MickD

Should be good, but 4 in 1 is pretty cheap and it works just fine. If in doubt, go new.

I have never liked the location of the hook keeper where this rod has it. Puts the lure very near the hands, and when fishing the keeper contacts the hands at times. I've never found a better location than just in front of the front grip at 180 degrees. It would not be difficult to put one up front and remove the rear one if one wanted. I suggest trying it as is if you buy it You may like the location.

How would you rate the hook sets with it? And what size do you prefer. (The secret is coming out!) thanks,

Don't mix up power and action. The ML is a description of power, and fast action is a description of action, where the rod initially bends when loaded. A fast action rod can have any power, from ultra light to heavy and beyond. I expect a ML (medium light) power is about what you are after.

"Flor" is not a precise specification. Companies have been advertising flor for years, and it varies a lot in quality. So does burl. Some of it looks like particle board while others has a very distinctive, interesting look due to the sizing of the aggragate pieces of cork. Cork 4Us advertises flor, and they are a very reputable company. I'm not sure of their current price-you'll have to ask them. Their picture of what they are offering looks very good. Carbon fiber does not get slippery when wet. Cork gets slippery with fish slime and I expect carbon fiber will too. I've never gotten a lot of fish slime on mine. There are even "soft touch" carbon fiber grips that a friend tells me are very fine rod grips. (NFC)

Not all "flor" is flor. But it's all expensive. Exotic burl cork is very durable, some is very handsome, and it's a lot cheaper. Only down side is that it weighs significantly more than natural cork. I think some of the carbon fiber grips are very good looking, very light, durable, feel good, and make a lot of sense.

I don't agree that U40 makes a significant feel difference. Also no complaints from others who don't even know their cork is sealed. But. . . different strokes.

Don't get it.

It is my opinion that in-depth reel maintainence is highly over-rated for its positives and highly under-rated for its risks. I don't take my reels down more than the simple stuff and they work just fine. When I dunked one (in the water for a few days) I sent it to an expert like DVT to get it done right and without the risks of screwing it up. Some times there are parts that work properly only in one orientation and the proper orientation isn't clear on the schematics. Spinning reel bails and their springs are especially risky.

I believe sanding will remove most of the sealer since cork doesn't allow a fluid to penetrate much. I would start with 150 and go finer to get a smoother finish if I want it smoother. Why?

Yes, color preservative. Any of them will work for this. I use Flex Coat, water based, have for years. Since it works through a solid that is in suspension you have to mix it/shake it every time you use it. It goes on white and is transparent when it dries. I think the mechanism of failure of decal edges and epoxy is that the epoxy stays fluid so long it has time to work on the edges of the decals. CP dries fairly quickly and seals before the edge is compromised. I tried a clear CP years ago and it didn't work as well as Flex Coat, so I've stuck with Flex Coat.

Alex, are these peel and stick or the transfer when burnished types? If the former, try the above method. If the latter, give us details on your process and we may be able to help. I think the transfers are trickier, but it can be done.

One thing you can do if the blank gets messed up is to lay a layer of appropriately colored thread down on the now cleaned-up blank, CP and epoxy it, and put your decal and writing over it. It will look fine. My motto: If you can't fix it, feature it. To get peel and stick decals to stick well under any epoxy (the problem is not Flex Coat lite) try the following: 1. Lightly burnish the blank with scotch pad. Epoxy will make the light burnishing disappear. 2. Apply the decal and VERY vigorously, with the backing for the decal between your burnishing tool and the decal, burnish it over its whole area, concentrating expecially on the edges. You want the decal pressed on very hard over its whole area. 3. Apply a thin coat of CP on the decal and especially seal the edges. Don't worry, it will disappear too. 4. Apply your epoxy coat.

I have both and frankly don't detect a difference in how they fish. Both are smooth operating and have smooth drags. If I used them in salt, might have a different conclusion. I have never found that composite frames have any disadvantages. I like the lighter weight. Tatula LT's are my favorite reels right now, they do everything well and I don't feel any deflections under the stresses I put on them.

Been hearing good stuff about Voodoo.

Spoonplugger, please tell me what is magic about this Loomis MB843 blank, it's CCS numbers and its material specs. It sounds like there until the new NFC blank there has been nothing to compare it with. thanks,

Just fired up a new Tatula SV 103 with that knob, and found the factory setting a little looser than I would have thought it would be. When I adjusted it tighter it cost me significant casting distance, so I'm back probably very close to the factory adjustment. There is no reason why you should be wary of trying other settings, you are not going to screw anything up. Sweet reel.

HFF Custom Rods, up and coming company in MI, very helpful folks.

The problem here, especially for those who haven't already lost an inch off a blank by using too much heat in taking off a tiptop (that includes a goodly number of us builders, including yours truly), is knowing how much is too much.

If your lines/leaders/guides will cleanly clear a double uni knot, use it because it is the easiest, most reliable knot. All the others have some little quirks that if they come into play will fail the knot. Many swear by the Alberto, but for some reason, mine unravel even when tied according to the recipe, so I tightly set two overhand knots of the braid tag end over the main braid line. Makes the knot fool proof. If you are going to use braid to leader on surface lures use mono for the leader. FC sinks fast enough to affect the action and working of some surface lures detrimentally. I use braid/leader for two reasons. I think it is less easily seen so most likely doesn't spook the fish (some use straight braid and swear by it-I agree that it's hard to think that 10 pound braid is visible enough to spook fish under most conditions), and when constantly retying, I'm cutting off leader and not braid, so don't have to replenish the braid as often as I would if I were constantly cutting off braid.

It is really neat to get a response on a forum from someone who has the credentials and who is interested in honestly helping to answer the question.

Because many believe heat can melt epoxy, but epoxy cures by a chemical reaction that makes a substance that doesn't have a melting point. It can be destroyed by heat, but the heat required is often very close to that which will also destroy the blank. So when you apply heat you are at risk of damaging the blank. If you can accomplish what you want to do without heat, that is much better. In this case I think the epoxy can be chipped off mechanically with no heat.

Especially for BFS where you will be using quite light lines on a pretty low power rod, you can go very small/light if you want. As I posted in another string, I've never had a micro guide failure on spin or cast. On cast I use the Fuji RV6 then KB/KT 5's to the tip. On a light power blank like BFS I recommend titanium guides and tiptop to retain as fast a recovery speed as possible.

Very pretty, nicely done rod. Guides don't have to be that big, though. Have you tried Fuji KR6, then KB/KT to the end? Arowana titanium tiptop.

I build all my spin and cast rods with micros, size 4 on spin and 5 on cast. While they are reputed to cast farther, I cannot prove it, but all my rods seem to cast very well. The major advantage of micros is their lighter weight which results in faster recovery speeds of the rod from deflection and a crisper, more sensitive feel. While most "advantages" cannot be objectively proven, the recovery time is easy to prove using the True Natural Frequency process that measures the natural frequency of the rod. I can measure the frequency difference between stainless and titanium guides and large vs micro guides. One disadvantage is that tiny guides will ice up more than larger ones, so if I were to build for winter steelhead I would not use them. The other disadvantage is that it sometimes takes a special knot if one uses a leader. But I've mastered the "improved" Alberto, and it works fine with the micros I use with 30 pound braid and 20 pound leaders on cast, up to 20 braid and 15 leaders on spin. I have never had a micro failure using Fuji KB/KT runners, so I don't know what the worry about durability might be.