MickD

I'm all set on a rod, will build a Rainshadow walleye spin blank into the casting rod, 7 ' 2" ML, ModFast. A friend uses that one and loves it.

Regarding what reels I currently have, a couple Daiwa Tatula SV 103's, if I remember correctly. I've never gotten into changing spools or bearings. I really appreciate all the participation in this question of mine. I'm learning.

what is plat?

I know we have a bunch of BFS experts on the forum, and I'm interested in getting into it, but I confess to be very confused by the reel offerings on Digitaka, and am thinking of just going Daiwa SVTW 70 from TW. I would appreciate your current opinions on reels. TIA

I believe that going up in size will generally increase bending strength, but strength is not the only issue, and most likely greater gains in strength come from moving up an "X." Also, going up may result in the front and rear hooks tangling on some lures. Also, some lures are designed for a certain weight hook, so any changes may affect that. But try out what you think is the best and see if it works.

Posted in the wrong listing, should probably be moved.

The heavy duty ones I bought, many years ago for salmon fishing, to correct the split ring failures of the shock strike of king salmon, are visually thicker, stouter, than other split rings. I don't know the strength numbers, but never had one fail and they are easy to identify by appearance.

There are "heavy duty" split rings, too. You can hardly open them, so they would be plenty strong. 7# is a gamble, IMO.

Based on your pic, I assume you've been robbing banks again. 🙂

Fuego is a great reel for about $100, great for beginners. No need to spend hundreds of dollars not knowing if the interest will stick or not.

The issue with a jerkbait is : Can you easily impart the action you (and the fish) want with the rod you are using. The power and the action combine allow this. I remember a number of years ago when we were fishing glass rods for jerks, and the bass in Lake St Clair wanted a very sharp jerk, and it was tough to get with the rods we had. We found other rods, graphite in this case, that allowed us to get that sharp jerk. Earlier it was mentioned using weighted rod tips. That is an old practice that at one time was pretty popular, I believe. But it had to do with getting a slower, more "progressive" jerk, slower accelerating, smoother. On St Clair, that would have been the exact opposite of what the bass wanted at that time. I often snap small swimbaits off the bottom for smallies and walleye, and some rods just don't work well for that. It's a lot like jerkbaits. The rod for them has to have significant give; too stiff just doesn't allow one to easily get the snap, reel the slack, snap again in a good cadence that works. Bottom line, do you need a dedicated rod for jerks? Not if the rod you want to use has the right power and action for what you are trying to do.

Tape is not the answer on small micros, simply not enough of a foot. The Mudhole little red bands do work on micros even near the tips of the blanks. Bigger bands work better farther down where the blank diameter gets too big. The Mudhole guide foot adhesive can work, too, but it's a little tricky to get the right amount onto the foot and the guide aligned perfectly before it hardens. https://mudhole.com/products/crb-micro-guide-bandsl I suggest ordering them both and practice with them until you get it down. It is a challenge, for sure.

Greatest little things since slice bread. Not that expensive, holds charge all season, takes up little space (about like a moderate sized book) , can start any marine engine + your truck engine.

Less than nuthin with other lines. Of course you can't feel anything with a slack line.

If you are not using braid, the rod is not that important. Braid is the single most important element in sensitivity/feeling the bite. With braid, the rod becomes more important, action-power-design-modulus-etc.

Before you do that, take another look at https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/repair-oquinn.html

Alex has it right. While many don't believe it, the process works well. I also have done many, and while the sleeve sort of looks screwy, the action and power will be the same as before. Because of the added weight way out towards the tip, the recovery speed from deflection will be slowed a little. But probably not enough to really tell. I broke one of my rods I had built, and had CCS numbers before and after the failure/fix, and they were unchanged. Simply putting a new tiptop on will result in a very poor solution as the power will go up and the action will slow down. And the rod will feel nothing near what it was before breaking.

I drill the holes in cork rings out to 5/16 , glue the number of rings for each part together on a 5/16 threaded rod mandril, then turn them starting with 60 sandpaper and working up to about 400. On a drill press with a minor change to stabilize the lower end. Works great. If you have a drill press, it easy peasy, and much quieter and more stable than the drill-driver setups. This ramp is coated with wrap epoxy. Sometimes I don't use anything but U40 cork treatment, other times I've tried polyurethanes and Tru Oil. Each has a different look.

Here is the process. A new tiptop will result in a terrible rod, if that's what you meant. https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/repair-oquinn.html

Last time I used Yozuri Hybrid 14 on a BC it felt like I had rubber bands for line. I don't know the technicalities, but it's really a stretchy line.

Save some headaches, too. I know some people can make FC work, but I am not one of them. No I've not popped for the really expensive stuff because mono works just fine and it is my opinion that most of the sensitivity/stretch advantages are not real. FC leaders on braid are enough to screw up the action of many top-water lures by their sinking and pulling the lure under on the twitch.

Depends a lot on the pound test. You won't notice much line stretch on 20 pound mono when you have your drag set at 8. I used to use a co-poly on BC , 12 pound test, and it seemed like I was pulling on a rubber band. I don't know that it hurt anything, but I didn't like the feel. To me it's easy to feel the "forgiveness" of a 7 foot 15 pound test mono or FC leader on a braid setup. And that to me is an advantage.

I recommend starting with either one of the 6-9's or my favorite, the 701MLF, CCS power 19.9 ERN, 77 degrees action. Very versatile, very sensitive/crisp.

Might vary with where they are, but I've always found fishing better in the sun AND wind. Dead calm in the sun has never been good, but as long as there is wind, smallies love the sun. If I had to choose the most important element, I would take wind. With wind it doesn't matter as much if the sun is out.

Point Blank 701MLF built as a spin, split grip, Fuji KLH to KB/KT runners. Super rod for finesse, and just about everything else within its power range. Power is what many would consider medium (CCS numbers) but it fishes like a ML and M power. It's so good I built one for a very good friend whom I owed a favor.