Tywithay

While I wouldn't call it "biodegradable," acetone will indeed break down in water or soil. It is a water-soluble chemical.Engine degreaser is a water-based compound, or at least the kind I have is. It doesn't have any hazardous chemicals, it's essentially very stout peroxide. Simple green can contaminate waterways as well. I wouldn't want any of these things in drinking water, regardless of being "biodegradable."

If you have fairly regular skin contact with acetone, you WILL have liver problems. Not maybe, it's will happen. Most folks don't clean their reels enough for it to be an issue, but for a reel tech it wouldn't be good. I use the stuff regularly at work and it's not good for you at all. We use other chemicals and ketones that are far worse, but acetone is by no means something I would like to have on my skin.

Fluoro is much more dense than braid and will require more braking. If you only use it for short-ish casts, I'd remove the line, then add about a half spool of mono or braid, then fill the rest with your fluoro. This will make the spool lighter and improve the braking on the spool. It will also improve startup inertia, which may make casting take a little less effort.

I really don't find spincast reels to be any more accurate than a spinning reel. A spinning reel will actually be more accurate over time, because he can learn to feather the spool to stop his lure where he wants. I would highly recommend looking at the *** Ambition combos. They're really nice and made specifically for kids.

Wouldn't use fluoro for jerkbaits, personally. It can make them suspend nose down and they get kind of wonky when you jerk them. I definitely prefer mono. I'd suggest 13lb Defier or Defier Armilo, if you want the best. Otherwise, 12lb Super Natural or Senshi work well.

Also, make sure that the fluoro is very wet when you tie the knot. If fluoro rubs against itself while clinching the knot, it burns a weak spot in the line.

I have the 7MF and I like it a lot. It fishes a little more powerfully than I would probably prefer and I'd get a ML if I did it again, but it's a fantastic rod. I had a Crucial but sold it a while back. I prefer the Tatula over the Crucial for sure. It's one of the better rods I have used at that price point, if not the best. I have mine paired with a Stradic CI4+ 2500, it balances right in the middle of the foregrip, about even with the drag knob on the reel.

I'd take any review on TW with a grain of salt. Most of those people don't even use the reels. Nearly every review I have read has been solid. They're very nice reels, especially at the current sale price. One of my favorite reels to palm and they cast exceptionally well. I prefer the Tatula over the Ballistic still, even at that price, but it's by no means a bad reel. This is especially true for folks that want the great casting/pitching of the T-Wing design, but fancy a smaller reel than the Tatula.

I landed an 8lb flathead cat on a 5'4ul all star rod and a 1000 sized daiwa fuego with 4lb super natural. If the drag is set proper, you can almost land anything.

Canned foaming engine degreaser and water. Mix roughly 50/50 in a small jar, then I use my dremel to spin them clean.

I've owned the CI4, CI4+, and FJ, and kept an FJ and a CI4+. I prefer the CI4+ over the FJ. Both the FJ and CI4+ are very smooth and feel solid, but the CI4+ is lighter and has a lighter rotor, which makes the handle rotation feel lighter. The 2500 and 3000 are both the same size, but the 3000 has a deeper spool. I would recommend the 2500, as I have never really seen the need for a deep spool; unless you're fishing waters that hold big salmon or something. You can find the FJ much cheaper, so if you want to save money, that's the right choice. If you want the better reel, I definitely recommend the CI4+, it'll feel great on those rods.

For bouncing, I like the faster retrieve to pick up slack. For a straight retrieve, I prefer the 6.3. If I had to choose one, it'd be the 6.3 though. It's easier for me to reel fast than to reel slowly. If I used an 8.1 to reel in a plastic worm, it'd probably be skipping on top of the water.

I guess so. My 7MF Triumph is quite a bit lighter than my 7MF Tatula, that rod truly does fish closer to a MH.

I have a 7' medium Triumph spinning rod. I wouldn't call it a broomstick at all.

30 for sure. I wouldn't go 35 unless the rod was 7'+.

I don't believe you can source the right sleeves. You may be able to remove the foam and slide the old sleeve into a piece of cork, then work around it. I've known a couple folks that have turned their own wood knobs, but I believe they just drilled the hole to match the diameter. I don't think cork has enough substance to stand up as well as a hard wood without a sleeve or bushing of some sort, believe it would eventually wear out on the inside and not fit right.

Stiff and ML aren't necessarily going to happen, but you can get a ML with a nice light tip that still has a little bit of backbone. I, too, don't like rods that fish like a rubberband. The *** ML fit the bill for me. I could comfortably cast light weights, but it still had enough backbone on the lower part of the blank to not completely fold over every time I hooked a fish.

A 1oz Carolina rig sinker can nick a blank, with enough force.

I think these are fairly similar. http://www.amazon.com/23mm-Votex-Power-Knob-Shimano/dp/B00GO8WIIO/ref=sr_1_4?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1398645995&sr=1-4&keywords=votex+knobs

***. Not whippy at all, very sensitive for the price, most comfortable handle I've used on the spinning rods. That'd be my first, second, and third choice at that price point.

The guys at the Tackle Trap have spoken highly of Hammer rods, and carry the complete lineup.

I prefer the Type R because I like the braking system better. I don't care for centrifugal reels much. They both performed well for me, just like the Type R more; which is why I sold my Curado. Paying $135 for a Type R swayed it for me as well.

Most rods have been through extensive stress tests and can handle boat flipping, high sticking, etc. Most rods break because they're improperly transported. All it takes is one little nick, or slightly crushing the fibers, to weaken a blank. That can be a big sinker bouncing around on it, stepping on it, laying something down on it, etc. Then, next time out on the water "the piece of crap rod" will snap on the hookset and we'll read about it online how cheaply made it was. If it doesn't break the first few days out, then it's manufactured properly. Anything past that is because it's misused.

Didn't see any at Dicks, but Gander had some for $99 recently. Need to go back and check out the deals again.

$206 shipped is the best I've found.