Delaware Valley Tackle

A rod can be successfully spliced by a competent rod builder with little to no perceptible change in performance. Whether or not the rod in question is worth the cost to repair is up to you. This isn't a job I'd recommend as a DIY for a 1st timer, but I'll help you through it if I can.

Yes a little of the right attention should breathe new life into a reel like that. a Med Hvy / Fast rod that feels good to you is probably the most versatile for baitcasting for bass.

Smaller finesse baits require lighter line to have the best action. I also believe lighter line move less water and is less obtrusive to negative fish. IMO this is more of a factor than visibility when talking about "line shy" bass.

Admittedly I don't use a lot of fluoro, but I've heard good things about the BPS brand.

Just like throwing a ball, the direction of your swing and release point determine where the bait (or ball) will go. While learning don't try to throw anything too light. Stay in the upper half of the rod's lure weight rating. Practice form and develop a nice fluid casting stroke. Horsing a cast is the surest way to backlash and/or miss a target.

A decent pair of breathable waders opens up a lot of tear round opportunities.

Bubble Gum flukes and hard baits seem to work well for small mouth especially early in the year. The other looks like a fair representation of a bluegill. I'd throw that around the deep edge of a bed colony later on.

The mechanical advantage offered by a low ratio/IPT reel is nice for deep cranking and a few other high resistance baits but outside of that it boils down to personal preference.

A PBJ jig with a Green Pumpkin trailer matches just about any color phase of a crawdad

If the reel is out of warrantee you can ship to me. I get $22 to go completely through the reel, clean, repair and properly lube it. Parts if needed are extra as is return shipping (postage). Include your screen name and I apply a 10% discount to the service cost. Let me know if I can help. Mike

You might try a shakey head as well. A light stand up jig with a pin tail finesse worm can coax bites.

I patch pin holes in breathable waders with "ShoeGoo". For a gash like that you'll need a patch of some kind on the inside and seal the outside as well.

Covers 99% of the ground for me.

Spool the braid onto another reel. Fill the reel with backing mono. Peel off 2 1/2 casts worth of backing (75-80 yards). Refill with braid. When the braid gets low again from retying strip it back to the backing, discard and refill. This keeps the spool full the most economical way. As for how full to keep the spool, where you're at is border line for peak performance but not super critical. I fill to couple layers shy of the bevel.

How much of the tip did you break? If just and inch or so, you can put a replacement top on it and be fine. More that two inches I'd pick up a Berkley Lightning rod to put that reel on.

Braid can be run on any reel. All a braid ready spool means is either a non slip coating or a tie off to avoid slippage. i'd run backing just for economy anyway.

I run recommend running them open and dry. Oiling them to slow them down voids any gain you'd have gotten over ABEC 5s. I don't find them distractingly loud but to each his own.

You can swim any jig. What is labeled as "Swim Jig" has a thin somewhat pointy nose to some through grass and I suppose track in the water.

Plastics in Green Pumpkin, Black/Blue, Orange Pumpkin, Red water Melon, white/pearl will cover any visibility / water condition. If a confidence color keeps you fishing longer, go for it. In hard baits I keep Chrome/Black, Gold/Black, Bone, Shad, and Chartreuse pattern (clown, fire tiger etc). One exception is pink for spring smallies. Just seems to work with flukes and suspending jerks.

Basically each jig type uses a different shaped head to help it move through the different types of cover easier. A hair jig is just that, has a hair skirt tied on like a fly. Finesse jigs are just smaller, lighter heads for a more subtle presentation.

If you don't want to tinker with it you can send it out to me or one of the other guys. I get $22 (less 10% for members here) to strip a reel, clean it and relube properly. If want to DIY be sure to have a schematic in front of you before opening any reel. Take pics along the way, take your time, and leave plenty of time to complete the job (probably a couple hours first time out).

Citrus shad, clown, fire tiger... any of those chartreuese patterns work at certain times along with red craw chrome/black and shad patterns. These are about the only colors I keep regularly.

Actually, it is the pick up pin in the reel that will fray and weaken the braid. The answer is still no, don't pit braid on a spin cast reel. The line you have on is probably old and low quality. Try some Trilene XL in 10# - 14# test. It's affordable, manageable and will hold up to moderately heavy cover. Treating the line with a conditioner (KVD L&L if you can) and trolling out any twist after each trip will help keep you up and running.

If the reel is complete you did well at $20. They auction off for $40+ regularly. There are 2 brake tabs on the spool. They are not adjustable but lots of guys just remove them completely. Braid is fine, just be sure to use backing. The level wind is does not disengage when casting so throwing light baits is out. Cleaning and tuning will maximize performance.

A rod can and will bend equally well on any axis. Spine/spline has been largely dismissed as a relevant issue nowadays. Spine is a side affect of the blank rolling process and never was a design feature. The only ones to ever pay any attention to it were custom builders. I doubt any mass production atmosphere allows for such intricate layout procedures. They just use recipe. Besides looking like a dweeb, the lack of a trigger is hardest part of using a caster on a spinning rod. The overly large guides high up off the rod will make the rod want to twist with a heavy load on it (anti-spiral wrap) as well.