bulldog1935

I don't have the Metanium experience, but the Daiwa experience. Steez A comes with MagZ Boost spool, which starts at 1/4 oz, and really shines casting big weights to distance (well over 1 oz). High reliability casting brake, and easy to set up. Long-life drive with brass main gear, and stainless pinion. The biggest advantage to Daiwa 34-mm floating spool is the ability to swap spools that change the nature of the reel, e.g., SV spools that fish 1/8-oz to 1 oz, and BFS spools that will fish 2 g to 10 g.

Empirical is always worth more than anyone's opinion, including mine.

I have two crisp-tipped para pocket rockets, both rated ML, that cast 3 g (3/30 oz) into next week and both belie their relative short length: 6-1/2' (w 2-hand grip) will cast 3 g past 150' 5'11" will cast 3 g to 130' But neither of these para distance rods is capable of making the cast he's asking for. Only a progressive-taper rod with a soft tip at its low-weight-end will make his cast. it's not about opinion, it's about empirical measurement. What he calls a roll cast, I call reverse spiral skip cast, and both para rods in photos above will barely reach 20' This 5'6" S-glass composite, however, will bullet the same cast on top of the water to 90', and it's rated for topwaters up to 1 oz

I expect Daiwa probably uses one of their high-grade, high-viscosity synthetic greases on $200+ reels like Tatula. This genuine DAIWA baitcasting reel drive gear grease is used during SLP after-sales service. It offers excellent sound-dampening and water resistance, and its optimal viscosity provides lubrication for baitcasting reel gears. Use it as a drive gear lubricant for all DAIWA baitcasting reels. リールチューニング・ベアリング専門店　HEDGEHOG STUDIO★特価品10％OFF【ダイワ/SLP WORKS】メンテナンスグリス 300（ドライブギア専用）【中サイズ送料】■商品紹介SLPW メンテナンスグリス300DAIWA ベイトリール ドライブギア専用グリスSLPのアフターサービスで使用しているDAIWA純正ベイトリールドライブギア専用グリス。消音性・耐水性に優れ…

Surprise, received a $56 refund check from UPS for over-paid import duty in Saturday's mail. Going back to everything I've bought since last August and imported using UPS, this can only be from an invoice I prepaid to ZenMarket for importing Reply Badger BFS reel - they charged me 38%, and this difference reduced that amount to 21%.

Unlikely to damage them with any normal use. Current Daiwa anodized hyperdrive main gears have much harder surface than brass will work-harden, higher through-thickness yield strength resists brinnelling (mashing), and much deeper anodizing than older alloy gears people have complained about (mostly older Shimano, AA6065 vs 7075). Up front, Daiwa didn't make any Zillion HD-P, and no 5.5 brass hyperdrive gears. Zillion HD starts at at 6.3 gears. (USM Zillion G also starts at 6.3 brass gears). I have a 5-year-salt JDM Zillion with 8.5 gears, bought at the beginning of January '21 when they were first available, and fished hard. Last fall, I noticed a (very) slight smoothness difference between the long-use reel and my new 7-geared SLPW-Zillion (based on HD with brass hyperdrive gears) - and only noticed the difference because I was fishing both reels side by side. (SLPW-Z only offered 7.1 and 8.5 gears). One way to look at this, both brass and stainless improve with use, by work hardening a new wear surface. This mechanism doesn't exist in aluminum alloys, which will slowly wear through the hard-anodized thickness. The hard-anodized gears are more tolerant of abuse loads up front than both brass and stainless - e.g. using it to tow your boat with your deep diving crankbait on a stump. This winter I swapped gears on the long-use '21 Zillion for a new brass hyperdrive 8.5 gearset from Zillion HD. While I was buying, bought a second set to stash and eventually swap into my Zillion Silver Wolf, when I decide it needs them. While pinion normally works gear-ratio-times harder than main gear, all Zillions use stainless pinions, which work harden to levels preventing any pinion wear, and improve with use.

not w/o backlash - if you're worried, use 5-lb Maxima Ultragreen mono. I'm also surprised no one has ponied Major Craft BF rods, which should have the right progressive taper.

I'm 100% threadline braid, PE#1 to #1.5 - even that Ryoga has KTF Kahen spool and PE#1.5.

I don't physically skip on the water on purpose, but we're talking about a reverse spiral centrifugal cast, up, back, down and forward in a circular sweep,sending a bullet cast a foot above the water. Only a progressive taper at its low end will make this cast.

S-glass - not soft mid and butt, but soft tip to make the skip. Mine are obscure Japan Underground rods, Smith Super Strike FO-56, and 5' Bright River Concorde (carbon-wrap butt). Both are rated 2-power (ML) , but the S-glass tips on both rods will skip cast well below the rated rod low-end. Simply, you need a progressive taper with a soft tip, but don't under-power the rod choice. More-para-taper rods, typically made for distance and more flex in the mid, won't make this cast at all. I have this one set up for salt mud marsh, skipping bunny shrimp under mangroves for redfish, SlowTaper ML, 6'4" OL matched with 2-hand grip.

Try Shimano USA first. After that, Plat.co.jp can definitely get parts for you https://www.plat.co.jp/shop/catalog/optionparts/language/en/manufacturers/4/siries/165/ The model list will link to schematic and parts links. Usually takes a week for them to get the parts from Shimano. If you go with Plat, find DHL On Demand Delivery and sign up.. Both text and e-mail, they will send you tracking, and a link to pay import duty and brokerage up front to speed up Customs and avoid COD charge. This report was a Plat parts order

Feel is not setting drag. Most people doing this are barely getting over a pound of drag. Especially catching big fish on finesse tackle, there's no room for guessing. I use a spring balance at the first guide closest to the reel, set to one-quarter of weakest link, line test, leader test, or rod max line rating - here, 2-1/2 lbs for 10-lb leader. Most don't get set over 3 lbs, but tuning surf reels last week, blue corundum drag washers in Ambassadeur C3 stack, set lure rod to 4-1/2 lbs for 19-lb leader, and meat rod to 6 lbs for 27-lb braid.

Adding to @Eric 26 post, the micron-frame Cetus 500 spool diameter is only 32 mm, and I fished the Toray ExThread that's on it for 2 years before I gave the reel to Eric. That's a heck of a long-term line memory test. This is my current Cetus, the slightly larger 800 with 38-mm dia spool. (this was a gift to me from another friend) The reel Eric has, I fished 7 years in salt finesse with my daughters before retiring it for Vanquish. It came with karma, including 23" seatrout, and a double with seatrout and slot snook.

@Motoboss Knot2kinky single-strand titanium has the best snap I've ever used on a pike/ inshore bite trace. Close 2nd was Mako from Ukraine, but they quit mailing to (or even taking payment from) US after the '20 postal crash resulted in paypal chargebacks. I was very happy when N2k started making these in US. Saves from toothy fish and snook gill plates.

@Motoboss - they sell up to 20-lb test. ExThread is already the most expensive fluoro made, but it's one of those lines I'll throw into a JDM order so the shipping is offset by the balance of the order. There has been US stock, but I can't google any up right now. Toray justifies the cost and the surprising property mix to result from using a different formulation for each diameter. The biggest I've used is 6-lb on this F6 spool, and it doesn't jump off the spool like Tatsu - also has good abrasion resistance in salt finesse niche. I'll give this to Tatsu, when I was setting up an old CV-Z coming off my bench, for first cast I used my 1016 SV back-up spool that had 4-y-o Tatsu. It was extremely well-behaved, and the low memory was surprising after that long storage.

I wouldn't want a line stiffer than Tatsu. The fluorocarbon that bests Tatsu for both low memory and limpness (competing properties) is Toray Solaroam ExThread.

oops, new page needs a photo. Here's another view of that surf trio. 4500CT, 6500CS Rocket, 6500CT

Graphite was a new buzzword worth writing on the rod c. early '80s. My first graphite rod was 1983. Lew's Fuji grip also matches the age.

guess, the old grease was better than the new grease

When '19 Stradic was introduced, Tackle Advisors take-down review rated it as "The Best $400 Reel You Can Buy" The only change to Stradic FM is a slight increase in spool/ line-lay pitch, which increases cast distance. If you ever have an interest in fishing threadline braid, Stradic is the no-brainer choice. Not only will it manage line this well, it will keep doing it longer than other reels that come close but don't quite get here.

You're not far from the surf - you can make C3 beastly with stainless gears and blue corundum drag washers. 6500CS Rocket on 8' surf-lure 6500CT Blue Yonder on 14' meat rod 4500CT 8'9" microjig - this combo is light in hand - imitating winter bait and catching cut bait. Though Akios doesn't sell frames any more, I have one really good p/n 991 non-level-wind frame for 6500CT that's out of service. RocketReelCo in UK sells frames (spools and stainless gearset - complete loaded brake plate) Zzeta in Italy sells conversion kits that use your drive pancake and end cap.

Odd attitude for someone buying up 80 Ambassadeurs. I never had a use for pistol grips, but the offset reel seat on separate grips reach perfectly on medium-frame Ambassadeur The parts are out there to make these original 3/8-oz low-end reels fish 1/8 oz all day. https://www.mikesreelrepair.com/reel-tuning-upgrades/wormshaft-upgrades/?zCountry=US My raciest '77 4500C with ceramic-bearing upgrades to the LW upgrades will throw 3 g to 150' on 6-1/2' 2-hand rod

hmm, here's 20 of a million https://www.smith.jp/superstrike/top.html https://www.smith.jp/superstrike/product/ss-60gmh.html And dozens more if you include separate grips and ferruled rod blades made by Bright River, Robelson, etc. https://www.headhunters.jp/SHOP/161391/list.html There's also Aioushi on Express website, and LureSport where you can buy inexpensive components to make your own. Even carbon weave.