T2DM

Got this in today from Digitaka, my third one but in a 6.2 speed, tried it already and this thing is a winch!!!

Good thing you called them about it and hopefully everything is ok with it once its fully dry. I looked the parts up on their website and the DC assembly (144NU) alone is listed for $213.94 and the whole side plate assembly including the DC module (1469S) is listed for $350.06!!! Yikes! Was it hard to access the bearing by the way?

Recent DC modules should be sealed, if it's a 24 Metanium DC then this video might help. FF 0.53 sec. Hard to say what kind of debris got in there, the only thing I would be concern about in the DC module assembly is the spool bearing. I would make sure everything is functioning normally after it's completely dry before doing anything, then just a drop off oil in the bearing and call it a day. If not, then proceed with the disassembly with extreme caution or send it in to someone who knows what they're doing. I've ruined one of my 17 Scorpion DC module due to not being patient enough and lack of experience, made me sick for a while🤮 I blame this guy for everything, he told me I should be able to do it!

One of my super smooth 7 speed 22 Bantam finally went Geary on me yesterday luckily, I know exactly what to do and have done it quite a few times on most of my reels and that is replacing the X-Ship bearing and everything is back to normal. This procedure has been pretty consistent at least in my case. I've even swap gear set in the past just to be sure. I never had a problem with MM gear, the only time I had a problem with it was when I bought a new gear set to slow down my Chronarch MGL and Shimano sent me a defective set, not sure if it's the main gear or the pinion but they ended up replacing both. The problem was after installing new the gear set there was ticking noise on the same spot every handle rotation. I've read somewhere that Culcatta series reels even uses a much finer MM gears and to be honest, My 17 Scorpion DC which has the HEG gearing is more geary than my MM gear reels. Just sharing my experience that's all.

Yep, this guy won't leave me alone last night! So same here, from same place, also 6 speed but LH.

I like the looks of the 18 better but there are 3 major improvements compared to 18 Bantam, 22 Bantam is worth the upgrade IMO.

This is from Shimano Japan website and might help a little. You might have mis type 03849 as supposed to 03859, USDM 18 and 22 Bantams are exactly the same reel as JDM, just brought over as "USDM version". I have two 18 USDM Bantam, 1 is a 6 speed and one is a 7 speed, and they match Shimano product codes in the picture above as well as my two 22 Bantams. So, the only way to tell really is through the packaging and manuals, paperwork in the box. If it's all in Japanese, then it's obviously a JDM reel. Silver box is 18 Bantam MGL.

I think 13 Met is 100 size spool and 20 Met JDM is 70 size spool.

Yep! I strongly agree! I like my setup a lot!

Expride B 72MH-Moderate is not really a full glass rod, I think it's a blend of glass and carbon/ graphite materials, but someone in here that owns one will chime in soon, I'm sure. I do have the A and B Expride both in 72MH-Fast and they're fine with chatter bait and more versatile than the glass version of. This should help:

Overall, Yes, but I don't use all of them at the same time, half of them are my winter reels and half are summertime reels and on rotation most of the time, so they don't get used a lot if you know what I mean, but I can tell you this based on my experience that my none "Solid Core" reels loses that out of the box smoothness quicker by a little bit overtime. When they start to sound "Raspy or Geary" then I just replace the X-ship bearings and they're back to smooth and quiet again, it's kind of a repeat process on some of them that is why I keep a few of those bearings around. Maybe it's a byproduct of the whole double bearing supported pinion thing? On the other hand, My Solid Core Reels gets smoother the more I use them which I find strange cause all these reels basically use the same internal parts. This experience makes me want to stick with Core Solid Reels on future purchases, but then again, in some case, no reels that are identical feels the same. Nothing wrong with non-solid reels but the quality just feels more consistent on Solid Core reels IMHO.

Yes, I replaced the stock T handle with a factory casting knob typically found in Curado K, Curado MGL 150. All my reels both casting and spinning have the same knobs, I just like them all to feel somewhat the same.

My new Twin Power C3000XG on GCX 853S.

Got one on its way! I heard a lot of good things about it from this guy!

22 Bantam 6.2 Gear ratio, good reel for what you're going to use it for. Go JDM if you can, should be cheaper but no warranty. SHIMANO - REEL - CASTING REEL - BANTAM (digitaka.com) DC reels would be up to you, but get the one with iDC-5, better system IMO.

TOP: 23 JDM Metanium 100 BOTTOM: 20 USDM Metanium 150B Not by much though.

I'm exactly same way, most of my jerk bait reels and winter setup are all 6.X gear ratio and never had any issues.

USDM: 20 Metanium 150 (all 3 Gear ratio) 24 Metanium 70 DC (HG & XG only) JDM: 20 Metanium 70 (all 3 Gear ratio) 22 Metanium Shallow Edition (all 3 Gear ratio) 23 Metanium 100 (HG & XG only) 24 Metanium 70 DC (all 3 Gear ratio) USDM & JDM 24 Metanium DC 70A, 22 Bantam 150A, 18 Bantam MGL, Aldebaran BFS and a few more are pretty much identical. Sorry, it's so confusing with all these dang reels sometimes that I have to write them down to get a good night sleep!😵‍💫 Man, I need a new hobby!😂

Directly from Shimano US, if they don't have it and I need the part pretty bad then I buy them from ereplacementparts.com, they are Shimano authorized parts dealer. 20 USDM Metanium Spool assembly should fit and it's in stock the last time I looked (8/6/24). 100BS – Shimano US Fish Shop Depending on the reasons as to why you want to replace a JDM 100 spool, going from JDM 100 to USDM 150 spool size might not be worth it, JDM 70 to USDM 150 might be, but it's all up to you.

Wow! That's some awesome stuff once again! Thanks for all of your knowledge and contributions in here, I sure do appreciate it, and I've learned a lot. I'm sure a lot of guys in here feels the same way. You're like the MacGyver of Fishing reels.

Any cheap mono 8-10lb about a few yards or straight braid but use the spools port holes to tie the braid first so it won't slip, there are few ways to do it and a lot of guys in here have all kind of advice. Black Max should come with carbon drag washer and should last quite a long time. I'm pretty sure the drag washers are fine.

My Stradic FL 1000 looks better than yours...just because!🤣 but @bulldog1935's FL 1000 for some reason looks way better than both ours combined!😂 They just look so dang sexy!

150 size spools for jerk bait fishing are a little overkill IMO. I have SLX DC XT, 24 Metanium DC both are 70 sizes for very windy winter day and Curado 71K MGL, JDM 23 Metanium 101 MGL on a slightly windy winter day. I also think the new 24 SLX 70A should be good for this application too.

Gears usually are not supposed to cause any line slippage issues but a worn out drag washer could, assuming the line is spooled or with correct backing (mono or some kind of tape). Re-spool with correct backing and you should be good to go.

Line is slipping off the spool maybe? is it braided line?