WesMoran

Alright, I’ll try not to detract from the original topic anymore than I have already, but since you asked for a follow up, I decided today’s results would say a lot. I ended up spooling the Ardent Apex Elite up with some 40lb Power Pro I had sitting around, as I just got in a batch of hard glide baits, all 1oz or 3/8oz. I threw her on a 7’ H-F Mojo Bass I also just got in, that I’m plan to use as an intro to swim baits and for hollow and hardbody frogs. The rod isn’t quite right for the job of the 1oz or under swim baits, even though it’s rated 3/8-1.5oz. So after some quick cast yesterday evening just to see how those retrieved, I decided today to throw it over on to a Gen 2 13 Fishing Omen Green - that’s a 7’1” M-MF. I’ve been throwing 20lb Power Pro Super Slick on the Okuma TCS with this rod for sq. bills and lipless. I’ve not gotten any hits this late fall on sq. bills, but have had a little success with lipless on it here more into mid winter. Long story short - today - throwing a Yo-Zuri Prism 3DB, I got in with the rest of my order, I was getting hammered. I landed easily what I’m gonna call my PB largemouth coming in at 5.4lbs (previous PB was never weighed but assumed to be 5lbs) and this was one cast after a 3.1lber, and 12 cast later I landed a final 3.54lber. These are big fish for me considering I’ve only got about 120yds of bank to fish on a private, community lake/pond, and I’ve only been catching sub 2lb all the way down to 9”ers since about October. The Good The reel absolutely sheds line like it’s nobodies business. The level wind guide, while not being identical to the TCS, is similar enough in its oval shape that even this slightly corse wound 40lb braid flies freely from it without any interference. I continuously turned down the MBS for less and less cast assistance, and continuously gave the spool tension knob less and less tension. I have a bad tendency to snap cast since I’m new to baitcasting reels, and I often struggle with thumb discipline, giving her the old thumbs up on cast. No matter how free I let the spool be, nor how poor the cast, this thing kept up. Not a single backlash was had for the day. The other things to note which are neither bad nor good are: The reel being a metal frame has a good reassuring feel to it. It is slightly more compact in size than the TCS, but actually seems to sit marginally higher on the rod. The two of these combined make something, that while small, actually still palms pretty comfortably. The Bad (minor gripes) The Apex Elite, even with the recent clean, lubrication, and additional 3 bearings seams a bit loud. I don’t think this is necessarily the real but potentially more so the braid currently on it. The on paper advantage it has over the TCS is the 3 bearings, one on either side of the worm gear shaft, and one additional at the spool where the pinion gear rides on the frame. So in total you’ve got one bearing on the plate side, one on the drive side of spool, one at the frame where the pinion is, and one as a spool shaft support at the spool tension knob. With all of that said, there is still a considerable more amount of gear noise on retrieve, either at the pinion a bearing interface, or again it could be potentially line to guide oriented. Further gripes, which I’m sure could be remediate down are the MBS, which for all of its glorious performance today, just isn’t my cup of tea. I never quite knew when I’d cross the limit of too much freedom, and think I’d find a more permanent setting if it was strictly centrifugal like the TCS, and thus the enjoyment would probably grow 10 fold. The handle is a nice size, not too compact, not too long, but the drive shaft itself seems a bit shorter than I’m use to, leaving me feeling like I’m trying to retrieve with my reeling hand much closer to the body of the reel itself. All in all, I’d say that this reel is a considerably nice option. For having bought it used for $40, I would say I made a good deal. It easily is more enjoyable then the previously tested Gen3 Revo SX, my Pflueger Supreme, and internally is more well built than the KastKing Spartacus I previously serviced. At the end of the day I would say it performs similar to the TCS, but if given the option of choosing between the two, I’d probably still pickup the TCS first if I could get a second of one of the two for the same price as each other. The Ardent won’t be going anywhere soon, and because of the slightly slower ratio but slightly higher TPI, it will probably remain as the dedicated crankbait reel, for when I just want to cast the TCS for everything else I love that’s not a straight retrieve (i.e. poppers & Jerkbaits.) The only other change that will come with the Ardent will be Carbontex drag washers that were in the mailbox today when I got home. The existing washers, as I believe I stated previously seemed a bit soft, and potentially compromised from too much grease, or possibly long term water exposure. It was important to note that on today’s 3.5lber and 5.4lber, with about 65-70% drag set, there was a little more slipping than I was expecting. Here is today’s almost full bag.

I could definitely tell after opening every reel and cleaning and lubing them (they are secondhand after all) that the Spartacus seems the least well built out of everything I’ve cracked open. I’m going to spool it up soon. I’ve already opened her up and cleaned it out and relubricated it. I can tell so far from being in it that there are good parts and parts I’m questioning. So far tolerances all seem acceptable. I haven’t quite decided what it’s use will be, as the bite here in Louisiana has been slow, or at least it is on my 125 yd section of bank. I’ve ordered Carbontex drag washers to go in it, just because the existing washers are non-carbon and seem overly soft, like they were greased or subjected to oil or excessive water. So far the only wish I have was that it was a centrifugal braking system over MBS. But we’ll see how well she cast and how easy she is to tune. I think I’ll spool it up with 40lb power pro and cast some 1oz swim/glide baits I just got in from TW. So far she’s the slowest ratio I have, but has the highest TPI. Going to try her on both the new rods I’ve picked up; a 7’ HF Mojo Bass & a 7’ MHF Avid X. I’ll let you know what I figure out once I’ve cast her a few hundred times.

Just thought I’d throw my 2¢ on an old thread, Incase someone comes looking in the future. I just got into baitcasters for the first time in September. I started out with a Pflueger Supreme, then purchased a Revo 3 SX, then a Helios TCS. The pflueger is still rigged up, but only because it’s the only 7.1 I have. The Revo I was not a fan of, so I sold it to a coworker. The Helios TCS (I know were talking about the SX) is so far the nicest reel I’ve casted. I literally would have 4 more if I wasn’t in the process of trying other things. I’ve had the Helios 4 months now, and bought a KastKing Spartacus at about the same time that I haven’t even spooled up to try. Going forward, I’ve just bought an Ardent Apex Elite to try, and I’m waiting on a seller to ship an original model, 10 bearing, Okuma Citrix, with the externally adjustable centrifugal brake. I can see unless I get brave and try to find steals on a couple Shimano models, or try Daiwa, I probably won’t buy any other real in the future other than Okuma. and just to instill a little bit of jealousy... I bought my TCS like new w/ box, but secondhand for a whopping $60 shipped.