Sir Shamsalot

I've owned the SLX, SLX XT, and the Curado K. The XT feels so much better over the SLX. Between the two, I'm buying the XT. Now between the Curado K and the XT. The XT is very noticeably smaller and lighter than the K. It dissappears in the hand. The XT has a bit less drag, but it is a joy to fish with especially when distance casting can be hindering. Reel speed, this gets over looked but can be important. The SLX line above above the 6:1 is now where near as fast as the K. The SLX 8:1 is just barely faster than the K 7:1. Now the K. Nothing below the $250 range that I've used or seen can outcast a K. That includes the DC, and I own one of those too. The K is notably smoother on the retrieve, and has an above average lure weight range to include swimbaits below 4oz. Between choosing the two, it depends on your intended use. "LadyBass" on YouTube has an excellent review for the SLX line up. She specifically addresses the XT.

No problem. I feel Daiwa really hit a home run with their Elite line up. The Pitch/Flip is one of the best close quarter combat reels you can get for weight to pitch distance. The Long Cast gets the same accolades. Now the SV TW's are some if not the best around reels i own.. I recommend palming both the older and the new SV's. Besides size, the older has a bit higher drag. In fact, I reeled in a 42 inch musky with the older SV in a massive weed flat on a long cast that I definitely was not expecting to catch. Good Luck & Tight Lines

I own the SV's, the Elite, and the DC. The first thing I noticed was the DC's weight. It felt like i tied a brick to my rod. The DC's is pretty nice for the price. But if my DC is out casting my Elite distance wise, I don't notice it. Having casted the Elite and the DC for a good amount of time, i decided to replace a couple other reels. I bought 2 more Elites. The Elites are just a joy to fish with. They're relatively small, noticably much lighter, palm nicely, cast ridiculously far, and feel so solid. I was using my favorite 1/2oz double Colorado spinnerbait with it, and it felt so smooth.

I think that actually Denny Brauer and his Ardent Apex Flippin reels may have solved it first with its super narrow spool and absolute cannon for a line guide. Granted that line guide was fixed, so it was not the best for line management. Yet, he appears to have been on to something.

My first was an Abu Garcia Ambassador 500 that I bought back in.... okay i bought it a long time ago. Worn it out in under a week in Canada where I was on a roll with it; 4 cast 4 trophy fish one evening, and I filled my fish limit with large keepers the following evening. The bearings where gone in 4 days. I still have that reel. It casted like a Casitas when it still worked, and I'm thinking of having it dipped in bronze. That's the reel I had. Though when I measured it, it was more like a 4.8:1

I fell for my Legend X MH/EF. I just purchased the 7' 4" Legend Xtreme and am agonizing over a reel to pair it with. I want to be able to skip and long cast though not long bomb if that makes sense. I prefer to use straight 20lb FC. So far, I've narrowed down my choice between a Tatula SV TW103, Metanium MGL, or a Steeze SV Tw. Any recommendations and insights would be greatly appreciated.

Only one rod in my arsenal... My Dobyns Fury 735c Magnum Heavy with a Tatula 150 or similar sized reel. I'm amazed at the versatility of this rod. It chucks 3/8oz in-line spinners easily 40 yards plus cause of its phenomenal tip, and then you can turn around and tie a swimbait on it. It can pitch, swimjig, spinnerbait, frog, and more. Though a bit long, I feel it would work well with jerbaits even. I'd definitely have to lighten the drag for the lighter hooks, but it could do it. My 2nd choice would be one of my MH/MF rods.

Depends on the jig and rig I'm using. On my finesse jig rod I use 15lb Tatsu. On my heavier fluorocarbon hook jig rod, I use 20lb Tatsu. I love it. I can feel the bites even on slack line, and it is such a plus. I can even feel and tell a blue gill nibble when slack. I used these for docks and open water situations. When I fish the weeds, I switch to straight braid and heavier braid jig hooks.

I use both. I'm right hand dominant. I started with mainly LH reels cause it felt a bit more natural. I spent most of my time fishing out of the back of the boat, and the LH reels gave better hook sets casting towards the 3 to 6 and 9 to 12 o'clock positions relative to boat position. Now I fish more out of the front of the boat, and have switched more to RH reels. I still use both. When I'm out fishing though, I prefer to only have all RH or all LH so that my muscle memory stays the same on that outing. I did try flipping with LH reels but that didn't work out. To be clear i mean flipping not pitching or punching. With the reel handle pointing towards the pulled line, I would often catch the reel handle so I went RH, and never looked back.

I need to amend that lure weight range. It's 3/8 to 1.5. The Met 2020 is definitely on my radar, but I haven't heard much about how it handles the heavier FCs (17 to 20lb) which i prefer over braid for open water situations. Ever since feeling the bite on slack line, I've been sold on it.

Hello, I'm currently in the market for a high end rod for working jigs. Most notably swim jigs and bottom dragging. I'll most likely use 20lb FC cause I've absolutely fallen for it and detecting bites even on slack line. What I'm looking for is recommendations on a reel. I'd looking preferably for something on the lighter side, good for a wide range 3/8ths up to 2oz, a fair capacity for when I make a long cast in open water, and I really don't want to go heavier than the Tatula Elites or SV TW. These I have experience with and love them. Any other reels I should also consider? I own several Shimanos, and Lews. Abu-wise, I've only used the winch which was a great reel for me. I am willing to pay for quality.

In your price range, I recommend the Tatula Elite. Its one of the lightest reels in range. I own both the Elite and the Curado DC as well as many others in-between (SLX, Curado Ks, Daiwas). Both are on comparable rods. Both cast very similar as far as distance. After casting the Elite for awhile however, the DC felt like I was casting a brick on a stick. Don't get me wrong, I really really like my DC, but given a choice at buying another it would be the Elite. Which I have, three times now because of its casting distance, the braking system, size, and its weight. I also fish straight FC alot in open water and I have less issues with the Daiwas using it.

For me its about a bit of history. My area didn't use to have the smallmouth fishery it does today. Back then, a 3lbs smallie was really something to catch. Then you have the introduction of zebra mussels and gobies. That cleaned the waters that a sight oriented hunter like the smallmouth really needs, and an abundance food source for them to grow on.

I own them both. The elite handles/casts things like spinnerbaits so smoothly. I use it for my long distance stuff; spinnerbaits, lipless cranks, and sim jigs.. The SV is my lighter/skipping bait rig. It's well worth the extra money.

You're right my bad. The SLX XT does. You're right. The SLX does not. It has 3 +1 bearings. I ment the 4 +1 SLX's like the XT, MGL, and DC. For whatever reason, spellchecker, forgetfulness, or just being tired, the "XT" was missing.

The SLX does have "X-Ship." All X-Ship Technology" is a double bearing supported pinon. I suspect its not on the box because its a selling point for the more expensive reels. If you look at the Tranx 200, it has a double supported pinion as well and the X-Ship identifier. Something to keep in mind, micro gears or tighter pitched gears means tighter tolerances. All micro gears have to have a pinion that is rigidly supported or the gearing can come out of mesh which usually results in gear damage.