Tim Kelly

Doesn't look very game changery does it? Hardly worthy of the "Mega" prefix. I'm sure it will be fine and probably as good as the other options, but they look a bit late to the party.

I have been through the same thing. I need 2 piece rods for when I travel, which I need to do to go to a country with bass! St Croix do a couple of decent casting rods in 2 piece, mojo series. I make my own from MHX blanks too. Also have some Japanese rods, which are decent quality. I saw Tackle Warehouse are doing some expensive multi piece rods from Legit https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/LEGIT_DESIGN_Casting_Rods/catpage-LEGC.html Which might be decent?

Assuming there aren't any cracks in your guides or levelwind you couldn't detect when you checked them, and you're not fishing somewhere with a load of zebra mussels, or something equally sharp, then I think the braid is probably faulty. I bought a spool of the original 8 strand power pro and thought it was very poor. Haven't investigated the V2 version, so can't comment. I always try to buy braid based on the Japanese thickness rating (PE) as that seems to be more reliable than buying on a quoted strength. Some manufacturers "30lb" braid is significantly thinner than others so more vulnerable to any minor nicks or even damage from backlashing. A PE2.5 or PE3 line is probably going to give you a more reliable baseline for the techniques you described using.

For a 1/4oz lure, especially in clear water where you're worried about fish seeing the line, I'd use a spinning outfit with 10 braid and a 10-12lb leader. Everything will be better and the leader can be as long as you like.

The new Tatula 300 size is supposed to have a larger gapped T wing levelwind. I imagine that might be an answer if the leader knot will wind back through it OK. Might also be worth spending a bit more time practising your FG knot finishing, as it really shouldn't come undone even passing through a levelwind.

Great review. What speed are you getting and which prop are you running?

AJ would get his head bumped when the tailgate closed. Another video opportunity. ?

I wouldn't cut blanks intentionally, most rods that have become unintentionally abbreviated have fished worse than when they were complete. Easy way to test how a blank would feel if you shortened the butt is to hold the rod in different places up the blank while you're flexing it. The effect of how it will feel will be the same. Moving the effective reel position up the blank and how it feels will tell you what will happen if you put the reel seat there and trim the butt off to the required length behind it.

I have a 4000 size. Very pleased with it. At first I had a little buyers remorse as I didn't immediately see what all the extra money went on, but with time, the smoothness of the retrieve is very good, but the buttery smoothness of the drag has really impressed me. I've caught a good number of fish on it now and it's the drag that really stands out. Definitely not a Randy Blaukat reel! A 34" Zander in heavy winter flood current was the biggest test I've had yet and it was just amazing hearing the drag ticking away. Never had a problem with my other Daiwa or Shimano drags, but the delicious smoothness of the Certate just feels special and at another level.

I would try to isolate it. Run the line round the bail roller and move it backwards and forwards under different tensions, no noise, try winding the line under tension with different drag settings. Try swapping the reel handle to the other side ETC. Anything you can do to make one controlled change at a time to try to isolate the issue. Stickers would be too easy!

Check for stickers on the rotor. I have a Fuego that drove me crackers with clicking that made no sense. Eventually realised it was the sticker which had come loose and was rubbing on the spool.

There's a big bass tournament and a BFL this weekend, so you'll have plenty of company. At least it means the lake will be very quiet for the late afternoon and evening. My spies tell me that docks can be good if it's sunny and clear water, cranks and jigs in lower visibility. Good luck and enjoy your weekend.

I suspect the Vexus glass bass boat needs a bit of water under it. It looks like it would be good in rough water, but not up shallow to me.

If the bearing is beyond just lubricating it will need to be replaced.

Ball bearing in the line roller is probably shot.

Is it a DI transducer or a 2d one? Might need to be a DI transducer to plug in directly?

Yeah, that's them. Turns out I'm an idiot. Again. Still, good news for me!

Hope the Matzuo is the accounts guy and the Mustad guy is production!

Just found some on ebay. Maybe I hadn't searched properly. Couldn't find anything earlier. Odd, but good!

Have SK stopped making the medium running flat side? I can't seem to find it for sale anywhere. Really liked it for fishing this time of year and just lost my last one to an immovable snag that the hound dog couldn't extract it from. ?

I've had a spool of the 0.8pe 131 on a reel for a year now and have nothing bad to say about it, except that I don't think it's significantly better than a good 8 strand.

Talking of rats, our Patterdale had been sniffing round the compost heap a fair bit recently, so we made sure she was on duty when we turned the heap. Talk about keen! I was gradually digging out the bottom of the heap and she kept diving in. Eventually she dived in and came out shaking ratty. Ratty didn't last very long at all, and the terrier was extremely happy. Turning the compost heap has never been so much fun!

Your boat wasn't Ranger fast though John. ?

I bet it was to help with the weight of 4 stroke motors if people are using a jack plate, moves some buoyancy further back.

Glad to hear that. I wondered whether something had happened that made him drop out of the event.