cueball

The chart showing rod actions is helpful, but it misses one thing. How much load is on the rod when it is bent as shown? A light power, extra fast action rod will initially bend near the tip, but because it is light power it will bend well into the blank when loaded more heavily. I think this is one of the things that makes discussing rod actions difficult. St Croix rods are good to use as an example. They have ML, M and MH power, extra fast action rods. With equal loads on each, they bend very differently. But those rods will also bend into similar shapes if the load is varied appropriately. There are measurement systems that have been developed to measure rod action and power. Those system typically use enough weight to deflect the tip of the road 1/3 of the length of the rod when the rod is held horizontal. The rods compared are all deflected and equal amount, the weight needed reflects the power of the rod and angle of the tip of the rod reflects the action. As far a drop shot fishing, I like the tip of the rod to load slightly with the sinker weight I am using. But, I also like the road to bend into the mid section with a fish on to help keep small hooks from pulling out and to protect lighter line. I don't like the road to bend all the way to the butt with a full load so that the bottom of the road provides sufficient power when needed.

Not a hard rule, but I tend to think of green pumpkin as representing something crawling on the bottom, like a crayfish. I tend to use watermelon to represent bait fish and use it for swimming retrieves or slow falling like a flck shake.

I agree that a heavier sinker can help when fishing vertical. It helps keep the line more vertical and minimizes slack in the line line, this helps with sensitivity and with managing the line. I see lots of problems with spinning reels caused by turning the handle with line not being seated properly on the roller and with loose line being cranked on to the spool. It is lot easier to avoid this if the sinker is heavy enough to straighten out the line. When fishing deep and vertical, use your electronics to your advantage. If you are watching your sinker on the depth finder you will know when a fish is looking at your bait and the extra concentration of knowing the fish is there really helps. At times you don't even really feel the bite, you just know by how it looks the fish must have the bait.

I seen a number of references on fishing boards to a scale available at Harbor Freight stores. I am planning to pick one up, but have not yet had the chance to get there.

Pay attention to what prey the fish you catch are spitting up. Smallmouth can be really picky about what prey they are targeting. A football jig dragged through a school of smallmouth keyed in on perch fry can be completely ignored.

I think the craw is a Riverside Big Claw. The worm is a Mann's Jelly Worm, based on the tail shape. Don't know about the grub, but the textured tail should really help in figuring it out.

I suggest using a leader for added abrasion resistance

I have not tried the Microwave guides yet, but I have a set on the way. The feedback I have seen has been pretty positive. I do not have that particular blank, but have built a number of MHX blanks. I think they are very good blanks at a very fair price. They are not a North Fork Composite or a St Croix SCV, but I was not disappointed at all with the rods I built with them.

Google up Aaron Marten's drop shot videos. He discusses the two different rods he uses for drop shotting. One has a very soft tip and he discusses when, why and how he uses that rod compared to a more typical rod.

Gene Larew Long John Minnow and other small paddle tails. There were some new ones at Icast that look good. The Alabama Rig has been good for those who like small paddle tails.

Depends on your motivation. If you are looking to alter this rod to save money over buying a different rod, I would suggest selling your rod as is and having either a custom rod built or buy an off the shelf rod you like. I think with the money you get from selling the rod and money you save from skipping the alteration, you will be money ahead with a new rod. I am only an amateur builder, but I would consider the rebuild you are considering a much bigger task than building from scratch.

I would suggest not giving up on 6'8" rods. If you compare to 6'6" models, a lot of the time the extra two inches is behind the reel seat, so the effective length is basically the same.

Strike King Elaztech/Z-Man 4" Finesse Worm. Smallmouths will often hit again if you miss or there is more than one fish looking at your bait. With these worms your very rarely have the bait pulled off, so if you miss a fish you can keep fishing rather than have to reel in and re-bait.

1/16 oz jig, rigged hook exposed

I live in Wisconsin so I understand the issues with finding swimbait tackle that is more common in other regions. On my last trip to northern Wisconsin I was using the 3.75" Lunker City Swimfish with a 3/0 Mustad screw lock hook and a 3/8 oz tungsten bullet sinker. This easily fished on a 7' MH casting rod with 30# braid and a 12# test fluorocarbon leader. The screw lock hook helps extend bait life. I like the tungsten sinker because it is smaller profile than lead and matches the bait better, but lead definately would work. This whole package fishes real well in weeds. I am sure that the 4" Berkley Ripple Shads would work on the same set up. I have a pack, but the Swimfish lasted through a number of fish so I never broke into the Ripple Shads. Most Walmarts I have been in recently have the sinkers and hooks. If you are fishing in light cover a jig head is definately a good option, just make sure it has a big enough hook. Other swimbaits I have seen in local stores are Big Bite Baits Cane Thumpers and Havoc Grass Pigs. Probably would need a 4/0 hook for those, but the same rod and reel will work fine. There are also hollow swim baits like Berkley Hollow Belly's available locally, but I have stayed away from them because I have been catching fish on what I have and the hollow baits are more expensive and less durable. For info on the web, Rich Zaleski (google RichZ) has a blog and he fishes the Swimfish a lot and gives details about how to do it. If you are going to fish bass in northern waters you really should read his stuff. I have been reading him since the 70's and he knows how to catch fish and teach's people how to do it. There is also a video of Jeff Kriet talking about using the cane thumper which gave me the idea to try the rig I used on the Swimfish.

I think if you are used to a 7 footer I would stick with it. My example is a little more extreme, but I built a 6 footer last year as sort of a nostalgia project. I wanted a rod like an old Lightning Rod I used 20+ years ago, but with modern guides and reel seat. After using 7 footers almost exclusively, I just did not feel like I could get enough sweep with the 6 footer on hook sets.

Couple of thoughts. Dyneema lines are by their nature thin so they lack abrasion resistance and slippery so they are hard to tie knots. I was just on vacation for a week and used 6# Nanofil on my primary drop shot rod for the entire week. The only problem I had was that my fluorocarbon leader broke at the knot with the Nanofil after fishing with it for 4 days. I blame myself. Normally I would have broke off the leader enough to need to retie before then. I used a 8# BPS XPS fluorocarbon leader tied to the Nanofil with a 10 turn Alberto knot. With most braid I use 8 turns, but heard that Nanofil was slippery so I upped it to 10. Never broke off a fish and when snagged broke the sinker off every time. I think it is important to remember that lines are being designed for very specific situations. I don't think Nanofil is a general purpose line. I think using Nanofil just like you would Power Pro or Sufix 832 could lead to problems. I have always tied a leader to any braid, not because of visibility concerns, but because of knot strength, abrasion resistance and ability to break off on snags. Braids have been formulated to have better abrasion resistance, but when the first came out the big complaints were it was hard to tie knots and no abrasion resistance. I thought the biggest advantage to the Nanofil is how it felt when in the water. I have several rods with Sufix 832, compared to the Nanofil it felt like the 832 had a lot of drag in the water. In fact, I was able fish a lighter drop shot sinker with the Nanofil than I could with the 832. A couple of final thoughts. Increase the number of wraps for any knot with slippery line. The slipperiness that makes it hard to get a knot to hold, also makes it easier to tighten the knot so you can use more wraps. I purchased a ring that is used by wrapping the braid around it to help pull knots. You can pull knots much tighter and you don't cut your hand or fingers. I think it is a very useful tool.

Super Spook Jr

I drop shot about anything, but my two favorite drop shot baits are the Strike King/Zman elaztech 4" finesse worms and the BPS cut tail worms. I like the Strike King/Zman worms because you can fish for a long time with a worm because the elaztech material is tough. If the fish are eating the elaztech worms I will almost always use them. I like the BPS worms because they are really inexpensive, come in some really good colors and the fish eat them like candy. It is pretty rare that I can't get bit with those two worms.

Try oiling the bearing in the line roller. It is part 25 in the schematic.

River Rat, Do you use a trailer with the hair jigs?

Based on your comments, I assume the blank has less power than the 69MLXF St Croixs. How does the action compare? I like the action of the 69MLXF St Croixs, but would like something with less power for fishing 4 or 6# test for smaller fish on inland lakes. thanks

Serrated blade scissors work well. The serration helps grab the braid to cut it. Rapala brand is pretty inexpensive and works great

Quantum has some super tuned pro rods on their website. Quantum PT Custom Shop