Bigbox99

I bought it. It's too mint to ignore for $46 shipped and I'm pretty sure I owned the Walmart spec version of this reel at one time in the late 90s or early 2000s as a Pinnacle Tara that came on a Walmart combo. It looked had the tan color of the Solene but had the name Tara or I am vastly misremembering my teens. Whatever. This the same platform but super clean and cheap. I didn't even get to use the reel for long. I somehow managed to break the tip off the rod high sticking and then dropped the side plate in the water while on a boat. It remains the only reel I have ever done that to. Its all I remember from it other than the image of the combo new on Walmart shelves still burned into my memory. New memory unlocked: My PB football shaped spotted bass from October in Tabletock in 2003 also came on that combo from an FLW Arkie Mirror Glow spinnerbait. I broke the rod and lost the side plate sometime after.

This old reel is in great shape for 40 something bucks shipped. It's a 6 gear and huge but mint. BPS used this same platform for some of their late 90s and early 2000s reels including a silver Rick Clunn reel. https://www.ebay.com/itm/286742918783?i

Did CERN fire up the LHC again? In my timeline the Maverick had an alumimum frame. The Doybns Maverick is like my very own Mandela Effect.

That reel is discussed in this thread too. Turns out the really cheap price is for a plastic frame one and not the alloy frame one on TW. Still pretty cheap for a reel. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/267631-kastking-baitcaster-quality/ I'd still recommend the Seasir Megacuda over that reel since they are the same price. They're both Aliexpress reels. I've owned the exact reel as the Maveick in plastic and alloy frame I got from Aliexpress before the Dobyns ever offered to sell one.

Yep, they just work. Old reels are built like tanks. They may not have super fast gear ratios or long handes but they typically have larger diameter spools that help to increase IPT and you can always change out the handles. I use both of these 20+ year old reels with some cosmetic updates and they work as well as any of my new Daiwas and Shimanos.

Yeah, if you view the reel as disposable. I don't know how you would ever get parts for it. It's got an aluminum frame, 8:1 ratio and a fast braking profile with good casting behavior. The two spools feature is nice too if you want to have braid and non braid line options for different uses. Maybe it's fishing a frog then working a plopper or something with big mono on another day. I have two of the deep spool 6.5:1 reels and they get after it with distance and 15 pound Big Game flows out of the cone level wind nicely with zero spool tension but I do run the mag brakes at near max. I prefer them over my Piscifun Alloy M. They are more free casting than the Alloy M because they have a cone level wind placed far from the spool instead of a tiny level wind in front of the spool like the Alloy M. That Seasir platform is my current favorite $50 or under reel and something I would recommend over a plastic horror that normally occupy this price point. They are very solid reels that can bomb baits but you will feel every tooth mesh between the pinion and main gear. For $57 it's worth a shot. I would like to see them under $50 since I only paid $31 for Megacuda but the tariff is probably baked into the price seeing that Megacudas as $46 now.

Elaborating on the weird TD-S. Its was the JDM model not sold in the US and is based on the similar year Procaster. Pics showing the TD-S on the BPS rod along side a TD-ITO on a Destroyer Otomat and again (older pic) next to a TD Zillion (same size as the TD ITO). Its hard to see in the 1st pic but the 2nd shows off the height difference between the two. The YCZ10 is just as big as the TD-S but has 32mm Tatula 80 sized spool lol. Goes to show how big these old reels were. Yes, the TD-Z/TD-ITO is just as old but it was a futuristic flagship at the time.

I bought that one. Cosmeticly it's OK but it's full of sand or something I'll have to sort out before I use it. This was a nostalgia buy for me. These were only available as combos at Walmart IIRC. They came on a 6' M Pinnacle rod that suited their tiny fast spools well. In the late to mid 90s the Walmart sporting goods section was as good as got for me when it came to buying rods and reels with my own money. The spool is as tiny as I remember. It's actually the same size as a Tatula 80 spool. It's a narrow 32 mm spool which is very modern for today's reels. It's a big plastic reel for the spool size but super cool for what it is nonetheless. I booted a JDM Daiwa TD-S with TD-Z treatments off this vintage BPS Cranking Stick for the photo. Once cleaned this rod might be it's forever home. The lower end JDM TD-S is just as old and just as big but is a masterpiece compared to this combo plastic Pinnacle. I'll have to find a higher end vintage rod for the TD-S.

Vid I found on the net. It's your basic unboxing but there are some side comparisons of the new 200 and 100 reel bodies and spools side by side to get an idea of the size increase. This also applies to the new 150 since it uses the same body.

20 pound Big Game which is the diameter of 30 pound fluoro. I think it breaks at the 30 pound range too when tested by TT IIRC. To me, it's my preferred swimbait non braid line and leader. It some huge diameter high pound test non braid with the name "20 pound Big Game".

Sounds like line springing off the spool and finding its way behind the spool. How this is happening I am unsure. Is this a fresh re-spool?

A used alloy frame centrifugal brake reel from Doyo or a Fuego CT would be nice. If you want to go new then I would look a Aliexpress reels. Anything on Amazon or Walmart is going to be plastic garbage. Aliexpress also has plastic garbage reels but they also have alloy frame reels for $50 or under too. I've bought a few such as the $48 Johncoo Ares, $40 Seasir Megacuda and $50 Histar Black Mamba. The Piscifun Alloy M also used to run in the $50 range. Based on what is available now I'd say take a look at the alloy frame Seasir products. I have the Megacuda and while it is a 6.5:1 ratio is does has a 36mm spool which bumps up the IPT vs a 34 or 32 mm spool reel.

I pushed both of mine under the surface to break surface tension and they both sank. Not what I expected.

Have any of you actually done the float test? I have and the results will surprise you.

I would just not pay any attention to it and use it. Challenge your perceptions.

It could be a heavy long worm like a big ribbon tail. I once fished a rage tail anaconda with a 1/4 oz bullet sinker. The thing would flop end over end on the cast burning off all its energy and going very little distance while trying to blow up my spool of 14 pound sniper. I switched to a heaver weight and the tumbling stopped and it behaved normally.

I've been forced into buying from Daiwa US instead of Daiwa China. Daiwa Japan is still more attractive of a deal than Daiwa US for the moment. Buying Daiwa China products from Aliexpress was like a cheat code. They had many of the same reels as Daiwa US like the Tatulas ect that were all WAY cheaper than Daiwa US. Tatula Elites for $170 since 2022, Tatula 80s,100s and 150s for $100. Unique reels like the Fuego SV for less than the Fuego CT from Daiwa US. All that has dried up now. When I picked up my Tatula 150 I just bought it off Amazon for like $40 more than the prices I was accustomed to.

The Valkyries are interesting rods. They all have the adjustable length handle except for maybe the world expedition. Their composition varies by rod and they run from full glass to a blend to full graphite. The 76XXH is a massively heavy, probably all graphite, rod but it floats in your hand. Without a reel on the rod it will balance out on the lock nut with the handle in the shortest configuration and balance out somewhere on the reel seat with the handle extended. Without a reel. It will also pitch 2.5 oz Savage Gear 3D Bluegill slow sink like my other normal rods pitch a 5" senko. Just effortless and right on target like it's not actually nearly 3 oz of bait. It's a crazy rod and that's the appeal of it to me as an enthusiast/luxury/curiosity item. https://www.tackletour.com/reviewmegabassvalkyrie.html

Love those period correct pairings like that. My two flipping sticks are a P2 Destroyer F711X Fast Shootin Model with a similar year TD-X and a Valkyrie 76 XXH with a lefty JDM Zillion HD. Both a spiral wrapped rods with the 711X also being telescopic. The 711X is the flipping and pitching stick and the Valkyrie XXH is the 1oz plus punching and Hudd crawling rod. The handle length is adjustable so I can shorten it for punching then extend it for launching a Hudd. On the super cheap end I have a 7MH Lews Hank Parker rod from Walmart that I have punched with 1oz tungsten before and it did great. That rod has a super stiff slow loading tip like something from an XH swimbait rod and that allows it to handle 1oz dangling off the tip and keeps the bait from bobbing and picking up moss. It punches pretty cleanly for a 7' $50 "MH". It's got some bend in the middle so it keeps fish pinned once hooked. Just don't go casting 1oz+ with the rod. It's still a MH, just a stiff tipped one. Valkyrie with a USDM Zillion HD. It has a lefty JDM Zillion HD now.

Go tie on a frog and turn the dial so that the brake drum (centrifugal brake race) inside the side plate moves outwards and towards the spool. Move it all the way out. You can do this with the side plate off and observe the movement of the drum. All the way out means max braking. From there you can cast a frog in your yard while backing off on the brake dial until you are happy with the results. Also, when the internal centrifugal brakes are on they are free to flop about. When they are off they are locked in place. When on, centrifugal forces drive the brakes into the centrifugal race and create friction. The race is shaped like a tapered drum. Move the race towards the spool moves a larger diameter portion of the drum in contact with the brakes making more friction. Moving it away does the opposite.

As you get better with the casting mechanics and tracking the bait in flight you can start to back off on the spool tension. You'll be able see the bait slow and apply thumb pressure instinctively. I would still do the spool tension drop test but increase the fall rate of the drop just beyond your comfort zone. Once adjusted to that keep backing it off for faster and faster drops and you adjust yourself to the faster and faster reel. At some point you will find that you have zero spool tension. Shimano and other centrifugal brakes are very free at the end of the cast as the bait sails towards your target. That's the appeal of that braking system over something like a Daiwa magnetic that will have more spool control at the end portion of the cast. If you're not used to this or unprepared for this braking profile then continue to use spool tension to slow the spool down at the end of the cast but understand that you are giving up max distance to do this. To get max distance you want free casting braking profile and a limp line, like braid, that can flow out of the reel at high speed. To get that high speed you will need vey little or no spool tension and a braking profile that is free of restrictions at the end of the cast. Spool tension is just compressing the incompressible spool shafts in the reel frame putting pressure on the metal shims in the side plates to form a crude mechanical brake. Doing this will eventually cause the shims to dimple and lose the braking effect. Is like driving around with your parking brake on because you have difficulty hill starting a manual. It'll help but it will create its own problems and isn't even nessicary once you know how to hill start.

I had a hypercast my dad would use. He hated it. You had to check the line at the bail on every cast. Braid would wrap around the bail arm instead of falling into the line roller and then fail to release on the cast. I think it would work fine with stiffer plastic lines but braid would catch.

Stick with the braid. 20 pound flouro is nightmare to try and cast let alone bomb cast with.

I'd get the Day's L instead of the UL. I've owned both powers in a Majorcraft Volkey BFS and the UL topped out at 1/4 oz total weight. The L was rated up ti 1/4 oz but could handle more. I wouldn't worry about 1/16 oz baits unless you're throwing crappie jigs. If you're bass fishing you be at 1/8 oz at the lowest. Even "weightless" finesse worms weight that much.

What line are you using?