Banned User

What did it hit?

I've seen people say that Bearings run better unsealed, is this true in all cases? Even with contactless seals? Should I leave my Bearings seal off after cleaning? I only fish freshwater so salt is not a concern

I wonder if that's made the difference, with factory bearings packed with grease it would make sense that it requires a bit more force to cast and is less consistent in terms of control and distance. Maybe I'll throw some ceramic hybrids in and see how it feels

I have no problem admitting I'm not the thumbiest person around, especially casting from awkward angles in a kayak. The Elite requires more attention than i have available in the black of night casting sideways with my back twisted and a breeze kisses the lure.... Did you clean the bearings or anything? @brophog I feel you on all that, prices are different now so zillion is about 3x the cost of this reel. You're right, no idea how long it will last, and maybe for a person fishing 15-20+ hours a week this might konk out sooner than a zillion. But maybe not... and even if it does the cost over time might not be so bad if it lasts at least 1/3 the time the zillion does. If it lasts half as long you're already getting a value return. Only time will tell, but as it stands 89 bucks for a very smooth solid great casting reel is hard to beat. @new2BC4bass glad to hear this effort was helpful 🍻

Never heard of Luxafi, would love to hear your thoughts if you grab one, definitely some nice reviews there. Purelure is a real contender in the CDM market. Purelure has an established presence, especially in the BFS world, and a solid line up of products. I've actually had conversations with Purelure through Amazon and Facebook. Yes, if the sale is decent I absolutely say go for it. I'm really fighting myself to not get another, I have absolutely ZERO need for another reel but I'm thinking of selling and making an excuse to get one. Unless someone chimes in with reel casting data for buzzbaits that entices me in that direction 😉 I haven't put very much time on it, no real world on the water experience (still solid out here), but I will say that it feels very nice to use. It is comparably smooth to just about all my Daiwas, maybe a touch behind but also 1/2 to 1/5 the cost USDM. The reel body is aluminum, can't remember if side plates are, and it feels sturdy. The brake dial feels plasticky, but they had to save our cost somehow and I don't mind it there over more integral components. The drag is smooth with a very crisp and not jarring or clunky zing to it. The drag adjustments are wide and well nuanced, goes all the way to "bass+10poundsofweedsaren'tpullingthis" I was thoroughly impressed by the SV spool, casts well controlled with great distance and without much exertion. The DC spool might be great too and did well enough with the stick worm test, seems like everything struggles with a buzzbait so maybe that wasn't a fair test. But the SV test really shined Its designed for the heavier side of things, so the reel is a bit bigger than the others I mentioned. Feels more like my Tatula 100 tw(2024) but maybe a bit wider jaw. With that, the spool capacity is also a bit bigger, particularly on the SV spool (DC capacity seems about on par with a typical 100 size reel). This past year I've really learned about reel/reel seat ergonomics. Certain reels feel more comfortable on certain reel seats but others feel better the other way. I did not find myself thinking "this feels weird" or fidgeting a bunch trying to make my hand comfortable. I'll grab and feel it again tomorrow, try to get a Pic next to some other reels, and can throw the calipers on it too if you want. Regardless, if its on sale I'll think you'd be pleasantly surprised and have no problem finding a home for it in your line up.

@JediAmoeba I'll check'em out Thanks for the tip, I respect off label money savers

@Swimbaitstud killer smallie from the bank bro, just sent a PM. Maybe we could orchestrate a north shore MA/Southern ME meet up with @Swamp Girl and anybody from the East coast MA/New England group, I feel like I see @DogBone_384 head north quite a bit. @JediAmoeba if somebody has never thrown a swimbait before what would be one or two you recommend to test the waters? Lead wrapped around hooks for weight?

I'd love input from anybody with A shimano DC reel, curious how they handle buzzbaits. I'm starting to get the sense that buzzbaits just have a max distance inherent in their design.

It seems I'm on an eternal quest for the farthest buzzbait casting reel. On this journey I've done a fair bit of relative comparisons and eyeballing casting distance. But I recently decided to take some lunch time trips with actual measurements to compare a few reels. Now I've seen countless videos of people doing reel shootouts where they make 5 or 10 casts and that's their data set. To be fair, some of them have "dialed in" the reel before the competition, but this doesn't really mean much. I spent at least 30 minutes with each reel testing its limits and finding where its most comfortable. I used the same rod, and same line for each reel. With the first competition I used 14# cajun mono (on sale 4 bucks for 850m) on a 6'9 MHF rod. I was casting a 1/2oz bullet weight with a 5 inch stick worm (4 inch stick worm for a couple, I'll indicate) in a parking lot and I measured the distance between parking spots for ease of comparisons (so give or take a couple feet depending on where it landed to the nearest white line). I started all reels with high/medium brakes and same for the spool tension. I would dial down the brakes and then bring them back up and dial down the tension until I found its limit or sweet spot. I had already mentioned my Lews LSF in a previous post, but I did include it here (with the new line and using the 5 inch worm) to have a spread of brands/brake styles. With one centrifugal brake on the magnetic dial didn't seem to make much of an impact as it would pretty consistently cast 90-100ft. Regardless of the dial being on 8 or 2 the distance was all within that range and the casts were pretty problem free. Once I turn the centrifugal brakes off the reel opens up and could get about 120ft, but this was at the cost of line management. It fluffed pretty easily and would nest a easily too. This ended with a bit early after the line snapped (abrasion frayed the line). I didnt bother to tie on and test the limits further as I felt I had enough data for that reel. I also tested a Shimano SLX MGL with Si3n4 bearings. This was cast using the 4 inch stick bait. I averaged about 110-120 ft and it fluffed relatively frequently, nested a couple times, was definitely sensitive to the wind, but was also one of the most accurate, casting in a very straight line. It didnt take very much force to achieve an acceptable distance, and from a kayak or a boat when target casting (aerodynamic lures) I think it would shine. I could tell that I won't need to try it with a buzzbait given how a slight breeze would fluff it up. Next up is the Tatula Elite, which is a bit of a double edged sword. I think for people with slick thumb control this is a great choice. It cast pretty far with relative ease, although line management asks quite a bit from the user. This averaged about 140-150ft, casting the 4 unch stick worm, and also would get past 150ft a number of times too. The Elite would get fluffy at times, can't recall the nesting situation although I feel it wasn't much. It handled better than the Lews, and if not maximizing distance (increasing the brake a bit) also better then the MGL. It will cast far, but you'll need to be paying attention the whole way through as your thumb will play an important role here. I also tested the new Purelure Zana Max dual spool reel. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by this reel. This was casting the 5 inch stick bait and I was blown away by how smooth everything feels with this reel. First I tested the DC spool/side plate and I'll be honest I forgot to make a note with this one, but it was definitely somewhere between 110-120ft with a pretty easy cast and good line control. I've never fished a DC reel before, and maybe I realized too late that it seems to prefer a smooth cast, but when I tried to chuck the lure it would fluff or nest on me. When I just took it easy it was pretty consistent and didnt require much force for acceptable distance and relatively carefree casting. Maybe i could've squeezed some more distance after learning how it likes to be treated, but with only so much time I had to move on. What took my breath away a bit was how the SV spool/sideplate performed. I expected the DC to be the star here, but the SV spool easily got to 140-150+ ft with much more control than the Tatula Elite, and also broke 150ft a few times. This didn't require much effort, was very consistent, very well controlled line, thumb input was minimal, and the retrieve in this is smoother than all the other reels mentioned so far. Now for the Daiwa Zillion SV TW. This reel also surprised me, as long as I've had it it's been my buzzbait reel. I haven't really thrown a whole lot else with it, so when I put the 1/2oz weight and 5 inch stick bait on I was floored by how much distance it got. Especially considering all the people who say that it is choked and the sv spools sacrifice distance, maybe the boost makes the difference here but this reel is not choked at all. It also averaged about 140-150ft with the same mindlessness as the Zana Max, was very consistent, minimal thumb required, and of course incredibly smooth. The Zana Max is very close in terms of smoothness, which I definitely did not expect. The interesting thing with the Zillion is the dialing in process is definitely a bit simpler than all the other reels. Only one or two turns of the dial would be all that's needed to deal with the wind while maintaining distance every when the wind stopped. This was most apparent when I actually put on a 1/2oz buzzbait (7'3 MHF rod still 14# Cajun) with a small grub trailer to finish out this round of the shoot out. With the dial on 6 with no wind it would cast about 100ft, with the wind about 120ft and against the wind about 80-90 ft. Even against the wind it didn't fluff much or all, and didnt lose very much distance. It stayed very well controlled on the same setting. The Zana Max needed a bit more tuning when going against the wind or with the wind to not lose distance or not fluff. The Zana max did well here and averagedabout the same 100ft, but the Zillion takes the cake for consistency and simplicity. The Zana Max did cast a bit farther on a number of occasions in this test, but I think the zillion takes the W here based on its predictability and ease of use. >>That being said, if I could go back and not spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on my other reels I would absolutely have a line up of multiple Zana Maxs, got it on sale for $89 and I'd take this over most reels between $180-$275 and not feel a lack of anything. Plus the drag clicker is smooth and crisp 👌

Wow quite a significant difference Good to know Crazy how even what they publish is in conflict with itself, nevermind generally under rating their capacity Are there any reliable accurate line counters out there?

Looking into my line up and considering what reels hold what lines to maximize how I'm setting them up I can't make this make sense The tatula 100 says 100 yards of 16# mono or 100 yards of 40# braid, going by Daiwa jbraid 40# braid is 10#mono equivalent. So how does the spool hold 100 yards of 16# mono and only 100 yards of 10# mono equivalent? Thus doesn't make any sense Same for the tatula Elite Here is Jbraid published dia

To dye Easter eggs

Missed the first comment on the first page, @KP Duty thanks for bringing this thread back up and making me go through it again. Both of you thinking of things I definitely wouldn't have

If they call back just clarify... "it contains Duralumin" Let then figure out the made up tax on that made up material

Like you might go over?

I was thinking the same thing about this one, i very well may grab the blank and make myself a 1-2oz top water/wakebait/glidebait rod.

I started using a hybrid rod last season, only got a chance to use it a few times, but they went from being hooked just barely on the cheek and maybe with the bladed jig hanging out of the side to having a bladed jig uvula I respect some big game around rock and wood, I'm mostly around Matt's and pads so I'm straight braid most of the time.

My understanding is each foot of snow is about an inch, we're still gonna be well behind up here. I'm expecting floating fish early this season

Ha I didnt realize the quote selection must've dropped the rest without me noticing I was wondering why you do 40#braid to 20# mono for bladed jigs. What is your rod and reel?

Welcome to America It's a technicality, there's aluminum in the reel and they're charging on the reels price not on the amount of aluminum in the reel. But I've seen dudes paying an extra hundred bucks or more, its bonkers

Why do you do it this way?

I definitely didn't know that the Revo was like that, and although I never thought the SV reels I've used were choked i didnt think it would only be within about 3 yards of any other reel (properly set up of course). Did you measure the casting distance or eyeball it? Thanks for sharing

I used have some good luck there way back in the day, at some point I started seeing lots of people there with coolers full of every single thing they caught at any size, from 3 inch sunfish to American Eels to 6 inch bass. Me and my pops stopped even trying there after everything was over harvested I'm still settling in north of Neponset, happy to hit the water with ya sometime once the water is wet I'm down for a south shore get together too, I'd love to have a shot at some smallies

Just squeezing the 99% a little more is all, at least my groceries are costing me more than ever. I've been on the fence about getting something JDM, I don't really need another reel but before this gets any worse and I need to start fishing to feed my family maybe I should get one more before it's too late