Bigbox99

I recommend the Megacuda for $30 ish dollars as a pairing. It's magnetic but very free casting like centrifugal. Spool it with braid and then go try out beast hooks paddle tails and swimbaits up to and over 2 oz. I've thrown 2 oz baits and it handed them so well I will be testing it as an ultra budget Hudd rod for the 68 special rof 12.

Report back on that Amo please. I have been eying that one for a while. It also fits Fuego CT, Tatula CT and 19 Tatula 100.

Breaking the rod casting a bait too heavy isn't really a concern. The issue is that the casting distance and accuracy is so poor when you really exceed the top end of the rod by a lot that you are probably better off throwing it by hand. Rod breakages come from tip breaks from high sticking or shattering the blank hoisting a fish into the boat with the rod.

It really depends on the rod. I have some that do very well at the top of their weight range or even happily exceed it and other that don't do well at all at the top of their weight range. I find that stiffer slower loading tip rods do well at or above their top weight range and light tipped XF rods really don't like the top of their weight range. In other cases rods can be simply over rated or under rated irregardless of the rod's action. I want to say that the TV was a stiff rod and considered under rated in the past but this was probably the 1st gen Orochi xx rod or some other megabass line. I don't know about the 2nd gen TV. I'd say give it a shot. I fish a Cull Shad with one tungsten nail weight that brings it to 1 oz or 1 1/8 oz total on a 1st gen Orochi xx EMTF rated 3/8 to 1 oz and it does great. That rod was considered slightly under rated and stuggles a bit with a true 3/8 oz so maybe that's why it does so well at and above its top end.

Those crazy warranties are replacement programs and are baked into the price of the rod. If you break rods or are rod breakage is a strong concern then it can be a very good service to have. If you don't break rods and make use of the replacement program I feel like you are overpaying for the rod since most of the companies with these kind of warranties are rather dull looking with questionable fit and finish compared to something like a Megabass or JDM rod. It's not that they are a bad value it's that money and effort put into making a stunning rod above ad beyond just making a functional rod was put towards the replacement program/warrenty. If you have the belief that rod breakages are due to user error from high sticking or hoisting fish into the boat or bank using the rod and you believe yourself to be unlikely to do any mishandling then buying JDM with no warranty can be a great option. This is what I do as often as I can when buying a rod and feel like I get awesome, gorgeous looking rods for fraction of what I would spend on TW. There isn't a right or a wrong way. You just have to know yourself and your preferences.

No, but you'll probably like it. I've heard good things about Shimano BFS rods in the past.

Just get a real BFS rod from a Japanese brand that knows what they are doing like a Majorcraft. A Day's 68L from TW if you have to buy there.

Pretty much. They both have the same current design logic and the same spool dimensions so they palm really similar.

I would get a normal Zillion and run 12 pound fluoro so I could also fish soft plastic jerkbaits and weightless worms later in the year.

This one is kind of interesting for a $50 high speed reel. It has a long carbon fiber handle that looks to be about a 110 mm and the same aluminum frame from the Megacuda. I own two examples of this platform and can vouch for its ability to cast. They can sling baits out there but the brakes are on the weak side. With a stiff plastic line like 15 pound BG and a buzzbait I would have to run the brakes near max or at max into the wind but they got the job done every time with no spool tension just left it as it came out of the box (tiny bit of side to side play). For heavy fluoro I would want to run a smidgen of tension to slow the braking profile and maybe gain some additional range on the mag dial. You can definitely feel the 6.5:1 gears mesh but it's not awful once mounted to a rod and the big knobs deaden some of the buzz. An 8:1 would probably be more noticeable but if you have a high tolerance for that kind of thing then this one looks alright. I've also seen the Piscifun Alloy M at that price too so that's worth cross shopping. I have that reel as well and one thing I can say is that the Megacuda casts more freely and especially with stiff plastic lines probably thanks to the conical level wind placed far from the spool. The Alloy M is a braid only reel for me because of how much it bottle necks line coming off the spool.

I have this reel. I got it from Aliexpress for a few bucks cheaper but it's also on Temu. It's all the same Aliexpress reels on Temu or Amazon. It's a smallish aluminum frame reel with a high capacity spool and power handle. With a clearance Vengence 76H you can have yourself a sub $60 big bait combo. I was using mine as a deep crankbait rod for a 2 oz 25 footer but have switched it up to braid and beast hook paddle tails later in the year. It has a tip and 1st 1/3 of the rod like my XH Veritas winch but is WAY more stiff in the backbone. Because of that it throws a 2 oz crank super well and better than the Veritas XH but I don't trust it to be forgiving enough with non huge trebles. Going to try a Hudd 68 special on it next.

Pretty easy to fit? I like the look of that handle. It's very Daiwa like. I wanted one but I know their old carbon handle didn't play nice with non Gomexus knobs

Or a good time. The point is to use fluorocarbon too heavy for a spinning reel and to present light baits to pressured fish in cover. Turn on captions and auto translate to English to hear the story of BFS from the guy that invented the term. You don't have to bass fish or use bass rods. The reel doesn't care if it's on a bass rod or a trout rod. You'll have to decide what you want to do with the reel. If you want a cheap BFS rod for bass fishing doing what you see in the video then you want something like a Majorcraft L, Phenix L or Shimano L BFS rod. Maybe a Tsurinoya Elite 65L if you want to stay around $100. If you want a trout rod then you have a ton of cheap options.

Are those JDM met knobs on that Gomexus handle?

I have no idea. The OP knows more about it's dates than I do. I was commenting about the braking system. All external adjustable centrifugals I have seen operate the same by moving the race closer to the brakes with the dial.

Remove the side plate and inspect the brakes. You'll see that it is some form of centrifugal brake and that adjusting the external dial will move the centrifugal race closer to the spool. This is the fist thing I do to any new reel to see how it works. Do people just not remove the side plate on their reels?

They basically bantamized the met for the US market with bigger knobs and a deeper spool. In Japan the two being distinctly different makes sense with the bantam being the higher capacity aluminum frame HD reel with big knobs and the met being more of a precision instrument with thinner knobs for more feel. Knowing the US market would complain endlessly about thin knobs and too little line capacity they made the bantam and bantam light weight.

Its a Tatula 300. It has an agressive braking profile to handle big stiff plastic lines and clumsy things like glide baits. It would be the last thing on earth I would want to change bearings on to get crazy free spin. If anything I would put a heavier oil in them to extend their service life. I would understand if you did something crazy and spool swapped it like this guy: https://webs.coffee/spool-t/ but for a stock spool?. The only big baits that are going to casts like rockets and make use of a free braking profile would be weight transfer baits like the Big M 4.0 or a big spoon like in videos in the link above. In that case get a Z200/Z2020 and set it to Long Cast mode or check out some of the Shimano big bait reels. Also you're going to want to use braid if you do this. Fast spools and big stiff plastic line are a nightmare to pair together.

Not a Zillion apologist but balancing out tip down for chatterbaits isn't a deal breaker and might even be preferred for chuck and wind retrieves. Also I consider a bladed jig rod to have a H or a stout MH power which I would not expect to use for jerkbaits even 3/4 oz max LOBOs. I do like the clean look of that Ark Tharp series. Rear grip is a tad too short and I don't like grey EVA but it looks nicer than a Tatula Elite IMO.

I got you. I thought you wanted a black handle with knobs bigger than a 22 Bantam. That pretty much leaves the Gomexus or a Tatula 300 handle with an adapter and at that point just get a Gomexus. Bantam knobs are great. I guy put them on his Zillion to replace the thin stock ones. It looked really sharp especially because the new style Daiwa knobs are very Shimano like in appearance.

It's $34 for a 100 mm handle which is much cheaper than the dark colored 24 met DC XG handle Shimano wants $124 for. If you like big knobs the Gomexus knobs are actually great and let's you go from just pinching paddles to stuffing the knob end deeper into your hand for more power while pinching further down on the knob giving each knob 3 points of contact in your hand. Great for really agressive winching motions on the handle. I find the Bantam and Curado knobs to be quite large and squishy for normal paddles. They're great. If they are too small for you then you may want to consider moving up to a power knob like the Gomexus or something similar.

If you want a black handle with gargantuan knobs when why not a Gomexus handle?

Then you'll like the Kage.

The Tatula HD 150 SV is based on the Tatula CT platform but with a 150 SV spool, huperdrive gears and an aluminum handle side plate. The Kage is based on the 24 Tatula but with a 150 SV spool, huperdrive gears and an aluminum handle side plate. Basically, if you want one that has all those features but palms like a Tatula CT then the Tatula HD 150 SV is the reel you want.

I still use 2 to this day with matching Megabass Zillions. A PP and EMTF. The red one is an EMTF (1st gen Brailist). It's a limited edition version that I think was only sold in Japan. They are often referred to as the JDM 1st gen Orochi xx. They balance out right on the lock nut or into the reel seat but are heavy by modern standards. I think the handles are counter weighted to get that balance. If you are just pitching and holding tip up with plastics and such they are great. It's the constant worming that will make you fell the weight. I use my EMTF as a gilly and a dark sleeper rod. When I am bottom hopping a sleeper I can feel the weight so it's mostly a Gilly, other weightless plastic and Cull Shad rod these days.