Delaware Valley Tackle

The Micro Bearings I've heard of are just small bearings used in the hubs of custom skate wheels. How are people applying them in a reel?

All Chuck would have to do is get in the water and the fish would jump to safety in the boat. When Chuck does push ups he's actually pushing the Earth down.

A Pop-R type bait is my go to more out of habit than anything else. I have to remember to throw a spook for smallies. We have a whitefly hatch here on the West Canada Creek. Drives the trout crazy for sure and draws fishermen from all over. I fished the Delaware up near you a lot when I lived in Milford. Nice water.

Bearing upgrades are mostly an enthusiast endeavor similar to performance exhaust, intake etc on a car or motorcycle. The higher performance and increased noise level go hand in hand to some degree. I agree with the Capt. that and ABEC5 SS is all you "need" to keep your reel running well and when properly lubed, performance can be pretty much maximized.

Maybe not Christmas, but a real good deal for someone. The blank is an odd size so I got a good deal on some and built a couple as a test and the results were very good. It's 6'10" graphite, Fuji seat, Fuji Alconite guides, full burl cork w/ accents beige & chestnut wraps. Full retail probably closer to $200 pics: https://www.flickr.com/photos/126656430@N02/14848369455/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/126656430@N02/14825320596/

PVC is so heavy and expensive compared to cardboard. I use PVC to ship and have to charge accordingly but I can see how shipping thousands of rods that way would add up to more than the occasional replacement.

Finished product: https://www.flickr.com/photos/126656430@N02/14837459481/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/126656430@N02/14840547435/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/126656430@N02/14840191152/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/126656430@N02/14653904229/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/126656430@N02/14838184534/ Thanks for looking and Thank you RW for the opportunity to build for you and share the results!

Continued...... The parts are dry fitted and then assembled using epoxy paste adhesive. https://www.flickr.com/photos/126656430@N02/14653984140/ The guides are attached temporarily. The rod is static tested by placing it under ever increasing load and guide positions are adjusted to achieve a smooth line flow spreading the load across the length of the blank. Sorry I didn't get a good pic of this step. Test casting, Guide wraps, decals, finish......

Cgrinder, I just got some new thread in that looks like a perfect match for orange/red color Fuego. Just sayin'.......lol

What broke, just the seat? It can be repaired but might be a little too involved for a novice rod builder. If it's a casting rod the guides might be small enough to sneak a new seat over them. A spinning rod will need at least a few guides removed and rewrapped. The broken seat needs to be split lengthwise and pried apart and excess epoxy removed, new arbors made of masking tape, epoxy new seat in place all without damaging the blank.

I know you said under a $100, but I have a Med/Mod Fast custom I'll let go for $100 plus shipping. I've fished it a few times and it works great.

Your boss is not only generous, but very smart. It is the appreciation shown that keeps good people on board and that makes him money. Statistically, raises are a short term pacifier for employees, but recognition like this is something you'll never forget. Congrats.

When I fish an SX I find myself ending up setting the mags on Max for casting and still using some thumb or at 0 for pitching

Calcutta TE 101/201 sizes, ABU Morrum ($$) 3601

Not sure about Denali, but yes, that's the Aero Comfort from AmTack

The balance was achieved through careful choice of components (light weight guides etc) and fine adjustment of butt length. No weight was added (zero, zip, nada). Finished product is just over 4oz

Here is a pic of the assembled components used for this build. The link will have to suffice until I get the embedding figured out: https://www.flickr.com/photos/126656430@N02/14654129197/ Gluing up the cork rings & shaping on the redneck lathe: https://www.flickr.com/photos/126656430@N02/14840683535/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/126656430@N02/14840685455/ Ream to fit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/126656430@N02/14837592881/ Seat threads trimmed flush: https://www.flickr.com/photos/126656430@N02/14653980460/

They are fast and crisp, load and cast well with surprisingly little weight and have enough power to have confidence fishing in/around cover. BTW: I have a bunch of pics uploaded to Flickr but couldn't get them to post here. Error says the file extension is not permitted but I'm sure its just jpg. If anyone can point me in the right direction I'll put them up. Thanks

Obviously more than twice the length of the grip on your rod so 30"> Nice fish.

Any of the guide models and systems will work equally well if implemented correctly. The nice thing about the MicroWave system is that you can use a wide range of reel sizes with no ill effect on casting. The affect can be minimized though either way. If no one gets back to you here, just google "micro wave guide"

Join a club and fish as a co-angler. You'll learn a lot about different boats and if you're lucky running a TM. There's a learning curve there for sure.

Sensitivity in a rod blank is a function of weight/stiffness, weight being actual weight not the power rating. The components and layout of the rest of the rod affect balance and sensitivity based on the weight and placement. The lighter the guide train, especially on the tip, the better the performance will be. So the weight savings on rods come largely from materials and are meant to increase sensitivity. Light in hand is a by product.

Sorry for the delay responding guys. The original intention was to post pics along the way documenting the process, but I got a rush of work in and some issues with the house to address (the dreaded "Honey-do List") and as we know, Happy Wife = Happy Life, right? Anyway, here is how the process works: RW contacted me with some questions about a custom build after one of my posts in a thread. We talked about what he was looking for including details on what/how the rod will be used. Based on the conversation I emailed a quote and list of suggested components. We talked again so I could answer questions and discuss options. Here's is what we decided on and why: Blank: MHX HM SJ843 7' 8-15# line 3/8-5/8oz Med/Fast Blank Wt 2.15oz .538" butt dia. size 5 tip This is a high performing blank that is my personal go-to for spinning tackle for bass. It loads and casts well with a 4" senko yet has plenty of power for big fish and you don't have to be afraid to fish in some cover. A very light and sensitive blank. Guides: Fuji Titanium Torzite KR Guides 16, 8,5.5,4,4,4,4,4,4 tip-top Titanium alloys are among the lightest and strongest guide frames. Torzite is their newest ring material. It's super hard and thinner than usual which saves weight and allows use of smaller guides to pass the same connections as larger guides. Guides where placed using Fuji's KR (Rapid Choke) concept. This results in the use of an extra running guide and one less reduction guide resulting in an extremely crisp, balanced and sensitive layout. Seat: Aero Comfort Grip The Aero seat has a small hump that fills the palm comfortably and has a coating that is slip resistant and less temperature sensitive should you fish in cold weather. Grips: Split grip cork Customers choice I'll post later outlining the steps in the build process as well as pics of the finished rod as soon as I get them off the new camera. In the meantime, there are pics of the process on my personal Facebook page. Thanks guys.

I think you zigged when you should have zagged.

Light weight reels are nice if the weight savings are achieved in an appropriate manner. That's not generally the case with lower end reels. The BPS PQ is about the only store brand I readily recommend. The Citica is a work horse and proven, but if you're inclined and can afford to gamble you might be pleasantly surprised.