MickD

I guess you and I have a "totally" different definition of "totaled." Hull OK, engine didn't go under, saved all the stuff in the boat. . . .

What is BSF?

Take the engine to a qualified servicer and get it serviced right. The total immersion of the engine is a big deal, can be handled, but don't try to start it before having it serviced. Previous post is right on regarding separate starting motor and trolling motor batteries. You don't really have to carry a jumper if you have the capability to move the battery to the engine and hook it up. A paddle is easy to stow and might have saved all this trouble. Although you did say something about big waves, and in high winds the paddle may not work that well.

Regarding height of the tongue, if the ball bayonet is offset by about 2 inches, most can be turned over (reverse the ball) and now it will be 4 inches higher. More offset may get it too high.

There are two reasons for having mulitple setups. One is to do the best for the technique you are fishing. Two is to have multiple setups in the boat so you don't have to retie every time you want to change a lure type. You need to think of the rod action and power, the type reel (mostly dependent on lure weight), and the type of line (braid for high sensitivity, mono for a little stretch and to not sink your line on surface lure casting). You didn't mention line, which means you have more to consider than you thought. Your current setup will do for many techniques where the lure weight is sufficient for baitcasting to work. But when you want to go lighter, you need a spinning outfit. Go first with a fast action, medium power, spinning rod setup and it will be very versitile. For this one I'd use braid with a flourocarbon leader. It would be for finnesse, bottom fishing, jigs, tubes, drop shot, that kind of stuff. Not surface. After that it's going to be up to you which direction you take. For surface and cranks you may want a medium power, medium action outfit rigged with mono so as to have the line not sink your lure and to give some "give" when a fish strikes a crank or on the surface. Match the rod power and reel type more to the weight of the lures than to anything else. By this time you'll be pretty expert and won't need any more help.

Power Pro is my most used braid, but Suffix Premium Braid is also excellent. And a new one, not easy to find (try RodComponentsUSA.com) by American Tackle, the same folks who market Bushido blanks (high performance, high value). It's called the Bushido Combat Braid. I used it for bonefish with fly/jigs last winter, and it performed beautifully. Long casts, no stretch, strong knots.

Unbelievable.

My point was intended to promote thought into the "definition" of "locked down," and how much force is generated by "locked down." It seems to me if the drag capacity is 15 pounds, that's about all it can generate when "locked down." So if this is true, with 30 pound test line, there is no truly "locked down" drag. Most, if not all, freshwater reels, spin or cast, don't have drag capacities any where near 30 pounds, which is about the minimum braid pound test that baitcasters use. Maybe most are considering "locked down" to be "maxed out," but with line with higher pound test than the drag capacity, line can be taken off against the drag and rods can be broken if not handled correctly.

Careful, Gavin. That's not how they are sized. Since I have been in rodbuilding they have been sized by the OD of the ring, which means for different brands and materials the ID's may be different for the same nominal sizes. But if one orders a 4 mm micro to replace one with a 4 mm ID, he will receive a smaller guide than the one he's trying to replace. Best way, Joelhains, as you admit to being new at this, is to take your rod to a good rodbuilder/repairer, and let him do it. It won't be that expensive and very likely will look very close to original. He can touch up the others which may be showing wear, too. I doubt if you can do that on your first try.

I have never heard of a successful repair of a tiptop, so replace is the only option, iMO. A good way to prevent overheating the blank is to tie the tiptop to something and apply a little force as you apply heat. IT DOES NOT TAKE MUCH! Doing it this way makes certain you don't apply too much heat. Piece of cake. Unless the tiptop was epoxied on, which means it will not come off with just a little heat. Here is where you get into a problem because epoxy doesn't melt, and the heat it takes to soften it is very close to the heat it takes to damage the blank. Apply heat, as little as possible, and try to twist the tiptop gently while heated. Apply a little heat many times, working on it each time you heat it. BUT, if you apply too much heat, the blank will break. If it does, you will have lost only about 1/2-3/4 inch, so it's not that big a deal. Then get a properly sized tiptop and use the glue mentioned in the previous post.

The part most likely to be worn used to be bait caster level wind pawls, but I don't think I've had one fail in many years. On my reels, the pawl worm gets washed dry pretty quickly, so I lube that particular part often. If one didn't do that, I think it would still be pawls. If taken good care of with reasonable service, I expect most reels will last almost forever. On spinning reels I think the most likely component to fail is the bail spring. If you can get into the habit of manually closing the bail you can avoid this problem for a long long time.

How much force is a "locked down" drag able to generate if its capacity is about 15 pounds?

If that were mine I would buy a Winn grips wrap and it would perform better than new, and probably look better than new. http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Winn_Grips_Superior_Rod_Wrap/descpage-WINNGRI.html If $10 is too much to risk, go to a tennis or bike store and buy either tennis grip wrap or bike handlebar wrap for about $3.

My Curados are the best casting BC reels I've tried. Other experience includes older Quantums, recent Revo's, and older BPS. My Curados just seem to cast well with any braid or mono with little or no adjustment between lures.

Please clarify what you mean by a locking half hitch? How does it differ from the others? thanks

My point is not to state that installation doesn't have to be right; my point is that Humminbird maintains that (if it's done right) there will be no need to switch transducers in the settings. Do you agree or disagree?

I've contacted Humminbird and they offered about a 25% discount on the second transducer and Y cable, and state that when installed correctly the Helix 9 will automatically, without having to select a different transducer, read SI correctly at low speeds and depth properly at higher speeds. I really think they are obligated to do more since there is not mention that I can find anywhere that buying over $2000 worth of their electronics won't tell you how deep the water is if you're going faster than 6 mph. But it's not world peace, and I took them up on it.

I have used this outfit for the last few years, and am very pleased with them. http://www.zennioptical.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=BING - Search BRANDED&utm_term=zenni&utm_content=Zenni - Exact One thing they offer that is really reasonable in cost and quality is their clip-ons at about $4. That's not what you're asking about, but don't overlook them if you order other glasses. There is another post about sunglasses farther down the que, so see if there is help there, also.

Yellow used to be a very effective color for bass, seemed to have fallen out of favor. They must have forgotten about it by now, so it will be proven very effective again and will enjoy a sudden resurgence in popularity, especially for expensive lures like whopper ploppers. From my experience there are lots of fish out there that are not color-blind, too. I also remember a chug bug my son had that was an ivory and black spotted pattern, sort of like a holstein cow, and it was much more effective than any other color either of us had.

I doubt if there is a significant difference in sensitivity between an open blank and regular straight spin seat. Anything that you could feel on the blank at the seat should be transmitted pretty well through the epoxy which bonds the seat to the blank. Also, you can mount the seat up-loading and put a small ramp turned from rigid poly reel seat shims to the front of the seat, sized just under the diameter of the seat hood, coated with epoxy, and I think you'll find it as sensitive as the blank itself. The pic shows one done with burl cork, which is a little heavier than the seat shims. Lighter = more sensitive. But even with burl, I don't think the differences are significant. Unless you are using braid the sensitivity of the seat/blank/window/etc combination is a moot point. Won't make any difference no matter what you do.

Find your local Craig's list on line and try that. I found it very effective.

Thanks, I look forward to seeing more. I did one exactly like S Hovenac suggested, 9 wt, for my son,with Pro Wrap metallic pearl trim, and it is a very handsome rod. REC natural titanium snakes with Alps titanium reduction guides. Alps bright alum window seat to match his Hatch reel. On the Rodbuilding forum I asked for other ideas and the brown/teak came up. I never would have thought of that combo. If I like it I think I'll have to get some brown; all I have are spools of more "chesnut-like" browns.

Nice work, as usual. Is the blank beyond what we see cobalt blue, like the seat? I'd like to see the wraps, if possible. I'm agonizing on colors for the cobalt blank and another builder has suggested brown and teak.

Nice look, interesting yet not gaudy. Very good workmanship! I am interested how that shape (rear grip) works out. The swell behind the seat and the mild taper would make it a little large for my hands, I think. I made one similar to that once and had to take the diameter down, also made some "finger slots" to locally take the effective diameter down. Since then I' ve sort of copied the more abrupt taper of the St. Croix grips.

If you have trouble with FC, you are not alone. Some people on this forum probably, based on their posts, spend hundreds of dollars searching for the perfect FC. And in the end, there is nothing about FC for line that is a compelling advantage. It certainly is heavier than the options, so it makes going deep easier. And also screws up using it for surface lures. But its transparency and increased sensitivity advantages, if any, are not compelling. Ask for objective data and you'll most likely come up empty. The data there are on stretch doesn't prove that it has any advantage over mono. So for me, I just don't fight FC any more, using it only for leaders when I'm using sinking presentations. If I don't want the higher specific gravity, I use hard mono for leaders. Good for those who are happy with it; I never reached that stage.