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Friday, August 2, 2024

An Angler's Tale - #5: It Was Nice While it Lasted

 



Despite the entry title, there won't be any sort of bewildering complaints or self-loathing here. This is more of a self-reflection and a reminder of why I spend the money I spend on my fishing gear.

As per my previous post about having happened across a really nice Daiwa reel at, what I felt was a steal. I quickly bought it and put it to use along with some nice fluorocarbon. Okay, nothing too bad there. I got out onto the river and made a few casts to get a feel for the thing and thought it had some nice action and a fast retrieve.



But upon the NEXT trip out. Yesterday, after work. the crap really hit the fan when I snagged and tried snapping the string with a good pull. Fortunately, the Daiwa rod itself held up amazingly well(which I'm relieved 6-foot casting poles with cork handles aren't easy to come by), but the line had somehow cut a line straight through the pool, creating a crevice that now anything the thing is reeled, the line basically tangles itself around the spool, making it unusable.

Now, had I been in the same mindset that I was just a week and a half ago, I'd probably have given up on fishing altogether after that. Down both $40 on the reel and the $13 for the line thanks to the place I bought it from's terrible return policy. 

All was not lost, however, as I still had Zebco to fall back on. In particular, my Omega Pro, which I bought for myself a few years ago as a birthday gift. The reel has held up amazingly well, and while it does make some noises during retrieval, they're just noises and don't relate to any actual issues from within the device itself.


The reel itself is a beast when it comes to build quality. The only knock I can make against it is its retrieval speed, but it has held up over the years and has once again returned to being my main reel and will continue to claim that title until I either upgrade to the 2023 model or it ultimately falls apart somehow.


Reel: Zebco Omega Pro30 (2012 model)
Pole: Daiwa Crossfire 6'
Line: Berkley Trilene XL Smooth Casting 10lb Mono

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