Patrick Oliver

I did check that and yes, the spindle and the spool are not connected. I'll have a look at using locktite. Do I need a special bearing puller to take this apart?

not what i wanted to hear...

I toot my 22 Bantam HG apart to adjust the brakes for pitching and I noticed that the spool tuned w/o the shaft turning. I have a second Bantam and checked it, and it's solid. Any idea what's happening? Its only 2 yrs old and hasn't seen much use. TIA<

If you want smooth, class, and style, go for one of the Calcuttas. I use them with great success on pike/muskie rods. I also recommend the Abu Revo Toro Winch or Beast, but not the new models. Abu dropped the price a few years ago and went cheap.

I use whatever I have on hand.. Shooter invisible, J-Floro, Tatsu, Invizx. I honestly think that buying a 1/4 spool of "leader line" is just marketing. BTW, I did drink the coolaid and bought a spool of J-Floro leader in 17# that I use for pitching and a JWR and I dont see any diff to the 17# invizx that I used prior. YMMV.

Look at the MB swamp survivor - it excels at frogs, swimbaits, and bottom contact (pitchin/flippin)

I looked it up, the only diff is that the spool width.

AGREED! As largemouth are more ambush predators I doubt a leader is really necessary. Could be more of a liability when in the thick stuff. Great recommendation - all of my local dealers are sold out of 40# and highter. Wonder why?

I've never had any issues with straight braid in the thick stuff. My JWR and Pitchin stick which i use for a peripheral approach both have leaders. I just dont like the way it comes off the reel. I know that it has a break in period but the Xbraid is signification smoother.

I love pitchin, I live near lake erie (long point bay) and lake st. claire where there is a ton of cane grass or whatever you call it. I have 20# yellow XBraid sinking on my JWR and yellow 30 Powerpro on my pitchin stick and they work great. On my flpr IMX loomis I run 50# PP and I dont really like it. I'm planning moving over to a 22 Bantam HG/MB Swamp survivor and wondering whether or not I should go to something like super slick?? I pitch almost exclusively, sometimes i'll flip when im deep into the grass but almost never. What do use and why.

I have a '22 Bantam HG that I could use... Is that the same as the MGL?

I've been using a Tatula. type r for my flippin stick and It seems to struggle with 50# PP. Maybe its the line, maybe knot...lol. I'm thinking of changing it to 40# Super Slick and/or getting the ELITE P/F. Also, I can find the 7.1:1 cheaper than the 8.1:1. Is there really any difference? I would think the lower gear ratio would give you more cranking power.

Thank you, im gonna give it a try this w/e.

I'm currenly using an older IMX FLPR rod thats around 7'8" long and I really dont like the length and the action. I'm 5'5" tall and its just too long and all the bend is in the top 2ft which makes it really difficult to set the hook if the bite comes when the rod is low. I also own a Swamp Survivor, and the length/action seem to be more towards what I'm looking for? Both my Dobyn's extreme Pitchin stik and JWR are 7'4" and I love them. The HMX is also very heavy Thoughts?

They both have the exact same specs, solid tip, great reviews but the Evoluzion in almost 2x the price. Buying from Japan, I can get the medusa and twinpower for just a few buck more than the price of the Hedgehog. Is this just part of the "law of diminishing returns" with the Evoluzion? TIA< P