MickD

If your boat has roller bunks don't do this, wait until you are over the water with the boat before unhooking the chain. I'm sure the author assumed bunks, not rollers. Sorry Tom, didn't notice your post before doing my somewhat redundant one. I have a rope that is the correct length to go from the boat loop on the bow to my trailer alignment rollers, the things that help align the boat as you drive onto the trailer. I let the boat float gently off the trailer, then very slowly move the car up the ramp, essentially towing the boat toward shore. If you do it right you can catch the boat before the bow touches the concrete, and pull it over to the dock. On loading I get the boat onto the trailer, then step over the bow onto the boards I have added to the trailer to give me more and stable foot room on the trailer. I finish cranking the boat onto the trailer, then usually I can step off into the shallow water on the ramp without going over my waterproof shoes, and get to the car to drive it out. On launching one can have a rope of proper length and hook it to the winch with enough slack to float the boat. Then retrieve it. As Tom says, a wench will help, but I don't have one. I have to use my winch. :-)

Don't get him a "kiddie" rod; get him a real rod. He can handle it and can use it a lifetime if he takes care of it. With my grandkids they went from the push button right to a decent spin reel and 6 1/2 foot St Croix Avid. No problems.

External sleeve with lower modulus. Like using a glass sleeve with a graphite rod. One can buy glass tubes on line, not that expensive. I don't know what their modulus is, but has to be much less than most graphites. I've used them successfully. They are cylindrical, no taper.

Do not use a nail or wooden dowel. What this will do is make stress risers at the end of the relatively rigid reinforcement and most likely the action will have a flat spot and the rod will fail there. The right way to do it is with an external sleeve made from a tubular fiberglass salvage rod piece. Graphite will work but glass is better in order to match the flex of the graphite (since the sleeve is a larger diameter it will be stiffer than graphite unless you drop the modulus by using glass instead of graphite). Instructions are here: https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/repair-oquinn.html I have used this process successfully many times and have never had a repeat failure. The rigid internal spigot is not a viable solution. Those non-retractable cleats are a trap for clothing and rods. Get some of the flexible polyurethane foam, about an inch thick, from some electronics packaging, cut a piece out that more than covers the cleat, then cut a slit in it to accept the cleat. This will prevent the cleat from allowing a rod to go under it. Easy on, easy off. Looks screwy, but works.

I have found the 3.8 Keitech very good, but most of my fish come on snapping it off the bottom, or twitching it as I retrieve it. In very clear water the KVD in pearl white is excellent , too. Same snapping retrieve works well for LMB at times, too. thanks again for all the comments.

Thanks, guys , for your comments. Keep them coming if you have new ideas. J Francho, how deep would it be when using a 3/4 to 1 oz tube jig? Tubes are still quite good around St Clair and Sag Bay, usually with 3/16 or 1/4 oz in 15 feet or less. The only thing mentioned that I've not tried some version of is the A rig. A Jay, that's what you were casting in your recent video before hitting the fish on Ned, right? Seems like a big price to pay (casting effort), but if it's the only thing going, worth it.

SMB usually can be taken if they are found, but now and then they can be VERY particular about what they will take. Do you have a lure that has your confidence enough that when you use it, and you don't get bit, you are confident they are not around? I'm interested mostly in big water, not rivers. SMB, not LMB.

Lack of integrity alert!

Rotator cuff pain is also caused by actual tears of the components of the rotator cuff, like the infra and supraspinatus. No antiinflammatory or pain reliever is going to fix them. Rather than get info from the internet (it's not always true) it's best to just go to a doctor.

I've contacted Humminbird, talking on the phone with a tech, twice since I bought my Helix 9 two years + ago, and in both cases the techs were easy to reach, expert, pleasant, efficient, and gave clear information. Much different than most support experiences.

Sounds like rotator cuff. I have two bad ones, but can still fish pretty well. I find that two handed casts and not trying for exceptional distance helps me. Everyone is different, the joint is very complex, so yours could be much different than mine. Try to keep in shape, don't do any heavy weight lifting, but exercise with light rubber exercise bands and light weights like a quart water bottle most likely will help. The best advice will come from a doctor. Good orthos can tell you which element of the joint is acting up just by having you do a few simple tests in the office. Then for the exact analysis of the damage, an MRI is necessary. They can change surprisingly fast. I was thinking of surgery earlier this year, then my pain reduced a lot and surgery is no longer contemplated.

I think more rod power, not Xfast action, but Fast action or mod + braid will help a lot. What many don't consider in this mad charge to Xfast actions is that for a medium power Xfast action, the tip has to be quite soft to keep it in the medium power range. Better to go to MH power and mod-fast action to get the stiffer tip. Braid won't stretch, so most of your hook set force will go right to the fish. Hook advice sounds good, too, but maybe not necessary if the other changes are made.

No, I am not. I have been making my own rods for quite a while now, so have not been buying any factory rods. I know many on here have commented positively on them, and I know there are many good options out there in factory rods. The main thing, I believe, is to get the right power and action. Length is a little more subjective with some liking shorter and some longer. Shorter is likely to balance better, longer in likely to cast longer and put the tip higher on tip-up presentations.

Siebert continues to amaze me.

My favorite finesse rod is a 7 foot medium power fast action. I think medium light is not enough power for tubes, worms, lizards, etc. You mentioned backbone, and you are right, which leads to medium power instead of ML. A medium power Xfast action may have too soft a tip for finesse, IMO. In order to be medium power AND Xfast action the tip has to be quite soft. I like 7 over 6-6 for finesse, longer casting and I like the extra length for tip-up presentations. Any of the popular reels in about 2500 or 3000 size should work fine. I've never had a Daiwa that disappointed, my Pflueger Patriarch is really nice. I would look for sales of Daiwas and Pflugers; Shimanos are fine but not often on sale.

It should be pointed out that there are really no significant performance disadvantages to 2 piece rods any more. I've built both the two and one piece models of one Rainshadow model and cannot tell the difference. And when you want to travel, significant advantage.

No, but REV's are highly respected. The RX 7's discussed above used to be available in one piece.

It is my opinion that the MF is much more versatile than the MHF. But it depends on what you fish most of the time. I fish tubes, small cranks, wacky rig, a little surface, 4 in swim baits, soft jerks. If you like to snap 3.5-4 in swim baits off the bottom a MHF may not give you a good action to the swim bait. The rod needs to flex significantly in the jerk to get the right acceleration of the lure. And taking up the slack with a rod that's too stiff just doesn't feel right for some reason. The difference is more or fewer fish with this technique.

Rainshadow ISP 842 2 piece is one of my favorite blanks, and since you're interested in ML power, I think it will work very well. I have built a couple of them, using KLH starting with the 16 for light braid and 4 mm runners. It has a nice flex for snapping and twitching 4 inch swim baits, works OK for tubes, although there are better tube blanks (more power), works really well for light crankbaits. Don't be turned off by its M-F action designation; it works. My son's first impression with one I built for him was "This rod is really sensitive." And he has a couple St Croix SC V's which I made for him. If you think you need more power, go for the 843. Also a very nice blank that I expect will work well.

Yes, that kind of a break can be fixed so that you probably will only be able to tell it was broken by looking at it. Some argue that the action will be destroyed, but that is simply not true if the repair is done correctly. I have a friend who repaired one, and he had never done rodbuilding or repair before. A skilled rodbuilder can do it and have it look pretty good. https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/repair-oquinn.html

Did someone mention tip-down techniques, like hard jerkbaits? Rods that are too long are a pain

On my first rod building project after being off for about 40 years to raise my kids, I built a ST Croix SC V for my son and when I got done the first guide was off significantly in alignment. Looked awful. The guide was a size 30 Fuji titanium. Instead of cutting it off I tried to align it by bending the guide. Those Fuji titaniums really don't like to be bent. Bottom line is that it was in alignment but the guide looked like heck, all bent up. My son fished it for a few year or two, then I decided to try a better fix on it. When I took the guide off the blank looked just like the one above, crushed badly. I took a strip of fiberglass cloth and with structural epoxy, made a short reinforcement over the crushed area. The rod has lasted about 10 years since then with no sign of trouble. The wrap on that guide does look a little fat if you really look critically at it, but for the most part it is not detectable. I think the secret of success for the fix is that the longitudinal fibers were not broken, just "locally separated." Stabilizing them appears to be a good fix. Better than scrapping a St Croix SCV. Lessons: Don't bend guides, especially if they are on the blank. If you screw it up like above or like I did, there is a good chance it can be salvaged as I described.

If you can find the specs you want in a two piece, buy it. As stated above, the modern integral ferrules make no perceptible difference in anything. I would not use super glue to make it a one piece; I would use a good rod-building two part epoxy. Of course I would not want to use the utility of the two piece, so wouldn't make it into a one piece. In rodbuilding blanks the offerings by the manufacturers in two piece blanks are growing as more and more appreciate just how good they are. And three piece travel spin/cast, and 4 piece fly blanks. I would not even consider a two piece fly rod any more, the threes travel so well and perform perfectly.

Regarding leader specs, I do not recommend anything lighter than 8 because I've never found an 6 that was not to fragile. Most of the time I use 12. I see no need, even in clear water, for anything lighter exc for spybaits.

Best advice : Don't believe everything you read on on-line fishing and rod-building forums. Worst advice: As above, if you don't see lightning, you'll be OK.