QED

Seems as if I am in the minority here, but I usually buy the highest numerical gear ratio version that is available. For slow fished bottom contact use cases, the gear ratio doesn't matter. For things like crankbaits and spinnerbaits I've always retrieved in such a way that the feel of the oscillation frequency of the lure dictated how fast I would spin the handle, so the angular velocity of the handle was a dependent function of the oscillation frequency of the lure and so RPM varied as necessary. But with a high gear ratio reel, you can always rip the lure back really fast once you are outside the strike zone - so there's that. YMMV

Shimano did USDM ultralight carbon fiber casting rods with cold forged aluminum reel seats/rubber grips in the early eighties. They were slightly stiffer than the UL spinning gear of the time but could handle 4 -10 lb test and 1/16 - 3/8 oz lures quite well. That would probably qualify as BFS gear now.

Bike fishing? Never even thought about that! Thanks, that's my new goal this season. But road bikes don't usually do well off road so I'll have to do some research to find suitable venues.

Scored at the 99th percentile on the SAT/LSAT/GMAT. And have all the corresponding degrees to prove it. ?

Daiwa makes a telescoping casting rod as well as 3-section travel rods that come with a semi-hard case. https://daiwa.us/collections/travel-rods I have used their UL 4-section spinning rod and it works quite well.

The promo is probably being paid for by Daiwa USA so it makes sense that they would decline grey market sales for which they never profited from. Same thing with warranty expense. Paying for promotions, warranty, and support for products you didn't sell is a sure way to lose money.

Phenix K2 or St. Croix Legend Xtreme rods. I understand that this reply isn't directly responsive to your original query but you should at least do some research into these two product lines. Excellent stuff.

Pure Fishing was purchased by private equity firm Sycamore Partners back in early 2019. PE firms buy what they believe to be under performing companies to improve their operations in order to maximize the value of the acquired companies and then cash out through a liquidity event. So shedding unprofitable brands/businesses is standard operating procedure. Brand nostalgia isn't a big factor in that calculus.

This one actually put up a pretty good fight, but I was using UL spinning gear.

Rudy Project Rydon. Brilliant sunglasses. https://www.rudyprojectna.com/products/rydon?variant=31503744794689&ab_version=B&gclid=CjwKCAjw3cSSBhBGEiwAVII0Z5rY6TRVRY7IP_yZolrkWC8v0XUrlboN0yagWDATai4slhROF9eQTxoCBc4QAvD_BwE

Exams are difficult? That's news to me. Perhaps it's just you...

Sorry, I guess I was a little imprecise in my response. I have ordered shimano parts for my aldebarans directly from shimano but I haven't had occasion to order curado or metanium parts. You should call or email the shimano folks to get an exploded view diagram and part number list for your specific reel or just ask them for the part number of the component[s] you need. In the case of Daiwa, they were kind enough to email me the diagram and part number document for my specific reel so I was able to order that way.

A reliable starter kit should include 4" green pumpkin senkos and at least one black and one chartreuse spinnerbait.

Has Pflueger even been relevant in recent years? Creative destruction is a good thing.

Agreed that the industry standard terms for action and power are interpreted somewhat differently from brand to brand but to coin altogether new terms that aren't even descriptive (magnum usually refers to a wine bottle size or a belted large capacity cartridge) is just intentionally creating consumer confusion to avoid comparative shopping.

As consumers, we should boycott firms that use marketing speak instead of objective industry standard terms.

Not quite responsive to the original query, but the black and gold Twin Power reel is a pretty good option. A bit spendy but cheaper than a Stella and almost as good.

Roland Martin is a big proponent of #297 green pumpkin/black flake senkos. They work well enough for me.

Rapala and Bagley balsa wood baits. Still using them with great success. Now the two companies seem to have been unified, which is probably not a bad thing. Also Mann's jelly worms and auger tails. Still available and give your tackle boxes a pleasant smell!

Thank you for this book reference. Just ordered it from Amazon. It pre-dates me by quite a bit but am always interested in seeing how the sport has evolved.

How did you isolate the issue to the snaps?

Word!

BFS is both productive and fun.

Zombie thread but the answer is simple. Ultralight, BFS, and light casting gear (i.e., finesse) can catch fish in difficult conditions where regular gear may not. It's just an additional tool in the shed. A more interesting question is why not use finesse casting gear when conditions are appropriate?

If you don't already have them, ultralight spinning and casting rigs. That's what I use most of the time at my local lake.