skeletor6

Yo-zuri is now my backing after trying it. I would go 12-15lb fluorocarbon. Tatsu to be specific.

Great analysis. Why give out promos and T-shirts if you don't need to. I would rather have a nice reel than a t-shirt that promotes my reel.

Samurai or Kanzen

No. Any rod can break if mishandled. The imx series is a classic and has stood the test of time. No plauged breakage issues with these rods. And for $150 used is about the going rate depending on condition.

6.x:1 should work just fine

On the lower end the fenwick elite tech smallmouth is an excellent choice

The breaking strength of yozuri is pretty high I would go with a smaller diameter regardless if 10lb is viable.

Perhaps, you could use braid. I would never even consider it. Treble hooks + Braid = problems Also, there is no stretch in braid, you WANT stretch while cranking. If you add a leader it does not give the amount of stretch you are looking for as all but a few feet of line does not stretch. Also, for topwater and crankbait use I feel it is a no-brainer to go with mono. It is relatively cheap compared to the other lines you are looking at and is great for what you are doing. Choose your diameter based on the depth you are looking to achieve.

For one, I am not a huge fan of Berkley 100% fluoro. Also, if you are 100% sure there are not nicks caused by your guides then it is likely due to kinks caused by backlash or any other misfortunes that causes weakness in the line. Cast out as far as you can and retrieve the line through your fingers and if there are any noticeable nicks or weakened areas you need to cut the line and use fresh line. I've used Berkley 100% fluoro and had no problems that you mentioned, but did not enjoy the line. Get some sunline FC sniper or Seaguar InvizX and call it a day, it is far less problematic and is worth the extra money and longevity you will get from. I have not used BPS Fluoro but have heard good things, so that might be a good choice as well.

Get an h20 mettle with a berkley lightning shock 7 foot mh. You will have under 100 invested and it will give you a good idea of the benefits of a casting combo.

You mention you want a line low in stretch and yet good for spinning gear. InvizX is great on spinning gear because of its manageability. Although, it does stretch quite a bit. Your best bet would be going with 6lb or 8lb tatsu if you are looking for the manageability properties of invizx and also a lower stretch line. It has great longevity and is a fantastic line. Price is the only downside.

If carbontex is your selection it will increaase drag strength and its a cheap upgrade. If you have not done regular maintenance to your drags I am sure you will see significant improvement.

I have this reel, same gear ratio and everything. It is pretty smooth from the get go. Casts well and I enjoy the centrifugal brakes, clicking drag and spool tension knob. It also has a nice low profile. My only complaint would be that it feels somewhat plasticky to me. It has held up well so far and I have owned it for a year so at this point it is negligible. Hope you enjoy.

X2 more information will be available as more people acquire them. If you want to buy one and don't know which one will suit your needs then contact Gary at the TackleTrap. He has fished them all and is very precise on his recommendations.

Why not just remove the guide and fish with it that way. If you are going to have the guide replaced/fixed, then get by for now without it and then do the repair when time allows. Don't use the ugly stick, a mojo with one less guide will be much better.

Probably need a little more information to answer your question. Such as how many rods are you looking to get? How much are you looking to spend? Anyways, one can get very specific in their rod/reel pairings. For instance, some people will have a few rods for every technique. Say a crankbait rod, a deep crankbait rod, a dropshot rod, a senko rod, a weightless t-rig rod, etc. etc. If I were you I would get a nice bottom contact rod. If you get the right one it will fish jigs, t-rigs, carolina rigs and maybe even spinnerbaits. Not saying it will be perfect for each, but it will be a good start and introduction to getting nicer equipment. The rod is of extreme importance when fishing bottom contact so a much larger percentage of your money should be spent that way. As for getting a crankbait rod, really many rods will suffice. You are going to want something with a slower taper. If I were you I would get a rod that is good for crankbaits, jerkbaits, and topwater. Put mono on it and you can have a fairly versatile rod. Then I would say a spinning setup would be good as well. It will help when fishing any of the lighter bait or "finesse" techniques. So you could get a fairly decent 3 rod setup that will cover many techniques. May not all perfectly, but will suffice and will be an excellent start. As for gear ratio, 6.X:1 is pretty versatile. Start with a reel wit that that ratio. If you are deep cranking, a 5.X:1 gear ratio is good since it will have more torque. You could get a 7.X:1 gear ratio too if torque is not an issue, you can always slow down. It is up to you.

Make sure your knot is very neat. I leave probably a 1/16 of an inch of tag. A well tied knot should not slip and I have had zero issues with my line coming untied. I do not use the palomar knot though.

That is a good question to ask Mike at Delaware Valley Tackle. Don't know the answer, but he's a good contact and a board sponsor that can help you out.

One warning with the thicker EWG hooks. If you are fishing a true dropshot rod, you will have some serious problems embedding such a heavy wire hook. I go with #1 or #2 VMC spinshot hooks with 4# mono down to the dropshot weight so if I get snagged I only lose the weight. This is also primarily fishing 1/8oz-3/16oz dropshots

I am surprised at the number of individuals fishing braid for jerkbaits. Seriously, 10 pound mono fishes jerkbaits very well.

Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth. Get the ML/F, that is, if you want a ML rod.

Not sure if its been mentioned, well it sort of has, but the Siege has excellent abrasion resistance for mono. Sometimes you can get in some scratchy areas when cranking, maybe take that into consideration along with all the other suggestions already listed.

Those no questions asked lifetime warranties on their rods are terrible. If shimano integrated those on the Loomis lineup I would be a very happy man. Not much is broken off the tip of his rod, his "doctored up" NRX would still be ridiculously sensitive, I am not sold that the repairs made by Shimloomis would totally kill the functionality and purpose of an NRX rod Maybe if it was 6'', but 1.5'' really is not that much on a 84'' rod. Anyways, you do only get 1 wild-card. I figured the value on those cards are around $100 or so. I do not like the idea of being on your "last life" if the rod does break and the wild-card is used. Echoing what others have said, I would contact them and see what they would do with your rod first before going ahead and using the wild-card. Exhaust all options then use the wild-card, that is my philosophy on the situation.

I am not quite sure that there is a choice worse than braid. When backlashed, it is a nightmare compared to any line using nylon, fluorocarbon, etc. You can literally damage your spool trying to pull it out, not to mention the dig from pulling out backlashed braid Sure, the line will not be as damaged, but why does that matter when you will already have to cut off a significant amount of line because of said backlash? I think practice and cheap line is the way to go. 1,000+ yard spools of mono can be had for less than $10. That should be plenty of line to practice with until you get it down. An option you may choose to help not let the backlash get so deep is to place tape on your spool after letting out enough line to cover your casting distance. Besides that it is all about practice.

Thank you