MickD

For light braid you can use about any reel you want and it will cast fine. As for twisting, I have had braid get twisted a lot and have found that it still performs fine, doesn't loop up like mono or flouro. I don't know if smaller reels twist the line more than bigger reels. If I were you I would get a name brand reel with a trusty drag in the 2000-2500 range. At around $100 you can get some really nice, very smooth operating, reels. I have found some really good deals on Ebay, and I would also look for sales at Cabelas, BPS, etc.

With 10 or 12 pound braid you can use just about any guide train successfully. That light of braid is very forgiving. For rods that I am planning only to use light braid on I would start with a 16. Anyone wanting more info on the current guide train philosophies can get really smart on Fuji's by visiting their website at http://anglersresource.net/

Everyone is talking guide diameters, but on the first couple guides of a spinning rod it has been found that if you go higher you can go smaller without a penalty. How much smaller depends on the line characteristics, but you can go smaller. As for the running guides the only things limiting how small one can go are iceing the passage of knots through the guides. It's hard to logically argue that a line of .015 inches has a hard time getting through a guide with an I.D. of .125 inches. Think of it this way, the longer those loops keep their shape, the more the line is slowed by air resistance. Getting the loops efficiently minimized as soon as possible reduces air resistance making for longer casts. This is not as important as the elimination of weight on the blank, in my opinion, because we can usually cast far enough to catch fish with almost anything. The sizing and spacing of the guides on a spinning rod, including the heights, is optimized by even considering the reel measurements in the Fuji system. The American Tackle Microwave system utilizes a patented double ring first guide and has been out there for a few years now and has been proven to be much more than just a marketing gimmick. The smaller the guides you can use, the lighter the rod, and the more sensitive the rod. With some of the systems today the whole guide train weighs less than the first two guides of a conventional systems. I won't even get into the argument that properly sizing and spacing and minimizing size of casting rod guides can result in better casting performance, but that too is true.

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/fishing-rod-handle-kits/230100.aspx

If you still have the screw, and the "clamp" isn't too complicated, I would think you or a machinist could fashion a new one and drill and tap it for the screw. Might not look as good, but should work at least until you run across some new ones. I'm sure that sooner or later you will.

Not sure how to view a larger image, suggestions please?

I didn't say I thought it was built by St Croix, I said it performs like a St Croix SCV. I don't remember when I bought it. I'll try to change my personal pic to show what it looks like now.

I have had a Galyan rod, an upper level rod I believe, for many years. I got it as part of a combo, I think. I always liked the blank (nice medium brown color) but hated the ugly grey guide rings and the grip/reel seat. I rebuilt the rod to my liking and love it. It feels almost the same as my St Croix SCV70MF, level 5 , 7 foot, medium power, fast action.

This seems a lot like saying how do I keep my binocular from making things look so big?

I have had so much trouble with flouro on baitcasters that I'm just going back to mono and copolymer. One problem with many flouros is how fragile most of them are if they get kinked, and that's a problem on BC and spinning. I'm going to braid with flouro leader material (not line) leaders where I like that combo. I really don't think the perceived advantages of flouro line compensate for the terribly variable quality of lines, even name brand lines. Better to have something that is easy to use and is dependable. I know, some have no problems, but that has not been my experience.

You got me! I did think you were serious. There just may be some folks out there in internet land that would do that, though.

I just cannot believe with all the years of development of lubricating oils specifically for machinery like fishing reels that olive oil could be as good at lubricating a fishing reel as "fishing reel oil" by someone like Shimano. Just cannot believe it.

If you want to see what two ounces will do to a rod take a few spit shot totalling about two ounces and tape them along the length of the rod and feel what you have. With proper paint you're talking about almost no weight, hundredths of an ounce, I expect. And the effect of it on the action is imperceivable to most if not all. But do this operation wrong and a blank can easily be ruined.

I'll bet you were using leader grade floro and not something like Vanish line. Right? That's the other half of this equation that sometimes gets forgotten. I think some knots like the albright fail because some floro is incapable of being kinked that tightly. I have had name brand 15# flouro line fail right after picking out a backlash, under very light loading.

Not that red stuff; it can stiffen and leave a hard to remove red "paste." The Reel Mech used to charge extra when he had to service a reel with that lube. I use reel butter, but any sewing machine oil, shaver oil, gun oil, or clear/not dyed reel oil should be fine. Any are a heck of a lot better than none, which is what many reels see.

Are you the only one these rods are exposed to? I know that not all people know how to handle a rod properly. I've never seen guides on my rods bent from anything but my mistakes, like those already mentioned. There is one more that can easily bend guides, and that is improperly taking multiple piece rods apart. I would think improper stowing could bent 2 or 3 guides in a row. Jerking on wind knots could bend a guide. Probably not the Bigfoot.

Regarding length, I make mine short enough so they don't enter the reel. Some use them short enough so they don't enter the rod at all. With braid and fast action rods you have a pretty "hard" system, and I think a leader of 5 feet or so provides a little "shock relief," but just try different lengths and see what you prefer.

For spinning it's all about the rod. For baitcasting it's all about the reel.

Either will work fine. From all the posts on this thread I would conclude that going with mono would be more reliable. But the major point is that you need to know how to tie knots correctly, whatever knots you choose. And you need quality line and leader material of the proper test.

I have found this site very helpful. As many have stated, the Alberto is significantly smaller, so goes through smaller guides better. The uni has 5 thicknesses of the large diameter line, the Alberto only two. I think if the Alberto has a weakness it would be in how tightly it bends and pinches the floro. Some floro's may not take well to that. If you really want bulletproof floro for leaders, buy the leader grade. You don't use that much of it anyway, so expense shouldn't be an issue. I have had so much trouble with floro lines (not leaders) lately that I'm about to just go to leader grade floro for leaders, and mono or copolymer for lines (+ braid, of course).

If you cannot get the Alberto to hold consistently you are not tying it consistently correctly. The tag end has to go through the loop correctly or it will fail every time. If you tie half right , half wrong, which is natural if not paying attention to the tag direction, half will fail.

Any knot that takes 20 wraps is doomed to fail with most of us. It is with me, anyway. The uni/uni is reliable and easy, but can be screwed up if you don't wrap both the lines into your loops. The Alberto is a pieced of cake, and very compact, but if you don't put the tag end through the loop properly, it will fail every time. Not hard to learn, but don't think that this direction of the tag end is unimportant. It is the only way this knot will work. Bottom line is that your problem is with the properly tying of your knots. Don't give up, just pay attention to the details.

Texas Tackle O ring pliers.

So you want identical components, same blank characteristics, why not just buy another one?

Your info helps a lot! I think you are using too light braid, for one thing. I think you'll find a much better handling and tougher line in the 25-30 pound test range, but don't max out your drag. That will make it dig in more. Use your thumb to pressure fish if your drag setting isn't enough. Don't pull snags out by simply pulling on the rod, that will make the line dig too. Wrap it around something and pull just on the line. I agree that there are better knots than uni-uni for size, like Albright and its improved version with double wrapping the braid - but make sure the tag end goes out of the knot correctly or the knot will fail (I learned that the hard way) . It is a much smaller knot. You can also use a short leader that doesn't go through the guides, but unless you're using micro guides, the recommended knots will pass through well. I would use at least 15 pound flourocarbon for a leader, too. With the right knots the lines I have recommended will go through all but micros quite well. IMHO, knots going through guides do get damaged in time, so retying every day or two will eliminate any possibility of that. You mention snap casting-you obviously will soften the shock by using a more "progressive" casting style, but I'd be surprised if snap casting will fail a 30-15 setup assuming you're not digging in. I recommend a florocarbon other than Vanish. Florocarbon leader material is tougher than FC line, also, but I've used FC line for leaders for years and had no problems with it.