bulldog1935

Lets haul this back into reality a bit. I've ridden 20,000 mi on loose-ball SiN in bicycle hubs, so longevity isn't an issue. Life of SiC and SiN bearing balls and races is comparable to bearing steel. Relative hardness says SiN and SiC should out-last steel. Of course if you push any bearing beyond rated load, it will wear out. Specifically, zirconia has only 70% of the load capacity of steel, SiC, and SiN. Spin test as described is a gimmick. Freespool flip has its use for checking spool start, test for friction, and is a pretty good tool for finding a starting set for casting brakes, but a long spin is a result of inertia, which we're trying to get rid of. What you gain with rotating-mass/inertia reduction is quicker spool start, higher lure velocity at release, which is distance (ballistics), and less brake force needed to achieve the brake result you need, which is also distance. Regarding mag brake and ceramics, no question you get a brake effect on steel bearing races and balls near mag brakes in the palm plate. Full-ceramic, such as SiN in the blue reel have no Lenz force, will not stop abruptly under mag brake, but at the end of a free spin, will actually back up to the spool balance (imbalance load ~0.01g). On the blue BFS reel, SiN is the edge for casting 3" weightless senko and 1/16-oz jigs. Where I use it in my salt reels, it's totally impervious, and needs no special attention with salt use. Also no reason to worry about mix and match. My ultimate light-distance Steez, 4-g AMO spool, has SiN 1030 (683) in palm plate with no Lenz force, and the slickest main spool bearing I could configure was IXA 740 in Momo purple spacer and Daiwa bearing sleeve.

If you want something completely different, my bud has a couple of IRT reels, bench-made in USA (full seals).

If you talk to the guys actually measuring cast distance, Tournament casters using C3CT derivatives will tell you unshielded hybrid ceramic + ultra-low-viscosity bearing oil makes All the difference - that's the one variable they have, making 1000' 10-oz casts. The configuration is the exact opposite of all the other reels we're talking about here. With Ambassadeur Ultracast, the spindle is fixed, inner bearing race is fixed on the spindle, and outer bearing race rotates with the spool. All the other reels we're discussing, including older Ambassadeur C before Ultracast, have spindle fixed in the spool, bearing outer race fixed in the frame, and bearing inner race spins with the spool. All the physics sublties of ceramic ball and micro-ball reduced inertia add up to distance.

The one spot I have for full-zirconia ceramic is the small sizes, both for handle knob bearings in salt, and "upgrading the upgrades" in Ambassadeur LW. This '77 4500C has full Avail alloy+BB level wind upgrades, mass-less and slick zirconia LW pawl, and I tried those tiny 630, 730 and 740 full-zirconia to take Japan Ambassadeur BFS-upgrades to the next step. It also has full-silicon-nitride spool bearings. I'm not recommending anybody go here, unless you're in my salt-shore-extreme-BFS niche, but it's a feeling of power when this little combo with 6-1/2' 2-hand rod sends a 3-g microjig to surface slashes 150' out. None of this should be possible (maybe if you work the physics) Likewise, on the day I needed it, my little red 2500CIT in post above (combo below) was throwing 1/4-oz jerkbait to 200' (I showed the measurement on google earth). More impressive, the PureLure 7'8" Seabed tubular-tip BF rod was hooking fish 180' away. Aside from this extreme BFS niche, I'll double up that you should see consistent results making the swap to unshielded hybrid ceramic or AirHD with a single drop of good bearing oil, if you keep up with the maintenance. If that's too much for you, stick with the quality NMB shielded bearings that come in most Japanese and Korean reels. Since I have the photo, here's my Steez with KTF/IXA MBS spool bearings, equivalent to AirHD, Ray's SV spool.

Jun Sonada (JapanTackle) has done a great job of rating casting distance upgrades. I cropped this out so it doesn't include the Ambassadeur (slaved LW) upgrades. The single greatest distance gain comes from reducing loaded spool mass (one reason people like mono better than fluoro). He accurately rates hybrid-ceramic bearing upgrade alone as 2-3% cast distance improvement. This isn't worth $30+ for 2 spool bearings. He gives up to 4% more cast distance with improved oil in spool bearings. Making the move to unshielded hybrid ceramic and adding a drop of racy bearing oil every month will give you that 7% distance improvement. The next step is microbearings, which adds up further, and some of these have wide load range. You would get a noticeable improvement right now with a swap to Hedgehog Air HD bearings, and still retain a wide load range. The greatest difference I measured between stock spool bearings and unshielded (wide-load-range) micros was 15% difference between Daiwa stock shielded CRCC and KTF/IXA double-row (hybrid ceramic). Run away from zirconia full-ceramic - they're loud as the end of the world and don't have the load capacity of steel, SiC or SiN hybrid ceramic. I fish a lot of salt shore, where last word matters reaching the fish. Here, I use full-ceramic silicon nitride, and this is limiting weight to one ounce. My surf Ambassadeur CT and CS Rocket get full-size unshielded hybrid ceramic, and I'm casting up to 4 oz.

@Jigfishn10 Thanks, friend. Here, she's fishing Powell Silver Creek IM6 and Marryat. Amazing when you take girls fishing - they never complain, never tie wind knots, never snag or break off - don't even fall in - unless the creek is too inviting in the summer heat. They grew up with an appreciation for old tackle and old firearms (and hats)

Since I spent quality time with my grown daughters yesterday, I'm reminded they will always quietly out-fish any man they know. My older daughter had the choice of any tackle she could see. Her go-to choice for creek fishing was always this prewar Luxor on short postwar Airex solid glass rod. Note this half-bail spinner has no type of anti-reverse She honed the skill to land, handle, and release all her fish on her own.

Still, no one has a simple why and how answer to set up Shimano brake. Logically, if this system copies Daiwa SV function, you should set the mag brake casting high arcs with your lightest weight to dial-out mid-cast backlash. Non-linear start-up should then take care of heavier weights.

same answer as last time I've been rolling and shooting Allbright knots through fly-rod snake guides for 45 years, no reason to change that. Rods with micro-guides get a 2' leader, so the knot doesn't have to pass the guides. rods with full-size guides get 4' leader.

ah come on, you guys want old? 1st model Pflueger Supreme Douglas patent on 7' Thomas Bangor rod, 1920 (salmon and steelhead) Talbot Niangua on 6' Thomas Special Mahogany grade bait, 1914 (casting and working plugs) Meek Bluegrass 33 on 8'3" Chubb Henshall bass rod, 1909 (slow-lobbing live bait to distance)

It must be a trick question.

I never cared for pistol grips, but I love offset reel seat on medium-frame round reels. These are go-to for me in river kayak. (not Ambassadeur, but contemporary Isuzu). I even set up a couple w/ 2-hand grip for close-fishing salt mud marsh - '18 and '26 Ryoga. These are also contemporary offset grips and ferruled-butt rod blades, made in Japan by Bright River, and Smith Super Strike in my first post - a market I call the Japan Underground.

Here's one of my '77 4500C's - rebuilt for finesse braid, full-ceramic-BB LW upgrades, SiN spool bearings, alloy rider w/ ceramic line guide, zirconia pawl, Avail shallow spool - - this combo will cast 3 g past 150' A couple of later Ultracast (C3) examples

Tatsu is Really low memory, but stiff and springs off the spool. ExThread is more limp with the same low memory.

Only direct comparison, St. Croix Legend Glass matched with Shimano 4000 First morning to use it, fishing squarebill, on a tide pass draining a 3' storm tide. Bait was so thick it was thumping our kayak hulls, and you could feel them hit your rudder through foot pedals. All I did was haul in fish that morning.

Just like here, you'll get a 70-degree weekend each month of winter.

@new2BC4bass - cabin fever don't work in S. Texas

@herder that's why finesse braid was such a boon for our winter fishing. Big fish sip tiny winter bait - they don't expend energy to feed, because they don't get much back.

@FishTank all fair, but I've never been surprised by a fish after I set up a combo. My drag and terminal is set and reliable, and I learn what to expect from the rod loading through set-up casting.

There's a reason Toray Exthreaad is the most expensive fluoro made. Each diameter/test is formulated separately to get the right result. https://carolinafishingtackle.com/products/toray-bawo-exthread-fluorocarbon Onshore stock is handy, but if you're already shopping in Japan, it's cheaper there. This line is both limp and low-memory, which are normally competing properties in any monofilament line. Smaller diameter than same strength mono.

Mono absorbs UV, so it creates a shadow. The reason fluoro is different is that it transmits UV. You're also already using the right reels for braid. @Swamp Girl - fluoro also comes in hard or soft for the same diameter - soft is limper and lower-strength for the same diameter - and soft fluoro is still smaller diameter than same-strength mono.

Especially on spinning tackle, Japanese braid will get you both smaller and stronger Same diameter as 2-lb mono is 12-lb breaking strength in X-braid. @Swamp Girl - they call it threadline for a reason - this is one size larger than #0.6 (redfish above was landed on #0.6) - learn a good leader knot, and your last few feet can be whatever mono you want, while the braid working line will cast farther and handle better under all conditions.

hmm, closest I've got

Oddly, the Japanese don't believe in karma. They do believe in Nyu-kon, which from Shinto, is that the object doesn't know what it is until it's broken in, and broken in right. Tackle and lures are not lucky, but they can be effective.

@king fisher when I was buying longer multipiece rods a few years ago, two shorter rods stood out in the mix for versatile weight range and big-fish power - opposite ends of the price spectrum. The cheap end ($70 close-out at Japan discounter) was Abu Xrossfield ML-BF, and has found a permanent place as my salt back-up rod in kayak hold The second, though, really bowls me over, Daiwa Black Label, which was a great Yahoo buy in almost un-used condition. I couldn't put it down the first trip, matched with my newly rebuilt '18 Ryoga, also bought used. Now, the rod stays assembled full-time as one piece, matched with my SLPW Zillion. They designed this rod as wide-range, multi-use, from shore BF to heavy vertical jigging.