MickD

Sounds like it's been there a while, so not likely to "snag" the owner. I expect with proper cleaning the reel will be fine, and the rod, I'm almost certain, will be OK. Worst case the grip or grip to blank epoxy could be degraded, but I doubt even that. Use it, and if the blank fails, save it for use as repair material for other broken rods. If the grip fails, come on back and get advice on how to repair that. If you don't find the owner there is no reason to not take a chance on it. If you do decide the reel is not working properly I suggest sending it to a pro servicer, like DVT.

Looks iike a display a friend showed me on his unit. He was going nuts over all the walleyes down there, couldn't catch any. When we turned the fish ID off we found there were no walleyes down there. He's now convinced to keep them off. There are occasions that the fish symbols are fish, but even then there isn't a heck of a lot of info of value with them. But everyone to his own liking.

Fish symbols do NOT always mean fish. In fact most of the time they do not. All it means is that there is something in the water that reflects the signal, and it could be weeds, could be anything that does not appear to the "brain" to be attached. Even the end of a twig, with the rest of the tree out of the cone will appear as a fish symbol. With the symbols turned off, as mentioned above, you can accurately interpret what is down there. With practice you will become very adept at telling fish from other stuff. Bite the bullet and leave them off.

I think the Terrova has spot lock. I would not consider upgrading without getting spot lock. As for cable vs the Terrova system of what I guess is "electric steer," i would also not consider going back to cable steer. With the Terrova with spot lock you have a remote control so the boat may be controlled from anywhere in the boat and the ergonomics of the electric steer are far better than cable. If you are considering going without the spot lock and electric steer with remote (I think Motor Guide has a system, too) you really need to try the new system before buying. The Terrova has a built in transducer which is compatible with most if not all Hummingbirds, but not with most Lowrances. At least that was the case two years ago when I got mine.

Any of the rod kits from Mudhole or Get Bit or other dealers will work fine. I'd go spinning since the guides vary more in foot size than the casting guides, although casting will offer a couple two foot guides. So I guess that's up to you. The most challenging guides for me are micros-hard to get them stable on the blank for wrapping. Use nylon thread because it stretches more than other materials and is easier to keep tension on. If you want to keep teh color of the thread from changing with the application of wrap epoxy, use color preservative, two coats IMHO. For a beginner I would propose Flex Coat medium build wrap epoxy (has to be WRAP epoxy, not hardware store structural epoxy) I suggest Flex Coat because it doesn't take a couple days to get really hard and dry like Pro Kote does. Use the Utube videos from Mudhole and Flex Coat for tips on how to do things. Any more questions, come on back.

Thanksfor all the comments; I knew when I posted it would be interesting. I'll go with Doug Hannon; I think he is probably the most expert on the subject. I really didn't expect to get a comment that was that definitive. Thanks especially to Bass Turd (you gotta do something about that name :-) )

Once when Ford used individual letters for their name I saw a "FROD."

Any opinions on whether boat color would affect the smallmouth bite while fishing 4-8 foot rockpiles in clear water? Like red vs black hull color? I've been told that it is better to not wear a bright shirt as it can spook fish. What about a bright boat?

Any opinions on whether boat color would affect the smallmouth bite while fishing 4-8 foot rockpiles in clear water? Like red vs black hull color?

I suggest a larger reel, like a 2500. I see no disadvantage, and usually they have a larger diameter spool and will handle more types of lines better. And make sure you get a fast or xfast action (not power, action). Some of the less expensive rods are pretty "whippy." Medium power, like all the others are recommending.

I'm interested in finding out what you bought and how you like it. I personally would never trust Evinrude after all the problems Johnson/Evinrude have had in the past. I have a Suzuki 50, and it is a great engine. 17 years old and runs perfectly, starts perfectly. Parts easy on line, all mechanics work on them.

I'm done with plastic brackets, too. In MI the plates are so thin that they can become damaged too,so I glue (gorilla glue) an old plate onto the trailer plate to double its thickness and use many zip locks to hang it. Redundancy!

I find that when properly lubed, tightening the snot out of it puts a set in the line that helps prevent the knot from loosening. The only knot problems I have is when I get lazy and don't put enough turns into the knot. I don't find FC to be as fragile when used as a leader as I do when it's on the baitcaster spool and it gets kinked trying to undo a backlash. Then it really cannot take much without failing. I have to admit that we may be interpreting "tightening the snot out of it" differently.

Anything but flourcarbon. Too much of a hassle, especially for non-experts with baitcasters. Mono of 12-15 will be the best casting, and will not sink, so will be good for surface lures. Braid has better sensitivity, casts quite well, neutral buoyancy, lasts about forever, and at about 30 or more pound test it casts well and is really strong. I like Suffix primium braid.

Is it possible you are experiencing the line sliding on the spool, which is in fact rotating? They are so smooth that rotation is not a piece of cake to detect when line is not solidly attached to the spool. What you describe seems almost impossible. If the line is not sliding on the spool, and the drag is set solidly, and the spool is not rotating, it is not engaging on the retrieve, which means a defective reel. After free-spooling, when you start the retrieve, you should hear and feel a click as the spool engages with the gear train connected to the handles.

Two piece rods have fine action and are not more fragile than one piece; you just won't find as many to choose from. I agree with those recommending a 7 foot rod in medium power, fast action. St Croix willl be a little more powerful than other brands described as medium power, and that's fine. You may find yourself fishing deep tubes and jigs, even drop shot, and a faster action is better for that. I use 15 pound braid with about 5 feet of FC leader. The leader provides a little "give," but I don't want a moderate action rod because, especially deep or with long casts, hook sets are more problematic.

What happens when a fish "tightens the dog snot out of it?"

Never had a problem with my older Curados. Daiwa has a great reputation. I think you are safe with both.

Relative to stretch, testing shows that it is not whether it is flouro or mono, the stretch is associated with specific line characteristics. So forget about that attribute of FC. Everyone has their own opinion, but there are a few characteristics of the lines that are not opinions, but are scientific facts. One is that FC sinks since its specific gravity is 1.5 times that of mono or braid. therefore it sinks better than the others, and is not suitable for surface lure casting. Another is that braid has almost if not zero stretch, and a much smaller diameter for the same pound test as mono or FC, so it is good for situations where you want max sensitivity, or ability to feel subtle bites. And if trolling or long casting, due to its small diameter, it will more easily allow you to go deep. It is my opinion that FC is less manageable than mono or braid for both spinning and bait casting setups, but that is not universally agreed to Some can make it work, and others, like me, cannot. I will use it only for very specific applications, and at the lower pound tests. It generally is quite stiff and harder to manage than the other lines. I don't think many will argue that FC is more fragile than the others when trying to free a backlash. When it gets a little kinked , it will break. Braid takes specific knots to hold properly. It is slippery. Same to some degree with FC. Lubricate all knots with all lines, but FC is really sensitive to not doing so. All lines have their strengths and weaknesses. I personally think that FC has too many weaknesses to justify it in most applications.

If the 35 by Pflueger is sized like Shimano it's fine for everything, IMHO. I use a Stradic 4000 all the time for bass and walleye. You will probably want to change line for some applications, like steelhead in rivers.

X2 on the u40. Some like to put a coat of Tru Oil gunstock oil on. It will most likely darken the cork a little, make the "grain" stand out a little more, and harden the surface a little. If the cork is pretty high quality, you don't really need to put anything on it, and it will wash up nicely when it gets grungy. The coatings will prevent the getting grungy to some degree. I usually use one or the other. Exotic burl cork absorbs these coatings more than regular cork, and the Tru Oil especially really brings out the "grain" of the burl.

The collective knowledge of a forum like this is truly awesome.

Return it, even if it's only paint damage. What damaged the paint could have damaged the fibers, and if so, it most likely will fail in service, sooner or later.

Get wrap epoxy instead of adhesive epoxy, as suggested. You will have to go to a rodbuilding supplier as hardware stores don't carry it. The working time varies with the brand. Prokote from Mudhole.com has what I think is the longest working time, which is way more than you need. Finish the guides, and if you notice quite a bit of it drooping pretty fast, blot it off with a paper towel by just touching it with the towel. Keep rotating every few minutes until it show no sign of drooping. You can check on it by touching the leftover in the mixing cup with the end of the brush, not the bristles (which youhave already cleaned with brush cleaner (also from Mudhole). Don't touch the wrap until the next day-ProKote takes a LONG time to get fully cured. For other brands that I am familiar with, like Flex Coat, the working time is not as long, but usually at least 20-30 minutes which should be plenty. Treat it like I said for Pro Kote.

No, the paddletails I use last forever.