Banned User

I remember back in 2009 when I thought i had made a mistake but I was wrong, don't hate me for being right 🤪 But what did it tell you that I might not know?

I'm in the same boat, one more reason I'm swapping to hybrid ceramic or full ceramic, easier to hear how the cast is going

@bulldog1935 Okay cool, I'll definitely mess around with it for sure and see what happens. That 30ft gain with no centrifugal brakes was completely unexpected, but it was a very calm day. Crazy how one brake pad can make that huge of a difference. And of course it was a very aerodynamic lure I plan to do some testing with my other reels as the opportunity arises For dual braking systems or all centrifugal and all magnetic braking systems? That's what I do with my Daiwas

So basically set the brakes once and leave it, then only adjust the spool tension going forward?

I dress like I'm ready for a cold snap when its 90° out to avoid mosquito bites as much as possible, those thin fishing shirts with the hoods get bit right through. I'm either double layers I have a khaki jacket I wear that is woven too tight and a little too think for them to penetrate and reach me.

Videos on YouTube where they do a "casting test" but don'tactually measure the distance of the casts are stupid. So I did a test of my own, to test how the dual braking works on a Lews Custom Black. Now I wasn't trying to see how far it could cast generally speaking, so I didnt use a 7'6 rod for my lunchtime lure launch. I ran downstairs before leaving for work when I saw that it was gonna be in the 40s, grabbed the reel and a rod real quick, 6'9 MHF, and ran out the door. Part of my motivation for this test was that I had upgraded the bearings to ceramic hybrid and was anxious to feel the difference. I do wish I had an opportunity to cast with the old bearings more recently, I haven't casted this reel in 5/6 months, but it was noticeable how much easier it was to get a cast out without exerting much energy. I started with 2 centrifugal brakes on and magnetic dial on like 8, casting a 1/2 oz bullet weight with a 5 inch stick bait. I was able to bring those magnetic brakes to just about off and maxed out about 80 ft on avg. I popped open the side and switched one of the brakes off and brought the external dial back up a bit. With one centrifugal brakes I was able to bring the magnetic dial down to 2 and averaged about 96ft. Now on the way down to 2 on the magnetic brakes I would make some casts at each whole interval and then half intervals as I got below 5 (10 total on those Lews). What happened next was utterly unexpected and made me literally say "WoW" out loud. Oh, and I almost forgot, throughout the testing I would also loosen the spool tension as I got the magnetic brakes real low and then dial them back up to see how much of a difference that made. Now I already had set the spool tension to just barely wiggle a tiny bit, so when I backed it off it never really seemed to make much of a difference if any, certainly nothing noteworthy. For the final phase of the test I turned the internal brakes completely off amd brought the brakes up to 7.5. A smooth casts with minimal effort brought incredible distance for how little effort it required, and I'll say after I saw where it landed and walked out to it to measure I thought to myself "I'll never need to cast further than this is reality anyway." I mean once you get far enough away with a cast the risk of losing the fish increases significantly. Of course there's no way to measure the effects of a long distance cast and hook up ratio or hook off ratio, but from my experience and the anecdotal evidence shared by others I think there seems to be a consensus on this. That being said, it didn't take much effort at all with a relatively short rod to cast 40 yards+. I didn't feel like I had to chuck the bait, I didn't feel like doing this for hours would tire my shoulder or aggravate my elbow, and I was totally impressed by the results. Testing the limits brought me to a fluff up which caught the line and broke me off. I'll admit I'm not a thumb, it was probably me more than anything that ended my experiment. But I do plan to test the extremes again and see what happens.

Danm bro that's rough I really only see them when I go fishing in Maine sometimes, and more than once been stuck on the kayak with one - the first time I wasn't mentally prepared for that size of spider to be nonchalantly trying to be my buddy. I try to be very mindful of not panic slapping them to get them off me, just play it cool and guide them away. I'm grateful I haven't been bitten and hope it stays that way

Alright cool, thanks How was the drag on yours? I feel like I gotta get it cranked pretty good and there isn't much room left to increase

What are your thinks on this? I got the Purelure Cheetah air over the winter and only got to throw it a few times, but didn't really get a chance to really feel it out and find where it'll fit. I'm thinking my light to medium treble lures, mostly topwater.

Man, is your nickname wrench?

Check ali express, they have some similar products available

So maybe I should be looking into a scorpion DC to match that distance Usually with a skirt, and a trailer, but maybe I can just ditch the skirt and see how that goes, thanks for reminding me to try that. I I can't justify buying just a spool for my Zillion, I'm gonna have to either give the scorpion a go or try my hand at one of those 34mm spools in a used Daiwa.... but I'm totally new to the world of foreign auctions

If the zillion is casting a buzzbait as far as any other reel then I have no need I suppose. And if like @Micro Module Police said if the DC isn't adding anything then there's definitely no point. I mean, a buzzbait creates its own "into the wind" so maybe I should cop a DC. Wish I could actually just try a DC reel and see if there's a difference and if it fits my need. And to all the comments that "buzzbaits aren't far casting lures" I get what you're saying, but I'm not saying its want to cast a buzzbait farther than a lipless crankbait. I'm saying I want the farthest cast possible with this distance challenged lure. And @Micro Module Police the reel definitely matters some, because there's things I can do with my Zillion I wouldn't even waste time trying on an Abu or Lews. Can anybody add their experience with DC reels and compare chips/settings and what's what?

Buzzbaits are wind catchy lures prone to fluff when you try to bomb it. I'm often relegated to the bank and need to cast as far as possible to reach any kind of structure or just get past the weeded. I've never considered a DC reel until now. I'm thinking 21 Shimano Scorpion DC largely because it would offer the line control for random mid cast fluffs, but also because it looks to be bale to hold enough 40/50# braid or 15# hybrid. I really don't need another reel, but I do want to maximize my buzzbait fishing. I had been throwing it on a zillion G I found for about half price and it throws very well, but I can almost spool it every time - and if I had to cut line off a couple times then I'm casting to the arbor. What reels can handle non aerodynamic lures well without totally sacrificing distance?

I appreciate the insight, my SVs do a great job managing line and if the lews does it better but loses distance I believe in can manage without. I'm the worst kind of consumer there is... informed

Hmmm... you have any Daiwa SV reels to compare it to? And with all that control and line taming, does it choke the distance?

Nice! When I alked to the dudes at the lews table they tried to sell me that orange custom Pro. I had never seen it before or ever heard about the paramag breaking system. When I asked about it he couldn't really say much. So I popped it open and took a look. Then I went on to explain it to him, from what I could deduce by examining it. I schooled this guy on his own product he was trying to sell, and he told me wrong info about another reel there that I corrected and showed him. I must admit I'm curious about the paramag breaks, especially the pro model with the knock off SV spool. But they didnt build my confidence in it that's for sure, and definitely not for $300

What were your thoughts on this one?

Thanks for the insight yall I'll steer myself in another direction

Thanks for saving me a trip... or at least a phone call @jitterbug127 if you want to feed your curiosity grab a couple tungsten, but your best bet is to buy cheaper and throw them directly into places you'll definitely get stuck with less concern because you got such a great deal. I can't see the tungsten making much of a difference to need that many

Didn't know this was the case, I'll give them a call, but if there was only one left when you left that's probably it. Didn't realize we were getting more snow over night, thought i might head there today if they had a bunch in stock, but maybe not haha Thanks

If you play broker and grab me at least 4 bags [but really as many as they have] I'll pay you 😁 @bwillis just saw you said NH is it technically a Big Lots store? And how many 25 pack bags did you see there?

What makes it worth a shot and what would be a good price?

Anybody have any insight on this reel? Worth it to grab one? What makes it different? Also, is this issue pervasive through this model?

So what does your basic maintenence consist of?