MediumMouthBass

Hey @Cbump havent heard anyone talk about that place except for you, also cant find any reveiws. They have some good prices im guessing since you posted about them youve dealt with them?

The Abu 5500/6500 C3 reels are what i use for my really big stuff (up to 6oz) its a very simple, reliable reel and doesnt cost much. But if you want a more modern reel for those baits i use a Lews Super Duty and a Daiwa Tatula 150. I fish 1-4oz swimbaits/glidebaits on these and it handles them good. I have many swimbait casting reels from vintage to modern but if i were to recommend a reel it would be the Tatula 200, (in my opinion) this is the best swimbait reel you can get under a 300 size. BTW the 200/150 Tatulas cost the same, the extra line capacity is much needed.

I think what he's saying is when he was out on the kayak they were hitting topwater at that day, but when he's fishing days that are hot the bass are deep on the bottom, not the top at that time.

The reels i have with the clicking drag are Daiwa Zillion Lews BB1 Pro Abu 6500c Havent used the Zillion yet but the BB1 Pro was my first modern reel to have that feature, i didnt really think i needed it but it definitely is a great feature.

BFS does seem really cool, but its definitely not for everyone, including me. When i fish 90% of my lures and baits are well over 1/2oz but i will go up to 6oz (i like to throw big heavy baits for big heavy bass) but sometimes i fish lighter stuff but when i say light i mean 1/8oz to 1/4oz. So to spend over $200 on just a reel when i could get a spinning rod and reel for under $80 that will throw the same baits isnt for me. That being said i think its cool and is popular, but i dont think its as popular as it could be if it were more affordable to get into. People like myself dont usually fish the lighter stuff for bass and therefor cant justify the price, but if it were more budget friendly (or priced like regular reels are) i think it would gain alot more support and popularity.

When i first got into fly fishing last year several people who did it recommended any over the counter wrap/brace sold at your local pharmacy. I dont think they would work very well for casting from the side, in fly fishing its straight up and straight down (or back and front) so overhand casts, etc, would probably be okay if you go that way.

They are 100% legit, fishing, hunting, clothing, camping. Really great place to deal with. Have placed several dozen orders and only 1 item didnt come, they were very quick to might it right. They run sales every day of the week for all things fishing btw.

The Susquehanna is 5 minutes from my house, its an amazing river no matter what branch you are fishing. (but most of it near me is extremely polluted so i have to travel a few miles down the road to fish a better area of it). In my experience with it there are alot of good size smallies in it, but you might catch 30 to 40 1-2lb ones before catching a bigger one. Or the opposite.

@optimator this SLX is at my house along with some other rods/reels i dont use much. I have most of the stuff i use frequently elsewhere so thats where all the oil is. Havent had a need for it at the house until now.

@PTasker15I have the Fuego CT and the Tatula CT, both are great reels. The Fuego is a very tough reel and i use it in conditions where the reel has alot of stress put on it, frogging, flipping in the lily pads, big spinnerbaits, etc.... The Tatula CT is worth the price increase if you want a more refined reel that absolutely casts farther with the T Wing System. But the SLX XT is also a great option for a do all reel thats more refined.

When i was younger there was a pond that had a great bluegill population, it had tons of good take home sized fish. The owner made everyone who fished it throw the smaller bluegills over the hill and eat the rest of the fish they caught. He said by doing this over and over again it kept his pond great for fishing, especially for big bluegills. For bass i guess the same rules apply. I fish a lake thats similar in size to most big ponds, alot of people there keep the bass they catch. I dont but thats their choice, i have caught several 3.5lb, 4lb, 5lb, and even a 8lb bass in it. So i definitely think fish (either bass or panfish) should be kept from time to time to keep the big ones happy and healthy for a long time.

@AlabamaSpothunter Mine came in a few days ago and the box didnt even have anything major wrong with it. And im a little late to the party posting this but last week all the ratios including right and left were $218.

The plopper seems to not have the same effectiveness it once had in most lakes and ponds, that being said theres alot of people catching smallies/pike on them in rivers. On youtube almost every person fishing a river who isnt fishing a ned rig is destroying both species on ploppers (or choppos). You should try getting some other topwaters as well but i think you should rotate between the 2 and let the fish tell you what they want that day. But how effective it is in your river now could just be its the not size or color they are wanting for that time or year or day.

@PhishLI im sure you could. My SLX's are in 2 different locations right now, so having them together to swap spools may take a week (i have my baits/lures and rods/reels in different places and arent all at my house). Also dont have reel oil available here today, havent had a need for it until now. I have 23 baitcasting reels and 41 reels combined so im not in a absolute hurry to move mountains to fix this reel today. This post was made for 1 reason mainly and i guess i didnt word it correctly. I wanted to know if having 2 exact reels, with different line (one braid and one hybrid or mono/fluoro) could be so different on similar or the same braking settings. This is only my 2nd casting reel with braided line, so i have very little experience with how it should cast/act. I have bought a couple higher lb spools during sales and wanted to try spooling some reels. But since this SLX with braid was this difficult to cast, not knowing if the reel had an issue or if this was the norm for casting reels with braided line (since again i dont have much experience with it) i made a post here asking if it could be the line or reel. I appreciate the comments about how to fix it, and now i have some ideas on how to fix it when i have time to do so. But now i know that most of the people commenting on this have braided line on their reels and can get good distance without issues.

@Stale KracKer ive had the spool tension all the way from extremely loose to very tight and in between. @Reel Ive tried adjusting the internal brakes since making this post originally, the only way this thing wont backlash is if the brakes are on very high, which results in the same distance of around 20-30' because of how over braked it is now, anything lower and it backlashes alot. The braided line doesnt hesitate but thanks for giving me that idea in case it ever does. I will have to have it oiled and even try changing the spool to the other one because those seem like the only other things to do. I cast the same whether its a right or left, i have reels from both side retrieves and cast good with either. There is no brake dial on the base SLX, and the spool tension ive tried "ive had the spool tension all the way from extremely loose to very tight and in between."

At that deep it would be a bit difficult but still possible, a long wait and then a slow retrieve or a lift and fall. I doubt many of those fish have had bladed jigs come past them there so you might find a gold mine if you can get them to bite. I have a few Siebert Tremors that are 1oz, and they seem good for around 25'. You may want to go a bit heavier for that deep.

For the Daiwas and Shimanos 150 and under, 1. Daiwa Fuego CT $120, this is what i use for stuff like spinnerbaits/frogging. This reel is very tough and fishes some rough areas. 2. Daiwa Tatula CT $150, similar to the Fuego but more refined and the T wing added (in my opinion the T wing does cast farther). This is my main go to for reels. 3. Shimano SLX $100, very basic in the SLX line but a really good reel if your on the budget side of the SLX platform. 4. Shimano SLX XT $130, like the Fugeo VS Tatula this is definetly worth the upgrade from the base model. The external brakes arent needed but good to have in wind/if you change lures alot. 5. Shimano SLX MGL 70 $150, idk how much you know about the MGL spool but its a shallower spool (holds less line) but this reels main selling point is to be able to cast lighter lures far, but then be able to do some flipping/pitching as well. This reel isnt a do all reel for most, but its a very nice reel and if you like throwing lighter jig paddle tails, jerkbaits, weightless soft plastics or flipping pitching some heavier stuff. Very versatile reel but more for certain stuff. These reels used are around 25% cheaper (or more) than new. But if your max is $150 these will do anything you want for bass/pike and come new with a warranty.

@casts_by_fly Wow. Thanks for sharing that, the Big Water seemed really stable but that 120 gives a whole different meaning to the word stable in that video. My dad has the regular 120 but that pdl version would destroy it.

I cant remember the guy, but somewhere on youtube this guy had the PDL but with the drive out. He was walking up all the way to the front and back of the yak, jumping up and down all the way at the front and rear, standing on the gunwales etc... It took alot for him to get it to flip. I originally was planning on buying the paddle version because of its stablility but the guy at my local shop told me they were planning on getting rid of the Big Water and renaming it the new MX, not sure how true that was now that they are going to release this. Seems like a cool kayak but not for the price.

@casts_by_fly i thought the Big Water 132 was one of the most stable kayaks Old Town offered?

The rod you have now can throw some stuff, but if you really want to get into the larger stuff think about upgrading the rod to one that can handle atleast 2oz to 4-6oz, if not more. A 150/200 size reel should work just make sure it can hold enough 20-30lb line (Big Game mono is a popular option on here). If you have the money get a 300 sized reel. I would recommend to try budget ones before going all in, here are my budget suggestions. Soft Swimbaits. You already have the Magdraft so a Savage Gear line thru or jig hook trout swimbait would be similar to fish. They also make some small Pike swimbaits, as well as Bluegill/Crappie ones. Hard Swimbaits. Spro trout swimbaits 6" or 8" these are a really good option if you have trout in your lakes, and even if you dont. Storm Arashi Swimmer 7" this is a bit more expensive but is sometimes on sale around $18-24. Berkley has a hard swimbait out that was made by someone else for awhile, not much talk about it here. 6th Sense has the Trace in 5" and 6". The actions good and the paint is amazing. (Not exactly budget but goes on sale alot during the year). Glide Baits. 13 Glidesdale is a really cool one. River2Sea S Waver is good option as well. Wake Baits. The Bio Shad is a really good option, comes in 2 sizes. (Some people say this is like the old Strike King one they no longer make). Most hard/soft swimbaits come in floating, slow sink, and fast sink options.

Choppo has the hard tail, Plopper soft tail, results in one being louder than the other, if you fish alot of rocky areas or around docks/trees the plopper has a more durable tail since its rubber. They are both good, but usually can get the Choppo for $6 on sale most of the year. Get one of each and find what works best in your waters.

@Stale KracKer ?

@PhishLI i was thinking today about swapping the spools but the ones a right hand retrieve and the other a left, does the spool fit and work even if its for the opposite side? Havent taken apart or worked on reels much. @Bird So far ive tried them on a Daiwa Aird X MH, Aird X Heavy, Lews TP1X MH, rod lengths between 7' and 7'3". For baits 1/2oz Berkley Warpig, i can usually cast this farther than any lure but not on this reel, 3/8oz texas rigs using different plastics, lighter top waters, crankbaits, etc.... I posted a bit ago where i tried changing the braking system yesterday, so far the only way to not backlash it was to tighten the brakes as much as possible, but then only able to get 5-10 feet more on an already short cast distance. I have tried the spool tension tight where i dont need to thumb it, tried it where i usually have it on most baitcasters where its moving slow and still thumb it, also tried very loose and thumbed it the whole way. Doesnt make a difference for this reel.

River fishing is much better vs a lake if using baits on the bottom, like the others above stated, the current can do all the work for you. When fishing texas rigs you dont have to hop or drag them, just cast upstream and the bait will work its way down on the bottom and the current will drag it past many willing to eat fish. This results in much more fish catches for me vs hopping it on a lake bottom.