Delaware Valley Tackle

If you can’t find what you want otc let me know and we’ll build it.

ABEC only grades tolerances not materials, hardness or smoothness of components. Higher ABEC ratings don’t necessarily equate to longer/faster spin speeds. True ABEC 9 bearings are intended for critical applications such as NASA would require and are expensive. There’s a lot of mislabeling and misinformation in the bearing market. The flip side of the coin is that a bearing can still be quality without the manufacturer jumping through the hoops and expense of being rated. This is another topic that’s largely misunderstood and way over thought. Bushing isn’t the dirty word it’s made out to be. There’s lots of cool technology and materials in the world and it’s changing rapidly.

The orange seal bearings are good but you need to remove the seals and run them open. They’re meant to be “non contact “ seals but aren’t always. As for the sound, there is some but “loud” is an overstatement in my experience. If you’re going to oil ceramic bearings because of the sound , save the $ and stick to ABEC5 stainless. Properly clean and lubricated, the difference between them and ceramics is much less noticeable on the water.

You’ll be happier fishing cranks on a jig rod (mh/f) than visa versa. A mod-fast graphite mh could be a good compromise.

They’re awesome blanks.

Sure, you could do everything with a mh/f rod but I took the OP reference to “dedicated” as different from technique specific. You could have 3 similar rods each dedicated to a different technique. My Ned rod is much lighter than any of my others. A finesse rod in between those two. A senko is a finesse technique of sorts but they are not light weight so go on a med or mh rod. My frog rod needs to load and cast well so it has a different tip than a flipping rod, which to me means mats or vast weed beds. Technically flipping and pitching are casting techniques you can employ with any rod. For jerkbaits I like a fast action but a real soft tip to allow for subtle action. These are all personal preference not the musts.

Add one for jerkbaits/flukes/poppers

When a doesn’t load properly the instinct is to whip the bait, that’s when troubles begin.

While you’re learning, peel off a long cast worth of line and put a strip of electrical tape around the spool. This will keep potential backlashes from getting too deep. Don’t go for distance or overhead casts until you learn to thumb the spool. Walk before you run.

The tighter the drag the more pressure on the AR. If the handle is indeed moving backward the AR must be slipping. If the handle stays put check that the pinion is seated correctly and the spool pin is even and undamaged.

Swing Impact is close to a Senko when it comes to getting bit.

I’ve built on both brands with great results. In both cases their suggested lure weight ranges are pretty accurate.

Seems like a Bubba Shot rig would do the same thing cheaper and with less hardware?

A competent rod builder can fix it with a sleeve. Probably a $30-40 repair with a new guide.

8’> will incur oversized charges. I don’t know a way around it.

Just having some fun with you. “Balance “ posts are one of the most common but always elisit responses.

Often overlooked? Are you trolling us? Lol

Drive for show, putt for dough.

I haven’t heard that stat before. So, for example it would take at least 3# of pressure for 10# mono to start to stretch? I do believe that line stretch is greatly misunderstood. It’s often talked about as if fishing line was elastic.

I did and the answer is No.

Forget the power rating altogether and look at the lure wt rating. Start there then see if your choice has the backbone for the cover.

Good cleaning and lubrication is always a good starting point.

you don’t pay until the work is done. If you know you need parts you can send them too or I can order them once the reel is inspected. Yes parts are extra. I service reels that retail for north of $600 and none have ever gone missing. Lol

It won’t

For starters spinning a handle or a spool gives no indication as to the quality of a reel. It’s paramount to kicking the tires on a car. Doesn’t mean a thing yet we all do it. As for “smoothness “ it’s largely a function of mass. None of the super light reels will feel like a counterpart with some heft all else being equal. I like the Ci4+ but ymmv