TackleTour

If you had your druthers, what would your dream baitcaster have as features?

For me, it would be:
1. Low profile small in hand
2. Light weight less than 7oz
3. Light spool 11grams or less
4. Brass gears
5. Lots of ball bearing, including 2 in each handle knob
6. Externally adjustable centrifugal brakes
7. Good drag 20# minimum
8. Hinged side plate
9. Easy maintenance
10. Affordable

Off the top of my head:

Light weight but metal frame and handle side plate
Smooth drag
Magnetic braking system, preferably with a fairly fast spool.
Brass gears
Some sort of color involved other than silver, black, or red.


I’d settle for a TD ITÖ with full gear ranges and the foot chopped to allow a lower mounting point on the reel seat. Oh yeah, and something other than that awful drag system they have. If you really want to go all in throw in Magforce 3D, but you can keep the TWing. The TDZ family in general and the Itö variations specifically have always been a favorite of mine. Very palmable, light weight, great performers and great looking. Plus the parts interchangeability allows them to be built to suit any taste.

Take the 20 Metanium but:
with a SV spool + brakes,
clicky drag,
90mm handle,
sealed (like the rcs) but stock shape cork knobs,
color scheme like the 15 Aldebaran, ideally cerakoted (Matte black + bright silver)


Actual Dreams:

optional heater module that plugs with cable through your sleeve but doesn’t add a lot weight. I fish lefty and don’t switch hands. It’s around freezing temperatures in Germany.

gears that will never start buzzing or emit any vibration or sound what so ever

Round, size 70, recessed foot, disengaging level wind, 28mm ported shallow spool, 8:1 gears, machined magnesium frame, drag clicker, something like a Daiwa air brake, carbon fiber handle, and either silver or black. Something like a mix between a Millionaire CT and a Alphas Air TW but lighter than the Millionaire. I'm a sucker for a nice round reel.

dennis_rf wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:07 pm

I fish lefty and don’t switch hands. It’s around freezing temperatures in Germany.

Look at getting some fingerless Alpaca gloves, they run around $30. I fish frequently in near freezing temps and those gloves make it much more bearable. The finger tips are open so you can still fish without much obstruction. I can thumb a spool and tie knots with them. Your fingertips will still get cold but the rest will stay warm.

The geometrical shape of a Lews slp.

The gears of a Shimano Antares or new metanium.

The braking system of Daiwa SV’s boost.

MGL III spool.

Magforce 3D TD Zillion at 7.55 oz Megabass IP weight with 34mm spools.

tincanary wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:44 pm

dennis_rf wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:07 pm

I fish lefty and don’t switch hands. It’s around freezing temperatures in Germany.

Look at getting some fingerless Alpaca gloves, they run around $30. I fish frequently in near freezing temps and those gloves make it much more bearable. The finger tips are open so you can still fish without much obstruction. I can thumb a spool and tie knots with them. Your fingertips will still get cold but the rest will stay warm.

I do something similar, but I put on a pair of nitril gloves first (thin enough to tie knots with them on) and put Hot Hands 10 chemical warmers in the palms, so they stay dry. Finally a pair of fingerless wool gloves. It's amazing how much warmer my hands stay.

Shimano Curado 50E. Small, built well, great braking system, good drag, holds plenty of line, killer paint job, and a ton of options to mod. Oh, and I have one.

Put brass gears and SV Boost spool in Steez SV TW (or Steez A) and i'll say to Daiwa:

All that Hyper stuff turned dream to reality.

A magnesium framed SV103XS would be tough to beat.

I would like a Bantam with a T-Wing please

Reel would be a Steez A. Color would be three choices. Burnt Orange with some metal flake , Jet black with gold accents and Royal Purple with gunmetal accents . Max bearing count. 85mm carbon fiber handle with a 34mm Honeycomb spool.

Always wanted a sub 6.5oz full bare titanium low profile baitcaster with some nice engraving on it. But who am i kidding, these will never be a thing.