BobP

I'd go with a Shimano Crucial 6'8" dropshot rod and whatever 2000 size spinning reel you like for 6 lb fluoro (the Shimano Biomaster 2500 is a 2000 size Japan market reel that is very nice). I was a newbie on dropshotting and was glad I read some posts (BFHP) on why you want a "hinged" rod like the Crucial with a very soft fast tip but plenty of power down the blank. And the price ain't bad either! Less than $300 for the pair bought 2 yrs ago. I use lots of Rogue rods (my fave!) but the Crucial is custom tailored for this presentation.

I don't think algae bloom is the same as turn-over. Down South, a turn-over means the lake looks like chocolate milk for a week or two. On very clear lakes, I'm glad when the water gets some green color. It reduces visibility and improves the crankbait bite when the fish can't see them so well.

I use a Normal Speed Clip or a crosslock snap after I remove the split ring. I'd like the Speed Clips to have a little larger ring, say the size of a #2 split ring, but I'm generally happy with them and have never lost a fish on one. It sure makes changing crankbaits easy!

A rodbuilder can fix it functionally "good as new" if he's willing to do the work. I'd ask how much it would cost to see if it's worth the expense. Per Tom Kirkman, a premier builder in High Point, NC, a good repair will use 3 pieces of blank, a graphite piece epoxied to the inside to maintain the backbone and sensitivity of the blank, a second graphite piece over that, cut to length so you maintain the length and original taper of the original rod, and a 3rd piece, fiberglass not graphite, which is epoxied over the repair area to insure the integrity of the repair. Most rodbuilders have a box of rod blank pieces saved to do repairs and to extend rod lengths. I have a 7' Rogue rod I did this to and have used it continuously for 5 yrs with no problems whatsoever. If a repair is not feasible, I'd certainly harvest all the guides off the blank to use as replacements in case you need them.

Hey, if the store is 10 miles away, the cost of driving is around $9 (U.S. average including gas, insurance, depreciation, etc). BPS is 90 miles away so it's an all-day sucker and costs more than $80 to drive it. That $80 will buy a lot of fishing tackle, or the shipping & handling on about 10 orders from web based stores. It's a no brainer if you are a guy who knows what he wants and doesn't feel like he must fondle the tackle before he buys it. The only store I drive to is a Mom&Pop shop that carries custom made baits that you will never see anywhere else.

I think you'll like it! One recommendation - be careful with the needle and even more careful with the nozzle. Needles are made from ductile stainless steel and bend easily if dropped. And the nozzles are very expensive. You don't want to split it by ramming the needle in there too hard. Not saying you have to baby it, but most problems on all brushes arise from needles and nozzles.

Bass don't reason but can be conditioned. And the bass population can pass some of their conditioning to later generations. The more bass we catch on a particular bait, the less likely current and future bass are to bite it. There is variability in the bass population and some bass behave differently than others. The variability is good because it's how the bass species as a whole adapts to new and changing environments. Yes, there are "stupid" bass that will bite a spinnerbait twice in a few minutes. They are caught more often and suffer greater mortality, with less chance of transmitting their genes to later generations. Over the generations of bass, that selects for a bass less apt to bite spinnerbaits in the places and at the times we fish them. We're in a predator-prey relationship. We make them "smarter" about avoiding us. They hopefully make us smarter about how we catch them. We should have the advantage because we can transmit successful predator behaviors through fishing forums ;D

Yep, there are lots of species you can use. But the most popular are balsa, cedar and basswood. I also like paulownia, introduced from the far east. It has buoyancy between balsa and basswood but is a hardwood so doesn't require thru-wiring like soft balsa does. My advice is to start out with kiln dried basswood. It's widely available, has no bad grain effects, shapes nicely and sands beautifully. Balsa makes the best shallow baits due to its buoyancy but requires thru-wiring and substantial reinforcement to make a durable bait.

The Revolution BR is one of my favorite AB's. IMO, the main thing to focus on is the size of the tip. It controls the size of the spray cone and how subtle you can get fading one color into another. Offsetting this, the smaller the tip, the more you have to worry about paint clogs and whether a thicker pearl or paint with metallic flake will spray through the AB. Working with unthinned acrylic AB paints, a tip of .3 mm has been the sweet spot for me and the BR is that tip size. I can't speak to brands I haven't tried and can only say that I have been completely satisfied with every Iwata airbrush I've used. They are a "cut above" in quality.