MickD

There will be a difference in casting distance between 10 and 20 pound test braid. It will be more or less depending on the rod configuration. A rod designed to cast well the heavier braids will cast lighter braid just fine, but a rod designed for max sensitivity for lighter braids will not cast heavier braids well. As previously stated, it depends on where you fish, think ability to stop a fish in cover, or not having to worry about that because there is not much cover. With cover, 20, without cover, 10. (or 15?)

Medium heavy means power, what is the action? Probably fast, so adjust the reel properly, try to cast smoothly (don't worry about the overhead yet) and use heavy lures that will load the rod properly. If you have an old less powerful rod around, try that. But don't give up. Keep trying different things, spend a lot of time in the back yard practicing, and in time, you'll get it.

If you're using a fast action rod, and have a moderate, change to the moderate until you get better. Not a total fix, but they do cast a little easier than fast or extra fast. Previous comments about properly adjusting the reel and casting smoothly and gently at first are also important. Try spoons and heavier jigs for a while, then move to the more challenging lures. Stay away from spinnerbaits for a while. The issue with lures is that you want to learn with lures that don't catch the wind much, don't slow down really fast, and that are a little on the heavy side.

Knots bumping guides can damage the knot, even if not the guides. Also, many micros have very tiny feet, and I don't want bumping that is "significant." But it can be solved to the point of its being indecipherable, or almost so. On a casting rod you cannot simply go down on pound test, so you have to have either a very small knot (FG/Alberto, with FG obviously being the smallest knot possible) . But it's not the easiest to learn. If one cannot use the FG, and the Alberto makes too much commotion through the guides, I suggest using either no leader or a short leader that doesn't have to go through the guides. There are a lot of guys on this forum who use braid without a leader and do well. You can camoflage your braid by mottling its appearance with a sharpie for the last 2 or 3 feet.

"Top of the line" blanks cost more than $150. But that does not mean that you have to pay that for a really good blank. Look at Rainshadow Revelation and American Tackle Bushidos. + a lot of good stuff from Mudhole.com that I'm not really familiar with. However, to start building rods you'll have to fund a bunch of stuff, your first rod probably will not be the winner you were hoping for, and you will have spent many many hours. Unless you are really interested in getting into rod building, I think you're better off finding a good factory rod on sale. Sales happen all the time, and there are many factory rods that are really fine rods. Millions of fish have been caught on them. Having said all that, I'm really glad I got into rodbuilding. It is everything Unclustered said, addictive, rewarding, but also expensive. It's sort of like trying to justify fishing because you don't have to pay $10 a pound for walleyes. It will end up being a lot more expensive than you initially think. You'll want some of those top of the line blanks, guides, cork, reel seats, trim, dozens of spools of thread, etc. Building rods for your kids and grandkids that match their personalities and interests, rods they will be using long after you're gone, is really special. Just keep in mind, it will be a consuming hobby.

I didn't answer the original question-"Will it hurt the reel?" Never has with me, but I fish mostly fresh water. In salt the rod and reel should be rinsed every day. I've never done more than this after fishing salt water and I've never had an indication of reel corrosion. (with aluminum spools, spin and cast)

The traditional jerkbait rod has a moderate action, or moderate fast, and works well when the "jerk" is sort of slow. But on Lake st Clair and probably many others, especially in the fall, smallmouths like a very fast "twitch." A fast or Xtra fast action is right for this kind of "twitch/jerk." The only way a moderate action can get it is if the moderate action rod has so much power that it doesn't cast the 1/2 oz or 5/8 oz jerks well. If you want to do a fast jerk, get a fast action rod which will load properly on the cast for the weight lures you plan to use. It can also work for many other techniques.

Lots of opinions here. Mine: 15 pound braid, 10-15 pound leader. Just to avoid the "fragility" of the lighter ones. Especially around cover. I just don't see the need for anything less than 10 pound leader, and 2-6 just isn't going to be reliable in or around cover and rocks. I believe that the digging in was caused by flat lines going in "edge" first. Many lines today are round and don't do that. Keep in mind that your drag setting will determine to a large degree how much of a problem, if any, digging in will be. But fundamentally, when you have a slippery, very strong for its diameter line, digging in is more likely to happen. I tend to go a little light on drag setting with braid since it has no stretch, give.

It is my opinion that braid casts a little differently on baitcasters in the back yard than it does when wet. I believe it tends to spin off the spool more when wet (and heavier), sometimes contacting the reel posts (within the reel). This can cause loss of distance compared to dry. So I keep it a little farther down (not as full) on the spool as compared to my mono fill point. I also find myself having to do "softer-gentler-smoother" casts with braid than mono, which can be really "whipped" on the cast. Some braids do this more than others. I look for braids with what feels like a harder, smoother, finish thinking they may not absorb as much water. But I have to admit that my whole idea on this subject is not backed by hard data, just by what I think I've observed.

All it does is slow you down when you are being drifted by a wind that is moving you faster than you want. They also can be hung from the bow with a fairly long tether so they go under the boat providing increased drag while trolling with a motor that cannot troll as slowly as you want. In either case they simply slow the boat down some.

Sorry, missed your post where you did just about what I recommended. I expect it will be fixed under warranty. Good luck with it. I've never had that happen with my "name brand" reels. Or even a couple off brand reels.

It looks on the video that the drag is higher as it is tightened down than at first. If the line were slipping, the drag setting would not change anything. I think you have reached the drag capacity and you don't think it is high enough. What force are you really pulling, in pounds? What is the drag capacity as specified by the maker, in pounds? Most people are surprised by how low drag capacities are on most freshwater reels. For most fishing you don't really need high drag settings, and with the use of braid, often the line is much stronger than the drag.

Casting light lures with a bait caster is not easy. If you're focusing on lighter lures, probably you should stick to spinning. Weightless senkos is something I won't do with a baitcaster, and I've been bait-casting for many many years. With either BC or spin the power of the rod should be determined mostly by the weight of the lures expected to be used. This is to load the rod properly on the cast . If you have the rod loaded right it will cast more easily, and longer. Look for a rod that gives its lure range that will include most of your proposed lures. Don't worry about the line recommendation other than a second indication of power. Use whatever pound test you want and adjust the drag according to the line you use and the feel on the strike that you want. For example, the more aggressive the strike you anticipate, the lower the drag setting, and vice versa.

Braid is fine for just about all applications. I love the feel of a fish hitting a spinnerbait or just about anything else-very solid, no doubt about it kind of feel. It's great for finesse, the most sensitive of the lines, and in weights like 15 or 20, will cast a mile. I would focus on an easy to tie knot, like a double uni first, then branch out into others if you see a need. Uni is easy to tie right, reliable, and quite strong. I recommend your starting with 15 or 20 pound braid, a good name brand. Some off brand stuff is not that great. Leaders should be about 15 to 20 pound test, either FC or mono. I really like hard mono designed to be a leader, not a line. Same for FC. More expensive, but you don't use much. Length can be about anything. As mentioned, if you have trouble with your knot going through guides, use a shorter leader and cast with it outside the guides. I use from 4-6 feet. With most guides a double uni on 15 or 20 braid and 15 or 20 mono/FC will go through the guides fine. Check it out every few hours of casting to see if it's getting beaten up. Retie if it is. The FG knot is a great knot, the smallest and strongest knot IF IT'S TIED RIGHT. It's not easy to learn, and it's easy to screw up. After you have mastered the double uni, practice the FG while watching TV. Don't use it on the water until you have really mastered it. After you've mastered it, do not change a thing. Anything different that you do will probably not work out well.

I hardly used a spinnerbait last year, have to be careful not to give up on them. But I've had so much success with swim jigs with 3-4 inch paddle tail swimbaits for a trailer, also the Berkley Crazy Legs Chigger Craw that I've not gone to spinnerbaits as much. They cast so much easier than spinnerbaits if there are wind problems.

Wayne, sounds like I should have been given an autochart chip with my unit based on what you and the catalog text says, do you know that this is correct?

I surprised by the lack of presence on the lists of 4 inch paddle tail swimbaits on a bullet jig, ned rig, + the others for me would be in order tubes, super flukes, and senko type plastic.

Thanks, Wayne. I appreciate your advice and tech support. My wife will be so pleased to find out I have to spend another $100 to make this outfit work as well as the one I sold. :-) Yes, I understand I didn't have SI on the other one. The name of the unit, which is mega, is exactly "Helix 9 Chirp SI GPS G2N" on the box label that also has the serial number on it. Wayne, while I'm here, another question, if I may. I see on my menu that it has an autochart selection, and the text on this model in the "catalogs" says it has autochart capability. Does it? And I think I know the answer, but verify, I have to buy more stuff to make it work? thanks again. Much appreciated.

With the Eagle I had there was only a problem if the transducer was not mounted the correct height relative to the water coming off the bottom of the hull. If the water were too deep, like 30-50 feet, at some speed, like 20mph, it can be a problem as you mention when the signal gets back to the transducer after the boat is gone. The Helix 9 Chirp SI GPS G2N came with one transducer, a flat one about 3 x 6 inches viewed from the top, I think it is the Mega SI transducer. It is mounted about 1/2 in below the hull edge. Are you suggesting that I try lowering it, Wayne? According to Humminbird I don't have to chose between SI image quality and good depth indication at speed if I spend another $100. Do you believe this is not true? thanks for coming on.

The second transducer, an added transducer, Hum says I need is a smaller, puck style transducer that is plugged into one wire of the Y cable, with the original big mega transducer plugged into the other. They go to the unit by the original cable from the original transducer, and the unit auto sorts the signals to give accurate readings at speeds over the 6-10 max of the original transducer. But. . . on one Hum trouble shooting item on the web site it says a second transducer can block the signal going to the side imaging transducer. I have no idea if the transducer they recommend I buy is a problem or not.

Thanks. I've had my Eagle 640 Elite have no trouble at 15-20 mph in 15-20 feet of water. I talked to Humminbird support and the problem can be solved with another $100 purchase, second transducer and cable. So I paid about $4000 for motor and two graphs and cannot tell how deep the water is at over 6 mph unless I spend another $100. This is very disappointing to say the least. No warning from the dealer, nothing I can find in the manual, supposedly there is mention of it on the website, if you search for "high speed."

I had my new Lund Rebel 1650 ss on the water Sunday, with a Helix 9 with the side imaging big flat transducer, and found that I only had accurate speed indication when I was going fairly slowly. As I would speed up, in 10-15 feet of water, at about 20mph the depth indication would slowly climb in number until it was reading totally unrealistic high numbers. The transducer is mounted so it's about 1/2 inch below the bottom of the hull, which seems about right to me. My first move,without having any expert advice, would be to lower it a quarter to 1/2 inch. Do others have this problem with the Helix 9 with this transducer? Does anyone have a solution to propose? thanks, Mick PS, never had this problem with my old Monark and the Eagle 640 Elite unit.

I'm a builder and not familiar with the actions of the rods mentioned, but most recommend a fast or extra fast action in order to jerk the spinnerbait effectively through weeds. Slow and moderate actions are not as good. Also, some say that faster actions reduce helicopering, but I'm not sure that's accurate. Get the power that will load properly with the weight lures you plan to use most often (tell by the lure weight range for the rod)

Major issues with old engines are 1. they have carburetors which are very finicky, especially if they've been sitting a long time with fuel in them. They can work fine, or they can be a horror case. Fuel contamination by dirt or alcohol could really screw an engine up, too. 2. water pump impellers - most don't change them often enough. Make sure you know the situation with a prospective engine. They wear out, chunks go missing, and they simply get too stiff if very old. 3. Oil injection- If talking some of the bigger engines, Johnson/Evinrude had an oil injection system that took oil from a separate container and used a diaphragm pump in the engine to inject oil. Very unreliable, and your first indication of trouble was a scored cylinder wall. Happened to me. I would not recommend buying one of these. Merc had, if I'm not mistaken, a gear pump and integral oil reservoir- much more reliable. One thing for sure, you don't buy an engine until you've seen it run at all throttle positions, and have seen it start from cold.

I wonder if all the dock fishermen who claim every square in of water as theirs would feel the same way if they were repairing their boat covers and canopies of damage inflicted by fishing lures. Some can be effective fishing docks and doing no damage, but others cannot. But that does not stop some of them from trying. It would be nice if fishermen would not even go close to a dock with a person on it, or on shore by it. It would be nice if those who are not really good at accurate casting would simply cast a good distance away from a dock and take the fish that come out. There is the law, and there is common courtesy. They are not the same.