O.K., time to come out of hibernation - IT'S BLACKFISH SEASON!
And today's my 66th Birthday! Jeez, that's alot of tides under the keel, that's for sure! In commeration of this momentous achievement I decided to treat myself to a new tog jigging setup. The Tackle Monkey was hungry once again and must be fed!
If you've read anything on this board at all, you know that I'm in LOVE with my 6' Shimano Grappler Type J spinning rod in the ML power, which absolutely slays the fluke on my offshore jigging grounds. For that work I mount my quite light weight and smooth-cranking Daiwa Ballistic LT2500. However for tog I prefer a bit more substantial reel, and so my Tsunami Evict 2000 gets the call. But I really do want something a tad more powerful rod-wise, should a real bronto bulldog pick up my jig and head for his rocky home. So, finding the same stick in the more powerful "M" strength on-line for $70 off (thanks, George!), well it was a no-brainer. The rod arrived Thursday, and its just about perfecto for my needs. No, it IS perfecto.
I originally intended to use my Evict on this rod, but after receiving it I got to thinking - what if I bring TWO jigging rods aboard, so that I can switch off, one to the other, in the event of a snagged break-off? Less lost re-rigging time means more time soaking my crabby jig, thus more fish hook-ups. Makes sense to me, at least.
But then, what reel to go with this slick new stick? After much thought and watching a bunch of Tackle Advisors vids on YouTube, I narrowed it down to the Penn Battle III DX (because: all brass gears), the new Shimano Spheros SW Inshore, and the really new Daiwa Saltist MQ. I would have gone with another Evict 2000 (still love that little beastie, btw), but I really did want to sample some of the other newer offerings out there.
With the above mentioned candidates in mind I ran over to see my friend John at Trophy Tackle for his valuable, knowledgable input. The man's a fount of info - and will always give the straight "insider" poop on the goings-on in the tackle market.
Well, first off, John no longer carries Daiwa rods or reels - don't know why and didn't ask. As my Sicilian grandma used to say, "Minda you bizness, little boy." To my disappointment, the Battle III DX has been sold out for a while and John was a bit unsure as to their ETA. Supply Chain is a b*tch!, in his business (and mine as well).
What John did show me was that Spheros SW Inshore 3000 - and wow, what a smooth reel! I think of my little Ballistic as a real smooth turner, but this Spheros SW Inshore is next level. And at right around $119, a freakin' steal! What Shimano did with this reel was to take the last Stradic, the "FK" version, gave it some additional water sealing, subbed in a teflon bushing for the line roller instead of the troublesome ball bearing, and then applied a seriously-nice new paint job. The tooling for this reel was already paid for, so why not?
Oh, and they dropped the price by $70 - a not too inconsequential point of consideration. It features Shimano's aluminum/brass Paladin geartrain - a big step up from Daiwa's zinc main-geared BG series, which comes in at right around the same price. I just wanted a slightly more substantial reel, though for fluke jigging this latest little Shimano would be the bomb! And at that asking price, it will be a can't-miss winner. Check one out for yourself and see if I'm not speaking the truth!
John also brought out the standard Battle III (with its aluminum/brass gearset), the Spinfisher VI 2500 and surprisingly, the Quantum Smoke 30 - which was also quite nice, but came equipped with a ridiculously small handle and knob assembly - like FW bass small. Meh. Like I said, the Spheros felt like it would SLAY on the fluke grounds but seemed a little light-duty for the punishment I had in mind for it, while the Battle III and Spinfisher VI felt just a bit too heavy weight-wise for my taste. More so even than my Evict, which is no lightweight in its size class. Hey, the Tsunami's stainless steel gears ain't light. Strong as h*ll though - that's really the Evict's forte.
Then John whipped out the Penn Clash II 3000 - and that was that - decision made. A VERY substantial reel, cranked near Shimano-smooth, if you know what I mean - and it just oozes confident strength. To my relief, unlike most currrent Penn spinners, it is NOT that yucchy (to me) black and off-gold that Penn seems to love so much. Rather, the all-aluminum body is finished in a tough-looking dark gunsmoke flat finish of some kind, while the rotor and handle are semi-gloss black.
Penn's attention to detail on this reel is evident. Example: the little round cap that covers the sideplate hole on the side opposite the handle? Just about every small spinner I've ever owned has a "cheapie" one made of flash-chromed or just plain old black plastic. Not this reel. Instead it carries a nicely machined and anodized aluminum cover cap - and that's the kind of small matter that matters to me. The overall effect is of a high quality reel, one that presents like no Penn spinner I've seen. Plus the handle shank has some very interesting cut-outs, and is sold with an extra ball-type EVA knob, in addition to the standard big, wide EVA paddle.
Done! I had John fill it with my new favorite line, 20lb Daiwa J-Braid in fluorescent green, and off I went, with the other half of a very nice self-granted birthday gift. The Tackle Monkey was fed and quite happy. For now, anyway.
So, let's see if I can get this new setup on my boat - or any boat for that matter, without getting blown overboard; what with these crummy weekend wind attacks. Pix for your perusal:
And the siblings side-by-side - all rigged and ready to sail:
