Delaware Valley Tackle

Depending on what you're throwing the frog with, a step down to a slightly lighter rod might cast the hollow bodies a little better.

I can only imagine dealing with the aftermath of a fire. PM me and I'll make you a heck of a deal to help you out.

I fish that same reel and it balances nicely on a 7' Med/F custom with a full cork grip. Unless you need to throw 1/8 oz or less baits a long way, you'll get more versatility and be confident fishing heavier cover with the M/F.

Sorry to hear about your fire. Glad no one was hurt. What do you have for reels?

I voted for crawfish due to the baits and presentations I have the most success with. However, I believe baitfish make up a larger % of thier overall diet.

The only real difference in building a casting rod is that the guides are on top. If you decide to do a cranking rod, be choosy about the blank. Feel free to contact me if I help with something specific. Good luck!

The shims should be lightly lubed which will hold them in place but they do get lost. If you look at the bearing under the cast control you will see the end of the spool shaft where it comes through. The cast control applies pressure against the end of the spool to slow it down. If the shim stack isn't right, proper adjustment becomes difficult if not impossible.

A little softer fast tip might help casting but I doubt that the lack of flex led to your rod blank failure.

Sorry, my mistake, I rushed a response with out reading all the others. Nothing amateurish about it... you're right on the mark.

Glad you're OK! Thanks for sharing despite the inevitable B@** busting. If it helps someone else it's worth it.

The slight curvature noticed when sighting down a rod will not adversely affect the rods performance or durability. It is naturally occurring. I don't believe temperatures in a vehicle would get hot enough, long enough to warp a modern blank. Even the highest quality blanks can have some bend in the tip section. There are two schools of thought among rod builders. Some build on the spline of the rod. This refers to the direction the blank wants to rotate when under load. Those that advocate building on the spline feel that the technique reduces torque /twisting when landing fish. The other approach is to build on the straightest axis. This provides a straight guide train and a more visually appealing build. Unfortunately, the spline and straightest axis rarely align. I always test and locate the spline on a blank, but IMO, a bass rods performance is unaffected by the spline and almost always end up building on the straightest axis.

Nice choice. The Avid level blank is one of my most recommended to build on.

The article suggested is a good one. Keep in mind that a rod may excel in a particular bait or technique application and still be fine for other uses. Labeling rods for specific techniques is largely marketing. You'll be way better off researching and gaining some understanding of rod characteristics and applying them correctly. The other difficult part is that there are no official standards for rod makers to adhere to. One company's Med Hvy can be lighter or heavier than others for example. That's where the experience of the forum members comes in handy. If you're looking at a particular model, someone here's probably fished it. If you have any specific questions post them. Feel free to PM, email or call too

I just heard a young guy on the radio that wrote a book about paying for college without debt or help. One thing he said is to plan and save. You have two years. If you work 20 hours a week and save $5/hr you'll have $10,400 to start. Two more years at a community college, working PT.... There's no sense in getting an education just to be an indentured servant to student loan companies. My son looked into ROTC too. It didn't look like a bad deal.

Guns are the opposite of children...They should be heard but not seen.

Looks delicious, but your blood would look like gravy after eating it.

Welcome Mike! There's more small lakes and ponds here in NW Jersey and NE PA than one could fish in a lifetime.

Welcome! There's good number of PA and Jersey anglers on here. See ya on the boards...

Good choice Glenn. Thanks for stepping up JF and helping to keep this forum the best.

Make sure that all the shims in the cast control cap are in place and that the brass shim isn't dimpled from over tightening.

A smaller diameter line will help your deep cranks reach max depth. I'd go with something like CXX 10lb. 50-65 lb braid on the worm rod is more sensitive and stronger in heavy cover. Add a heavy fluoro leader if abrasion is an issue. 14lb mono is ok for spinner-baits, maybe go to fluoro if you're dragging over wood. As for the noisy reel, whining usually indicates dry bearings. These can be accessed easily without dis-assembly. A thorough cleaning is probably in order. If you'd like to send it in, BassResource.com members get a 10% discount. http://www.delawarevalleytackle.com/

All else being equal, a longer rod will cast further and a shorter rod will be more accurate. A longer crank-bait rod allows the bait to reach maximum depth and stay in the strike zone longer.

Spooks, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits

The reel probably just needs a good cleaning. Beyond that, it's near impossible to say without seeing it. Let me know if we can help.

This is my favorite blank for deep cranking and just finished a custom build on one. Good mix of flex, feel and backbone.