tell them I buy my Evergreen Megabass and Elite JDM/USDM Daiwa rods because I LOVE tackle and I love collecting super high end rods almost as much as I love fishing them! and NO IMHO they arent that much better but IMHO they are better because I like them and thats what counts. the difference between a 500 JDM Steez and a 850+ dollar evergreen Black raven is not much but I love the rod and have bought 3 now.. the difference between a 50 dollar rod and a 200 dollar rod is TONS...and a higher end soft plastics rod will no doubt help novice bass guys catch more fish on soft plastics and something else it will do is allow them to kinda put together a map of what the bottom looks like if they dont have a graph...and that will help them in getting a pattern going once they catch a few fish because they can feel whats going on under the water... another thing I always tell novice guys to use braid on the bottom contact lure rods... why because the feel, it will make a cheap rod have ok feel of whats going on and a good rod will become stellar in feel when using a premium braided line like Daiwa Braid...you cant become a better fisherman if you cant feel the fish bite and if you cant tell what your lure is doing under the water... sure you can feel bites on a crappy rod but there will be a lot of bites you dont feel that you would have felt with a good rod...or if you are fishing lets say a spinner bait and you cant feel the blades turning with a crappy rod well how are you gonna set the hook when a fish grabs the lure and you dont feel the strike but the blades arent turning? I have those kinda bites a lot on spinner baits...when a nice rod you will feel the blades thumpping with ease.. and when the blades stop its one of two things the lure is fouled with grass or something or a fish has it...this is my view on it and I believe completely that a better rod and I dont mean a super high dollar rod... between 130 and 200 dollars will be all the rod you need WILL make you catch more fish...no it wont teach you how to find fish but it will give you enough feel that you can feel the humps and drop offs that you cant see if you dont have a graph and if you look at it like that it will help you find fish... but over all it is a important tool and you shold by the BEST that you can afford and if thats a 20 dollar rhino rod then awesome if its a 800 dollar JDM rod well then you have the tackle bug and your bank account is done for lol. ............

Agree 100%........

That is the normal tolerance of the bushing in the crank shaft assembly The in & out play on the crank shaft has nothing to do with the cast control setting. The crank shaft is connected to the set plate and the play is from the tolerance of the bushing that is employed on the base of it. Tight Lines!!!

While I voted split (personal rods). Both split & full grips have their places... Tight Lines!!!

rboat IMO if it was a bail return spring going out it would happen every cast. I have had anglers come into the shop complaining about the same issue's. When I have them mount the reel on a rod and take me outside to test cast the reel, we found that the angler was not opening the bail fully every time. We found that the angler would get comfortable with the timing of their casting and then for whatever reasons would change it just enough to cause the issue. We were getting the bail snapping shut on cast every 3,5 and sometimes 8 cast. Once the angler realized what he/she was doing the issues soon disappeared... Just my thoughts and testing... Good Luck & Tight Lines!

The part that you are holding in that image is the dial friction washer that sits on top of the mag dial as you replace the dial into the cover...... That reel is a bushing system (no bearings). All you needed to do is add a drop of oil behind each bushing on the spool shaft shims and it would have loosened up a little. That reel is a discontinued reel and very few parts are available for it. Be careful that you don't lose any of the parts. Package that reel up and send it off to a professional service shop for proper cleaning and re-lubing. Good Luck & Tight Lines!!

Well my recommendation would be to listen to your local guy. He has seen the reel/s in question and knows what is going on with them. Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!

The shim missing is probably a big part of the problem in the first place (other than dirt/grim). The schematic calls for one and the Schematic Ref #18 - Part number is #1125736... Good Luck & Tight Lines!

Nice rod. Might be because the blank is made by NFC (North Fork Composite) and is the new Loomis... The NFC blanks are by far superior to anything else I have built on, they make exceptional rods built right... Tight Lines!!!

$0.00......

Setting personal health and well being ahead of fishing gear. Yup god forbid that you can see to get to your favorite fishing hole..

I would say depends on how they are taken care of. Mistreat them and they will let you know when they have had enough... Tight Lines!

have seen them all on my shop bench's. For ease of setup I would say any of the Shimano® reels in your budget... Tight Lines!

Yes it is... But it will take a pro builder to do the job and it won't be cheap....

Great Vid. I really liked the Q "Is this real life"... Tight Lines!!

BobP is right as far as removing the old grip with a dremel, but you can also heat a pan of water to the boiling point. Then submerge the grip to loosen all the epoxy and twist the blank out (hopefuly). The one problem width modern blanks they will melt at 300° F, and water boils at 312°F if I remember right. You would have to watch the blank carefully, or use a thermometer and wait until the water temp drops below the boiling point.. But I think it could be done carefully.... Good Luck & Tight Wraps!

If it were my reel I would be checking everything on the spool. The spool support bearing just behind the engagement pin and the palming plate side.I have heard bearings under load make that sound........... Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!

Yup Berkley has a recycle program visit here.......http://www.berkley-fishing.com/about_conservation.php This is were I send all of the line I remove before servicing reels... Tight Lines!!!!

Quick fix - If you can find a waterproof 5 min epoxy you could use that. As far as long term fix's, the guide must be re-wrapped, repositioned, and re-finished.... Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!

Just take it back. Once you think you have a reel that you consider flawed, no matter what you do to it or with it you will still consider it flawed.. Just take it back...............................

I agree 100% either a cracked/chipped rod guide or tiptop, or, a sharp edge in the reels line carriage or nose piece strut area.... Good Luck & Tight Lines!!

That is truly a bummer... Here is a link to an article on how to measure & replace the tip.... http://www.rod-crafting.com/resource/articles/rod-tip-repair.html Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!!

No problem we use to run into a lot of Revo's like that.. Tight Lines!!!

Sometimes you have to losen the Cast Control Cap. Leaving it adjusted puts pressure on the spool shaft at that end of the reel and presses the side plate against the screw that holds the plate in place and locks it... Before opening any reel's side plate just back off the CCC and Drag Star, and Mags (if any).. Tight Lines!!!