VolFan

UConn in the top 5 (or really top 10…) totally invalidated that list for me… but at least they got #1 right.

Did you try it before you took it apart?

No, a new tip shouldn’t affect the action in any appreciable way.

He’s saying ‘definitely fix the guide’ because it’s about a $10-12 repair. A more expensive rod will not save you from damaging a guide. Treating the rod better and/or recognizing when something happens will. Do the q-tip test start from your tip guide back and then fix the fuzzy one. My guess is you reeled a snap into the guide and scratched or cracked it.

Maybe? I use the palomar and improved clinch and never had a knot problem that wasn’t my fault.

I don’t respool every trip, but I do retie every hour or so when throwing big baits. That front couple feet take a lot of stress just from casting big baits, add rocks and abrasions and it’s cheap insurance. I’ll throw math in - say you fish a 1/4 oz bait on 10 lb test. Now you’re fishing a bait that is 12 times as heavy on line that is only 2 times the strength. There’s much more cumulative stress on the knot and the line outside the tip as you cast, as well as the angular stress on the line at the top guide as you cast. The weakest point in all of this? The knot.

You shouldn’t be using a clip for convenience. There is no convenience with bigger baits - you need to retie every hour or so or more if you’re pulling through rocks or bouncing that bait off much of anything, which you should be. I use 15 lb CXX on baits up to 3 or so ounces but I retie after every fish and every hour or so, more if I’m fishing around rocks or mussels or concrete. I would bet that your knot broke or it broke somewhere near the knot. That area takes a beating.

Brad Paisley FTW with a little Nashville in LA for the National Anthem! Let’s play ball!

Your assumptions above are fairly correct. I doubt they have a noticeable affect on the sink rate, and depending on the bait and size of feathers they can actually turn the bait over as it sinks from the drag of the feathers. They do create noticeable horizontal drag and shorten the glide distance. Whether this is detrimental or enhancing depends on the day and what flavor gum you chew.

They are pretty good. My mom went to IU. Play Georgia or Alabama and then get back to me. 😀

I would say Jordan or Badin, both are fantastic.

Drive safe and good luck over the next few weeks.

It was going to be the best day ever, and then it wasn’t. Oof.

I will say on a lighter note that many of the people that live in some of these corners are like the 101rst in Bastogne. They don’t need rescuing and are taking care of each other.

If anyone wants a good workout, come to TN or NC and help shovel mud. It’s way more exercise than shoveling opinions or typing on the internet. We will be finding deceased for weeks after this, probably in the lakes on the Catawba chain that a few of us fish. As far as the airspace, it might shock you but you need to know where helicopters and planes are going t ok take off and land and refuel and what they’re doing to avoid accidents, confusion, and wasted resources. This is not Florida or New Orleans; the land is treacherous and what roads were there are significantly impassable the further off main roads you get (and even still on some main roads). Even helicopters can’t get into some of the narrower areas safely so it’s rescue squads going on foot through the mud in many places. Politics has absolutely no place in this.

From hurricanes? Look it - there are large parts of western NC that don’t have power or internet or water and likely won’t have those things for days and in some cases weeks. People are asking fly fishing groups on Facebook is anyone is in the area of loved ones that they can’t get in contact with, and frankly won’t be until the above is resolved and maybe never in many cases. So maybe we hold off on any political/government criticism for not protecting us from a catastrophic storm.

Are you happy with it?

That is utterly insane how high it is. Just awful the amount of damage. My buddy that lives in Wateree is also flooded and without power. I’m afraid of how high Mountain Island is going to be with all this coming downstream.

Yeah but Waterville isn’t huge (not that Lure is) and there aren’t (a ton) of people right below it. Hopefully they’d already started pulling water out of Dougie for the winter and can cushion it. I’m not sure if Lure ever went or it’s still just pouring around the sides and over the top.

Lake Lure dam was failing in western NC. I haven’t seen an update in a couple hours. The amount of water this storm dropped was incredible.

Couldn’t you just take the screw lock off the gammy?

Yeah I was going to say - a longer hook works, or often times you can just add another split ring to get the hook you have to hanger slightly longer.

My younger brother (who’s juuuust 30) got shingles about a month ago. He and his wife initially thought it was poison ivy until it go very painful. Some area - under pec around to the back. I want no part of that.

$50 is a lot for a basic reel clean. I send mine in groups to @Delaware Valley Tackle on a semi-regular basis to save on the shipping. They are always SIGNIFICANTLY better functionally on return. He even gives forum members a discount.

Those are some pretty fish!