MickD

The testing has indicated that most "premium" blanks (I have not tested any "store bought" rods since I build all of mine) do have higher natural frequencies than lower modulus blanks. This is good news, IMO, since it says we are generally getting what we pay for with blanks. But there are some surprises when dealing with complete rods and the effects of guide mass/material/design. It's too complicated to go into in a post like this. There is one premium blank brand that generally has the highest TNF's of similar blanks by other makers according to my testing and that of a couple other builders. But keep in mind that I certainly have not tested every blank model nor even all brands. From what I have seen of store bought rods in repair requests I have to conclude that custom builders offer a superior product with respect to reel seat/grip structural integrity and cork quality. Plus the entry into the market of numerous really high quality brands of carbon fiber grips offers options that are generally not available on most store bought rods.

Not quite true. I agree with your whole post except for this. It is very easy to test for objective power and action characteristics of all blanks and rods by using the CCS system developed by a brilliant (deceased) guy Dr. William Hanneman. The answer for power is a measurement in grams of how many grams it takes to deflect the blank to 1/3 its length while mounted in a specific way, and the action answer is the angle (called action angle) of the tip when the blank/rod is deflected as above. The higher the number the faster the action. https://www.common-cents.info/ The testing does no damage in any way to the blank/rod. If one gets numbers he does not like he can return it. Of course shipping gets in the way a bit, but if purchased locally from a reputable seller, easy peasy. When I get a blank that tests with numbers similar to a rod that I like I know before building that I will end up with a rod that fishes very much like the rod I like. The numbers do a very good job of describing how it will fish. If one wants to go further and measure the True Natural Frequency of blanks and rods, that too is easy and probably can be done with equipment most fishermen already have. This is argued to be a good indicator of sensitivity. Hi modulus blanks generally have higher TNF's than lower modulus blanks. I can provide details if messaged. Point Blank and Rainshadow's RX10 series have manufacturer-specified/published CCS numbers. (for blanks)

Seems like hi vis mono would be a big mistake since it goes all the way to the lure. I like 14 pound test Suffix Elite camo for baitcasting, prefer premium braids + a leader for spin (for the better sensitivity/bite detection.

This requirement, IMHO, is highly overated. You have to consider rod length as well. A fast action 7 1/2 foot rod is a lot like a 6 foot moderate action rod on a one foot stick. A 6 foot fast action rod is a lot different with respect to the issue of keeping trebles in.

All the DT's, best in Iconelli Smash color, chosen depending on water depth.

I listened to it again and I agree with a post above that said it's just noisy braid going through the level wind guide. Try some 8 carrier braid like Power Pro SuperSlick8 V2. It works well on baitcasters and should make less noise.

Make sure the nut on the underside of the level wind guide pawl is tightened snugly and not loose. Maybe the pawl is not fully engaged with the worm gear.

Drag seems smooth, if everything seems to be working well, don't worry. Drag setting appears to be pretty light. I think I'd just go fishing and react as necessary later if something malfunctions.

Is this with the line taking against the drag or is it line coming off in free spool mode?

Everyone thinks braid just touches a zebra mussel or a rock and it fails. Yet we need special scissors to cut it. ??????? I'm going to introduce "rock braid scissors." Just touch them to the braid and it's cut. I don't see the answer to the question is the knot loosening or is the line breaking. Everyone is assuming that their Palomar knot is the same as the Palomar knot of the OP'er. Might not be true. Maybe his knot is not a properly tied knot. Since the braid is new, and I've never had a "bad batch," and I presume it happens with more than one hook design (maybe not?), and braid by its nature needs a correctly tied correctly selected knot, I think it's a bad knot.

Action will get slower (as measured by CCS action angle) when a blank/rod is cut or shortened by breaking. It will not make a fast action into an extra fast. From Tom Kirkman, moderator of the Rodbuilding.org forum and internationally recognized expert on blanks/rods: "Cutting a blank from either end will slow the action. Cutting from the butt will reduce power. Cutting from the tip will increase casting weight range. How much so in any case depends on how much you're cutting in relation overall blank length. 7 inches from the butt of an 8 foot rod will make a discernible difference. Do this - tape the rod off at the point you plan to cut. Mock up a handle and guide set up from that point and see how it feels, casts, and pulls. Then decide if it's going to work for you in that configuration." As others have stated, when the tip is shortened by more than an inch or two the effect is significant and usually means it won't fish anything close to what it did before. I have never liked a rod after losing more than about an inch off the tip.

Could be, easy peasy to check, but if a vent is not open the engine will usually in time stall out and not restart. He did not mention stalling, just a failure to restart when warmed up. I still think the first (and easy) step is to determine if there is spark when not restarting. If there is a spark then most likely it is a fuel problem.

Get back to what it takes to start an engine. Do you have a spark?

Sounds like you may have a fuel hose check valve issue, but not sure how engine temp could affect that. Maybe two problems? Insufficient fuel and: I had a 15 Johnson once which failed an electrical device, had to change a harness. Not sure of any more detail, but sometimes electrical devices like condensers and coils can go open with temperature changes. Make sure you have a spark when cranking war

Putting line onto a spinning reel, in my opinion, is best done by taking it off the end of a stationary spool with it coming off opposite of the way it's going onto the reel. If your reel puts line on by rotating clockwise (looking at the end of the spool) then let it go off the source spool counterclockwise (looking at the source spool). The theory behind this is that the spinning reel puts a twist in the line with every rotor rotation. Taking the line off the stationary spool does the same thing. But by doing it in opposite directions one tends to negate the other. Braid is much less sensitive to twist than mono or FC, so one way to minimize twist problems is to use braid, I suggest 10 to 15 pound test for most applications. I use ZERO mono and FC on spin. All braid. Having said this, not all braids are the same. Go with the premium 8 strand braids for best results. It lasts for years so the initial price is not as bad as it seems.

Find the weeds, then work your way away from them.

Be careful what you ask for. I just took my Calcutta 5.3:1 out of retirement to use on a new rod and was surprised about how slow it takes in line after using reels of about 7:1. I think it might work OK for slow rolling a spinnerbait, but I think for most spinnerbait use I'd like more ratio.

hooks on DT's damaged? The provided hooks work fine for me.

A big swivel, takes it down. Rig it with the hook coming out the belly. It's not about line twist.

For LMB I have found the one color that seems to do better than all others is black. Add a little blue for accent.

Thanks

Any reel that I pay $400 for better be good at all three. Why would a zillion not be good for swimbaits?

I have experienced a problem with braid in which I can cast in the yard very well, but when on the water I cannot even get close to an aggressive cast without getting a very sharp stop in the cast and a backlash. I THINK the problem is associated with the braid getting soaked with water, becoming heavier, and this causes it to spin off the reel and contacting the support bars of the reel. I have switched to Suffix Premium Mono with much better casting. BUT, is there a better braid that will not act this way? I have a premium 8 carrier braid that a friend uses successfully on order and will try again. I think this is the explanation because I used to use braid successfully on much less sophisticated reels than I am now using. I'll try to remember to post how the new braid performs.

I had trouble with it unravelling. So went to Alberto which is simply an Albright that wraps both down and back, then out through the loop. I finish it with two tightly set half hitches. I think one of the secrets of success with both of these knots is to very tightly set both the tag and line, VERY tightly, and wet. I think you want the leader to take a permanent set from being so tightly set.

If I plan to use surface lures with a braid/leader system it is mono to avoid the sinking of the leader that occurs with FC. When the leader sinks it screws up the action of many surface lures. For anything other than surface I use both FC and mono, and I don't think it makes much difference if any. I don't sense that there is a knot problem with the leader grade FC that I use. Leader grade FC is stiffer than regular reel-fill FC which helps in keeping some lures from tangling. Like blades.