MickD

Search for fly casting videos. There are some good ones out there. Deneki and Orvis are ones I know.

Will work, but not the easiest or least expensive option.

I think it's more power than appropriate for the lipless cranks I throw. The biggest issue in casting lures is to have a rod that loads properly with the lures you throw. What are the recommended lure weights for this rod? I use lipless cranks of half ounce or less, and use med or med light power rods, which load quite well for them. Moderate action is right on. Just make sure you are not trying to cast 3/8 oz lures with a rod rated for 3/8 - 3/4. Better to hit the middle of the weight recommendation for your most used lures.

I respectfully comment that for bass a 7-8 is more powerful than necessary. A 6 will be fine. The guides will be fine, as mentioned above. Not a bit of worry. The big issue with fly fishing is to match the rod with the proper line weight. Every fly rod I've built has objectively measured to be almost one weight higher than its advertised rating. Which means they all cast better with a +1 line weight. Meaning, if you buy the 7-8, buy a 9 wt. line. Or buy a line that is described as a "Quickshooter," or something that describes a line which will work better in loading a rod properly for shorter casts. This is especially important for fly casters who are not experts. Like you and me. The heavier line will load the rod properly at the shorter casting distances that beginners can make. You're not going to be making any 60 foot casts right away, and will do much better with a +1 line weight. True, the higher power rods will handle larger flies and poppers better than a 6, so if you plan to use them rather than reasonably sized streamers and poppers, then go 7/8. But go up 1 on line weight. https://www.wideopenspaces.com/10-flies-slay-monster-bass/

Depends on the diameter of the leader and what knot is used. The FG knot most likely will go through any micros ok with the diameters of leaders and braid lines that are used for bass. Most knots probably will not with leaders above about 15 pounds. But the only way to know is to try it. If you are asking because you want to buy one but are not sure, I recommend you buy a rod with regular guides and not have to worry about it.

I think you have it all wrong. With an old Ugli Stick with mono she would feel nothing. With a modern hi mod graphite with braid she definitely will feel most bites.

There are many diameters available for shrink wrap. Just find one that is the same diameter or slightly larger than the hump. It will work. As above, measure the hump!

The wraps are stretched onto the grip, so they fit tightly. But if you want, you can use contact cement to really "stick" them to the grip. I don't think you will find that necessary, though. There also are shrink wrap materials available. They are cylindrical, slip over the grip, then are heated with a hair dryer or similar heater to shrink tightly. Look for them at Mudhole.com or Getbitoutdoors.com or Batsonenterprises.com to get more info. If I remember right, they are not very expensive. or search "shrink wrap tubing fishing rods"

Winn grips are affected by DEET insect repellent, as are most plastic and rubber objects. They are used on muskie and salt water rods, so they are in fact pretty durable. As for sensitivity, since they are pretty light (lighter than cork) they should be pretty sensitive, but you know sensitivity, no objective test for it. The inner material is EVA, and the skin is molded to it, so it cannot be replaced. However, it would not be that hard to cut off and replace a rear grip. A front grip is less likely to get worn out, and getting a new one one would most liklely require taking the guides off, so that's not a bit easy. Winn offers Winn wraps, a tape like bike handlebar tape and tennis grip tape that is the same "sticky" material as the surface of a Winn Griip, and they are easy to use. In fact if I had to replace any kind of grip I would use these. If you want to find out how Winn grips feel in action, about $10 will buy a wrap that you can put onto any other grip material. Winn grips are a core of EVA covered permanently with the "magic" Winn material. The cores are reamed to fit the blank, then glued on with epoxy or double sided tape like golf grip replacements. Then there is the Winn wrap which is explained in another post here. I should clarify what I meant by replacing a grip with the wrap-it works for deteriorated or chipped or other nasty grips, but it is a tape and as such it won't replace a structurally compromised grip. For that a remove and replace is required. The wrap will work for deteriorated but not structurally compromised grips. It's just a tape. To fix a structurally damaged grip requires a remove and replace.

Another good way is to let the rod hang over the back of the boat a little so that when the engine is turned it snaps the end off the rod. This works equally well for both cheap and expensive rods. A way not yet mentioned is to allow rods to be uncontrolled on the deck within a few inches of a vertical surface to the rear of them. The tip might be pushed against that surface due to rough water, and break the tip. I think hi mod graphite is more susceptible to this than low mod or glass. But I know it sometimes works just fine.

If you ever get lonely. . . I've seen your pics, could drive up for a day with you to sample some of that kind of smallie fishing. Neat rig, too. I took your advice and use the Lucas on my black Lund and it looks like new after two years. No it doesn't. As the boat s-l-o-w-l-y floats off the trailer the vehicle is going nowhere. The loads are almost nothing. I can understand everyone doing what they are comfortable with-they should do exactly that.

Another common way of breaking a rod is to put your hand out the blank a ways and then lift something. The file below is very good for defining the proper and improper treatment of rods. i give a copy to everyone I build a rod for. With modern hi modulus graphite, rods are more fragile than they used to be. https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/rodusage.pdf

It is a great casting line. 12-14 pound test is about as good as it gets for casting performance. I've not yet tried Big Game, but will.

Thanks on stacking. I don't know that rod blanks act the same way, with a sudden and and extreme buildup of resistance to bending farther. It has been my understanding that it is simply that at some point they simply fail. I have seen it in a number of writings on "high sticking" of blanks, which is bending them beyond 90 degrees, that the blanks are not in fact applying more force to the line when bending beyond 90 degrees. If flexing the blank to 90 degrees and continuing to apply force, I think they don't experience "stacking," but just fail at some point. The geometry of a rod blank is not the same or even similar to a bow's limbs so if they acted differently, it wouldn't surprise me.

How does one know he's overloading a rod. A. It breaks. B. If you're talking about casting, it will feel sort of soft, the lure won't start forward right away, but will lag. You will notice it flexing way back toward the grip, especially with moderate action rods. C. If you're talking about lifting or setting the hook, then don't flex the rod more than 90 degrees. If you're going farther than 90 degrees, you are going too far and inviting failure with modern graphite materials. What is stress testing? It is only a method that builders use for locating guides on the blank, nothing more. The blank is flexed and the line through the guides observed, then position adjusted depending on how the line is going through the guides. I don't know what "stacked" means. Making one rod out of two sounds like an expensive way to get a sub-par rod. Blanks and rods come in a myriad of actions and powers, all DESIGNED for specific functions. A rod made from two will be an approximation based on blank diameters and not on action or power. If you get something good, fine, but I submit that will be an lucky accident. Buying a specific blank or rod is much less of a crap shoot, and probably will be less fragile.

You are failing to understand that when you float the boat off the trailer this way, at least the way I do it, it's a very gentle process; the rope is slack most of the time, a little nudge now and then. The stresses involved are not even close to the stresses that motor endures on the water-they are minuscule.

With up locking you can make a small ramp off the front of the seat hood, same diameter as the hood or slightly smaller to facilitate finishing it if finishing is involved, and the transition from the seat to the blank is seamless. Use a size 17 seat (straight, not aero) and the ergonomics are good. Makes a very comfortable setup that is also very handsome.

I do it exactly this way and it works fine. If you loop the rope around the head of the trolling motor you don't have to stand on your head to reach it when on the water. The forces are all negligible so it won't damage the motor.

Another old lure that still catches a ton of fish is the rigged worm with the white or orange spot,usually in purple. Ike-con, Mann's, if I remember correctly.

The problem with this is this is that a marker buoy cannot keep your boat near it, but spot lock can. Even if you're setting up a new rig, digging out a backlash, answering nature's call, having a sandwich, applying sunscreen, adding or removing layers of clothing, etc etc etc. It allows one to hang the boat from the wind and fish a spot without constantly working with the motor, and a marker buoy cannot do that either. They really are not equivalent.

I had a Cabelas AGM starting battery in my old boat for a number of years, now have one in my two year old boat. They have been great batteries. No experience with the larger size 27 used for trolling motor. They go on sale now and then, and that takes some of the price bite off.

When one has an empty horizon on one side and a shore 5 smiles away on the other, I think anyone will find markers easier to "interpret" than a fish finder screen. When I'm fishing smaller water I don't use them much. Agreed, spot lock is wonderful.

Marker buoys are in no way obsolete as they are instant to deploy, they accurately mark the spot, and are a piece of cake to navigate back to. You instantly and accurately know exactly how far you are from it, unlike GPS. I also will place a way point, but use it only for finding the buoy in case I've drifted off it quite a ways (as on Lake St Clair, Sag Bay, other big waters when I am out in the middle of nowhere) or navigating back to it some other time. Spot lock works very well in holding the boat where you set it. I find the bright orange the easiest to see, all other colors don't work nearly as well. The H shaped ones, due to their shape, stop playing out line when the sinker hits bottom. I think the round ones are unbalanced to accomplish the same thing.

When comparing spin to cast it probably makes more sense to compare inches of retrieve per handle revolution. The only advantage of a low ratio bc, like a 5:1 that I've found is that it keeps me from retrieving too fast. Might be similar for deep cranks + the torque advantage.

I don't agree. If the Harley did nothing more than a bike it would be a bad buy. The RTD does nothing more than the Fuji. But those who want to buy a pedal Harley are free to do so. The Fuji does what the RTD does at much less cost, not much can go wrong with it, you don't need two different parts for different size guides, and it works on micros. Someone said the RTD doesn't, but I don't know. You use the Fuji in much the same way you do the RTD, put the line through its loop, then run it down the rod, the Fuji by feel, which works just fine. I'm not doubting that the RTD does its job; I'm just pointing out an option that to me makes more sense for a number of reasons. (Does the RTD work with micros? If it doesn't, it doesn't do the job for the most challenging application). Both of these devices, and for that matter other guide threading devices, work on the same old principal that has been used for threading fly tying thread through a bobbin throat.