MickD

If you find Prokote's long cure time an issue, try Gen 4.

My experience is that smallies have their favorite spots, but they move in and out a lot. Quite a few times I've struck out at a favorite spot in the morning, then have gone back in the afternoon and found them there. Usually it happens like this if there is a switch in the wind, mostly a pickup in wind velocity. Seems to bring them back. Smallies seem to like wind and sun. I'm talking big water smallies, Saginaw Bay and St Clair.

Your Fav fish = smallmouth, if you fish them in a lake then drifting with a drop shot is quite effective.

Took me a long time to be effective at drop shot, but I'm getting it now. At times, very effective.

Thunder

Because you use a matte finish poly to match the blank gloss level better? Makes sense.

Can you elaborate on why poly and what this accomplishes that a thin coat of epoxy would not? Not being critical, but I don't understand. I might learn something of value here.

I wonder if you spilled some alcohol onto the blank. I've never heard of epoxy burning like this.

Probably got too much heat onto it. No need to do that. No need for an alcohol torch or any other heat. To remove bubbles a gentle blow through a straw will do it. Or if you insist on heat, just the side of the flame of a butane lighter passed close to the bubbles will do it. There are three major causes of epoxy problems: 1. Excessive epoxy 2. Excessive heat 3. Mixing errors, most likely not using syringes to get an accurate mix.

Do it how you feel most comfortable. I've done it all ways, and it can work however you want to do it. I would only suggest, that if you want a fast, quick, jerk on the jerk, use a fairly powerful fast action rod. Especially if you use mono which has significant stretch. I wanting a slower sweep instead of a fast jerk, a slower action rod will be fine. Main thing is to tune the equipment to what you are trying to accomplish with respect to the exact jerk you are trying to accomplish. I find that fish in different lakes/environments like different jerks. There was a time when hard jerk fishermen were attaching weights to the tips of GLASS rods to slow the jerk down. But on Lake St Claire, I think the bass want a much faster/ sharper jerk.

I would like to make the point that it is hard to tell without objective numbers what is really going on with modern graphite rods. On another forum recently a person reported having received two Point Blanks, one a ML and one a M power, both 6 ft 9 inches. Both he and his son thought the ML was more powerful than the M based on just feeling them, jiggling them, whatever one can do without measuring and fishing them. When he did the CCS numbers, the M was more powerful, and when he fished it, cast it, it was more powerful. It fished more powerfully as it was advertised to do. If you are not measuring your rods/blanks with CCS, you don't know before fishing them what you have. Many of us builders have been pushing manufacturers to provide CCS numbers on their products, and can use your help. If in doubt on a blank/rod, ask the manufacturer for the CCS numbers. They most likely already have them but are reluctant to publish. Push them. We are gaining, but it is far from over.

It was initially developed for fly rods, but it works for any rods. Unless you are trying to match a fly rod to fly line you are IMHO better off using IP (Intrinsic Power) which is a pure, underived number. IP = the number of grams needed to deflect the blank/rod to a distance = to 1/3 its length.

I went to a mid-sized MI river yesterday, low water, clear, sunny day. I started at an old auto bridge that has been converted to a pedestrian walk, and it's quite high over the river allowing good viewing of a lot of water. I started with a white 3.8 Keitech swimbait, and immediately noticed that a smallie was spooked instantly on seeing it. The cast was well out, so he didn't get spooked by the lure hitting the water. He was obviously spooked by seeing the lure. So I changed to a shallow crank, and next time it went by a bass, same thing. I changed to a very small, about 2.5 inch tube on a ned jig and had a small fish chase it. I moved to a country area of the same river where I have fished since a kid with my dad. Scattered good-sized rocks, depth mostly about 1-3 feet. I took 3 small bass in the first few minutes on the tube, with the fish aggressively going after it. I then switched to my fly rod and waded for a while. There were so many long weeds coming down with the current that it was very hard to fish, but I tried a shrimpy-looking tan fly first , and had no takers. I switched to a purple maribou streamer with lots of sparkle on the lower half of it, and immediately took a few small fish. I never got into a fish over about 12 inches, but it was obvious that some lures actually spooked them, and others were attacked aggressively. Interesting contrast of their reaction to different lures.

ERN is a derived number based on the grams (Intrinsic Power, IP) it takes to deflect the blank the specified 33% of its length. It was derived to help match the power of fly blanks/rods to fly line standard weights. For example, if you had a blank with an ERN of 8, an 8 weight line would probably match it well. This chart will allow one to see what the ERN is for any IP. https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/nfc_urrs_masterchartv1.0.pdf

Not all FC is the same. Not all mono is the same. Not all braid is the same. FC, IMHO, is best used for leader, not line. Too fragile, too expensive, little if any functional advantages.

I believe fishingmickie is right on the dead short. In order get that much heat there would have to be a dead short. A fuse would not prevent the dead short; it would just go open before enough juice/heat developed to cause a fire. But a dead short will blow the fuse. I've used a rig like you have fishing in Canada, but I used clips with plastic covers on them which helps prevent unwanted contact.

The reason the rod is a major consideration is that in order to cast effectively and easily it needs to load properly. It will load properly if its power is appropriate to the weight of the lure being cast. Which with BFS leads to rods of lighter power. And for good distance, longer is better than shorter. A friend of mine recently built a BFS rod, and it according to him is working well. It is off a blank that is called a walleye spin blank, 7 ' 2 ", ML power, Fast action. If you have too much power in the rod it will feel like you're using a broomstick to cast the light lures, and you won't get much distance while working quite hard.

This describes what most would call an Xtra Fast action, probably higher than 80 degrees CCS action angle. Although I'm not sure what "progressive taper" means. Basically all rods have a "progressive taper," larger at the butt and progressively tapering to the tip.

I gave up on all FC years ago. I still have a lot of partially used spools hanging around.

It will do just about anything, including cranks. The issue with power is mostly matching the power to the weight of the lures being cast so that it loads nicely. But as I always say, one cannot have too many rods. This is a good place to start, but far from the last place to go.

Another argument for "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." Don't go further than the first layer, just a few drops of lube, put it back together. Enjoy. If submerged, send to an expert. These new reels are so complicated that if you go very far into them, and you are not an expert, you probably will screw it up.

No. The only difference between 16 and 17 casting seats is the diameter of the bore for the blank. So it depends on the blank which you use. (Maybe the hood nut might be a different size, I don't know) I use Fuji ACSM seats which have specific bore sizes for your blanks. If you look at the specs for 16's, they go up to a specific diameter. If your blank is larger than that, then you go to the 17 set and select the bore size to match your blank. The rear of both is the same diameter to match casting grips. https://anglersresource.net/product_categories/casting-reel-seats/ No. The only difference between 16 and 17 casting seats is the diameter of the bore for the blank. So it depends on the blank which to use. (Maybe the hood nut might be a different size, I don't know) I use Fuji ACSM seats which have specific bore sizes for your blanks. If you look at the specs for 16's, they go up to a specific diameter. If your blank is larger than that, then you go to the 17 set and select the bore size to match your blank. The rear of both is the same diameter to match casting grips.

Strongly consider using a size 17 and not a 16. The larger diameter fits most hands better and is more comfortable on a long day on the water. My thumb to little finger span is 9 inches and I simply don't use size 16 spin seats any more. Check yours and see what your span is. Then decide.

I'm not sure what a "heavy BFS rod" means, either. To get good advice, I think you need to get specific about power and action, using CCS as a tool. You can easily set it up and then you can know what your current rod is and have a better idea of how much "heavier" you want to go, and CCS data can be utilized to help. If you need help on setting up CCS testing, send me a message which includes your email address. Simply asking about blank brands without getting specific doesn't help. For example, there are hundreds of XRay blanks.

With a premium braid of less than 20 pound test and FC leader of about 15 pound test those guides will pass an Alberto just fine. I do it with 4's.