MickD

X 2. I think the natural resources departments need to get into the game and limit the number of tournaments so that the fish and non-tournament fishermen are not subjected to week after week of practice and then the tournaments. I believe in MI the DNR is pandering to the tourney trade and damaging the fisheries. We even have some fools who are advocating tournaments during spawn, removing the fish from the beds for travel to a weigh in. This is guaranteed to adversely affect the fishery. But the DNR is considering it.

While it's not that unusual to catch a black drum while fly fishing for redfish, it is unusual to catch one that weighed 52 pounds on the guide's scale. The LA state fly record is 54.55. Biggest fish of any species that i've ever caught.

Do you mean taking a wire off a battery post? Certainly is OK, but inconvenient compared with a switch. But wherever you do the manual disconnect you could have a switch, couldn't you? No extra wiring? If you prefer it manual, do it manual. You know the requirements, and a switch isn't required.

I'm no expert on this, but I think the principals are that all grounds should be common (all are connected without switches or fuses-experts, correct me if I'm wrong) and the power to all the "accessories" should have a fuse to protect the accessory.

If you are like I am, you will understand it when you sketch the wiring diagram yourself. Then post your sketch on here and get advice based on that. Much better than trying to critique a word description. You can sketch it and take a phone pic, get the pic to your computer, then upload to this site.

With what we know about what you want to do any answer would be a WAG.

Don't worry about the ratio, just fish it. Look at your lures in the water for a while to see if they are going the speed you want, then either slow down or speed up if necessary.

Most good glasses tell the % visible light blocking, and the greens and greys are usually about 90%. The ambers are usually a little less, around 85% if I remember right, so they will transmit more visible light. I think they are still OK for sunny days, but you might not. If I were going to pay a healthy price for them I would try them before buying. All the good glasses will filter 100% UV and state it clearly. If you're going to buy cheap, be sure the glasses specify this. Not sure I would trust the cheaper ones to be honest, though.

I have not tried it, but I think you could bend the weed guard forward and hold it there using a thin walled cylinder slid over the head and guard. Try coin roll papers, like nickel or quarter size.

Wow, never stumped the whole forum before. Netcraft says no difference except the clear does turn yellowish in time.

Regardless of the details of the problem, stronger hooks and split rings is a step in the right direction to solving it. I think most anglers who haven't had fish like king salmon or peacock bass strike a lure on a short line just don't realize what a shock it can be.

You may be protected with Paypal, but there still is the hassle. I buy only from 99+. The ratings are so important that the reputable sellers will do almost anything to support their ratings. If there is no rating, or if it's below 99, I would skip it.

There have been a really large number of anglers on here that I remember preferring St Croix ML to M power for smallmouths. And preferring it to any other rod. Yes, St Croix ML is a little more powerful than most other brands' ML's. My favorite smallmouth tube rod is a St Croix SCV 7 foot medium. I have used a Rainshadow ML, same length, in a pinch, and IMHO, it is not as powerful as it should be for finesse techniques. Rainshadow M's are fine. but the St Croix is my favorite. I built a 6 1/2 foot SCIII for my grandson, M power, and it's a lot like my SCV for power.

There really isn't a legitimate "knock" against them. They do not have a ceramic ring, so they would tend to groove more than ceramic ring guides, but guides don't groove much anyway. It's the tiptop that grooves much earlier than the guides. They have the advantage of being, as stated above, lighter than ceramic ring guides, therefore resulting in a more sensitive rod, which is what you are looking for for finesse. If you want the lightest rod available, then you use these guides. Although the difference is quite small. Rod design and building has compromises, like almost everything else. Cost, durability, weight, corrosion, etc. Most knowledgeable builders know that most premium guides are overkill in some attributes, but if someone wants the best in those attributes, that's what you go with. Despite the cost disadvantage. It is not a safe assumption that a manufacturer will use the same brand guides as reel seat.

With all due respect, the real problem is not removing the hooks from the fish, it is the initial shocking strike. Fighting the fish can be an issue, but it's really not the controlling issue being dealt with here. When you feel the hit, and find nothing on your line but a straightened hook or open split ring, you'll know what the OP is talking about. The solution is not more care in removing the hook because there often will be no fish to remove the hook from. The solution is heavy duty split rings and hooks.

It's more than just drag. Heavy duty split rings and maybe even more than 2X treble hooks are in order. For these fish the hardware requirements are the same as for king salmon.

Anyone have experience that indicates the best replacement net to get for a 24" diameter net. It has to be fairly deep, so I'm considering a clear vinyl net. It also comes in black, and I know carbon black is added to plastics to provide better resistance to UV, so maybe I should go black. Anyone have any experience with the clear?

Any reel in the price range you're looking at will last almost indefinitely if treated right. I would go with a 2500 or 3000 size, and Daiwa is making some awfully good stuff these days. Pfluegers are very smooth but their geometry seems different than Daiwa and Shimano, which fit me nicely. Don't hesitate to use Ebay if you stick with sellers with 99+% positive ratings. Treated right = keeping it clean, out of the dirt and sand, don't submerge it, close the bail manually at least most of the time, lightly oil it now and then, clean and grease the gears every couple years or so depending on how much it's used. Leave the drag off over the winter or other long periods of non-use.

Use whatever will cast the weight you want to use the distance you want to cast it. We tend to overthink stuff like this.

Best is to pick the power, as in light, medium light, medium, medium heavy, and heavy based on the weights of the lures you will be casting. Lure weights are listed in the descriptions of all rods and blanks. The action as in slow, moderate, moderate fast, fast, and extra fast is more open to personal preference, but many anglers using trebles and fishing surface like moderate or close. It seems to be more forgiving , fewer hooks tearing out, and many think it easier to cast than faster actions. Many prefer faster actions for spinnerbaits. I use both fast and moderate actions for chatters, whatever is handy.

https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/rodusage.pdf

In the purest world where money doesn't matter and perfection is assumed, yes, the rod is broken and not worth trying to salvage. In the world I know and live in, if I can salvage a rod that costs a significant amount of money to replace, I'll do it. Worst case scenario, it breaks again. Most likely scenario, it works forever as intended. But I have data that says the repaired rod will fish just as well as it did before breaking. If we disregard what is going on in our heads. Which I admit, is not insignificant.

Your comment can be interpreted a couple ways. If you mean it's a waste to replace the tiptop, you're right. If you mean it's a waste to repair the rod, I believe you are in error. By putting on an external sleeve as instructed in the link I posted a good repair can be done. The action and power will be essentially the same. On one of my repairs I had the history of the CCS data when the rod was new, and I checked it after repair. Data unchanged. It obviously will be a little heavier, by the weight of the sleeve and epoxy, but I couldn't feel it.

You are right that the action will be ruined if you simply replace the tip, but it will not be XXXF. It will in fact be a lot stiffer (more power) but slower. Regardless, it will not be, IMHO, fishable. 4 inches is too much. And you are right that usually a good repair can be done. https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/repair-oquinn.html I've done a number of these and they have all worked fine.

X2 on LOTS of care picking out backlashes, which you most likely will get with FC, at least at first.