OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

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Craiger12
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OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by Craiger12 » Wed Jul 11, 2018 9:15 pm

Been doing some research and learning a lot, but figured I might as well just ask...I'm looking at possibly upgrading the spool on one of my OG Zillions to make it a more friendly caster for lighter cranks in the 3/8-1/2oz range and wondering what my best options would be for increased distance on the lighter end? I know it will launch anything over 1/2oz just fine, but hoping to pick up more distance with the lighter shallow cranks like the 1.5 KVD and LC squarebills. Still looking for decent line capacity as I will either be using 30# braid or 12-15# copoly/fluoro and want to be able to bomb lipless cranks. Thinking this might be my solution since I don't really need another reel :roll:

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LowRange
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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by LowRange » Wed Jul 11, 2018 10:18 pm

TD-Z 100 gigas spool.

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Rippin-lips
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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by Rippin-lips » Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:41 am

I’ze PE longcast

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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by Craiger12 » Thu Jul 12, 2018 6:28 am

I forgot to mention that I would much prefer a spool that is readily available if that is even a possibility. Feel free to school me here as my knowledge is limited.

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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by IlliniDawg01 » Thu Jul 12, 2018 6:37 am

Rippin-lips wrote:I’ze PE longcast
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/DIY-non ... autifyAB=0

That spool or one of these of you aren't worried about max line capacity. With 30lb braid either are pretty great. The DIY spool will go the lowest and costs less.

DaveJ

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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by Craiger12 » Thu Jul 12, 2018 8:31 am

IlliniDawg01 wrote:
Rippin-lips wrote:I’ze PE longcast
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/DIY-non ... autifyAB=0

That spool or one of these of you aren't worried about max line capacity. With 30lb braid either are pretty great. The DIY spool will go the lowest and costs less.

DaveJ
Thanks for the link. I'm interested in the DIY, especially at that price. However, my understanding is that it is more of a BFS spool. Will this limit my ability to cast the upper end for distance, like bombing 5/8-3/4oz lipless cranks?

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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by toddmc » Thu Jul 12, 2018 11:05 am

IMG_0288.JPG
IMG_0288.JPG (25.65 KiB) Viewed 8260 times
The DIY spool is the easiest to find spool upgrade for the OG Zillion and TD Fuego. The solid spool (no holes) is durable enough, and only about 1/2 gram heavier than the drilled spool. This reel is on a 7' medium crank rod (1.5 squarebill) right now. It does great for this application. An SV spool with spacers is another option that works well for 3/8 oz. baits.
I've caught some five pound fish with 16 lb. fluoro, a heavy rod, and single hook baits with this spool without issues. I purposely put the spool through a torture test to see if it would hold up. I'm not real fond of the micro bearing though.
This spool only holds about 65 yards of 12 lb. Sniper. You probably will empty the spool with a lipless crank and a long rod. I wouldn't use it for this application. I would use the SV or other 103 size spool for this.

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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by Craiger12 » Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:07 pm

Again I'm going to display my ignorance here...what SV or 103 spools fit the OG Zillion? Would they all require some form of spacer? If so, where does one find these spacers? Thanks for the responses so far guys.

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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by jjbassnforfun » Thu Jul 12, 2018 2:03 pm

Craiger12 wrote:Again I'm going to display my ignorance here...what SV or 103 spools fit the OG Zillion? Would they all require some form of spacer? If so, where does one find these spacers? Thanks for the responses so far guys.
Non fit without spacers!!

I've been using a red PE spool for my light cranks/square bills and rattle baits since the TDZ100M spool is about impossible to find. Got it from Japan Tackle. Many are saying the DIY/Ray spools are dandy in moneys tight.
2012 Stratos 285XL 150 Etec HO

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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by Craiger12 » Thu Jul 12, 2018 4:01 pm

jjbassnforfun wrote:
Craiger12 wrote:Again I'm going to display my ignorance here...what SV or 103 spools fit the OG Zillion? Would they all require some form of spacer? If so, where does one find these spacers? Thanks for the responses so far guys.
Non fit without spacers!!

I've been using a red PE spool for my light cranks/square bills and rattle baits since the TDZ100M spool is about impossible to find. Got it from Japan Tackle. Many are saying the DIY/Ray spools are dandy in moneys tight.
Are you referring to the red PE spool currently available from Japan Tackle? I'm considering going with either the red or gold PE spool. Looks like it would be a nice blend of what I'm looking for. Better casting with slightly lighter lures, but still decent line capacity capable of bombing lipless and heavier cranks.

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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by jjbassnforfun » Thu Jul 12, 2018 4:49 pm

Craiger12 wrote:
jjbassnforfun wrote:
Craiger12 wrote:Again I'm going to display my ignorance here...what SV or 103 spools fit the OG Zillion? Would they all require some form of spacer? If so, where does one find these spacers? Thanks for the responses so far guys.
Non fit without spacers!!

I've been using a red PE spool for my light cranks/square bills and rattle baits since the TDZ100M spool is about impossible to find. Got it from Japan Tackle. Many are saying the DIY/Ray spools are dandy in moneys tight.
Are you referring to the red PE spool currently available from Japan Tackle? I'm considering going with either the red or gold PE spool. Looks like it would be a nice blend of what I'm looking for. Better casting with slightly lighter lures, but still decent line capacity capable of bombing lipless and heavier cranks.
Yep, Thats the one I got. Works dandy for me 3/8 oz. and above. A bit tricky with 1/4 oz. and wind. I liked the red one because it had the variable inductor. I suppose the fixed inductor on the gold one would be a better choice and more consistent??

I might have lied, I liked the red one because it was red............... :whistle:
2012 Stratos 285XL 150 Etec HO

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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by Craiger12 » Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:26 pm

jjbassnforfun wrote:
Craiger12 wrote:
jjbassnforfun wrote:
Craiger12 wrote:Again I'm going to display my ignorance here...what SV or 103 spools fit the OG Zillion? Would they all require some form of spacer? If so, where does one find these spacers? Thanks for the responses so far guys.
Non fit without spacers!!

I've been using a red PE spool for my light cranks/square bills and rattle baits since the TDZ100M spool is about impossible to find. Got it from Japan Tackle. Many are saying the DIY/Ray spools are dandy in moneys tight.
Are you referring to the red PE spool currently available from Japan Tackle? I'm considering going with either the red or gold PE spool. Looks like it would be a nice blend of what I'm looking for. Better casting with slightly lighter lures, but still decent line capacity capable of bombing lipless and heavier cranks.
Yep, Thats the one I got. Works dandy for me 3/8 oz. and above. A bit tricky with 1/4 oz. and wind. I liked the red one because it had the variable inductor. I suppose the fixed inductor on the gold one would be a better choice and more consistent??

I might have lied, I liked the red one because it was red............... :whistle:
Haha. The red one would match my Zillion SHLA better...

Can anyone else comment on how these two PE spools vary and which might be better for my needs?

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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by IlliniDawg01 » Thu Jul 12, 2018 7:05 pm

Craiger12 wrote:
jjbassnforfun wrote:
Craiger12 wrote:
jjbassnforfun wrote:
Craiger12 wrote:Again I'm going to display my ignorance here...what SV or 103 spools fit the OG Zillion? Would they all require some form of spacer? If so, where does one find these spacers? Thanks for the responses so far guys.
Non fit without spacers!!

I've been using a red PE spool for my light cranks/square bills and rattle baits since the TDZ100M spool is about impossible to find. Got it from Japan Tackle. Many are saying the DIY/Ray spools are dandy in moneys tight.
Are you referring to the red PE spool currently available from Japan Tackle? I'm considering going with either the red or gold PE spool. Looks like it would be a nice blend of what I'm looking for. Better casting with slightly lighter lures, but still decent line capacity capable of bombing lipless and heavier cranks.
Yep, Thats the one I got. Works dandy for me 3/8 oz. and above. A bit tricky with 1/4 oz. and wind. I liked the red one because it had the variable inductor. I suppose the fixed inductor on the gold one would be a better choice and more consistent??

I might have lied, I liked the red one because it was red............... :whistle:
Haha. The red one would match my Zillion SHLA better...

Can anyone else comment on how these two PE spools vary and which might be better for my needs?
I don't think the Gold one is known to be a great caster and has more braking, but I haven't personally used it. The Red PE spool is nice but isn't a great bomb caster IMO either. I like it but don't love it. If the DIY Zillion spools perform similarly to the DIY 103 sized spools (Steez/TDZ/T3/etc) then they will bomb anything. If you use braid I suggest going with 1 of them. If you are using 12lb+ FC, then you should probably try one of the other ones. If you can get your hands on a J-Dream spool that is probably the best option. Best of luck with that though.

DaveJ

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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by Craiger12 » Thu Jul 12, 2018 7:34 pm

Just going from the description it seems like the gold PE spool might be better than the red for my needs. Fixed rotor is supposed to be better for high speed casting? This is certainly what I will be doing when whipping cranks out there.

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Re: OG Zillion Spool Upgrade

Post by Rippin-lips » Thu Jul 12, 2018 7:59 pm

Not the easiest to come by but Zpi makes 36-34 spacers and they’ll allow the use of a multitude of spools. Overseas auction sites are your best bet at finding a set. Unless you’re friends with a machinist and can have them make you a set.

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