MickD

YOu are right. And that's fine if you keep measuring ID's, but all we are saying is that when manufacturers specify guide size they are talking the OD of the ring . So if you measure the ID of a guide on a rod and it's 5mm, when you contract for a new rod, if you contract for 5mm guides, you will not necessarily get the same ID as the ID on the guides you measured. The builder can find out what the ID is on any guide by checking the manufacturer spec sheets, so it can be handled. I don't know why manufacturers started specifying OD's, but they did, all do it, and it's not likely to change after all these years.

no argument on thinnest, but I've had many failures, usually when snapping swim baits off the bottom , the knot has unraveled. l think that sealing the braid half hitches with UV curing epoxy or super glue helps. But it's not a knot without issues.

As I see it there are three things to consider: 1. Every time you change a lure (if tying directly to the braid, no snap) you will lose a few inches of your braid. 2. Terminal knots using braid are more critical than with FC, meaning that some of the knots you may use for FC won't work with braid. Most likely braid knot is the palomar, but there are others. 3. Is 10 pound braid as abrasion resistant as 8 FC? I doubt if fish will see your line, but you can camo it by marking it in a mottled fashion with a sharpie. You can control the shock issue through proper handling of the rod.

With 5's you are limiting yourself to the FG, in my opinion, as a knot like the double uni will not be very smooth through the guides. The FG can be really good, but it can also be quite quirky for reasons I don't really understand. One good thing is that the FG seems to work better with the higher pound tests you plan to use than it does with leaders below about 20.

Can you post a photo so we can be sure we are understanding the problem correctly? Right now I think you are not liking the distance from the axis of the rod to the reel caused by the seat locating the reel too high, away from the axis of the rod? If in fact the geometry of the seat is the problem, then I agree that the only reasonable fix is to change the seat which involves cutting/tearing the current one off and installing another. Lots of labor $$ if a pro builder does it. Not a good job for one inexperienced with doing that. I'd really like to see a photo.

St Clair is one of the best smallmouth lakes in the country, and it has very little deep water structure, and deep is where they are for the most part right now. Especially the big ones. I'm struggling with finding them, but my expert friends tell me that deep weeds are a place to start. Find the weeds and fish the edge and quite far out from the edge-they don't always hang out at the weeds or immediate edge. Also, they move, so a good spot a day ago may have nothing today. Dragging tubes in the shipping channel works at times. Good luck.

If your boat is equipped like mine, 1650, it will have on-board chargers for the trolling batteries, but not for the starting battery which also runs the electronics. I did have trouble with the starting motor going down in charge, probably because my electronics are such hi amperage devices compared to the old days. I bought a starting pack (the trolling motor batteries are hard to reach under the center rod locker, so being able to jump it at the battery comparatment is much handier.) I also added a single bank on-board charger which fits into the batter compartment, so required no wiring changes or cobbling. Both can be bought for about $150. If your boat has exposed (non-retracting) rope cleats watch out for tearing your clothes on them when leaning over the boat from the outside. They also can trap rods that are leaned on the rail, easy to break the rods. If your live well makes noise but doesn't pump, the pump valve is closed-either at the live well or at the pump. The pump is accessible through the circular hatch right by the engine. Start right away keeping the engine and hull clean of the white deposits that always form. I wax mine with Lucas liquid spray wax each time I use it-it takes the new stuff off easily, takes only about 10 minutes since it doesn't have any old stubborn stuff on it.

I used dilute CLR on mine, and it worked fine. Mine was not as bad or as long term as yours, though, so you may have to clean it many times. Once you get it cleaned up, use Lucas liquid spray wax each time after it's in the water, and it will clean the new, fresh, deposits off and put a shine on it (if there is a shine still left). A-Jay, what's the Lucas product's name-you recommended it to me, but I forgot its name.

I agree that backing is a pain because it's hard to get the spool filled properly. You get pretty good at estimating the more you do it. If you really want to do it right, 1. Put the amount of line you want to use onto the spool first. This is the length of line you want to end up on top of backing on your reel. 2. add backing to the level you want on the reel spool. 3. Move it all to another reel (I keep a couple old reels around for this-they must be able to hold more line than you expect to use. Now the backing is on the bottom, but not on the reel you want it on. 4. Move it to another "slave" reel. Now the backing is on the top. 5. Move it to the reel you want it on, the backing will be on the bottom and the line you want to use will be on the top and at the right level. What type of line for a starter fisherman? I don't see a problem with braid if the son is going to be under supervision and mature enough to understand and follow instructions. I think mono over about 8 pounds is often too stiff for spin. Florocarbon is simply too fragile and stiff for spin for a starter fisherman.

Filling a reel with 300 yards is a waste of money, but if you dislike backing enough to waste the money, then do it. One way to save money is to reverse the line on the spool after a couple years and use the new end.

I will have dealer check it on my next trip in for other work. I'm not convinced it is putting out what it should be, but one indication that it is working to some degree is that the voltage indicated on the fish finder is higher when the engine is running than when it is not running. How are you defining and measuring 100%? thanks, Mick

One thing to keep in mind is that if the rod is pointed at the lure, as in bonefishing with flies, it's out of the sensitivity "equation." Then it's all about the line. Logically, the closer you point the rod at the lure, the less its characteristics will affect sensitivity. When fishing with the tip high, then that is when the rod's characteristics will most affect sensitivity (along with the line). Seems like we should shut our computers down and go fishing. ?

Show me your data. :-)

All solutions suggested ignore the recommendation that the line come off the end of the spool in an opposite way that it goes onto the reel. To avoid adding one twist for each revolution of the reel rotor. Some Shimano reels' directions don't require that, but recommend coming off with spool rotating as suggested above, not sure if others do too. I don't know why those darned notches are in the spools, but probably to drive the spools when putting the line onto them. One suggestion is to simply reel it on, giving tension between your fingers, with the spool of line rotating, then if it's twisted, drag it behind the boat for a few minutes to remove the twist.

Jannsnetcraft.com , too.

A bite will be transmitted through the line the same for cast and spin, the only difference being that it is a little less handy to feel the line on a spin outfit. Line is line. Pull on one end, feel it on the other.

I agree with you, it's at the tip where the bite is transmitted, and it doesn't matter whether the rod is a spin or cast. Blanks can be wrapped into casting or spin rods. Assume two identical blanks, one built as spin, one as cast. Same weight in the tip section since both are wrapped with the same guides, which, like the blank , can't tell whether they are on a casting or spin rod. Same for the identical tiptop on each rod. So you have the line contacting both rods identically at the tiptop, both rods same mass, same action, same power, same weight, same blank material. The only difference between the two setups is that one has the guides on top, one on the bottom. Line is contacting the same tiptops on both rods, then the same guides on both rods. The difference is going to be essentially nothing.

I would be sure to have PB&J. Very effective around mid-MI.

I was trying to compare Power Pro with a Hitena line. I got the data from the Power Pro web site. Hitena .006 for 21 pound test, Power Pro .009 for 20. I'll try the site again, thanks, Mick Just found it, should have seen the "read more" before. Thanks, Mick

I've been to the TW website and looked at a number of lines, but do not find diameter specified. Did I just pick lines for which there are no diameter data?

Where do I find this line diameter tabulation? thx

From my experience the FG is not suitable for leaders of 6 and 8 pound tests, and I've had unraveling failures with the Alberto at all pound tests. The double uni should be very reliable at the lower pound tests and usable for almost any rod guide since those low pound tests don't make a very large knot (speaking about the reliability of the knot, not the leader). I find it hard to believe that Vanish has survived as long as it has. Seems like it was about 35 years ago when my son's best friend said it was named because the fish vanish when hooked on it.

I only meant to comment on the last paragraph, which is very important to this discussion. After a very sensitive rod, braid is a very big help in feeling bites. I strongly disagree with the statement somewhere above that states that the only way to detect bites is to watch your line and rod tip. If your rod tip moves from a fish and you didn't feel it, you've got the wrong rod and line. Also, the difference between mono, co-poly, and flourocarbon line, in my opinion is very subtle. The difference between them and braid is MAJOR.

I don't seem to have trouble losing fish on Neds. I use braid with FC or mono leaders. My favorite Ned rod is a 7' 2" ML/MF walleye rod. It gets lots of bend, so little errors on my part don't give the fish slack. I've noticed friends of mine losing fish and they usually are doing the lift and crank thing and when cranking, they lose the bend in the rod. Could that be what you are doing? You are, I assume, using the Ned jig? Its light wire construction lends itself to good penetration without a lot of force. Interesting thing I have noticed in the last two years, the Neds are not nearly getting the bites they used to.

Contact Loomis; they are the only ones who can take care of this. There are fixes for problems like this, but one should not use them on a fairly new rod from a major high quality company except as a last resort. Contact Loomis. One thing not clear in your message is the exact problem. Is the seat moving relative to the blank, or is the reel moving relative to the seat? Sounds like the latter, but you need to be sure. Two different issues that should be clarified before contacting Loomis.