MickD

I found that when twitching finesse stuff on the bottom that my Aberto's sometimes unraveled. I fixed it by tying two overhand knots tightly set against the knot with the braid tag end. Problem solved. Easy peasy.

I have had experience with just about everything mentioned in this string of posts. Yes, don't forget the electric tilt engine as a possible tool for getting back into the boat. I used it once. I then put anti slip tape onto the skeg in case I had to do it again. This was before my current boat which has a ladder. Yes, a ladder is valuable. I think all new boats come with them now, but if not, it would be wise to put one on. They are collapsible so take up little space on a horizontal surface. Yes, my bobbin vest went off in the boat locker once. Importantly, and not yet mentioned, when I tested my bobbin type by manually inflating it, it would not hold air for very long, so that is a test one should do probably annually. Last year, after reading A-Jay's testimony, I bought a HIT Mustang. Feeling much better now.

It could be that baits with a lost claw don't move like symmetrical ones. I've been thinking that if bass prefer only one claw, they might like zero claws even better. There are some great shrimp imitations that move really well in the water, and I'm going to try them for bass. They look and move a lot like a crayfish. But no claws.

Which suggests one just pull that brake and leave that position open. Remove the one opposite, too.

I'd say there is a good chance that the crack will not affect the reel's performance. Give it a try.

I agree with the concerns that heavier mono will not handle well on spin, but the concern about lines heavier than the rating of the rod is a non issue. All you have to do to keep the system "balanced" is to keep yours drag set lower and if breaking off a snag keep the rod pointed at the snag when pulling on it (with the line wrapped around something or your finger on the spool to "lock it up." I use 20 pound braid on rods rated for much less all the time. Never broken one on a fish or a snag. My garage door has been the biggest enemy.

. . . and military intelligence.

Absolutely! There is much confusion about this because most have not watched the video by Aleks Maslov of NFC in which he explains that the CP is not for color preservation; it is to provide a chemical reaction with the adhesive to allow epoxy to penetrate to the blank through the carbon mesh. Here is a very good (a bit long but worth it IMO) podcast on it: https://anglersresource.net/mastering-rod-building/

Can you tell me the process you use to measure the resonant frequency?

This is often not known or is forgotten when discussing grip/fore-end replacement. It's not that hard. There are those who also think that to replace a rear grip, because of the taper of the blank, that one has to remove the guides. Not true. All one has to do is the "remove the taper" with tape arbors that make a cylindrical shape onto which the rear grip will slide from the bottom. The grip, of course, has to be reamed to fit.

Gotta have room for a few Neds & Ned jigs.

I think it depends on the water body and depths as others have said. But even shallow I will go heavier if the fish seem to prefer a faster action. How many times have I fast-reeled a ned in to change lure or color and had a fish chase it? Many.

I have a 16.5 foot Lund Deep V and fish big water a lot. Now and then I will troll cranks when trying to locate bass. It is sometimes effective. I don't use rod holders since I don't do it a lot, just hold a rod and my partner does the same. Occasionally will pick up a walleye, northern pike, or drum to break the monotony.

The farther out they are the more likely they are getting tangled, not so much with that one, but open drop shot keepers.

Thanks, Spencer.

Sounds like you have the best solution, even though it might take a while. Spence, are you saying you would slide the seat/sleeve up the blank, put Permagloss onto the blank, then slide them back with the Permagloss being the adhesive? Or am I interpreting your plan incorrectly. Thanks.

That is tougher. Drilling would be pretty hard to do without getting into the blank. I wonder if a high strength anerobic (Loctite) retainer might work, capillary action to get it under the sleeve? Maybe someone else has a better idea. I've never liked that concept for a seat, thought it too risky for just what you are experiencing.

Seat loose to the sleeve, or sleeve loose to the blank?

It's all what one prefers and works for him. I prefer just ahead of the fore-grip, at 180 with 0 being up. Both spin and cast. I have found that open keepers, like some drop shot keepers, tend to catch the line when at 90 degrees as was recommended to me years ago. I don't like them just behind the rear grip on split grip rods, as was recommended to me years ago also. That location is not handy when picking up a rod off the deck that has a lure in the keeper. This location does have the advantage of keeping the hook away from a rod sock on some rods. Seems like everything in life is a trade-off, and for me the location at the beginning seems to be best for me.

I would say that if you are going to concentrate on going as light as possible with the lures, and the fish are generally smaller, then go with the 7000. If super light is not a priority and the fish can run larger, then I would go with something more like the Immortal. Do you have a reel? The Arks at about $150 are probably the best deal around, and they really do work well. If you choose the Immortal it's on sale for $87. Message me for details if interested..

I have seen from highly experienced builders the same blank mentioned, but I prefer, even for BFS, more power than the P7000-1. I have built and used 3 so far, and the one I like best is built on the Rainshadow IMMWS72ML blank, which is called a walleye jigging spin blank. All blanks have a combination of length, weight, power, action, and recovery speed from deflection, and then there are personal preferences getting into the mix... For BFS too much power and it doesn't load well on casting light lures, too little power and it's hard to handle bigger fish and the poorer the hook set gets. Too fast an action and casting gets harder, requiring more precision. The actions are very similar between the P7000-1 and the Rainshadow, both being what most would call medium (IMHO). The Rainshadow has significantly more power.

I'm not sure of exactly what the condition of the blank is, but if it's broken, the Ralph O'quin process works and most of the time the rod fishes as well as new. Many don't believe it but I've repaired many rods this way and as I said, most fish just as well as new. Go to Rodbuilding.org Click on the Library. Click on Rod Repair I have one fly rod my son really likes and it has been repaired in two different places and he still fishes it and loves it.

If this engine uses the external oil tank to lube the engine, do not trust it-mix the oil and gas. That oil pump has a diaphragm pump which often fails, and maybe time has caused this one to fail. I would not even use it after getting the engine in running condition.

Measure its diameter with a caliper and compare with published data for various monos. You will be close.

In the video he states that all the "coils" have to tighten down. When you do too many it's hard to get them all to tighten down. Too much of a good thing, more is not always better. He has found 16 to be optimum. Not 32. This doesn't mean 32 won't work; obviously some can make it work. It means that adding more than the optimum number is counterproductive. I know this is controversial, but I believe he is right. The knot depends on deforming the leader and to get that too many wraps interferes with doing that.