PBBrandon

Looking at them side by side, the 103SV frame is a touch longer and it’s a little heavier. They feel a little different in hand

The 100 and 70/80 size Daiwas palm a lot better than the Tatula 150. I had a Tat 70SV and it was good, but the Alphas SV is a lot better and cheaper from Japan. If you are looking at US market Tatulas, you can get a lot more bang for your buck getting an Alphas SV (80 size) or a Zillion SV (100 size) from Japan. 2 top of the line reels for Tatula prices. Both are very good in hand (subjective of course), but performance wise, both reels have no flaws

I’ve seen them on Amazon for 210-220. That’s a heck of a deal

Tatula SV if backlash resistance is your main goal. Best reel out there in that department

Is there any difference other than the price? And is it worth 100 dollars over the Zillion SV? Gonna pick one up to put on a Steez AGS BC2. I love my Zillions and if the Steez isn’t any better then I’d rather just get another Zillion. Thanks y’all!

Yeah BGs are bulky, a 3000 BG isn’t like most 3000s. 2500-3000 should be perfect. I typically do 2500 because I’m not a huge fan of T handles that come with most 3000s. But either should be fine

The rod should be good, you want that moderate-mod/fast action for cranking. As for the reel, a lot of people prefer slower gear ratio reels for cranks. I usually use a 6:1 but I sometimes use 7:1 for squarebills. An 8 speed should be fine if you are just throwing those shallow divers. It would just wear you out if you try to throw a deeper diver with that reel. Crankbaits have a lot of resistance when reeling them in. Slower gear ratios help with keeping you from tiring out. Think of throwing a crankbait like biking uphill. Using that higher gear ratio may help you pedal faster, but it’s gonna burn you, as opposed to dropping to a lower gear ratio

You can use one brake and be fine. I run 1 shoe on when I’m bomb casting lipless cranks or football jigs. 90% of the time I run 2 on, 2 off, a little play in the spool and just use the outside dial when making adjustments

Well I think I decided on the Steez AGS. Gonna probably put a Zillion SV or get a Steez A2 for it. Prices from Japan on those reels are the lowest I’ve seen in a while. Bait monkey can’t resist lol

Thanks for the help! Starting to lean more NRX or Steez now. How long is the warranty on the Steez rods?

Well I’m finally ready to jump off the deep end and into top of the line rod territory. Outside of my Daiwa BLX, all of my rod are in the 150-300 dollar range. (Not that I paid full price for any of them, can always find discounts lol). But I need help picking an all round bottom contact rod. I mainly fish from a kayak, and currently carry 3 rods on it when I fish. I plan on adding a couple of rod holders to make it 5, and likely will have this starting lineup 7’2” HF Daiwa BLX (jigs/frogs) Rod X (jig/T-rig) Dobyns Champ XP 734 (moving baits) 7’2” MHM St. Croix LTB (crankin) 7’0” MF Shimano Expride B (spinning) One of the biggest factors imo is warranty. If I’m spending this much on a rod, I want to make sure it’s covered if anything happens. So I’ve narrowed it down to Dobyns Xtasy 754c Daiwa Steez AGS BC2 GLoomis NRX+ 893c I love all of my Dobyns and Daiwa rods, never have experienced a Loomis. I’m open to all suggestions but these are the top 3. Thank you

It’s usually black and blue or green pumpkin for me, but when I do throw PB and J it usually works pretty well

Out of those 2, the SX is probably the better all round reel. Liked my gen 4 SX until it got geary. I’m a fan of the Tat 150, but not for skipping. A Tatula 100 or a Curado MGL 150 would be great choices as well.

If you are talking about a “do it all” for pitching/flipping/frogs then any 7ft-7’4” heavy rod will be good. I like my 7’4” HF Tatula Elite AGS for throwing the most techniques out of my heavys. Medium/large Swimbaits and A-rigs is a different story. I would never throw anything like that on a normal heavy. Broke that rule last weekend on lake Skiatook when I was tossing a Yum flash mob jr on my 7’3” HF Daiwa Rebellion. Snapped on the cast and the warranty expired a month prior. Felt fine, but it couldn’t handle it. Something like a Dobyns Champ XP 795sb would be very versatile for moving baits

I use a 7.4 Curado K and have to pay attention that I don’t reel too fast. The 6.4 is probably better but it depends on your natural retrieve. Easy to zone out when casting and straight retrieving a lure

SLX XT is a fantastic reel. If you can swing the MGL then even better, but my SLX XT held its ground with my Curados back when I still had it

Never used a Loomis but the Expride is an amazing rod. Both are great choices though

Depends on the situation for me but some form of a MH-H fast rod is the standard. The rods I throw a T-rig on are 7’2” MHF Expride B (main t-rig rod) 6’10” MHF Zodias (skipping, sniping cover) 7’3” HXF Legend Tournament (grass and brush) 7’2” HF BLX (weeds, pitching)

Got the 7ft ML casting rod. 76 dollars total ?

Can’t decide on the 7ft medium or medium light regular casting. Probably gonna get the medium light to complement my 705cb fury and 7’2” MHM LTB rods. How much off is the sale usually?

That daiwa has your name on it. better than a lot of $200 rods out there

Yeah I have the 7’3” HF Rebellion as well and hated how thick it was at first. Got used to it and actually find it comfortable to hold. I’m guessing the thick blank has something to do with the HVF construction but I could be wrong. My BLX 7’2” HF is the same way. 7’3” HXF St. Croix Victory would make a great rod for bottom contact. I have the same model in the LTB series and it is great. More like a MHF but it has a ton of backbone. You could also get a Tatula elite. They have pretty thin blanks on them. Dobyns Kaden/Sierra/Champion and Shimano Zodias are also really good rod lines

Zillions are a blessing and a curse. Amazingly smooth, amazing casters, clicking drag. But it’s hard to go back to Tatulas and Curados after using them lol. I will say if you haven’t tried the Alphas SV, it is just as smooth, casts almost as well, and is a little cheaper which your wife might appreciate ? the Zillion just fits in hand so perfectly. congrats on the new Zillion, I doubt it’ll be your only one ?

Also don’t leave your Zman soft plastics in the car…I get reminded of that every summer

Some people like it, some people don’t. I’ve never really tried it, but I see no reason to personally. To each their own.