bulldog1935

this is about as specific as you can get - the rod blade is Smith SS FO-56 Topwater Light (S-glass blend), the reel my braid-raced Ambassadeur 4600. The rod is rated 5 g to 14 g, optimized for 12 g - my goal was 1/2-oz frog and Hutley's 11-12 g dog-walking plugs, Zara Spook Jr, etc. This combo skips 1/4 to 1/2 oz like crazy because the rod casts off the tip and the reel is set up so totally backlash proof. my target is close kayak fishing in small water like this This is a deep blue hole, where a river comes out of the aquifer into the coastal plain - can't tell you how many bass hopped from the tops of the watercress when I paddled up behind Josh. Behind me is the confluence with another river, and wider water that looks kinda the same - cold and deep.

found the first bluebonnet of the year

again, the answer is in this post There is no start-up jerk casting light lures, so a centrifugal brake is never needed. The only backlash concern is mid-cast wind backlash, where mag brake shines. Tuning reels, setting up brakes, building reels, I've noticed centrifugal brakes cost distance when casting light lures. Centrifugal just gets in the way on BFS reels, adding rotating mass and physical-contact drag on a spool you're hoping that a gram or two will keep pulling past the gravity hump - - think finesse. (No, centrifugal doesn't "turn off" during cast - the brake load relaxes, but the friction is always there.) (Dual brakes are worse for adding spool mass, and I sold both my centrifugal brake Lew's when I discovered Super Duty G cast farther and more reliably) On this 1500C, with Avail spool, the normal, removable centrifugal brake has been replaced by a blank spacer, and even the Avail internal mag brake that will pop into either side of the reel frame, only needed two out of six magnets. The lightest- and farthest-casting Daiwa aftermarket spool, RoroX, eliminates the MagForce/SV moving rotor complication, turning the Daiwa brake into linear mag. The only time you need centrifugal or equivalent MagForce/SV (nonlinear mag) is at spool start up when throwing heavy weights. Set your mag brakes to eliminate mid-cast backlash with the lightest thing you're going to throw. The only time you will need more mag is casting into the wind.

still no, that's 3 g to 70' with a 5-1/2' rod and a LW braid 4600 targeted for 1/2 oz. The 8' rod is a surf rod that will cast 1/4 oz to over 65 yds and 1/2 oz to over 100 yds with my braid modified 5500CT Do you have a first language? あなたは第一言語を持っていますか

@Tatulatard you didn't have to fish long to find that out of context This one will cast 3 g to 70' - 100% backlash proof - the 3 g was never my target, but 1/2 oz (15 g) - just tried the 3 g for grins and used it for internal mag set. It's a beast for skipping 1/4 to 1/2 oz. read my lips - 8' surf rod

@Tatulatard 8' surf rod for the lures, rated 1/4 to 1 oz - it will send the 1/4 oz to 65+ yds. first double-hand cast, was in my neighbor's back acre - oops matched with 5500CT The spider weight rod for my 6500CT is 14', 1-4 oz, but any weight and distance is effortless on this No big deal with a relatively mass-less spool and mag brake It's really the low-inertia LW on the 4600 that's impressive - especially the speed of the thing. Dual BB on the idler and worm, zirconia pawl, alloy rider with ceramic guide for braid. The spur gears are also dual BB. One thing about old Ambassadeurs, they're so easy to work on, and to modify, and there are so many great improvement parts made for them world over, applications from tournament distance casting to stream trout fishing.

this is too cool to not show. I built my braid-raced 4600 from a new, boxed Royal Express II. I finally put together the rod I wanted for it - Smith Super Strike with the offset handle made just for Abu, and a copy of the original Fenwick Champion handle (made in magnesium). I ran into a problem with the graphite foot - the design of the Super Strike seat (and the old Champion) bends the graphite-filled plastic foot and spits it off the rod - not all the time, but enough to make it annoying. It's funny that you can't bend the foot by hand, but the vise-clamp of the reel seat design bows the plastic. No problem with the normal Abu metal foot. I always knew I might hate the plastic foot, and could easily move the reel to another frame. btw, this combo is a skipping fool with a reverse spiral cast... Found a great NOS frame buy in UK, and for what I have in the reel, and what I get out of it, the $30 with airmail was insignificant. At the vendor's good prices, I had a choice of gold-finish or maroon. Turns out the metal-foot frame is just as light. I went with the maroon, and I though this came out trick - kinda looks like a black cherry.

Either of my surf reels (NLW) will reach the proverbial 100 yds with a half-ounce. My braid-raced 4600C will cast 1/4 oz to 130' - and 3 g to 70'

My only rod set-break was excusable - the redfish took the lure when I was lifting it out of the water, and we both at the same moment did the two things that would break the rod - I high-stick set, just when the redfish exploded. Wasn't even an aggressive set, just tip too high. Landed the fish and finished a great trip with the 3-pc spare in my bow hold. My favorite ML rod, and 13Fishing gave a great warranty replacement.

I have two NLW surf reels, 5500 for lures, and 6500 for spider weights; 4600 for frogging, and 1500 for stream. All are braid raced with shallow spools, mag brakes, and the two smaller with low-inertia level wind parts. The braid conversions are all pretty much backlash-proof. Getting the mass out of the loaded spool and LW really improves these reels.

Note on Asian Portal that listed prices will not reflect the current exchange rate. AP lists the dollar price from the exchange rate the day they post the listing. However, they bill actual JPY, so the purchase will come in on your credit card or paypal at the day's exchange rate. e.g., when I bought my Steez, the actual price was 5% more than listed. But when I bought my Vanquish, the invoiced price was more than 10% lower than the listed dollar price. @Eric 26 congrats on your new acquisition - post photos for us

get it through the t-slot - the reel does the rest.

I would recommend 20-lb or heavier Sufix 832 over heavy mono backing for anybody with baitcaster skill, and Daiwa SV for everybody else.

@desmobob I'm set on amazing-soft tires and tubes, also filling the chainstays and fenders with the biggest tires that fit. Used to run latex tubes, but have switched to the latest and greatest urethane tubes, which don't need pumping twice/wk. The best vulcanized tires are Rene Herse, made to Jan Heine's specs by Panaracer. Even better are hand-glued tires, Vittoria and Challenge. Challenge "open tubulars" are a booger to mount, because they're low profile, but also the most buttery tires ever made. My '74 International has Vittoria Corsa Control, 700c x 30 mm - gravel tires, and this bike will single-track with the best of them. The wide bars give both aero position and off-pavement control. The half-step triple has a granny ring that is perfect on gravel or single-track.

Yesterday's bike ride from Stinson Field in far SW San Antonio. First stop at the aqueduct, which has been here 300 years. @TnRiver46 ok, 280 Mission Espada the retalbo inside the chapel Mission San Juan spring has sprung - we should have bluebonnets in a week

once again, here's the primer I wrote on the 3 types of backlash and 4 types of brakes Daiwa SV obviates the need for added centrifugal brake. In the case of most dual brakes, I've found the added centrifugal brake to be extra mass and interia that wouldn't be needed if it wasn't there to add to the spool mass and inertia. I hope this thing is on

Two main differences between the Steez SV TW and the Zillion SV TW. The Steez body is magnesium, which makes it lighter, and it has two LW ball bearings. The Zillion is aluminum body, about an ounce heavier, and has one BB and one bushing on the LW. Otherwise, the only differences are color.

I usually back deep spools with 20- or 25-lb Ultragreen - keeps loaded spool mass at a minimum, because there's only room for 20- to 25 yds + braid. For tension, I run it through a phone book with a weight on top to control tension, rod held in a rod holder on a bench. I can walk away and it keeps enough tension. If you spool/stretch mono/fluoro too tight, you're risking it relaxing and blowing out the spool flange.

I kinda like this color PE#1.2, which is 27-lb test in Duel X-wire - line has never dug in, inshore ML niche and more than a year of slot- and near-slot redfish.

Well, I don't have a Curado, but have BFS spools on Daiwa, ZPI, and Ambassadeur - I also don't know anything about Power Pro (except watching it ball up on buddy's old Penn spinning reel). Jun Sonada at JapanTackle is the smartest baitcaster guy around. He recommends PE#1 as the smallest line to use on a baitcaster = 0.16 mm diameter. He also recommends using hard-coat braids - both recommendations are to avoid line dig. That said, I'm using PE#0.8 to #1.2 X-braid on my BFS shallow spools, everything from UL stream fishing to inshore MH. The new Daiwa Zillion PE Special is reported to be rated down to PE# 0.4, which is 0.10 mm dia. here's the Japan Line Size chart https://www.jpfishingtacklenews.com/japanese-line-size/ Jun would approve of this Ambassadeur, (Momo shallow spool, Valleyhill LW parts, Avail mag brake), the braid is PE#1 cost-effective Yamatoyo Resin Sheller hardcoat.

To me, the no-brainer thing is add $25 to the ante and buy a JDM Daiwa Zillion Delivered in 4 days by gratis FedEx https://fishing.asian-portal.shop/category/select/cid/352/pid/316313 Set the casting brake for the lightest thing you're going to throw, and you'll probably never need to adjust it again.

are you adding end tension to the spool - that's a source of friction. My 5-y-in-the-salt Super Duty has been maintained and I'd put it against any reel for slick and cast distance. Some things about me, I never use end tension, always replace shielded spool bearings with salt-rated unshielded, and use ultra-low viscosity bearing formula to keep them flushed and oiled. I did replace the brake magnets at the onset of corrosion. Most gear grease gets stiff over time. I'm picky there, also, and use MTCW-GG-SW synthetic, but I apply it with a sable art brush, and an ounce lasts me a long time.

no offense, but US isn't a domestic market for Shimano - it's an export market.

that list looks complete. In addition to high-end St. Croix, I'll add that high-end Lamiglas and all Crowder rods use US-made blanks.

@TnRiver46 it was still Mexico when John Power brought 400 families from Ireland and became the first impresario of Aransas and Refugio counties - half of them landed first on San Jose Island after running aground on the same shoal my dad has planted his boat a couple of times. It was still Mexico when Jean Lafitte used to scrape off the Mexican Navy by sailing up my Cedar Bayou. My dad said, we'll fish here - the tide will be back. ______________________________________________________ and since a new page needs a photo - my dad, his boat, and San Jose Island. He shuttled us across big Aransas Bay to kayak Allyn's Lake while he drifted St. Joe shore, and picked us back up at noon. 2nd cast of the morning - 1st cast was a bigger spec that tore the hook out on her second run