Second reel showed up a little early. Spooled up with 12lb InvisX on my jerkbait setup.

 

 

Next round of upgrades will be rods, I think.

On 7/30/2025 at 9:47 AM, Rockhopper said:

Ski them in and stab them to death?  

 

That's my knife to open packages 😂, I love those ugly stik knives,, I have one in every truck RV room of house and office.

If I fish this combo for bass, it will be endemic river bass in limestone headwaters - Texas Brook Trout.  More likely, I'll toss tiny trout plugs in our cold tailwater.  

The rod is Aioushi UL glass, the grip I assembled from a blank with cork grasp  

The reel is a 75-y-o Langley Streamlite modified on a Japan bench. 

 

NK Maker cropped the width of the frame, spool, and level wind, down from 50 mm to 20 mm, to turn a 310KC into a 310XN for extra narrow.  He builds 5.6 gears for these.  The drum he added to the modified spool is shallow with only capacity to fit threadline braid.  It's a direct-drive BFS pocket rocket, and I'm adding my Langley mag brake mod to make it backlash-proof down to 1/16 oz.  

NK Maker also rebuilds his bench XN Langleys as LHW conversion.  

1 hour ago, bulldog1935 said:

If I fish this combo for bass, it will be endemic river bass in limestone headwaters - Texas Brook Trout.  More likely, I'll toss tiny trout plugs in our cold tailwater.  

The rod is Aioushi UL glass, the grip I assembled from a blank with cork grasp  

The reel is a 75-y-o Langley Streamlite modified on a Japan bench. 

NK Maker cropped the width of the frame, spool, and level wind, down from 50 mm to 20 mm, to turn a 310KC into a 310XN for extra narrow.  He builds 5.6 gears for these.  The drum he added to the modified spool is shallow with only capacity to fit threadline braid.  It's a direct-drive BFS pocket rocket, and I'm adding my Langley mag brake mod to make it backlash-proof down to 1/16 oz.  

NK Maker also rebuilds his bench XN Langleys as LHW conversion.  

On 8/5/2025 at 10:11 AM, Robinhood21 said:

Let us all know how it fishes.  I was looking hard at that rod but the weight turned me off.

I just got one too (thanks TW sale) and I love it. Pretty soft tip gives it a wide range, and it pins fish well. I haven't fished deep cranks on it but between the length and the upper weight range, it is well suited for that. Should throw deps 145-ish baits well too.  Throws 1.25oz jackhammers with a zako just fine.

 

If I had a single complaint, it's hard to clear a lot of grass off a bladed jig vs a stiffer rod... but that's to be expected. 

 

On 8/5/2025 at 10:40 AM, F14A-B said:

I’m pretty sure this is a Daiwa rod.

If it isn't a daiwa rod it is at least their blank. One of the tags on it had a bunch of daiwa stuff.

1 hour ago, txchaser said:

I just got one too (thanks TW sale) and I love it. Pretty soft tip gives it a wide range, and it pins fish well. I haven't fished deep cranks on it but between the length and the upper weight range, it is well suited for that. Should throw deps 145-ish baits well too.  Throws 1.25oz jackhammers with a zako just fine.

 

If I had a single complaint, it's hard to clear a lot of grass off a bladed jig vs a stiffer rod... but that's to be expected. 

 

If it isn't a daiwa rod it is at least their blank. One of the tags on it had a bunch of daiwa stuff.

Yep, that TW sale price was impossible to pass up. 

After recently recommending Piscifun products to another member on here I noticed Piscifun was having a flash sale including their Viper X for $29.99 with taxes and shipping it was $37.51 so I decided to take a chance on one. 

TW had a sale last week, so...

 

Something worthy of being spooled with fancy JDM braid is on the way. Not going to spoil it with emails this time  

Dobyn's Maverick. Picked up a few off Amazon for $25. Were $100 on TW. Guess they're blowing them out. Feels much more solid than expected. Double crank and double pinion bearings sez the schematic. MagTrax type brakes. Gifting them out.

 

 

47 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Dobyn's Maverick. Picked up a few off Amazon for $25. Were $100 on TW. Guess they're blowing them out. Feels much more solid than expected. Double crank and double pinion bearings sez the schematic. MagTrax type brakes. Gifting them out.

 

 

These are Histars or the same reel the Histar Black Mamba uses.  I converted mine to a dual brake.  I have dual brake Lieuwang or something plastic reel based on this platform that bombs baits then later got the Histar Black Mamba because of the aluminum frame and hande side plate and put the dual brake parts in the Black Mamba. 

 

The Back Mamba also came with 3 spools with a super deep, regular deep and shallow finesse spool.  Since I converted that reel I don't have a use for the spools and they sit in a drawer with the plastic wang reel.  I'll send you my wang reel and spools later. It has a cone level wind.   

 

I think the royal legend 2 and some Okuma reel also use this platform but are plastic.  

3 minutes ago, Bigbox99 said:

I'll send you my wang reel and spools later.

Thanks for the generous offer, truly, but these reels will be gifted out next week to a few locals who can't afford BC rigs. Good guys, and I can't watch them breaking off fish anymore using spinning rigs and 8lb Trilene XL. Way too choked out around here for light line. One's getting my Fury 733C and the other's getting a Maverick 733C that I just snagged off Amazon for $45. Should be posting pics here tomorrow of that rod if it doesn't show up in pieces.

Tried the new Varivas 8 braided line today, and I'm impressed. I got a spool of  #1.5, 31lb Max, Ocean Blue color. The line is not too soft, not too stiff either. With the initial coating, it's VERY smooth, and the casting distance is superb, compared to other #20 test braided lines. Although it's only #1.5 diameter and I fished it with 1/4oz football jigs in a rocky creek all day, I didn't have one break-off. 

 

The only complain I have is the color fading. After several casts, my thumb had already turned blue. Let's wait and see how the color fading will be in long term.

 

 

grabbed a dobyns 836 bull shad rod from amazon for less than $120 after taxes. It should be here tomorrow

 

I got bit hard by the Bait Monkey in the past month. My first purchase was a Kistler Helium 7' 6" 5H casting rod. Then I purchased an 8:5:1 Curado M rod to go along with it.

 

I really like the Kistler Helium rods as they are light but still have enough backbone. I already had a Kistler KLX heavy rod and another MH Helium rod.

 

I go through my gear every now and then and change up some of my rod and reel combos. When I did this a few weeks ago, I noticed that other than a few old Curado DLC rods I didn't have any reels in the 7:x range that I liked to use. So of course, that meant buying another new reel.

 

Most of my reels are various Curados, with a Lew's and a few Daiwa's mixed in. I'm really not a fan of the Daiwa's. I looked at another Lew's reel, thought about another Curado, but instead decided to give the Kistler Chromium casting reel a chance. I have to say, I was surprised.

 

It's a very light reel at only 6 ounces. It feels nice, but maybe it being so light makes it feel a bit cheap. However, its performance has been great. It does take a little bit to dial in the brakes, but this thing casts a mile on my MH Kistler rod. I usually don't care about distance on my kayak, but this was from the bank and the extra distance helps.

 

I have to say I was actually impressed. While I still prefer my Curados, I would not be opposed to buying another one in the future.

 

***Update: Since posting this earlier today I purchased a Kistler Chromium spinning reel. That’s it. I’m done. I’m serious this time 😀

Edited August 12, 2025Aug 12 by Kayak Koz

I’m the same, mostly all Curados, a couple Lew’s and a Diawa spinner.

I purchased the first gen Kistler Chromium reel a couple years ago at like $99. Definitely a great deal and a pretty nice reel. I recently switched it to 30# Segaur Smackdown for my swim jig rod (a Kistler KLX #4) and impressed with the easy distance and accuracy. Don’t know the difference between the first gen and the present incarnation.

I really feel Kistler is good value for the money and pleased with my purchases. 
 

 

The eagle has landed. With the coming price increases and tariffs I think I'm officially done for at least a little while.

1 hour ago, Peacedivision said:

The eagle has landed. With the coming price increases and tariffs I think I'm officially done for at least a little while.

On 8/12/2025 at 1:19 PM, Kayak Koz said:

 

***Update: Since posting this earlier today I purchased a Kistler Chromium spinning reel. That’s it. I’m done. I’m serious this time 😀

infinity loop line lay is pretty

On 8/11/2025 at 1:56 PM, PhishLI said:

Dobyn's Maverick. Picked up a few off Amazon for $25. Were $100 on TW. Guess they're blowing them out. Feels much more solid than expected. Double crank and double pinion bearings sez the schematic. MagTrax type brakes. Gifting them out.

 

 

And very braid friendly.

23 minutes ago, Columbia Craw said:

And very braid friendly.

That's exactly what they're getting spooled with. 30lb J8.

Lots of people prefer to buy brand new rods and reels. I get it, but it also costs a pretty penny too. For guys who can fix stuff, I can't speak for them, but I prefer to buy used and especially broken tackle I know I can fix because I get it so darn cheap. But sometimes I can get it cheap used still in great shape. I'd like to bring your attention to pawn shops in your area.

 

Pawn shops are one of my go to places for tools, rods and reels, toys for kids, video games, and all kinds of used and sometime new things. Lately even fireworks are being sold in my local pawn shop and making some pretty good deals to. So as you drive around your town and you see a pawn shop, stop in and see if they have something worthwhile in there.

 

I did a short round of pawn shops today in the Jacksonville Florida area and scored one rod, have another in my sights when price drops again, and I passed up some rods I bet some of you would have been all over.

 

One pawn shop had a half dozen Falcon rods like new, and all of them were priced with reels under $40 each, and they might haggle and take less. I found two All Star rods with reels for less than $25 each. I found a couple of custom rods not to my liking for cheap. Passed on those too. But point is, some of you might find some really good deals in your local pawn shops.

 

At this same pawn shop a few months ago I scored a GLoomis BCR803 GLX for under $40. Retail it was new $525 to $625. Never know what you will find.

 

The one rod I did not pass up today is a Vexan V7MHX-C inshore rod retails new for $159 to $199. The pawn shop had it marked at $25, but had moved it to a clearance table. So I always ask "What's your best cash price?" And today the bait monkey got me for $5 plus 7% tax for a total of $5.35 out the door for a good condition MH extra fast rod.

 

And I did pass up a second $5 rod. A 7' Lews Speed Stick. Just too whippy for my tastes.

 

I surely like getting tackle at rock bottom prices, but it takes determination and persistence. When I head out to lunch somewhere, I always make it a point to drive past a couple pawn shops to hit on the way to lunch or on way back home.

 

At this same pawn shop a year ago I purchased a really nice 55lb trolling motor with broken tiller headstock for $35. I had a headstock laying around. Fixed it up for a buddy of mine down in Winter Haven. Pawn shops really are a great place to shop. I passed up a nice 40lb trolling motor today for $40. Just don't need it. Good price though.

 

The rod and reel I passed up today is a like new St. Croix rod made in Mexico, and a lefty Curado 210HG. Pawn shop had $279 on it, and it just sits there going nowhere. Today it was marked down to $199. Shop manager said come back next week and if its still there he will pitch me a rock bottom price. I'm thinking $100 or less is where I am at.

 

Another good idea with pawn shops is to keep some junk in the garage you can sell to pawn shop or trade in. So if you find something in there you like but price is too high, you might consider selling them or trading to them some of the stuff you don't want to help cover cost of what you do want. Jewelry and gold is always a favorite at pawn shops. And always haggle with them.

 

Some people might say they can't trust pawn shop rods, but one way to look at it is if a rod survived years to make it into a pawn shop intact, that means it has already been tried and tested. If it was going to break, it would have already done so. So most pawn shops rods if intact you can be fairly certain is going to continue to stay intact.

 

The bait monkey on my back today is small enough to be a keychain monkey. Not big enough to hurt today!

 

 

I'm giving this one to my 12 year old son. I won't tell him it cost $5. He'll look up the model and find the retail value and give dad credit for that much like he just did with the new sleeping bag I got him. All he cares about is the retail price. I never tell him how cheap I really got it for. I like the full retail credit better.

 

 

 

No more waking up in a cold sweat to what I imagine to be the reverberant, God-like voice of @bulldog1935 repeating "Worm drive oscillation and braid".

 

This reel sat in my amazon cart forever. I watched the price rise and rise before I hit the button. So dumb. I don't like the idea of no AR switch. I constantly use it to adjust lure-drop and getting a hook into a rod's keeper. Been doing so since the '70s so it's beyond second nature at this point. We'll see. Hopefully Shimano's line management is as magical as I've been led to believe.

 

4 hours ago, PhishLI said:

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2025Aug 16 by Eric 26
Images are reversed 😡

4 hours ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

Lots of people prefer to buy brand new rods and reels. I get it, but it also costs a pretty penny too. For guys who can fix stuff, I can't speak for them, but I prefer to buy used and especially broken tackle I know I can fix because I get it so darn cheap. But sometimes I can get it cheap used still in great shape. I'd like to bring your attention to pawn shops in your area.

 

Pawn shops are one of my go to places for tools, rods and reels, toys for kids, video games, and all kinds of used and sometime new things. Lately even fireworks are being sold in my local pawn shop and making some pretty good deals to. So as you drive around your town and you see a pawn shop, stop in and see if they have something worthwhile in there.

 

I did a short round of pawn shops today in the Jacksonville Florida area and scored one rod, have another in my sights when price drops again, and I passed up some rods I bet some of you would have been all over.

 

One pawn shop had a half dozen Falcon rods like new, and all of them were priced with reels under $40 each, and they might haggle and take less. I found two All Star rods with reels for less than $25 each. I found a couple of custom rods not to my liking for cheap. Passed on those too. But point is, some of you might find some really good deals in your local pawn shops.

 

At this same pawn shop a few months ago I scored a GLoomis BCR803 GLX for under $40. Retail it was new $525 to $625. Never know what you will find.

 

The one rod I did not pass up today is a Vexan V7MHX-C inshore rod retails news for $159 to $199. The pawn shop had it marked at $25, but had moved it to a clearance table. So I always ask "What's your best cash price?" And today the bait monkey got me for $5 plus 7% tax for a total of $5.35 out the door for a good condition MH extra fast rod.

 

And I did pass up a second $5 rod. A 7' Lews Speed Stick. Just too whippy for my tastes.

 

I surely like getting tackle at rock bottom prices, but it takes determination and persistence. When I head out to lunch somewhere, I always make it a point to drive past a couple pawn shops to hit on the way to lunch or on way back home.

 

At this same pawn shop a year ago I purchased a really nice 55lb trolling motor with broken tiller headstock for $35. I had a headstock laying around. Fixed it up for a buddy of mine down in Winter Haven. Pawn shops really are a great place to shop. I passed up a nice 40lb trolling motor today for $40. Just don't need it. Good price though.

 

The rod and reel I passed up today is a like new St. Croix rod made in Mexico, and a lefty Curado 210HG. Pawn shop had $279 on it, and it just sits there going nowhere. Today it was marked down to $199. Shop manager said come back next week and if its still there he will pitch me a rock bottom price. I'm thinking $100 or less is where I am at.

 

Another good idea with pawn shops is to keep some junk in the garage you can sell to pawn shop or trade in. So if you find something in there you like but price is too high, you might consider selling them or trading to them some of the stuff you don't want to help cover cost of what you do want. Jewelry and gold is always a favorite at pawn shops. And always haggle with them.

 

Some people might say they can't trust pawn shop rods, but one way to look at it is if a rod survived years to make it into a pawn shop intact, that means it has already been tried and tested. If it was going to break, it would have already done so. So most pawn shops rods if intact you can be fairly certain is going to continue to stay intact.

 

The bait monkey on my back today is small enough to be a keychain monkey. Not big enough to hurt today!

 

 

I'm giving this one to my 12 year old son. I won't tell him it cost $5. He'll look up the model and find the retail value and give dad credit for that much like he just did with the new sleeping bag I got him. All he cares about is the retail price. I never tell him how cheap I really got it for. I like the full retail credit better.

 

 

 

Love your way, Going to hit the pawn shop from now on, Thanks for sharring and I hope you can get that Curado 201 next week and see you post the pictures here for us to see.