bulldog1935

To make this discussion intelligent, show us a photo of your line lay result. You should also consider stacking lines, thicker backing, and thinner working line.

A few more photos to show off. I set the mag brake casting 2-g with 5-lb UG mono. Final brake-set result casting 1/4 oz to 140', which nails my shore fishing target, and I couldn't make it backlash with intentional wrist snap. Happy with this result on mediocre pack rod. Also got the braid loaded, but haven't cast it yet with my 3-g low-end target - not worried about it, fixed brakes are set. Nobody has asked about fishing non-level-wind (CT surf) reel, so I'll volunteer it. Line management depends on getting a good tight hand-LW base wrap when you first load the spool. If you're fishing mono, you under-fill the spool, may need to correct line lay some during fishing. When you get down to PE#1 threadline braid, narrow spool with a capacity of 100 to 200 m, this gets a lot simpler. The concave (hourglass) line lay is intentional, and goes deep in the 4-mm spool. You can fish your working line mindlessly, because it falls to the middle of the spool and self-corrects on wind. The only time you need to re-do the hand-level-wind (when you get home) is after a big fish takes you deep.

YZH is soft on the Outside. The knots don't slip, but knots do intent the line.

One vendor says the same spool fits these different models: 2016 TATULA CT 2016 TATULA CT TYPE R 2017 TATULA CT CS 2017 TATULA CT CS TYPE-R FUEGO CT 2019 TATULA 100 2020 Tatula Elite 2020 Tatula Elite PF 2021 Tatula CT 2021 Salamandura 150 These are all 34-mm dia spools, while Tatula 80 is 32-mm dia. Here's the line capacity on a 4-mm-deep spool 8LB 0.235mm 80 yd 10LB 0.260mm 75 yd 12LB 0.285mm 65 yd If you're fishing mono/fluoro, I would skip the heavily carved spools, and stick to a solid or lightly vented spool. Installing a new spool, always remember to back way off on spool tension knob, because spindle widths vary - without this, you can damage the palm plate latch. After you get the latch closed, set spool tension where you need. @Alex from GA pm sent

I can offer a significant, though expensive spool bearing upgrade. https://www.hedgehog-studio.co.jp/product/5510 MC-Squared offers dual-race hybrid-ceramic spool bearings that will both improve light-end casting, and don't have an upper load limit. Casting light weights, only the inner race and inner row of balls spin with the spool, giving you a microbearing. Casting heavier weights or with big drive load, the middle race and outer row of balls also spin, giving you unlimited load capacity. Bearing size for your Alphas is 1030 (2 ea) oops - just noticed they're OOS on the double-row 1030s. But they do have the 740 fancy handle-knob bearings.

Zillion ratchet plate only has 9 teeth, so it can turn up to 40 degrees before engaging the kick lever. @MN Fisher - note, this one is reversible - ha.

If you ever had a small frame Ambassadeur, the main shaft only has 4 kick posts, and you can turn the handle up to 90-degrees before anything happens.

The topic always comes up, spin vs. baitcast - this is always the correct answer. Casting spinning tackle is always utility - casting baitcaster is always fun.

There are 12 teeth on the mainshaft ratchet plate, which means the handle can turn up to 30-degrees before kicking the kick lever - one kick plate moves the thumb button, the second simultaneously moves the T-wing.

@islandbass, I've done both, mono backing on deeper spools, but I've gone more to shallow spools, where arbor knot + film tape works perfectly. Honestly, I've never used the clear tabs that come with Shimano spinning reels. Mylar film tape is amazingly tough - I use it for seizing knots on kayak trolley lines, and the tape lasts as long as the double-braid sailcord - drift fishing flats with a sock, the line/tape runs up and down hull fittings 20 times/day. The acrylic glue doesn't let go until you want to remove it, and it doesn't leave residue.

If you fish braid, they are very important - here, I'm using PE/acrylic mylar film tape for the same thing.

I retired my last Lew's BB-25 at the end of 2018 - it served me well 18 years. This is actually the last fish it caught, a 24" redfish. My BB-1NG from 1984 also coincidentally fished 18 years. I was happy enough with the Super Duty G bought the year before, I bought a second when they were closing out. Two higher-grade Lew's bought in the next 2 years, I sold them both in excellent condition (good seller's market then), because the SD's out-performed them in my niche. After researching, it was tough for me to bite the Daiwa bullet (we had a falling out over non-support of parts that first sent me to Lew's). I'm not the fan boy type, but if you want to ruin yourself, buy a new Daiwa.

Wrist-snap is the worst bad habit people bring from spinning tackle. It comes out at the worst possible time - when the desire is to cast farther, because that's what always worked with spinning tackle. If you read my linked primer above and analyze your backlash, you can figure it out.

@KP Duty I get that, and it's why 6-geared Steez was my first Daiwa in 40 years. I also have a perfect spot for 8-geared Zillion, inshore drift-fishing a kayak.

Don a pretty accurate reel tuning assessment by Jun Sonada is that getting the loaded spool mass down is a 20+% cast improvement. The bearing upgrade is about 10+% - in simplest priorities, the spool is the place to begin. Also note above, when I said mono backing, that means nylon - fluoro is 40% denser than mono, and that much heavier in the same volume. Improved Allbright is a little different, but any knot without this low profile on that big mono probably won't pass your line guide.

I have the advantage of a PhD thumb - really, it's a reflex - casting Ambassadeur weightless 40 years ago, understanding the physics of casting and backlash implicity, long history of tinker-casting 100-y-o NLW reels for grins. (hump photo dropped from link below) I build my own reels, and know how to set fixed mag for the lightest thing I'm going to throw, and fixed centrifugal for the heaviest. Done, nothing to adjust again, it will never backlash. Stock Zillion SVTW, Stock 1016 SV Boost spool, 12-lb fluoro, I get consistent 90' casts with 1/8 oz. That should be a target for you, set your mag brake there, and don't mess with it again. If you leave it there, you should be getting longer reliable casts with heavier weights. The rod loading properly is always part of the result - if the rod won't load the light weight, you can't blame the reel. If you want lighter and farther, for now, go to the spinning tackle. Later, you may want to consider an aftermarket spool that will let you set up an ML reel with threadline braid or lighter fluoro. But you don't want to go here until backlash is history.

Then don't do that. Cast with the lightest thing you're ever going to cast, and set your mag dial to prevent mid-cast backlash. You're done - you'll never get another mid-cast backlash. OK, if you're casting into the wind, add 2 notches on the mag dial. If you're getting start-up backlash, it's because you're snapping your wrist and jerking the spool - don't do that either - you want smooth acceleration and follow-through. Spinning tackle rewards wrist-snap jerk with extra distance. On a baitcaster, wrist-snap is start-up backlash - on a fly rod, wrist snap is a tailing loop that crashes the line into the rod. ^ This Means Something ^ Make sure you don't F with the spool tension knob, aka Zero Adjust - its purpose is to set Zero side play and Zero end tension on the spool. You do not adjust a Daiwa Zillion the same way you adjust a 1980 Lew's - ignore the people who tell you to. I have 2 fixed-inductor spools that the inductors are so light, I run them at 12 to 14. And they both cast 2 g past 130' v horse hockey v

MagForce/Z/SV works. Its function and simplicity is a stroke of genius, and I believe it will eventually be copied by everyone and become ubiquitous on all baitcasters. SLPW Zillion is based on HD with an improved clutch and drive. No brainer for me, because it doesn't come with handle and spool, which I would swap anyway (already have a back-up 1016 SV mono spool - I have total 7 spools that that swap between 4 reels). With a Ray's Studio SV spool, it glides right into my wide-range inshore niche - small lures, big fish.

@KP Duty SLPW Zillion, back in black

3/8 oz was long considered the low-end weight for a baitcaster from the turn of the last century up until just about a decade ago. When mini-Ambassadeurs came out in the '80s, 1/4 oz low end was a baitcaster coup. A few things you learn along the way, especially coming from inshore, where 1/4 oz vs. 1/8 oz can make all the difference between dragging up grass every cast and catching fish. Lighter line helps casting lighter lures to distance. Also, centrifugal brakes are better at preventing start-up backlash with heavy weights, while (linear) mag brakes are better dialing-out mid-cast backlash casting lighter weights. (you might hear something different from people who don't understand the physics) You cast light weight by reducing loaded spool mass (inertia), low-inertia spool bearings can also help. The next best thing to BFS is a linear mag reel, low-inertia spool bearings, and a deep spool fishing 20-lb braid. You back your spool with the largest-diameter mono you can fit, 20 to 25 yds of 20- to 25-lb mono. Tie a backing knot that will go through your line guide (improved allbright), and top with 100 yds braid. This works for casting 1/8 oz and, in my case, hauling in slot redfish.

It's about money. No, it's about fun.

I was on Zzeta Italy website last month, upgrading a couple of C3CT surf reel spindles to carboloy. Discovered they offer a barstock CT frame now for mini-Ambassadeur. Since I already had this multipiece rockfish baitfinesse rod for bike-pack shore fishing niche, decided I could make a really cool match with a custom 2500CIT - mini surf reel. Already knew it was cheaper to bypass a donor reel, and build entirely from a few OEM parts and balance of upgraded aftermarket parts. I ordered the frame and handle from Zzeta; CIAR side plates from ereplacement parts; spool, mag brake, trim, brake plate and complete drive from Avail, including ball-bearing pinion, 6.1 gears, alloy mainshaft and drag click-plate with integral roller-bearing sleeve. Since the Avail mag holder snaps into the frame L/S boss, this also lets me run a 2- or 4-pin centrifugal for also casting heavier weights. The barstock frame built a little tank, with wide-open thumb access. Currently has about 100-yds 5-lb Ultragreen mono, but after the brakes are dialed in and it casts like I want, will load it with PE#1 Varivas Si-X (22-lb). An opportunity fishing reel, mostly about casting fun.

photos borrowed from my #1 kayak-fishing bro, hill country rivers from kayak vs. shore fishing a navigation channel and a tide pass noteworthy, finesse rod length that doesn't equal 7' is part of success formula, and the same rod doesn't work in both niches.

Thanks, those are 2 different rivers at extremes of the TX hill country, west, to north. Full range of sunfish species, native northern largemouth, and endemic spotted bass I've spent most of my life busting in and wading the limestone runs with a short glass fly rod, 6' to 7-1/2' - red-ear, yellow-belly sunfish (yeah, big hens) Rio Grande cichlid are native in all hill country rivers my largest endemic bass hen (would have been the state record in 2005, but would have required a liver biopsy for feral smallmouth genetics - I released her instead - she's the screen saver on my desktop) sight-fished largemouth, and a striper that flooded over into trout tailwater our coldwater fishery at easterm end is another story... (8-lb rainbow buck) Regarding 8' rod for swimbait, I've fished rods as long as 9' in salt kayak - tall tip helps to keep heavily weighted paddletails in the zone above the grass.