MickD

Good plan. It may be that the rod will change to fulfill another function in your inventory, or it may be relatively unchanged. I'm not sure the sleeve method is practical that close to the tip and I don't know another option.

That's about the worst place. Farther down the added weight of a sleeve is most often not noticed. But the weight right at the worst place to add weight, iffy. I expect you're just going to put a new tiptop on the blank? Might be the best option. I'm not sure what I'd do, but I'd try something. IF you just put a new tiptop on, try it out before moving that first guide and see how you like it. If it's ok, then move or remove the guide. If it's not ok, you still can try the sleeve. Might then have to remove, then replace the first guide if the sleeve gets into it, which it sounds like it will. Good luck

I snagged my son's carpeting with a ned jig Friday, crushed the barb to get it out, then kept fishing with it. I probably took another few SMB on it without losing one. Braid with a 7 foot ML moderate action rod. Mod action helps keep them on-just keep a lot of bend in the rod so they don't get any slack.

Whatever rod choice is made, it's no problem, because one can never have too many rods.

Why do you have to lose an inch or so? Broken that close to the tip? https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/repair-oquinn.html

Nice fish, nice continuing effort under challenge. Don't throw the rod away, it can be fixed, most likely.

I have no argument with this recommendation for heavy tubes, but they would be heavier than 3/8. The 7 MF will handle 1/4-3/8 very well and have better tip "feel." But it's a matter of opinion.

7 foot MF will allow easy casting of tubes from 1/8 oz on up. If you go heavier in power you will not have the easy casting coverage that you'll have with med power. Also, I like the lighter tip power of the med power. You could go XFast action if you want, but I wouldn't recommend power greater than Med. My favorite tube rod is the St Croix SCV 7 foot med power.

Nice to hear from a manufacturer.

I'm surprised you haven't found that FC line or leaders on surface presentations, exc for stuff like the whopper plopper, screws up the action on surface lures by pulling them under the surface. I'm getting more and more convinced that FC is simply too fragile. I'm using leader grade mono. I have one casting reel with FC, and I think I'll take it off and replace it with mono. The water clarity advantage is insignificant, IMO. Its sink rate is advantageous, but I think thinner braid, even though less dense, sinks OK since it cuts the water better. There just seems to always be something going wrong with FC.

To help others, can you describe what you did? If the tiptop took more than just a few seconds of heat on the tiptop, it was epoxied on. In that case, it's a job for a pro builder.

Great minds. . .

SMB fishing with tubes in clear water (Sag Bay/St Clair) less than 8 feet depth often requires very long casts, IMHO. But yes, often they hit close. Some get spooked by the boat, some do not. One time I had a SMB at the boat, my cousin was getting the net, and I saw another bass. I told him to drop his tube over the side, he did, and immediately had another on. Both over four pounds. I remember times having the boat anchored and fan casting very long distances downwind after having covered the water in close, and catching more fish. If I had moved the boat down, would I have caught them anyway? I don't know, but why move if you don't have to. I think there is a place for very long casts.

If you are not using braid, give it a try. Might help with strike detection. Also, try to keep the line taut (sort of) so that if the fish moves the bait you might see the line move. Maybe move the bait a little more often to detect if a fish is there. If the fish are biting well, try a crank or something else that's easier to detect strikes with.

I have two Humminbirds. On one I forgot to take off the screen protector. It's very easy to keep clean and to clean. The other had the protector taken off. It's a pain in the you know what. New buyers, try leaving the protectors on and see if you like it that way. I've fished mine for over two years and everything is fine with the protector on.

You didn't really spend "hours" on a bedding fish did you?

Would a screw eye or two not be an option? These devices shown work great to wrap the braid around them, fasten them to your belt loop, and the line for tying the FG knot is secure without biting the line. and in a better position for tying than out front of your eyes.

I like braid for the simple reason that I love that strike feel. Even when the fish just bump it without biting, I feel it and know something isn't quite right, so I change blade color, type, or skirt color.

Not at all. The most important thing about any rod, any action, is for it to be properly matched for power to the weight of the lures you'll be casting most of the time, or centered in the range. Rods can go either up or down from the range by changing your casting style, but for ease of casting try to match it pretty well. Moderate is what is generally considered correct for cranks, but it is not "written on a rock."

DBN in gel craw finish. It's a SMB killer, has been for probably 20 years since I discovered it. It's a little different than the DLN, a little slimmer, and I think it catches SMB better than the DLN.

While I have no reel with a higher ratio than 7 +, ***3, I see no disadvantage to the higher ratios and see some advantages (as above post says). I keep an old 5.4 for my spinnerbait rod when I want to slow roll. That is difficult for me with the higher ratios. The 5.4 is much better for that job.

Things, mostly bad, happen way too fast at 70 mph. Very easy to miss something in the water at that speed. Not being a tournament fisherman, I'm cool with my 32 mph max of my 60 Merc on a 16.5 foot boat. I often throttle back to an easy-plane speed of about 25, no stress, reasonable safety, better fuel economy. I'll bet many 70mph drivers are basically unqualified for doing that. If I see a very fast boat approaching, I move well out of the way, too.

I could be wrong, but I believe that if they are selling me an extended warranty it must be in their interest. Which means it most likely is not in mine. I used to buy extended warranties on stuff like TV's and really lost $$ because what I put the warranty on never failed. I turned down the 2017 Merc 60 4 stroke offer. My last engine was a Suzuki 50 4 stroke and it is still going strong in another's hands after 19 years with no need for any warranty work. Just plugs, water pump impeller and engine and lower unit oil changes annually. I believe that with proper maintenance and care in its use, the engine should last indefinitely. They probably won't cover hitting rocks anyway. I think most electronics devices like the engine computer, if they are going to fail, will do it sooner rather than later. My 2017 boat has had two issues, one a cable routing problem and one a cowl adhesive failure. Both happened early so were covered. Things like leaks should show up early as well. But, these are my opinions based on my engineering background and auto and marine experience, and not hard data. What I do may not be right for others, especially those who consider peace of mind more important than economics.

Might not be for your partners. :-) They wash nicely, use gentle cycle, either dry in the machine or hang to dry.

My glacier gloves have worked fine for a number of years, washed dozens of times. Everything Simms makes has never disappointed but they are a little more pricey. You can find Glacier Gloves on sale at times. Don't forget the face, best buff I've found is the Simms with the vent holes.