Delaware Valley Tackle

I advise moving away from the Ugly Stick and toward the best graphite rod you can budget for. A ML/XF makes a nice little river smallie rod. The Pflueger Pres. is possibly the biggest bang for the buck you can find in spinning reels.

Mepps and Blue Fox spin easier than the Rooster Tails. Easy spinning blades are a key just as they are on spinner-baits

I notice a wide variance between stores. It seems like the local market determines what/how much they stock. I scour the $1 bins for plastics and such. I find a deal occasionally.

Power Pro has worked well for me. As for 50 vs 65#, I think it comes down to whatever you feel handles better. Either is plenty for frogging. BTW, we're practically neighbors, give a shout some time if you want to fish or need anything.

If you just have 3-4 rods to cover the basics and you have a brand you like, that's fine. The more technique specific you get, the more likely that you'll find a certain brand/model fits the bill better than the brand of the majority of your rods. This is the same reasoning for not being exclusive to one blank manufacturer for my custom builds. If the brand you like has a robust line up (like St Croix for example), being brand loyal makes more sense. It's really up to you.

If the pinion/main gear slipped it would be toast. Like ghoti said, flush the AR bearing and oil it very lightly with a swab. You can check the AR sleeve as well to be sure it's not damaged.

Welcome John!

Drag grease only on drag washers. Shimano's and Cal's are the two best. They can be used on gears but plain grease is not suitable on drags.

We don't fish a rod on one plane, it gets pressure applied from all angles so there's no benefit in orienting in to bend in any one direction. In addition there have been deadlift experiments conducted by Tom Kirkman that showed no advantage to building on the spine and in fact deadlift capacity was less. No bass rod would be stressed like that under normal circumstances anyway but it was interesting. There are tons of threads regarding this topic on the rod building forums. I still spine blanks but end up building them on the straightest axis, bend up. Adding the tip and running guides pulls it into line..

Go to ABU's site and click the Support Tab. All the contact info is there.

The grinding would be the spool pin not engaged fully on the pinion gear. If you pull the spool and look inside the frame you can see the bottom of the pinion. You can look to see if it is visibly damaged. The clutch will need to be serviced to see why the pinion isn't lifting up out of the way. If it's new enough to be under warranty, just replace it.

The best guide to sue on any rod is the smallest, lightest ones that will do the job (pass line & connections, hold up etc.) "Micro" covers a range of guide sizes typically <6. A size 4 will easily pass an Albright joining 65# braid and 17# fluoro. Every gram of weight removed from a rod allows the blank to retain more of its inherent traits. This makes a rod as sensitive and crisp as it can be. This is the main advantage in using smaller guides. Any resulting casting distance or accuracy improvement from better line management is incidental but often exists. Filamentous algae and ice are two conditions that may require larger guides. You can't compare different rods with different guides due to the variables. It just doesn't tell you anything. You have to build on a sole blank, then strip it and rebuild with another guide set. As a rod builder, I've experimented this way so I can confidently counsel my clients. My findings have supported my initial comment that the lighter guide train you can use, the better the result.

Higher quality blanks tend to be straighter, but almost every blank has some sort of bend. If you rotate most any rod blank you'll see one axis will be straightest. That's the one I build on. This is much more important than the spine/spline. Long story short, there's nothing structurally wrong with your rod.

For "feel" presentations like jigs & plastics I'd skew the budget toward the rod. If you're an enthusiast just like expensive reels, go for it.

I'd go with the model with the fastest tip between the two. It makes snapping off the weeds easier. If you're fishing more open water with rock etc. the slower works fine

I use mostly cent. brakes so they're more or less a set it and forget it proposition. On a light cast like a pitch their affect is limited anyway. I don't leave the spool tension really loose in case the low cast hits the water I don't get a mess. You don't want to backlash but you don't want the line so tight the bait won't fall vertically. I think that's the angle Brauer's coming from.

Just make sure whatever rod you pick has some tip to it. a broomstick style flipping stick won't load to cast frogs well.

Those aren't techniques I'd try to cover with one rod. A MH/F plastics rod will handle spinner baits, A mod-fast is good for shallow cranks and ok for the jerk baits but for deep cranking I prefer a glass MH/Mod. a Med with a fast but soft tip makes jerk baits and top waters easier to control. Keeping them hooked on the fast action can be tougher and is a trade off.

I haven't been in a while. Do they still have a bad algae bloom every year? When I went last was 4th of July week and the water was like pea soup. Even then it was good especially end of the week when it cooled a few degrees.

An accidental quick dip in clear water won't require much short term. If the water is dirty or the reel lays on the bottom I'd have it deep cleaned sooner rather than later. Take reasonable measures to keep the reel from being submerged on a frequent basis. Lay reels out to dry thoroughly after use prior to storing.

Welcome Washout! My first question for you is, what hobby is more expensive than fishing? We'll teach how to deplete the funds quick!lol

Welcome to THE site! No place better to hang, learn, share and make friends. NJ has some good water, a lot of it in the NW corner. I lived a cross the Delaware in PA and fished a lot of those small Sussex County waters.

That's strange as it comes in a plastic bottle. Any chance of other contaminants?

I have a graphite M/Mod-fast that you may like. It's a custom I built as a display model. Call me if you want details.

DO NOT disassemble a reel without the schematic. With all due respect, if you're stuck at this stage of the game, seek assistance. Email me or call this evening after 7 and I'll help you out all I can. Mike