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Another vote for the Alberto

I also highly recommend Seibert for Tungsten, not only an American company, but they are a site sponsor here so you're supporting the community. He's got great prices and high quality product ?. As far as sizes, my favorite sizes are 3/16, 1/4, and 3/8 oz - which based on your shallower bodies of water is what I think would be good for you too. You can also pick up some heavier weights if you plan on punching through vegetation, I usually use 3/8-3/4 oz to do this, but if your vegetation is really really thick you can use even heavier weights - some Florida anglers use up to 2 oz weights when punching grass!

That's really cool!

I agree $400 will definitely get you a good Budget kayak. I've fished out of the sun dolphin journey you mentioned a number of times and I can confirm the experience. It doesn't track well. I've said it's like trying to paddle a bathtub ?. That being said, any kayak is better than no kayak. Luckily for the OP there are plenty of options in the $400 range. My kayak is a lifetime tamarack angler that k got for under $200 - and can commonly be found for under $300. If you are looking for a little bit better options, but still budget- I would stick with Lifetime, or maybe pelican brands. DICK'S has a lifetime Teton angler which looks nice for the money. https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/lifetime-teton-angler-kayak-19lifuttnnglrxxxxpsk/19lifuttnnglrxxxxpsk?sku=19690382&camp=CSE:DSG_92700052916300573_pla_aud-359064049599:pla-338506295450&gclid=CjwKCAjwqJ_1BRBZEiwAv73uwEU09osHNs3voKCaqK4mLp5TUKt275IqUXXE3IkNrTgAZHDZ35AdRxoCKTMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I've used this craw before. It's "eh" okay I guess. I can name a long list of other craws or creatures I'd rather fish with that are in the same size and price range.

10% off eBay code. 1 time use up to $50 off. Good until 5/3. Thought I'd share. Code: TRYTEN

I bought a kit from mudhole and was pretty happy with it

This. I do this too. With both mono and flouro occasionally. It's not something to do every trip, and never put a lot of pressure on the line. Like you said, just to sort of straighten it out to help it lay better on the spool. Nothing wrong with it and I'd say it's a great tip for people to know!

I like the eagle claw Triple Grip knock offs. They are about $3.50 for 15 of em.

I've never fished it before. But if bluebasser is correct, then this color sounds very similar to the old Berkeley pit boss color lime-purple passion ,(swapping out purple for blue). Which was an awesome color to imitate young bluegill and was a killer. I will have to pick up some rodents and rage bugs in this color for this year!

I've bought my tungsten from seibert outdoors and they are great! Buy as many sinkers as you need and great prices too. Quality is top notch ?.

Here is one I used on my light action baitcasting rod (built for very small finesse baits as well as trout fishing). I originally built my rod with Fuji components, but it broke on my first trip out. The blank was replaced, bit to save some money this time around, I purchased a handle kit off of Ali Express (China shopping app). The kit cost me I think $18 shipped and came with reel seat, split grip handle and winding checks. The first pic is of the website post. And the rest are the finished product. It turned out alright and I would say I am happy with it. The pros: everything is sized to fit with each other- no researching what handle fits what reel seat etc. It was cheap. The reel seat looks nice, everything except the cork seems at least of average quality. The cons: the cork isn't the best. It's not the worst, but definitely not the best. The top lip part of the cork handle ( that extends into the reel seat) was breaking off so I had to be very careful with it. The reel seat and handle didn't marry perfectly together as you can see, there is a slight gap between the two (would be the same with or without trim ring). The winding checks are obviously not sized to your build- mine are too big for my rod so they shifted and are a little off center. This is a niche rod for me, not my go-to bassing stick, so I am okay with the lack of refinement you get with this handle kit. The obvious thing to consider is that if you are going to spend the time and effort of building a custom rod, you would likely want to be very happy with every component of it, and not compromise- that's the purpose of building a custom rod. If you are going to gamble on a kit- I think the kits that include Winn style grips may be your best bet- if that interests you. That way you avoid the possibility of cheap cork or cheap EVA foam. (The Eva on this build is good, but I did build another with an eBay EVA handle that was not very nice at all). In short, while these kits can be acceptable - In my experience, I would just recommend paying for quality components from one of the component retailers. It I'd definitely worth it in the long run and avoids you having to compromise on the rod you are putting work into.

Yeah I've built a couple actually. They are okay. I will post a couple of pictures and explanations later.

Ouch, yeah broken rods always hurt - and bad luck seems to come in pairs. I remember a few years back, I had 2 baitcast rods break in a week, and yeah it sucks so I feel for you. On the bright side, you now have an excuse to upgrade!

Bending the top of the blade back a little bit helps get them started vibrating quicker. I think @Bluebasser86 has made a few bladed jigs before, Maybe he has some more tips for you! ?

Another trout, this one a brookie. I was alternating between throwing some trout lures and also a suspending jerkbait for bass. I know both species swim in the waters where this is - it felt strange bass fishing in March for the first time now that bass are open to catch and release year round starting this year. The bass weren't cooperative though, this was the only catch of the day.

I think 66 is fine. Last season I split a 125 yd spool of 30lb braid between 2 reels so about 62 yds per spool and I didn't have any problems.

If you find or make a design please feel to pass it along! ?

My brother in law has printed a few baits that we have played around with. It can be difficult to get the right sink rate of the lures, we've had some poppers and other topwaters end up sinking. I think some easy and pretty cool items would be winding checks or other detailing parts for rod building. Also a punch hub- a skirt collar to tie on a punch skirt for flipping. BOSS makes some but a 5 pack costs about 5 bucks, I imagine that you can print them for almost nothing at all and it is a simple enough design that I think it would work

They serve a role for me and I do really like to throw them, but I don't always fish under the conditions that I like to use them - stained to muddy water. I find they are much less effective when the water is very clear, I don't like to let the fish get too good of a look at it. It's a confidence thing.

I second this. I caught more 3+ lb large mouth last year than probably the last 3 years combined. Reason? I got off the bank finally (kayak) and I fished new waters. So I would say go find the big fish, if you haven't found them yet keep looking.

Yeah that's a renegade for sure, I have a couple that need to hit the water soon. I think action is pretty aggressive wobble and roll, louder rattle too if I remember correctly.

I had one pack of these at one point, I had the smaller size, and they did catch a lot of fish, I wouldn't mind seeing this one come back. Mister Twister Sala-Tube. They looked funny but caught fish for me, i might even have a couple floating around in old, misc tackle boxes. Lime purple passion is a great bluegill imitator for a lot of lakes in my area. Pretty much all the lakes that have some Sandy bottoms will have a lot of 3-4 inch bluegills that are a lighter Sandy shade with a purple sheen very similar to this color of pit boss, I remember getting a handful of bags of this particular color at one point, although my stock has since dwindled.

Those are the "big ones" right? If so that's a smoking deal on a low-profile swimbait reel. Or musky reel if they are in your area. I was thinking this too. A friend of mine was once looking for a low-profile musky reel and asked for my advice. All the research I did highly recommended the Okuma Komodos. I'm assuming this one is a newer 2020 model? Between this reel and the lower priced Citrix, Okuma has got a few good options for larger reels.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.outdoorhub.com/news/2018/02/07/video-bass-smashes-ice-gulp-topwater-lure/amp/ You gotta throw tubes and inch across the top of the ice haha