WetBlanket

I use M and MH rods for both. On MH i prefer a Medium taper and on M rods a Medium Fast taper.

What the hell

What do you mean?

Can you ask vendors to sell items under "made in the US"? If they can, you wouldn't be paying anything else but shipping cost and the brokerage fees. At least this is my understanding of it.

I would get a used OG zillion for that price. A much better deal for around $50 than those cheapo reels.

Usually don't go over 50lb, but after losing 3 musky lures ranging from $40-60, i now use 65lb as the highest pound test on my Z2020.

Because its not a deal breaker, but a preference. And i prefer Daiwa reels over shimano. Not to mention that shimano has something something i can't stand.

It's funny how i was shilling the Zillion being sold for $220 like six months ago, and now i don't even know how much it will cost.

I see everyone from the US complaining about the tariffs and brokerage fees on youtube. Are y'all mostly buying locally now? And it's not like buying locally is cheap, especially when it comes to reels and rods.

Was cleaning an og ryoga 1016 a few days ago, and these are truly the best built reels made to date. Wish every heavy duty reel was built exactly like it.

And this is with fluoro mainly? Cuz i almost always use braid to a fluoro leader, and braid absorbs more water, especially thicker diameters. It's just crazy to me that you've never had it when the line lay on the spool becomes disastrous after the narrow section of the t-wing is frozen.

The difference between ice accumulation on the standard line guide and the t-wing is that the line lay gets completely destroyed on the t-wing, while not much is happening on standard line guides. I don't understand how this is not something that has happened to you. Because there isn't just lateral play like on a normal line guide, but a decent amount of vertical play as well. It isn't difficult, it's just more stuff to do for no pros. Did you check the front top of your reels? By doing the bow technique, unless it's done at an angle, you cut the top section with line. On metal, it will only mess up the paint, but when the hood is made out of plastic like on the zillion, you will slice through it. I don't want one even for free. Nothing to prove, it's just yet another 13fishing tier noname brand. If it's not a Shimano or a Daiwa, it better be super cheaper for me to even bother with, which is usually not the case.

There's no way that you're fishing in freezing weather, and have not had any issues with the t-wing. The narrow space freezes, and the line gets stuck in the upper section of the t-wing, which is much wider than a line guide should be under retreive, and this makes the line lay on the spool an absolute mess. Never had a part break either, but it has more pieces, movement and and more work while servicing. You know what i meant... it's noticeably more audible than a standard line guide, and there's no way of decreasing it. The bow n arrow technique i guess it's called. Much more annoying to do with a line guide that opens up when you apply pressure on it. ARK is no better than Aliexpress pepper grinders. Ain't going from Steezes to aliexpress tier. Complaining about t-wing is all that's left i guess, and i fine with that.

I don't know about most, but to me, comparing the OG steez with the 2016 steez, the difference in how it palmed was massive. The front of the 2016 Steez TW is/was massive, and no matter how long i tried to get used to it, i just couldn't. The og steez on the other hand, is not even that small of a reel, nor does it sit that low, but is super comfy to palm in 2006, or 2025. Multiple reasons on why. 1. I use braid to fluoro leader. There's zero differences in casting distance. 2. T-wing is unusable in cold weather. 3. There's much more play on t-wing reels, which you can hear from a mile with vibrating baits like the bladed jig. 4. Leader knots to heavier line have trouble going through the t-wing. 5. More annoying to service/clean, and more parts that could break. 6. When trying to get unsnagged, doing the technic with a t-wing reel makes it much harder. Probably forgetting a few, but that's plenty for me to want a simple, tapered line guide.

It reduces friction, but does it reduce enough friction for it to matter? Like, you're getting plenty of friction on the guides on every rod out there. No shimano reel (ever since 2016 when they introduced their current brakes) has ever suffered from distance casting because they ain't using a t-wing. I am just not seeing the point of the thing, and as someone who is in Canada, fishing early and late season, when the line guide begins to freeze, the t-wing is simply unusable.

Replace it with a tapered line guide like what's on a metanium or an anteres. Casts perfectly fine, i can't notice any differences between it and twing, and the front of the reel wouldn't need to be so fat. And as of late, i've noticed that they're decreasing the size of the t wing itself. So originally, they made the twing because the wanted line to fly through it more freely, but now they're going back to smaller, and more narrower twing. Doesn't make much sense, it's just marketing at this point. People say how the twing is good with thicker lines, but who exactly is complaining about thick lines when using an anteres or a bantam? Nobody.

It's been a few years that i wanted to see a high end baitcaster from Daiwa that isn't using it. With the T-wing, the front of every Daiwa reel is kinda limited, which i am really not a fan off of. Would love to see a tapered line guide like what's on higher end shimanos being used on a Zillion, a Steez, etc. To me, this feature over-stayed its welcome.

Found a better product than the U-40 which i used to use. Try the Minwax Polyurethane clear in warm gloss. Protects the cork perfectly, and makes it look better than U40. Can be purchased for like $9 at your local hardware stores.

What people in this thread are trying to tell you is that you should close your eyes, and buy one. Then let us know what's the difference between it and the $50 rod you have. And for the price a Megabass P5 is way better than an NRX, unless you want your rods to look like they're from 1991.😊

The new tatulas are so much better than shimano offerings in the same price range. Release a 300 size, and its over for the others.

The difference will be so small that you won't be able to notice it. If you need capacity, grab the 100. If you don't need much capacity, grab the 70.

Spool capacity is the difference. No company is gonna modify the whole frame of a reel just to sell it under the 70 size lol. Own the 24 met dc, and it's my fav shimano to date. No, it's not yet buzzy.

Always braid to a mono leader.

It's still in Japan.

I got a Huerco rod. Never tried them before, been wanting to for a couple of years.