Basseditor

53 Kistler Rods and 60 Daiwa reels (and counting) I’m selling some Daiwa Tatula 100 - 8.1 brand new with SS/ceramic bearings installed.

I ran out of room in the garage so my office/den is the over flow. It’s getting full too.

I have more tackle and rods/reels than most tackle stores. Some of the totes of plastics are so heavy, I can barely lift them.

Tournament tomorrow. Weather forecast: 105 degrees. Hoping for a breeze. I caught my first 10 pounder a few years ago, when it was 106 at 2:00 p.m. I’ve gone ice fishing when it was -40. I’ll take 100 any day.

A new Tatula CT was announced today. It looks nice, but delivery is estimated late August.

Our daughter lives in Salt Lake City. When we drive to visit, and we hit the half-way point, we’re just leaving Texas.

Here in Texas, driving 300 miles is nothing — so 600 miles is feasible. I don’t leave anything unchecked. Carry grease gun to top off bearing buddies or whatever system you have. Feel the tires and wheels for heat every stop. Find out what size spindle on your trailer. Buy an extra hub/bearing/seal assembly. Make sure bearings are packed properly. Rather than trying to replace bearings on the side of the road, pull off old hub, slip on new, tighten everything to specs and your done.

Local traffic alone is making Texas lakes super busy. I don’t go out when weather is nice—too many people!

I tried a ZPI “M” spool but it was little wild to my taste. So I put the M in a Zillion and the Zillion SV spool in the SS SV. Now I have two great reels. The SS is a semi finesse reel now. I could go all finesse with it if needed but I have two other reels that are better BFS. It’s on a Kistler light rod.

For chatter baits, I use a Kistler Rods Feel N Reel. It’s graphite with glass section on the top third or so. The action is a medium heavy.

For most of us that start with a few rods, we develop favorite techniques and baits that make us rethink our set ups. That’s ok in the beginning. The more I’ve fished, the more I’ve refined my collection of rods. I’m not being critical with the following, it’s just how I fish: A medium heavy rod is supposed to be multi purpose but here is where I get on a different track than most. A MH is like a jack-of-all-trades — master of none. It’s too heavy for light duty techniques. And it’s too light for heavy duty punching, pitching, frogs in heavy cover, etc. I only use Kistler Rods (by choice) partly because I like the rating system to help identify technique-specific applications. Their rods are rated 2-6 power mostly. Most of the time I use either a 3 (LMH light medium heavy) or 5 (H heavy) power. I gave away the 4 power rods (MH) I had. To me, a collection of MH is like playing a round of golf with only 6-irons in your bag.

My last Digitaka purchase came through Chicago and I’m in Texas too. I can’t remember shipping time, but reasonable.

As a “former” avid fan, I hate to say this: I’m passed the withdrawal stage — I don’t miss it all. There are a lot of things I haven’t missed this last month. Weird.

10” Powerworm for the one in my profile picture 6XD for second place biggest

I find it hard to believe a Kistler employee would say that. Maybe a pro staff? Anyway, yes prices did go up but their sales prices lately have been very good. I don’t know if blanks and components prices are up? Sign up for their email alerts for sale prices. I bought 6 rods since January at good prices. Some less than I paid last year.

I must stop. I’ve bought about 15 new Daiwas since December. I’m going to sell a couple probably. I don’t need 6 Tatula 100. Or 4 60th anniversary reels. Darn holiday sales. I have a bunch I haven’t even opened the shipping boxes they came in yet: Zillion 10, 4 Tatula elite (2 of each), Steez CC, Zillion HLC, new Tatula SV TW103, and Steez Air. Once I test these, I’ll hone in on my favorites and sell the others. Wow, that’s 19 if I added right. Since December. Crazy. Oh, I forgot that near mint Pixy I found too. 20!

I put the line in the middle of the spool (after running it through line guide) and put a short piece of tape to hold it in place. No slipping. I do that on all line types. It leaves residue when I take the line/tape off but it comes right off with alcohol and q-tip

I haven’t tried braid on my Steez. I use 14# K9 flouro for throwing lipless crankbaits. They cast very far. But it’s not stock. I put in ZPI spool and bearings and use the ZPI bearing oil. The rod is a Kistler 7’11” KLX moderate action rod. Let me add. It’s a the Steez A I use for distance. My SVs aren’t set up for distance. One has a stock Zillion SV spool and the other a ZPI spool. (I put a ZPI spool in the Zillion that I took the SV spool from.)

I use a 1-gallon zip lock bag and take apart those clips, etc. inside it. When that clip goes flying, at least it is still in the bag.

Lipless crankbaits, Senkos (wacky and T-rig), swimbaits, jigs... You’ll find lots of grass and brush/trees. But you can fish deep (up to 40’) near the dam too. Who is your guide?

Rain golf gloves. If it’s not raining, lightly insulated golf gloves. Not for extreme cold, but comfortable and have a good grip. I’ve tried so many gloves and can’t get a good fit on anything else.

I was offered some free reels in exchange for video reviews on Amazon because of my YouTube videos. I had to buy the products then do the review. (They said to be honest in my review.) The reels turned out to be decent and inexpensive. I gave them a good review, and then they sent me a reimbursement via PayPal. They offered me a sponsorship but I didn’t want to change brands at the time. That brand is now popular with many people. So, it’s not all bad.

I went overboard, again. (I tell my kids not to get me anything.) I just get my own stuff: 4 Daiwa Tatula 100; 4 Daiwa 60th anniversary reels; a used, near mint Daiwa Pixy 68R (just had to have it). Then I prepaid for reel super tuning and bearings for 10 reels. Too good of a deal to pass up.

Depending on how much you use up the batteries, stay at a campground with power hookups once every few days. State parks are great bargains in many states.

Thanks