MickD

No need on the uni to only use three, no advantage and some risk. I think the blood knot is a little smaller in diameter than the double uni. It is what is used in making fly leaders.

My experience with the Crazy Crawler was that it was basically a fancy Jitterbug, but not as effective. I also think the soft lures like the Strike King toads would be just as effective, probably more. For streams/creeks, I think smaller is better.

Not correcting, just adding data. One of us is maybe quite long in the tooth. I bought a couple of the crawfish cranks you were recommending a while ago. Pressure is on you now. ?

I had one 64 years ago.

I love fishing my old Calcutta 100 with 5.2 (I think) ratio. I use it mostly for swim and chatter baits , which I tend to reel too fast most of the time. I think it's about 40 years old now. Still a very nice casting reel.

I've never had a guide groove and have used braid for many years, even on the old cheapie rods I used to use. I have had tiiptops groove, which is why I always build with SIC tiptops. Even if a tiptop grooves, it's pretty easy to replace, unlike guides. Carbonlite should be good with braid. the FG knot is hard to beat, so learning to tie it is worth the trouble.

I mostly use FC, mono for surface when I need a leader, and I use leader material or fly tippet. Leader material is stiffer than line, and I believe more resistant to damage, although that is debatable. One thing for sure is that the stiffness is an advantage when fishing blade baits as it helps prevent the leader from tangling with the hooks. It also sinks (mono is about neutral buoyancy while FC's density is higher than water, about 1.5) so makes sense for bottom finesse techniques.

I had just about forgotten about these when my partner got a big smallie from a group that had already seen us.

I believe that is what is the base color for Rodgeeks. Check their site for their colors and pricing.

I would not buy another trolling motor that did not have remote control (deploy, store, trim, spot lock) and the equivalent of spot lock. More expensive, but well worth it.

Rodgeeks has an natural blank which is the base price, with colors extra. They are still quite a bargain in color.

You can get the 7 foot MLF in Carbon 4. If you insist on 6-10 then cut the butt off 2 inches, but I'd just leave it alone. For your 6-8, use the 6-6 Carbon 4, adding a 2" butt extension if you insist on 6-6. I'd leave it alone, too. Do not shorten a blank from the tip.

Go long, it will handle more conditions than the short. For 7 inches one would sacrifice better performance in rough water? Not I.

When I did it the boat wouldn't go fast enough to drain. Another of many: Launching my boat without taking the tie down straps off.

I build and am not familiar with commercial rods, but what I like the most for Neds is a 7' 2" "walleye rod," which is a fast action med lite power rod. But I've used Neds on my St Croix SCV 7' fast action medium power rod which is more powerful than the walleye rod, and it works OK. I think someone already mentioned you don't want too much power with the light wire jigs, and a light tip helps strike detection by seeing the tip move. Ned rigging is not considered an active technique, mostly moving the lure slightly at most. But I've used it drifting and done well, too.

Yes, no problem. Less fragile than most FC, about the same stretch (those who doubt, search for tests), lower specific gravity so theoretically won't sink as well as FC, but I don't think that's an issue. FC may provide a little straighter line from braid to lure? I like FC for its being (theoretically again) less visible, but mono in the lighter weights should be OK. I use FC fly tippet material, pricey but you don't use that much and it's supposedly tougher than FC designed to be line. In the north for SMB, the greens with some red are the best colors, IMO. MY PB came on a new money Ned. Don't mix these with any other plastics or you'll have a welded together mess. Put them back into their own bags. They are tough, so easily can be used quite a few times.

I don't have that problem because I don't believe there is any need to have the leader as long as necessary to reach the reel. But if you want a long leader and are having trouble with the knot, learn the FG knot.

MTV (or MVT?) doesn't have the slot in the trigger does it? Painted Fuji ACS + Fuji Perfect Fit carbon thread?

Yes

To me the difference between a skin mount and a fiberglass one is all in the skill of the taxidermist. I know of two real skin mounts with friends that look like plastic fish. I believe all mounts are painted, even the real skin mounts. So why does anyone need the real fish? Where I often fish for smallies we take fish regularly from 4 to over 6 pounds. All of these fish are considered trophies worthy of mounting to most anglers I know. I have had 5 different friends take their personal best in the last 3 years from my boat. All catch and release, never a whimper from my friends. That fishery has a strong catch and release "ethic," I am glad to report. I think if it did not the fishing for big fish would go downhill very rapidly. On a national scale, mounting may not be a big issue, but I submit it can be in some local areas.

I thought the replicas did not require a real fish to be brought in as a "model" except for maybe the first one. EVERY replica requires a fish? If so, doesn't make any difference, does it. I just looked at the sites for fish taxidermy from fiberglass mounts that say "painted to your photo," and none mentions requiring anything more than the photo. Are you sure?

Only one rod for whatever I'm doing? Yup, 7 foot.

A dremel type saw, very high RPM, with a narrow cut-off (not sure what it's called, but a narrow abrasive disc) works well. Regardless of the tool, you want very small "teeth," very high RPM, very slow feed, and the tape mentioned above. I would take no more off than the length of the butt knob and cobble one on the rod and test it before cutting farther up. You can always cut again, but you cannot uncut it.

Maybe by a very little, but I like the SIC ring, the more tangle-resistant design, and the "jewelry-like" appearance of Fuji, and my experience with Fuji titanium alloy. Some, like Pac Bay, call their "titanium" guides solid titanium. ALL "titanium" guides are alloys of titanium and other metals, and I think they are all different. One brand, not Pac Bay, is very easy to bend, and they'll only take a few bend cycles to break. Not saying the Pac Bays are not good, but I'll go Fuji. The right combination of yield strength and flex, reliability (related to ring retention, mostly), finish (no burrs on the underside to scratch or cut the blank, smooth and well polished), durable (doesn't scuff off easily-black mostly), corrosion resistance (I think all titanium alloy guides are bullet-proof, but not all stainless guides), tangle-resistant geometries, foot design, weight, and customer support and information (guide heights, weights, responsive to questions, help in deciding options), specific designs for specific needs (like Fuji KB's with big feet for high stress areas of the blank, KT's with smaller lighter foot for the tip section, for example) , and value (good balance of price and performance, however you define it). Also, a variety of finishes for aesthetics and function.