sarcazmo

By far rod. Rod will have a MUCH larger impact especially if you use it for jigs. If my budget was $350 for both honestly I'd spend ~300 on a rod and 50 on a reel.

It's a nice reel. For flipping and pitching you don't need a ton of line, and this reel is still a bit bigger than a compact reel. Might also consider the Alphas SV, bit more compact platform.

For the price how could it not be worth? :-)

Got my Type R. Haven't been able to fish it but it's noticeably narrower than the OG. That being said I wouldn't consider this platform compact. To me, as reference, Shimano 50 series are compact. This is still bigger than those reels.

When I went down to Oviachic in mexico all the fish were in heavy flooded timber. I threw Mean Green 12lb and Yo Zuri 12lb. Pretty much all I use unless I'm punching or the cover is CRAZY.

My favorite jigs have a cammed head that makes sure even if they fall on their side they right themselves. Makes a big difference upon hookset. Head design makes a pretty big difference IMO.

Big fan of shimano reels. I love the stradic Ci4 models. I always tend to buy em used, super value.

It's not super difficult if you're thorough. A lot of people recommend using a cheaper blank to start... I'm in the minority that goes against that. If you want to do it jump in and get something nice! There are so many resources out there that if you're patient you'll be able to build a nice rod your first time. It may not have any crazy wraps or bling, but it will be quite functional. Very rewarding to do. I think you save money if you look at it like this. You may spend $300 (which isn't a small amount of money) building a rod, but it will compete with rods that retail for far more. And you'll have the exact rod you want.

Wonder who's building it for them/supplying the blank.

I don't think most fluorocarbon is worth the heavy cost discrepancy at all. Are there a couple of pros? Sure, but I'd rather save that money for gas and time on the water. I also don't think the pros are close to being enough to justify the increased cost.

Why is warranty a big factor? Just curious, I've actually only broken one rod in 25 years of fishing which was a Dobyns Champ Extreme. Had a bad experience and now I'm mostly custom. For that price you could talk to one of the sponsors here and see if they could set you up with a DS rod. Custom rod that looks and fishes exactly the way you want it. DVT does SUPERB work. It's nice to have a blank that's not only sensitive, but the exact action your looking for as well. If that's not an option honestly any of the major players will work. NRX, Phenix, Kistler, St Croix, 13. At that price range IMO most manufacturers rods compete directly against each other and brand loyalty plays a larger role than actual rod performance.

I honestly think those new Tatula CTs are going to be hard to beat. Waiting for mine to come in and can't wait. ~129 for the non type R version.

Citristrip shouldn't hurt your blank. I've built on the MHX Hi Mod, Gen 1 and 2, and have an Immortal 72 and Eternity 72. They're all great. I like the Eternity the best, but if price is a factor the other two provide a fantastic value.

I wouldn't get too caught up in gear ratios. What you have will be fine. I've always been a fan of Shimano and Daiwa. They just seemed to be engineered better in my experience. They're also quite inexpensive. The new curados and tatulas will be workhouse reels for people for a long time to come. I've got a CT type R on order. Can't wait to try it.

McCoy Mean Grean or Xtra Clear is pretty much all I use. 10-12lb on everything but heavy cover applications.

Depends on what you're looking for. For me its all about the value. At their regular price... I don't feel like they offer a good value. My sweet spot for rod performance seems to be right between 2-300 bucks. Will a regularly priced NRX catch me twice the number of fish? Nah. At 300 though their value goes up quite a bit. Nice sticks. Part of the reason I decided to learn how to build rods was the sheer value you can get out of it. You'll never beat an off the shelf ~100 dollar rod but you'll get far more value from mid to higher end builds IMO.

Nice. Mind if I ask which mold that is? Haven't poured in a while and I'm probably gonna do a gigantic batch here pretty soon.

I've bought some molds from them. Zero complaints.

I build a lot with Fuji alconite because everyone knows them. Last few personal builds I've used the Alps zirconia guides and been very happy with them as well. Don't think you can go wrong with either.

Over @ TT there are a few threads on this. Supposedly if you contact daiwa they'll send you a new upgraded t-wing that seems to eliminate the problem.

90% of the time I fish with plastics I poured. So much more fun that way :-)

Before I started pouring my own I tried them. Bought a bunch to take down to Mexico. Seemed on par with the other brands. No complaints.

The new Immortal and Eternity2 blanks are super nice. The e2s in particular offer a lot of value and cost less than similar 'high end' blanks. I'm curious about the new point blank blanks as well, but honestly my next builds will probably be E2 and North Fork Composites. Haven't fished with any of the new NFC stuff and would love to.

I hope its a new blank. I've always thought the DX series of rods was way overpriced and over rated. Balance was good, but sensitivity was definitely not what I expected from a rod at that price point.

I use the Immortal 7'2ML and Eternity2 7'2 for drop shotting and shakey heads. Love them both. The Immortal is right around ~100 if I remember correctly.