Delaware Valley Tackle

Look for “popping “ rods in inshore series’s. They are typically fast or mod-fast action but soft tipped.

I like dual or centrifugal brakes in a cranking reel and agree that ratio is personal preference but a 5:1 is nice for deep cranking

I’ve fished the same leader for days at times. Rest easy.

A 4.5 micro will pass a well tied Albright connection between 50# braid and 15# fluorocarbon no problem. Re-tie as needed regardless of circumstances.

Just experiment and see what you like. You’re not going to hurt anything.

If I remember that’s about 1/2 of what the sold for new so if it’s 9 mechanically and cosmetically I’d say that’s good.

I think the new one has full floating spool too.

Is the handle tight?

Aren’t they the same knot?

What exactly does “through the paces “ consist of on your example? I’m curious as I don’t see a lot of bad gears unless neglect or user error are in play.

The thing no one mentions is the amount of weight or pressure it takes for a line to stretch. It’ll stretch a certain amount before breaking, a fraction of that fighting a fish, and an inconsequential (IMO) amount on a hook set.

Welcome. This post is 9 yrs old. Start a new thread for more response

Conventional wisdom is that brass gears are more durable. Any difference in feel I think goes more to weight than any other quality of the material. Keep in mind actual material varies and machining matters. Anecdotally, I rarely need to replace gears of brass or aluminum. Not a deal breaker for me either way all else being equal. Sorry I can’t be more definitive. Buy quality and you’ll be fine.

The 5:1 offeres a mechanical advantage retrieving deep cranks and other high resistance baits. Everything else is mostly personal preference.

Don’t be afraid to ditch the leaders either. As for st croix blanks, the step from sciii to scvi is noticeable sciv to scv less so.

If you can’t find what you want otc let me know and we’ll build it.

ABEC only grades tolerances not materials, hardness or smoothness of components. Higher ABEC ratings don’t necessarily equate to longer/faster spin speeds. True ABEC 9 bearings are intended for critical applications such as NASA would require and are expensive. There’s a lot of mislabeling and misinformation in the bearing market. The flip side of the coin is that a bearing can still be quality without the manufacturer jumping through the hoops and expense of being rated. This is another topic that’s largely misunderstood and way over thought. Bushing isn’t the dirty word it’s made out to be. There’s lots of cool technology and materials in the world and it’s changing rapidly.

The orange seal bearings are good but you need to remove the seals and run them open. They’re meant to be “non contact “ seals but aren’t always. As for the sound, there is some but “loud” is an overstatement in my experience. If you’re going to oil ceramic bearings because of the sound , save the $ and stick to ABEC5 stainless. Properly clean and lubricated, the difference between them and ceramics is much less noticeable on the water.

You’ll be happier fishing cranks on a jig rod (mh/f) than visa versa. A mod-fast graphite mh could be a good compromise.

They’re awesome blanks.

Sure, you could do everything with a mh/f rod but I took the OP reference to “dedicated” as different from technique specific. You could have 3 similar rods each dedicated to a different technique. My Ned rod is much lighter than any of my others. A finesse rod in between those two. A senko is a finesse technique of sorts but they are not light weight so go on a med or mh rod. My frog rod needs to load and cast well so it has a different tip than a flipping rod, which to me means mats or vast weed beds. Technically flipping and pitching are casting techniques you can employ with any rod. For jerkbaits I like a fast action but a real soft tip to allow for subtle action. These are all personal preference not the musts.

Add one for jerkbaits/flukes/poppers

When a doesn’t load properly the instinct is to whip the bait, that’s when troubles begin.

While you’re learning, peel off a long cast worth of line and put a strip of electrical tape around the spool. This will keep potential backlashes from getting too deep. Don’t go for distance or overhead casts until you learn to thumb the spool. Walk before you run.

The tighter the drag the more pressure on the AR. If the handle is indeed moving backward the AR must be slipping. If the handle stays put check that the pinion is seated correctly and the spool pin is even and undamaged.