Delaware Valley Tackle

Looks good. A couple rings of burl or composite where the reel will sit may reduce wear. Just a thought. For anyone that will use slip rings, The grip gets spilt and glued after rings are installed. Leave a swell on each end so the rings don't slip off.

Just go there and make your own bookmark

What will get he most bites depends on conditions, therefore changes daily. A shakey head works well on a clean hard bottom when the fish are bottom oriented. Not that you can't get reaction bites on the fall but a lot of baits can do that.

That's right. I find that 80w-140 gear oil is a good compromise. it stays put fairly well and doesn't gum up the way grease can in an exposed application like that.

From a mechanical standpoint I have to agree. The $150 price point is VERY competitive. Each design has pluses and minuses but it will come down to preference and the available deal at the end of the day.

Choosing blanks is a skill that will only come with time, experience and experimentation. Starting out, I'd look for an MHX or CRB blank from Mudhole or search other suppliers for a clearance Rainshadow blank. There are some good deals out there.

Yes, those shims go as needed under the spool. If line stacks on front of spool add a shim, if stacking on rear of spool remove a shim.

You are correct on your understanding. Imo ratio and ipt are way over thought to begin with and the amount of change during a cast is inconsequential. If you feel the need speed up initially or slow down toward the end you can always do that, but again I don't feel it necessary.

The guides distribute the stress of any load along the length. adding and subtracting guides affect how much stress there is at a given point but not the overall load. The fewest guides you can use to accomplish the task, the better as the saved weight results in improved responsiveness.

IPT is unaffected by line diameter, but is by an under-filled spool.

They are sort of gimmicky imo. They use a mini AR clutch style bearing that I've replaced a few of. It doesn't do anything you cant do with the crank or rod tip.

A 6'6" +/- intermediate modulus mh/f rod, 6.x:1 reel spooled with 30# braid fluoro leader as needed for abrasion resistance based on cover.

The amount of stretch in a leader length of mono is inconsequential for the most part.

I really don't think it's BPS so much as it is the clerks being delusional thinking they were hired for their fishing expertise and not that they'll work for retail wages and hours. I call it Pro-Staffitis.

Good idea. Like a suspended hair jig. Similar principle as a float and fly but for more aggressive fish.

It's just a matter of degree plus the terms are subjective. An XF is beneficial in a drop shot rod where you're doing a reel set and other times you expect a light bight and/or quick hook set. I build jerkbbait rods with an XF but soft tip. I feel it's easier to impart subtle twitches that way.

That's right. Try to avoid preconceived notions and keep an open mind in your rod building and you'll get a lot more from the custom aspect imo.

Action and stiffness are correlated but still largely independent of one another. I don't have any hands on with the ABU rods but hear that they tend to fish heavier than similarly labeled rods. A fast action is beneficial in a jig rod whether you use braid or any other line.

Because it's true. Lol A properly built high quality rod will be relatively balanced to begin with. You will have varying amounts of pressure on the tip as you fish and the rod is worked at various angles. With this said though balance, like beauty is in the eye of the (be)holder.

From the perspective of hooking and landing fish alone the rod plays the major role. If deciding on how to divide a budget scew it towards the rod for jigs, plastics etc and the reel for deep diving cranks. Still toward the rod but maybe less so for spinner baits, square bills etc.

The two piece Revo kit from Smooth drag fits the PQ. It's a definite upgrade and only $8. The stock drag is the least impressive component of this reel but it is usable.

Right, especially on a spinning rod because the coils need to be tamed coming off the spool. On the casting rod the guide height helps keep a straight line path to the tip but far less critical than for a spinning guide train. The idea of the K frame guides is to get height without the weight of bigger rings and insert. The more supple the line the more aggressive you can get with the rapid choke. This is where the K(high frame)R (rapid choke) concept comes in. By using a small in comparison stripper, and two reduction guides followed by small light weight runners the end result is an impressively crisp and well casting rod. On a rod used with a 2500 size reel casting braid the KR train would be something like 16/8/5.5/4.5..... A traditional OTC rod would use 25/16/12/8/6..... or something like that. I'd probably use a similar KR train on a rod matched with a 1000 size reel for line up to 8 or 10# fluoro unless it was really nasty still coiled. A custom build allows for and should take full advantage of, test casting. Obviously a mass production atmosphere doesn't lend itself to this luxury. Kinda what set me off in the first place. For the ultimate in versatile performance, say a rod would swap the 2500 or 1000 for a 4000 for a day or redfishing, the Am Tack Micro Wave setup is the way to go.

If the issue is related to the reel at all a good cleaning and bearing flush should remedy it. It's right to take the approach of examining the whole setup though.

The KR Rapid Choke concept is specifically for just such a setup. I just don't know ho well it is employed on this particular layout. I'm sure it will work just fine, it just bugs me when production rod marketers usurp techniques and terms that are unique to a custom build. I have never seen, and don't even believe it possible for carbon fiber of any quality level to degrade over time. Sorry to come off sounding harsh but I call BS on this one. If you want the most crisp and responsive rod you can get, use the smallest lightest guides that will hold up and pass your connections.