MickD

There is no perfect line for all situations/techniques. Even the magic Yozuri Hybrid Ultra Soft doesn't fit all applications. I won't go into spinning, but for BC, it has way too much stretch for jerking hard suspending jerkbaits. Feels like jerking on a rubber band. I much prefer braid. It works very well for deep cranks that are retrieved steadily, casts great, smooth through the guides, but for jerking and spinnerbaits, give me braid. IMHO

Riverfisher, you bragging or complaining?

Muddy has it right. You don't need to pay a bundle for a good reel. The reel I have that casts the easiest is an old Calcutta that has 3 bearings. I have another BPS reel that cost about $100 is the next best casting reel. My most expensive reel, about $230, is the most temperamental. And regarding drag, bass fishing doesn't require much of a drag at all. Most bass take a few feet of line at most. Bottom line, most reels are overdesigned for bass fishing, appealing to the marketing aspect of it all rather than the practical. The only thing that recommends name brand reels in my opinion is that the better reel servicers will not service off brands, and all the new reels are so complicated that a good service job by an expert is something you want to be able to employ. But that leaves a lot of name brand reels for under $200 that the servicers will service, and they will work great, and will work for a long time, and their drags will suffice.

I have a lot of experience with BPS rods and reels, Extreme rods and above, and a couple different lower end casting reels, and I cannot find fault with any of the stuff I have. It all works very well, especially considering the cost. It is all very cost effective. One possible down side to the reels is that professional reel servicers often do not service them , and reels are getting so darned complicated that I cannot confidently take them apart and put them back together again without having a few extra parts lying around. If you want to have them serviced by the better reel guys, then buy a name brand reel. Of course, BPS services their own stuff, but the last time a friend of mine tried to get it done, there was a 6 month time involved in a job that I did in about 15 minutes.

I carry my rods, for the most part, lashed together in the back of the van, so a one piece rod is not a problem. However, if transportability is at all an issue, go ahead and do a two piece. I have to admit, if there is a difference in sensitivity, I think it is hidden in other variables such as line and lures and grips. I have both and cannot feel the difference. One issue not often addressed in one vs two piece is the fact that guide winding is a lot easier on two piece rods than one piece rods. IMHO

The really most accurate way of characterizing a rod is with the "common cents" method. It takes a bit of doing, but once you get set up you can do any rod, (fly/cast/spin/surf) and as you gain experience, you will be able to better predict whether a rod will work or not for what you want it to do based on the ratings you derive from this method. You can even check out new rods without damaging or soiling them, and take them back if they are not what you are wanting. Go to http://www.rodbuilding.org/list.php?2 and look to the left side of the page for the links to the Common Cents info and data.

I expect from your handle, Bayou something, you don't know much about winter storage. Lucky you. Our water gets a little hard up here, and I clean my gear up, winterize the boat/motor, put my roadster in the pole building, and get to work on building rods.

I agree with those who say that with good ceramic guides, you should have no problem. But, with enough line through the guides, guides will groove more quickly with braid than with mono. The most likely trouble spot is the tiptop, so just check it every year as you are cleaning rods up for winter storage. If you find the tiptop grooved, check the other guides-most likely they will be ok. If the tiptop is grooved it is a simple job to remove it and replace it. To remove one, just put a loop of line through the eye, put tension on the line, and heat the tiptop until it slides off. Use hot melt or ferrule cement to glue on a new one and you're good to go again. The main thing to remember is to not overheat the blank. That is why I suggest putting tension on the tiptop before heating it. It will slide off before the heat becomes enough to damage the blank.

Every year or so, check your tiptop to make sure it is not grooved. Depending on your usage, braid can get aggressive, especially on the tiptop. There is one big difference with braid, the fact that it has no, or relatively little, stretch. You'll notice right away how sharp strikes feel, and that is good. However, if you are fishing for a fish as powerful and fast-striking as a king salmon, you may find the lack of stretch a problem in the stress the shock of a strike puts on terminal tackle, straightening hooks, opening split rings, etc. I would suggest for that kind of fish having a 8-12 foot "shock leader" of mono. Or you may just want to use mono-it is much more forgiving.

I've been away a while, and yo and behold the Yozuri US hybrid discussion has taken off again. At RW's suggestion, I have tried two setups with the stuff: 1. BC with 12# test-casts very well, smooth through the guides, like it's already lubed (but I'm used to braid). The only complaint is that it just doesn't feel right to me for hard jerk baits. Feels like someone put a rubber band in line with the lure, very soft on the jerk. 2. 6# test on a 1500 size Daiwa spinning reel. I used it for jigging walleyes and really liked it. Then I had to use it on king salmon up to 16 #, and while it was clearly under what was appropriate for those fish, it did quite well, casted well, and seemed pretty tough and strong considering its test. I'll continue using it for the jigging, will go to 8 or 10 for the kings and hope it doesn't get too stiff (will have a bigger reel).

For your T rig/jig rod, I don't know what to recommend, but for your medium that you will use for cranks 1/4 oz and up, you want to get an action that will load properly when casting the light lures. Fast means that most of the flex will be in the upper 1/4 or so of rod length, extra fast means most of the flex will be in the upper 1/5 or so. It is possible to get a rod in extra fast action to cast 1/4 oz lures well, but it will not be a medium heavy action, and it may not even be a medium (power). My best crank rod for light lures is a Loomis Crankbait rod #CBR843C (8-14 line, 1/4-5/8 lures) and it is probably a medium light power with a moderate/fast tip. It loads beautifully with light cranks, is very light, casts like a dream. I'm not familiar with the Shimano rods, but would expect that the fast tip would be better for cranks than the extra fast. Your initial comments on the rod with the 1/4-1 1/2 oz lure rating is interesting. I'd bet lots of money it was not really a 1/4 rated rod, but was marked incorrectly by the manufacturer to appeal to more people. Your comments on it not loading are right on, and you need a much lighter power rod to load properly with the light lures. I expect Shimano rates their rods more accurately, just be sure they rate it down to 1/4 or at worst 3/8.

The best way is to measure the diameter of the blank where you want the seat to fit and buy accordingly. You also can usually estimate the blank diameter by using the butt diameter and "guessing" the reduction in diameter with the taper-it will likely be very close to an available reel seat inner diameter. I agree that it it better to be a little tight and ream rather than too loose and shim.

I have done it this way, and have had another experienced rodmaker state the same method: Find the spine of each section alone, then assemble with the pieces aligned according to spine orientation, and check it again. It should be very close. If not, go with the assembly spine. The bad news: With short sections or powerful butt sections it is not easy to find the spine. The good news: It really doesn't matter. There may be many who will argue that spine makes a difference, but there are also many very highly respected rodmakers who will argue otherwise.

EVA foam was mentioned-does anyone know if current EVA has more resistance to sunlight than the old stuff from 20 or more years ago? I had a rod I really liked with it and it just ended up crumbling away. If it is not improved dramatically, I would hesitate to use it on a quality rod build. Logically, I would think it less sensitive than cork, too, since it is so much more compliant/soft. Seems like it would dampen the feel of light strikes. Mick

I agree with Flechero, although I do use U40 cork seal on all my new builds. I like the appearance, makes it look a little richer, and it should help with durability and fade/stain resistance. My rods from a couple years ago still look like new. One thing not covered in the string is the issue of weight. Burl is heavier than plain cork, probably because it has no voids. I have seen various estimates of the difference, but an experiment I ran indicated it was about 50% heavier than a decent but not flor grade of regular cork. I've seen estimates of more difference. Which leads to split grips. You use less of a heavier material, so the end product can be lighter and you still have great cork. Mick

There is no need to avoid graphite for cranks. The right actions, most likely medium/medium fast will work just fine. I have been told, and likely will be told again here, that there are glass rods out there that are as light as graphite, but I haven't seen them yet. I also see no need for a really slow action for cranks. Most of my cranking is with baitcasters and graphite rods, but I do some cranking with two of my spinning rods, both 7 ' medium power, fast action, braided line, and have no trouble with the lure tearing out of the fish's mouth. And, the rods are very light and work well for lots of plastics work as well. I think the "problem" of the lure tearing out of the fish's mouth is highly exaggerated.

The advice to go to rodbuilding.org is golden. Best advice anyone could give you. Do some serious searching there for guide sizes, guide spacing, etc. Second best advice you can get: Do your first build with a good but inexpensive blank. Blank price is the biggest part of your investment in building a new rod, and you will get better with every build. Don't spend a fortune on your first build. You can get good blanks for less than $50, many times a lot less if you buy closeouts/sales/etc. Even with a good but not great blank your rod will be better than most factory rods. Regarding guides, you can spend an average of $10 per guide, or $3 per guide, and the chances are you will never see the difference. Use Fugi Aconites for about $3 on the small guides and somewhat more for the bigger ones, and you will have guides better than most factory rods. Welcome to the club.

Come on guys, read the post. I didn't say the line was terrible, I didn't say I didn't like it, I didn't say I was going to throw it in the trash, I said it has its positives and its negatives, like most things in life. And its positives and negatives depend on your priorities and preferences. I really value sensitivity, so I lean toward braid for most of my fishing. I think it is a great line for cranks, and it works well for vertical jigging. I just prefer braid for a lot of other applications. Simmer down! Mick

After all the recommendations on this forum for Ultra Soft Hybrid, I bought two spools, a 12 # for bait casting and a 6# for vertical jigging and spooled two setups for my annual Canada walleye, pike, and perch trip. Re bait casting-the line casts beautifully and runs through the guides silently. For some kinds of bait casting, like maybe crankbaits, it probably is fine. But having gotten used to the sensitivity of braid, I find the line too insensitive for jerking stickbaits and too stretchy for trolling. Braid is much more in line with my requirements for those kinds of fishing. Jerking stickbaits with it is a lot like pulling on a rubber band compared to braid. I guess I'm stuck on braid for these two applications. Re vertical jigging, the 6# worked very well. I wanted to use it because the water is so clear where we fish that I didn't want the possibility of braid spooking the fish (even though I always use a 7-8 foot flouro leader, with drifting the line still may spook fish if it drags through their area-at least that was my theory). The Ultra Soft stayed on the reel without looping off, had adequate sensitivity for vertical jigging, though with the long line out drifting, was a little insensitive. It appeared to have good knot strength-lost only one fish to a bad knot and that was not the line's fault. Of course it was smooth and silent through the guides. Bottom line (no pun intended) I consider the line to be fine for certain applications, but it will never sell me over for jerking stickbaits or trolling. As with so many things, it depends on what your particular priorities and preferences are. MIck

If the Yozuri mentioned is their Ultra Soft Hybrid, it is not a pure flouro so its "invisibility" in water may not be as good as pure flouro which has an index of refraction that is fairly close to that of water. Flouro's acceptability on a spinning reel depends on many factors, like spool size, pound test, the characteristics of the specific flouro, the type of fishing (for example, if you are casting lures that have a lot of resistance to retrieve the line will be put onto the spool of the reel more positively than if you are fishing very light plastics), the skill of the fisherman, temperature, and probably more. Kevin Van Dam uses BPS flouro in 10 pound test, so it can be done under certain conditions. I don't think it is accurate to say that only one brand can be used. There are too many variables affecting its practicality and lots of examples of people who are doing it.

I have never found a pure flouro in 10 pound test that is soft enough for my 2500 series reels, and I expect that it will be a problem in bigger reels too unless you luck into a very soft flouro. Then I wonder if its knot strength will be sacrificed to get it that soft. There are a lot of people on this forum who say that fish just don't see 10 pound braid since it is so small in diameter. I can testify that if you try 10 pound braid, or even 15, you may never go back to mono or flouro. It is wonderful to cast, very trouble free, and lasts a long time to make up for its high cost. Flouro isn't cheap either. The only type of fishing that I use flouro for is vertical jigging in very clear water, and then I use 6 pound test (and have some trouble with it, too).

I am going to make a spinning rod for my grandson and have selected 6 1/2 feet for the length based on his height. I am agonizing over the following blanks, all described as medium fast actions. He will be using it for general plastics fishing and will be casting lures with it also. St Croix: SCIII 3S66MF SCII 2S66MF - Any significant difference between these two? Loomis: GL2 SJ782 - The GL3 version of this rod is getting a little pricey. I would appreciate your input as to your opinons as to which of these blanks is best and why you feel that way. Both the St Croix blanks are advertised to be the same weight, and weight and quality of the actions (sensitivity/smoothness/"feel") are my primary priorities. I expect the Loomis is very close if not the same as the St Croix in weight. Durability is secondary, but I don't want to be getting into a really fragile blank. Is there another blank that you think makes more sense than these, maybe equivalent weight and action, but less expensive? Thanks for your help. Mick

Distance problems with an open face spinning outfit, with a person who knows how to cast (as you state, your zebco does well so you know how to cast) have to be related to the line (I assume your rod is designed specifically for open faced spinning reels-I've seen guys put spinning reels on casting rods and the even fish with the reel on top and reel backwards-that doesn't work-balance is way off and guides are too small). The most common problems are too little line and too heavy line. I know that I just cannot make a line as heavy as 10 pound work well on an open faced spinning reel. Try the Yozuri Ultra Soft Hybrid in 6 pound test-it is a good line for open faced spinning. Other 6 pound monos should work well, also. Make sure you have the spool filled to about 1/8 inch of the lip. If it is not fully filled it will not cast well. If you want the slickest casting I've found put 10 pound Power Pro on it. You just won't belive how slick and trouble free it is. A minor issue is having lures that balance well with the power of the rod. Too heavy overloads the rod and too light doesn't load the rod properly. Both will result in less distance than if balanced properly. If you have a balanced lure/rod setup, when you bring the rod back to start the cast and without pause fire it forward to complete the cast you will notice the rod bend (load) significantly and you will have a smooth, comfortable, cast. If you have too heavy a lure the rod will bend a lot and the timing of the cast will likely make you feel like something is just wrong. If you have too light a lure the rod will bend very little and it too will feel like something is wrong. It will feel like you are casting with a broomstick. Give these ideas some thought and good luck. Practice with the Supreme, assuming you have a decent rod, will result in good casting.

You did say deep water bass, and you have experience with the sensitivity of braid, so I think you will be disappointed with the stretch of anything else, including flouro. I just tried the Yozuri Hybrid Ultra soft 12# on a casting reel, and while it casts very well, and is smoother than braid through the guides, I just cannot get used to the stretch, even when jerking sticKbaits, let alone feeling fish strikes. I guess I am spoiled by the zero stretch of braid. A friend has tried the crystal you mention, and I see it coming off his reel in loops-looks like it has a lot more memory than the Power Pro I normally use and like. For bait casters I find that braid of similar diameter to 12 pound mono performs very well. That puts it into the 40 pound test range. I have used lighter and found some problems with it digging in on the spool. Guides never like braid, and I think it is because they don't want to compromise at all on visibility, they think braid will scare the fish and you will have a disappointing trip with them. I use, as others have described, a flourocarbon leader with braid just to make sure the braid doesn't scare off the fish. I like it, but it has the down side that you should rety the leader fairly often depending on how much you are casting and catching. If I fish all day I usually retie every other day. The Uni-Uni knot is easy with some practice and is reliable. The Albright is smaller, also easy to tie, and reliable. I WOULD NOT GO ON ANY BIG, IMPORTANT, FISHING TRIP WITH A SETUP I HAD NOT ALREADY TRIED OUT.

The "cardboard" rod tubes I've seen are pretty substantial, and if wrapped in visqueen type vinyl sheet for rain protection, should hold up fine for a trip or two. I would make sure the rods are padded inside whatever you put them in to prevent damage from jostling around. If you are going to do this kind of thing a lot, then do it right and make some tubes as others have advised. I wouldn't advise using schedule 40 PVC for fly-in trips because it is so heavy. I have a commercially made telescoping tube that will hold about 5 two piece rods, it is light but tough, has made about 10 fly-in trips and still is in good shape, as are my rods. It isn't nearly as big and bulky as a "Bazooka," and wasn't nearly as expensive. I'll bet it was cheaper than PVC and its fittings. For one piece rods, I don't have a cheap, light, solution. Maybe the sewer/drain PVC is the answer-I think it is thinner walled and lighter than schedule 40.