MickD

I have used the alps seats and they are fine. You don't need to spend a bundle on a reel seat to get a very nice, functional rod. I recommend the Fuji RV for the first guide, two or three KB's, then the small foot KT guides the rest of the way. Or look at their alum oxide versions of the guides. All running guides the same size based on what knots you want them to pass. I recommend 5's. The Fuji ACS seat is nice, doesn't cost a fortune. I use it on some very expensive blanks. Coordinate the seat hood finish with the guides.

There are many companies out there with very high quality components. It's more about finding something that fits what you want to do than it is brand. Although sticking with the big names is safe. All companies have a range of components from very inexpensive (but still very good-all their guides are braid safe, although I like to use a preimium tiptop since that is where you'll get grooving if it's going to happen) to very expensive. No need to go top of the line. I have to suggest an alternative to your plan. With every build you will get better and better. And your first may not meet your expectations. So consider a moderately priced kit for your first build. You can spiral wrap any blank. If you want to spiral wrap, look into the various methods. The easiest, and it works just fine, is to do the simple spiral. Locate all your guides as if building on top. Move all but the first guide to 180 degrees. Add one guide, the lowest you can get, can be same diameter as your running guides, at 90 degrees 1/2 way between the first and second guide. Its function is simply to keep the line off the blank. This method works well, you get no loading to one side of the reel as you do with many others that put the first guide at an angle. This forum is a good one to add to your list of resources. Check out its library. http://rodbuilding.org/list.php?2 http://www.mudhole.com/CRB-Light-Freshwater-Rod-Building-Kit-IS701L

Vodka gimlet.

I believe the right way to spool line, unless your reel has specific directions otherwise, which some do, is to have it come off the end of the spool clockwise if your reel spools it counterclockwise. Every rotation of the reel line pick-up puts a twist in the line and by taking it off cournterclockwise it takes that twist out. By doing it ccw-ccw the twists are doubled, and twisted line adds to the memory issue. My experience is that light braid seems to perform pretty well even when twisted, but I'm sure that twist has to add to wind knot problems at least some.

the rod pod is fine if you can assure that all the rods will be straight in it. You don't want to have a bend in them-might take a set in time. My worry would also be that it might be easy to steal. Then ALL your rods are gone. I think an 8 foot box (8 foot based on plywood-if possible, add an extra 6 inches or more), lockable, hinged top so you can easily arrange the rods the way you want, and a method to lock it to your rig, would be good. Out of sight would be nice. You certainly don't want it rained or snowed on.

The palomar takes a lot of line to tie it compared with others, and you have to put the lure through a loop. This makes it hard to tie with multi-hook lures. It is only an advantage with braid. With mono, while the palomar works fine, other knots work well too and are easier to tie with multi-hook lures and don't take as much line to work with. The advice above regarding the other knots is goodf for mono and FC, in my opinion.

One other factor is size. The feathered treble will make the lure appear larger. Could be good or bad depending on the fish's preference that day. One thing for sure, keep them very thinly dressed, so they have a little flash, like fish's tail, but don't look thick/heavy/unnatural. A thin white feather and a few strands of pearl crystal flash or similar is all you need. Maybe a very small red feather (or red crystal flash).

Re the Albright knot, note how the tag end goes back through the leader loop from the same side as it went out. If you don't do that exactly right, the knot will fail. It's not hard, but you have to tie that knot (and most others) exactly right. Re the comments about the double uni working well with leaders of 25 pounds or so with micro guides, I'm very skeptical. Of course there are diameters of guides that are called micros that go up to 5.5 mm (outer diameter, not inner diameter), and maybe it will be ok for those, but for the smaller micros, I just don't buy it. To be safe try what you want to use yourself to make sure it will work to your satisfaction. (there are five layers of leader in a double uni, and 25 pound mono is about .017 inches in diameter, so that knot can easily be a little less than a tenth of an inch in diameter. That's pretty big to pass easily and cleanly through the smaller micros.)

The FG takes some time and practice to get used to , but it is the smallest knot available. For the pound tests you are working with, it's pretty well in its sweet spot. It gets difficult in the lower pound tests, like 15 pound leader onto 15 pound braid. But the saving grace is that in the lighter pound tests the double uni works well, is easy to tie, and is small enough to clear most guides. If your knot is going onto the reel, you have too much length. Try shortening the leader to about 4 feet. As one poster reports, a lot of fishermen don't use the leader, but in clear water, I'm convinced it will give more strikes than straight braid, especially if the braid is light colored. One way to make braid less visible is to "mottle" it with a dark sharpie to give it a sort of camo appearance. The FG is so small that it can go through micros well, and it lasts almost forever while double unis get beaten up and have to be retied more often. I've had FG's last until the leader got so short from retying that I had to start over. But the knot lasted many fishing trips. If you want to try the FG, search for videos; there are a few very good ones. Search for "FG knot."

I don't really care what the MSRp is; what I'm interested in is what it costs me to buy it. The Immortals don't cost me as much now as they used to. They are great blanks, and I agree that at the current prices, they are really good values. The titanium chrome finish is beautiful and very versatile, allowing almost any color thread to look good. Try a merlot or garnet without CP and you'll have a rich "black cherry" color, trim with silver metallic, and you have a very handsome, classy, build. The ned rig is very popular now, and the 7' 2" med lite walleye rod works very well with it. WS72-ML.

http://www.americantackle.us/spacing.html

Real Microwaves? Or is there a Chinese counterfeit. I believe the instructions are available on line, give it a try.

Didn't remember that. I'll have to look at one! Mustad 7790X hooks? Don't need rings.

I don't bother, but I've never heard of any glue which damages the line. A good one to use is UV curing epoxy. There are many different ones available, but I like Solarez (do an internet search) and zap a gap knot sense. Read the following article for some insight. The article states that knots that depend on stretch are best not glued. If you use the UV curing products, and you tie inside the night before, you'll have to use a UV lamp to cure them. Batteries and Bulbs has a couple good ones. https://www.deneki.com/2014/05/gluing-knots-for-extra-strength/

Unless you've dealt with hot melt attached tiptops before, I would not recommend heat. It doesn't take a lot to damage the blank. I really think you are wasting a worry here, and are dealing with a non-problem . Picking at it A LITTLE is not risky, but this "problem" will not affect the performance of the rod. If it really bothers you, enough to get into the hassle and cost of returning it, do what you have to do. But call them first, as recommended earlier,

I'm not sure what the mystery is here. Replace them with the most identical hook you can find, replace the split rings similarly, and you've done the best you can do. It will work fine.

Without knowing your depth, hard to recommend a weight, but these jigs are most effective when not moving or moving very slowly, so that would lead to lighter weights, trying for almost neutral buoyancy.

Most carriers of Rainshadow blanks are offering the Immortal line (at least most of it) at a new pricing level, from 30-38% lower than previous pricing. In addition Utmost Enterprises has additional discounts. The Immortal line is a beautifuly finished (Chrome titanium) line of very high performance blanks. They are now within the reach of most of us for our special rods. Very good news.

Since structure is so important with skeleton seats which have very little area of contact with the blank, be especially careful to properly prepare BOTH the blank and the seat components before gluing. You want to scrub both with an abrasive pad. Easy to do and will maximize the performance of the epoxy. Also make sure you get full epoxy contact with both surfaces. The best performance will come not from deep grooves from very coarse sandpaper, but from a "deglossing" of the surfaces and removing of mold release from the seat parts. Do not follow this treatment with any other action other than wiping the dust away. To do this to the seat parts it is easy if you have a shotgun patch tip for a gun cleaning rod. Cut a piece of the abrasive pad and put it through the slot in the patch holder, put the rod section in a drill-driver, and buff the ID of the parts for 20 seconds or so.

If balance is an issue, go short and look for the smallest possible guides, and of course, graphite. I don't worry about balance. I think it's a highly over-sold parameter. Regarding power and action, I think no more power than a medium, and fast or Xfast action for what you want to do. Wacky and drop shot would lead me toward a medium power, ned toward a medium light.

As long as the bass agree. Keep in mind that what the fish want will determine what is effective. I think smallmouths more often will not go for the subtle jerks that a mod action gives.

You can get any action and power in graphite, and it most likely will be significantly lighter than glass. As stated before, if you want a sharp twitch, you don't want the slow recovery of glass and you don't want a moderate action. You want a fast or extra fast. I've seen days on St Clair when we just couldn't catch a fish on a mod action, but using the X-fast action gave us the quicker acceleration on the twitch that the bass wanted.

The spacing of the first guides on any Microwave setup is based on Amtak testing of the guide and reel geometies and does not depend on action, power , or length of the rod. Just do it according to the instructions that come with the guide set, then space the remaining (few) guides per your own stress test. Since Microwaves come as a set, you'll have most of the running guides left over after the build.

I have another anecdote on line visibility that contradicts my jitterbug story. My son and I were fishing super flukes over pads, pulling them across and letting them sink. He had a FC leader and was doing well. I had 10 pound white nanolite tied direct, and wasn't getting much. Until I put a FC leader on, then my strike rate increased dramatically. Go figure. Of course the safe tactic for maximizing strikes would be to use a transparent/translucent leader. If it matters you're set. If it doesn't, you're set.

I was fishing crystal clear water around the Charity Islands in Saginaw Bay, MI, and my partner threw out a yellow jitterbug, on a metal leader, with a few split shots to take it down, and came out with a nice smallmouth bass. He was using a Zebco 33 on a short glass rod. But you already figured that out, didn't you.