Make sure you follow proper maintenance procedures including using tip covers for each section of the rod when transporting
While we all have our favorites, bass can be finicky
If this particular bearing gets fouled with debris, needs lube, or gets corroded, it can cause the reel to feel rougher when cranking (and can even feel/sound like you are turning a coffee grinder), especially at higher drag settings
And, man, does it sink, dropping through the water column at a rate of a foot per second
You had to find something with adhesive properties and even the engineers were scratching their heads at first. Bryan Yamane, assistant product manager for fishing lines and accessories at Daiwa, maker of Saltiga and Samurai braids, remembers that era well