MickD

You'll get a lot of opinions, I'm sure. Mine is that only advantage of FC is that it sinks. It is sensitive to poorly tied knots, it's fragile, it doesn't cast very well, lots of looping. Yes I know line treatments can help, but I don't want to bother with those. If you feel a nick in it, cut above the nick as it will probably fail. Unlike mono. But, a lot of guys like it and manage to make it work. I don't want to screw around with the problems.

Happens all the time with smb, but not after having fought for a good while. It's quite common to nail them, feel them, miss them, then have them come back. I'm convinced in these cases of brief contact they are often the same fish. Another interesting thing that happens now and then when fishing tubes is to have the tube snag, and snap the rod a number of times to get it free. Then it snaps free and jumps off the snag very fast, and gets nailed instantly. I think they see it twitching and are watching for quite a time. I also think I have had a couple pick it off the snag.

But worse came to worse and couldn't get it. Then you said sand it and seal it. Without having cork seal. But you recommend sealing it with cork seal. ??? Another option that will keep it from getting nasty again is to clean it up as above and use Tru Oil gunstock finish on it. It will turn it a little darker, increase the contrast. As with cork seal, one coat. I put a few drops on the surface then move it around evenly with my bare hands. Doesn't take much. Tru Oil is pretty easy to find.

Seal it with what?

I don't think that touching it up would cause any problems, but I would use a clear hard finger nail coating for its hardness and UV resistance. Having said that I would not want to use a rod with paint coming off it. Sealing the edges most likely will not stop the paint from coming off. When it first started, it didn't have an edge, but it still came off. I would get it replaced. It is correct that paint adds weight to a rod which, in a small way, is detrimental to sensitivity. Although it would be hard to detect the small difference.

Avids are not the IMX of St Croix. The SCV would be more accurately called the IMX of St Croix. They are good rods for the money, well up on the cost/value curve. Meaning that as you spend more you are not getting that much more value. Alconite is not a coating on rings; it is the material the ring is made from. It is a premium ring just under the hardness of SIC, comparable to zirconium. Has anyone ever grooved an alconite guide? SIC is somewhat harder, but is harder needed? SIC is also more brittle, so more apt to break if knocked against the boat while jerking. Since SIC is more brittle, most SIC is thicker than alconite and other similar ring materials. Fuji has a slim SIC that is thinner than usual SIC. I have grooved some old cheapie tiptops, but never a guide, even an old cheapie guide. Avids are no more tip heavy than other rods of the same length, using the same reel, and the same approx cost There have been a bazillion fish caught on rods that are heavier, less sensitive, and that have lower performance guides than the Avid. Some of the favorite lines of rods today have much lower quality cork and workmanship.

Shimano Calcutta 100.

Make sure you don't have the ones you cannot find hidden in the menu. There is a menu (setup I think) that assigns one of two values to each view, either "hidden" or "visible" or some such word to show it's not hidden. If it's designated "hidden," it will not be visible as you scroll through the different views when operating the unit. Mine has many more available than I want to use. I hope this is the solution to your missing views.

Really good reels won't have to be adjusted much between lure weights. Between a spinnerbait cast upwind and a lipless crank, yes, but not often just due to weight. After lubing it will take a number of casts before the reel stabilizes.

I find them best when retrieved at the speed that gives them a regular side to side rocking motion. But individual lures will react differently, and especially the smaller sizes tend to spin easily if reeled too fast. As mentioned above, feel them as you retrieve them at the speed which gives the desired motion, and you'll be able to get the right speed without actually seeing the lure. You may have a bunch of non-Daredevil spoons in there, and I would put them in a separate box and concentrate on the real ones. They, unlike the cheapies, are forged which means the thickness varies throughout the spoon. I have never found the cheapies to have the good motion that the real Daredevils have. I have no idea if they have some collector value, but you might want to check.

My BS detector just went off.

The retrieval you describe will tend to keep the line to the left as it goes through the line guide. Which side of the reel is the crank on? If it's on the right, then you have to be influencing the line to the right.

Keitechs mentioned above are very good, Yum has one that is very good, and Strike King KVD coffee is very good in a slim shape. Z man has plenty of action, but if you are snapping them off the bottom then they are a little too soft; the tail ends up getting stabbed by the hook now and then.

Good to keep the smoke in. An electrical engineer once told me that most electrical and electronics devices fail because the smoke gets out.

A little out of the "bass" subject, but one glide bait that really is effective on the really big migrant tarpon is he Rapala Glide Rap. I've taken a few pike on them. Other gliding lures for bass, me too. Shut out. For bass, nothing on the spy baits so far. I'm going to keep trying.

For your older cork, clean it up with soap and water or magic erasers. Sand it a little if it needs more to look almost like new. I you have big voids, fill them and sand flush. THEN use the cork seal. Because cork is impermeable only one coat is recommended. By using the U40 cork seal you are setting yourself up for cork that doesn't get as nasty and that cleans up easily and nicely. It's the real deal. Not magic, but significantly helps.

Norman Deep Tiny N's will catch everything from bluegills and perch to bass, pike , and walleyes. Spring Craw is my favorite color, but for clear water and sunny days, have a black and silver available. Bumblebee is another good color, looks like a perch.

Put it on everything. Won't hurt, can help. Might improve the contrast a litte. One coat. Not two.

Trimming from either end results in a slower action. If you want to verify this, build yourself a setup that allows you to do the objective measurement process described by CCS, Common Cents System. http://www.common-cents.info/ The setup described in the literature requires a 4 x 8 sheet of pegboard, but you can do it in a much more compact way if you have a 1. vice + 2. a relatively level floor. It is a great system that takes the guess work out of comparing rods and blanks. Meaning that if you have a rod you love, but it's no longer available, you can test other rods to find one with the same or similar numbers, and it will feel and act very closely to the original target rod. If anyone wants to see my setup I'll send details. It correlates quite well with the rod makers numbers. I cannot explain the physics of why it slows the action , but it does. Obviously, trimming the tip slows the action. And trimming the butt without moving the reel seat will not result in any change in feel, but you won't have the butt length that the original rod had. If you move the reel seat forward to retain the original length behind the seat, the rod will be slower in action by the CCS numbers, and feel slower in action.

For spraying clothes, I go with permethrin. But when the bugs are really attacking , I don't think treating the clothes with anything is going to stop them. You have to apply to the skin, and I'm not going with DEET. Exc possibly with a very dilute mix of DEET.

The best part is that you and your wife both enjoy fishing. That is very special. Nice fish, too. Looks like St Clair or Traverse City.

Amtak has a new Microwave fly rod stripping guide. Next up a Microwave system for cane poles. ?

LG from Fuji is one I was also looking for. Take a look at that one, too. It's one of their newer ones, latest design features.

So where do you put it? Not on the skin? I don't get it. Cautions on DEET are valid, it dissolves just about anything. There has to be a better way.

"Poles" don't need reels. Rods do. :-) Good suggestions above. I've never been disappointed with any Daiwa reel I've bought. Even under other names, like the old Cabelas Prodigy and ?? one other. My Shimano reels also have always been very good.