Hogsticker

Magic eraser. Simple and effective

Spro, Yo Zuri and Duo Realis

Spiral wrapped, Acid wrap. Here is a little something something I stole - 1) It eliminates rod torque. A very real thing with with heavy fish and/or light rods. 2) It eliminates line scrub. Line brushing your blank will rob you of some performance. 3) You can start using single foot guides much sooner. That means lighter weight guides and less encumbrance from those guides and less encumbrance and weight from the additional wrapping that would be required for double foots. 4) You can eliminate a guide or two. Which translates to weight loss in the guide package. 5) The only legit drawback is they are a little more tricky to get into a rod locker. Which is a small price to pay in my opinion. With custom rods the name of the game is to try and make small (or better) improvements over factory rods. Cutting out weight is one of the things that really aids in keeping a rod not only feeling light but performing to the best of its ability. Adding handles and guides to rod blanks just degrade their performance. Doing what you can to keep that interference to a minimum will keep the rod feeling crisp and responsive. Also, braided line will not wrap around the tip as much. The only reason I haven't tried it is being afraid I won't want to use anything else, which means all new builds.

Each rods action, tip speed, bend, taper, and flex serve certain purposes in terms of fishing a particular bait as effective and efficient as possible. With that being said I like to purchase a brand I know builds clean rods. Warranty comes into play as well. Lot more to it than finding the right power IMO.

I'd like to see some moderate fast actions or popping blanks in the Eternity line up. Also some lighter actions in the casting blanks (though there is no reason I can't build a casting rod out of a spinning blank). What I'd really like to see are some 2 piece blanks in this line up. Nobody has higher end 2 piece blanks. I needed to build a few travel rods and turned to the JDM market cause I couldn't find any blanks that tickled my fancy. I'm one of those goof balls who likes to fish reaction baits on nice blanks, just because I can. I have an RX8 popping blank I use for all my shallow, mid, and lipless cranking. It's fantastic. While we're on the topic, I can appreciate a painted blank, but there is something groovy about a raw, unfinished blank. Are you the same rep over on Tackle Tour?

With that go emotion, the medium heavy regular fast isn't ideal for jerkbait imo. I think you would be better off with the medium regular action. For my preferred Jerking I use braid or fluorocarbon. As DVt stated, a moderate-action rod with a quick tip is perfect. The fast tip recovers quickly and the deep flex keeps fish pinned with treble hooks which is key, especially big smallmouth. This will be harder to do with that medium heavy fast action. It's all personal preference, but this is what works for me.

DVT is one of, if not the premier builder on this forum. Chances are if you've been fishing a while and owned several rods, one or a few of them was built on a Rainshadow blank and you didn't know it. I have been able to use my Rx8+ a lot this year. It's the 6'9 medium Senko blank. The sensitivity and taper is awesome. Probably my favorite blank thus far. It's still available and on sale at get bit for a killer price. I think my next build will be on a new Eternity blank, though I'm a little disappointed in the limited offerings. Perhaps they will add to the line up?

Welcome. Major Craft makes a 6'9 medium power, regular action in there Corzza line. It's right in your price range and makes a great jerkbait stick.

Batson Immortal, Phenix Ultra, Hydra, and Mhx high mod are all good blanks around the 100 dollar price point.

Duo Realis, yo Zuri, and Spro are my top 3. I think I own more River2Sea than anything though.

I can't even remember. Maybe a trap or a tube?

I'd get a Chronarch 50. Low Ipt not only good for cranks, but it will keep you from over working those jerks. It's also going to cast the jerks a little better. Wouldn't be my 1st Choice for deep cranks, but I also wouldn't use the same rod for jerks and deep cranks.

Bearings in the handle knobs aren't pointless imo.

What Booty said

Simply stated, why not? A reassuring click gives me the feeling that something is working as it should. Same can be said for just about anything we purchase.

Somebody's bored

I just don't see any reason to use anything smaller or larger than a 4.5 for runners. They aren't big and clunky, they aren't so small I have difficulties threading my line. Passes leader connections just fine. Even a 6 for a stripper is to big for me. I like a 5.5 or 5. These smaller guides keep the weight down, and due to the smaller guides I feel I have less of a chance with damaging them. Mid micro guide train works best for me.

Try some Sunline Defier if you're wanting a break from braid. You will be pleasantly surprised.

I can't stand "standard" size casting guides, and hate true micros. I'm a tweener.

Yes. They excel in cooler water. I use them quite a bit early spring looking for big German Browns. They can be a bit mechanical so play around with and vary your retrieve. These fish hang as tight to the beach and rock bluffs as they can get. I literally softly bounce them off the rock near the bottom so they hit the water soft. Fish are usually on them after a crank or two and they hold up to the abuse.

Not crazy. Just Cabelas.

Super nice. Me likey

Talk to the folks at Tackle Trap

It all depends on the rod.