Delaware Valley Tackle

I don't think the crankshaft is long enough to accept the thickness of the handle and it may interfere with the drag star as well.

To sell more reels

Lew's will sell you the parts, but out of curiosity, why jump through the hoops of a gear swap when the reel is readily avialable in the speed you want?

I have a few. Mostly loaners ad tournmament beaters/back ups. I like to check out factory stuff just to aid in communicating with clients & forum members. I don't have the time or budget to fish a lot of factory rods just for the sake of experimenting. St Croix and Fenwick would get my attention first if I needed an off the rack rod quick.

Electrical tape works well

I prefer to use backing for all but about 75 yards of braid. All you need to fix your problem is a few layers or a strip of tape. Just something to give some bite for the braid.

First question is always are you running braid and if so did you use backing?

I'd put the Tatula in the same class as the Citica or maybe Curado, Revo S. I'm not as anti Quantum as some but would shy away from their lower end offerings. Lew's has some good reels but too many versions too similar to one another for me. I can't keep them straight without looking them up. Sub $100 I'd look no further than a BPS Pro Qualifier on sale. I'd guess a bushing is even cheaper than a cheap bearing. 25 cents is a lot when you buy thousands of something. Bushing is often made out to be a dirty word which isn't really fair. It all depends on the application. Once you get over $125 MSRP it's splitting hairs. You'd have to almost try to go wrong among the major brands. It would come down to features, palming comfort and of course the deal.

The whole concept of a finely adjustable centrifugal brake doesn't really make me stand up and take notice. It's change for change's sake. Adding a magnetic component makes more sense in my opinion, but I can take or leave dual braking too. Anyway, the number of brake shoes activated is the most noticeable adjustment just like previous models.

In the grand scheme of things bearings are cheap especially in the volume a reel manufacturer would buy. Bearing count is next to meaningless in evaluating the quality or performance of a reel. Better quality bearings on critical locations are much more important but can't be identified by published specs.

I replied to you pm as well. From the pic here it looks like the thread isn't even covered yet. I wouldn't be sanding this. The one high spot is just the foot of the hook keeper which are kind of bulky. If that's two coats I'd just do a 3rd. It doesn't look early as bad as I envisioned.

You may very well be able to srap the leader all together, but if you want to pre rig a few, cut out a 3"x6" sheet of stiff cardboard, cut opposing slots on each short side and wrap your leaders pinched between the slots. You can also buy smaller spools of leader material but they aren't the most cost effcetive.

If she's not a hook setter avoid senkos or you'll kill a lot of deep hooked fish. The rattle-trap is a great chuck and wind bait that can catch almost any day.

I have casting setups for steelhead and they are the next best thing to a center Pin for float fishing but the ones I use are specialized (long and ML power). If you want to use your bass setup choose a reel with a good drag and a lot of line capacity, not either of those reels. Depending on water level and clarity, I've gone as low as 4# leaders to get bites. 6-8# is average

No knot of any kind joining braid to fluoro will damage a guide. A knot is an irregularity in the line and I'd expect it to be noticed on some level passing through especially on a good sensitive rod. I doubt it's affecting casting in any meaningful way. A well tied Albright joining 50# braid and 14# fluoro will pass a size 4 guide easily but I usually go with a 4.5. I have no idea what's on the rod you referenced.

Saw some intersting footage not long ago on the Hook-N-Look program. In the example they showed, fish were much more bothered by the sight of the boat than trolling motor noise.

To me, the seat is a bigger deal on a spinning setup thatn the grip as I barely touch the grip anyway. In fact, I could and have, used spinning rods with grips that were more like a big winding check. lol Looks like the tenon on the grip was made to fit a casting seat. Sand it off smooth and just butt the grip and seat up against one another or bite the bullet and build it later with what you like. From the pic, the fish decal looks too big for that blank as well.

x2 chair leg caps work too. Anything that fits snug over the end of the grip will work

The PQ is a lot of reel for $50 on sale. The MSRP is $129 I think. The list of "Top Brands" is little generous. I'd stick with the name brands you're most familiar with. As for which hand to crank with, it's been debated here a lot. I'm right handed but crank with my left, same a spinning rig. I like having the rod in my dominate hand and see no advantage in swapping back and forth although I can and do occasionally. Usually with cranking rods where senstivity and quick sets aren't as critical. If you're fishing "feel" techniques (plastics, jigs etc.) you may do yourself a disservice by scrimping on the rod. You don't have to spend a ton, but scew your budget toward the rod and get the best you can.

x3 on the dungeon and call my wife the dragon...never to her face though. Kidding, she's great and tolerates a lot that I suspect other's would not.

All epoxies will yellow to some degree with exposure to sun light speeding the process. Some finish epoxies are more resistant to yellowing than adhesives like Devcon 30 min etc.

Any number of competent custom rod builders can give you the same or better at a fraction of the price plus it would be a 1 off not just rare.

The gloomis project was way more involved. To simply trim a butt wrap with tape to ensure there are no sprinters and cut with a hack saw or cut off wheel. You can reuse the butt or install one of your choice. Installation varies by model. A simple chair leg cap in 1" will suffice. Your call

Nice work as always. I'm surprised at the number of split seats you go through. They're a love or hate proposition for my customers.

100' or so would be considered a long cast fpr the most part. Are greater distances achieveable under certain circumstances? Sure. To maximize potential use a rod of 7-8' where the weight casted falls somewhere near the middle of the posted range, use a supple and manageable line and educate your thumb. This said, max cating distance is way over rated and a distant second to accuracy when it come to putting fish in the boat (or on the bank). It sounds like your setup is working as intended. For sheer casting distance you can't beat spinning tackle with light braid and a rod that loads well.