Dan Strain

Seems obvious - but try spinning it onto the reel in the OPPOSITE direction than you are re: counter clockwise vs clockwise many handles feel like you screw them in “backwards”

Bass just wouldn’t bite so I threw UL and caught a few massive Shellcracker - pound for pound - these guys have great pull !!

I just discovered the Popmax and have caught a ton of bass on it already !! it pops / spits / walks - and had way better luck with it than the Pop-R or Rico even a 15lb carp hit the Popmax !!

The SD is longer and more parabolic so it will cast further than the Tachyon. I’ve been using the Tachyon mostly for 1/2oz compact finesse jigs. I’m not casting far - mostly 15-20 ft from my kayak. If you are looking for an all purpose rod - the Tachyon isn’t it. The Super Destroyer will cast further and handle a wider variety of presentations

I also LOVE my Tachyon Shaft !! I have offered it up for sale several times with no takers and thought “ I should give this another try.” It’s now my favorite jig rod - at least in my kayak !! I also have the SD and it’s maybe more versatile but there’s something about the TS. I’ve yet to lose a fish on it. It sticks em good !! I have a Steez SV TW on mine and I was throwing a weightless horny toad last week - no problem - that’s probably 1/4oz

Daiwa Zillion

here’s one that I bought - 2 of mine came out of my Steez SV TW that I swapped. I bought these from Asian Portal Fishing - although I’ve just ordered another one from Amazon… Same price and nowhere near as fast 3 of mine are the 1016 - one is a 1012 which came in one of my Steez and that’s actually what I’ve ordered through Amazon. I have the 1012 in a zillion on my 842c which I throw my lightest stuff on

I use a horny toad on a 1/4 Jika rig and swim it thru cover it gets crushed

You need to TRY a zillion with a Daiwa 1016 ( or 1012 ) spool and it’s THAT much better !! Way more “free” feeling - and you can keep the breaks considerably lower also I swapped spools with my Steez SV TW and the Steez is better with the SV BOOST and the Zillion is way better with the 1016 ( or 1012 for lighter baits ) i have 4 zillions and I don’t have the SV BOOST spool in any of them anymore it pretty much never backlashes

The 2.75” Yama-Dookie was delivered today - fished it weightless like the big one but it’s too light . Stuck it on an owner blockhead 1/16 and found a bunch of fish - 3-4 fish per dookie better than a 5” Senko

It’s available- just not in the USA . I buy 131 in “ neon chartreuse “ from overseas sellers on EBay. Its def my favorite braid right now - but also like YGK for the lighter finesse stuff

just curious… Why did you swap out the treble hooks?

My eyes need all the help they can get and I typically use smaller diameter braid Sufix 131- in Neon Chartreuse

Congrats - my 844 is my favorite baitcaster

I’ve found good success with the Owner Beast twist lock - 4/0 a regular EWG works but it tears em up pretty quick - with the twist you can get 5-6 fish on a single Yama-Dookie