MickD

I think those specs started as indications of the max dead lift capacity of the blank, but I don't know for sure. I don't use them for anything. The specs that are meaningful,but somewhat subjective, are the power (heavy, medium heavy, medium, etc.), action (fast, Xfast, moderate, etc.), and the lure weight suggestion. They can guide you to a rod that fairly well meets your technique requirements, especially when you've used a lot of rods and learned how to correlate the specs with your preferences. Use any line type and pound test you find works for you and use your drag and how you point the rod to manage the stress on the rod. You do not want to take the modern high modulus rods beyond 90 degrees deflection. Some will take it, some will not. But the higher the modulus the more sensitive to mis-handling they are.

If you "don't want to go to steel," then just concede that you're going to lose some lures. Try a fine steel leader you make from the tieable steel leader material, very fine and unobtrusive, but resistant to teeth. This is not rocket science.

You don't have some kind of setting that makes "hooks" out of responses, do you? Like the fish icon that is available? If you do , turn all those things off and look at, and learn to interpret, the raw signals. Those kinds of "tools" can make fish out of flotsam. I can remember going nutso over the fish icons until I learned that anything that was not connected to the bottom must be a fish, according to the algorithm. But the alorithms make mistakes.

There is a way to replace the seat without removing the guides. Remove the old seat then build up the blank with masking tape, three separate wraps evenly spaced under the seat location. Vary the number of turns so that when you're done the three wraps (shims) present a cylindrical "surface" to glue to. Make sure you totally encapsulate the tape so if water gets in it will not degrade your shims. The seat can be slid into position from the rear. Regarding the ends, if you have a fore grip, keep it and locate the seat against it. If none, you can do a foregrip using the shimming method described above. Install a rear grip using the same method of shimming. The cork pieces will have to have their bores enlarged, which can be a problem without the right tools. Not a piece of cake, but it can be done. It probably is easier than replacing 7-9 guides. I would leave it alone and use it for a spare. Buy a new rod which is exactly what you want. You cannot have too many rods.

Lure ratings are not that precise, so I would expect no problem with using a lure that close to the ratings. If you were to go up to something like 3/4 you would want to slow the casting motion way down to where you were almost lobbing it out in order to not take a risk on the rod. But it still could be done with little to no risk.

The "Dive To" series of Rapala crankbaits are very good for all species of fish. Get a DT 4, DT 6, and DT 10 in the Smash color (Iconelli special color) and try them in the appropriate depths. Second color would be the live river shad. Work them slowly, with stops. If there are bass there, you'll get bit. Another non-finesse technique is 4-5 inch swim baits (Keitech/Strike King coffee KVD/etc) on 3/16 or 1/4 oz darter head jigs either worked slowly or snapped off the bottom. White for clear water, darker for stained. Green is always a good choice for bass. If in deep water try the old silver buddies or similar. Fish are particular about size on these things at times, so try a couple sizes. Ask at bait shops for tips.

My comments on having found some excellent blanks for reasonable cost may have been misleading. I probably, over all, have spent more on rods than I would have if I hadn't gotten into building. But I have a lot more rods, some on costly blanks, some on rather "cheap" blanks. It is a hobby, so there is the aspect of doing something for the pleasure. I also make rods for family , which is rewarding. I make one rod a year for auction at an educational foundation, which brings the foundation significant money. Often I build just to try out a new blank that has become available. I build to my design to my preferences with the guides that I want, and I really enjoy being able to do that. Finally, I have made my own CCS measuring device, and using that I can better understand what I'm going to get when that blank comes in the mail. So if one can avoid all these reasons for turning building into a costly hobby, what does a self-made rod cost compared to a factory rod with the same components? I believe that I can make a top quality rod for about half, or a little more than half, the retail price. It doesn't often happen though, because I usually use better guides and cork than they do. The final rod will most likely be better built than the factory rod because I don't skimp on epoxy when building the grip/handle. Bottom line, will you save money? Most likely not, but you will be having fun, get a lot of pleasure, and will at times be building legacy-quality rods.

Another advantage of building your own. Lots of moderate actions available as blanks. AND, there are really high quality, highly sensitive, moderate action blanks that don't break the bank. The answer to your true question is, I believe, that anglers have concluded that faster is better, period. The rod companies are just providing what anglers are asking for. One of my favorite spin rods is a 7 foot moderate action, ML power, very sensitive, blank costs about $70 if I remember correctly. I have a casting rod made from another blank that almost perfectly matches the weight and CCS numbers of a Loomis moderate action rod, blank costs about $80.

I have a bag of spools in my boat. Don't think I have used one for many many years. I think the reason many of us don't use them is that the new braided lines are so versatile there is less need for them than there used to be. And in time we gather may outfits for specific purposes/techniques and simply switch the whole outfit when changing techniques or lure types. And as others have mentioned, the prices of some spools are simply outrageous.

Braid is very limp which makes it easiest of the lines (mono, FC, braid) to get smoothly through guides, in general. But proper guide design/layout is important with it, as with the other lines. Latest thinking on design for spin rods (and to a lesser degree, cast) is to use higher guides than we used to, and smaller guides to try to get the line under control fast, in only 2 or three guides, then use all the same size running guides to the end. Many have theories on why micros work so well (with all lines after the reduction is accomplished), but my theory is that they control the line looping so that the line is essentially a very long and small cylinder going through the air instead of a looping line trying to cut the air resistance. In any event, most agree that micros cast farther than bigger guides. Even if this is not true, they cast just fine and because they are small they add little weight to the blank. Weight is an enemy of sensitivity and fast response/recovery. But keep in mind that proper design and layout will get the line under control before it gets to the micros. As usual with new technology, rod builders went crazy over micros and applied them where they probably were not the best guide. Many builders have since settled on size 4 spin guides (4mm O.D. of the ceramic ring) and size 5 cast guides since these sizes are very light AND they pass leader knots better. Some used micros on fairly powerful rods and the tiny guide feet sometimes failed in the midsection of the rod. Fuji has micros with bigger feet to handle this issue. http://anglersresource.net/ Go to this site and watch the 7th video down on the Fuji KR Concept guide system and you'll get a more professional treatment of what I tried to describe. Regarding the video, I'm sure the one who made it thought it was correct, maybe it was done a long time ago, but you will probably not find a builder today who would agree with it. Regarding the weight of braid, most braids are lighter (density) than mono or FC as manufactured. I expect it is heavier when wet, but I have no data. FC is the heaviest with a density of about 1.5 times that of water. Mono is about the same as water. Some braids have heavier fibers woven in to make them sink, and because of the heavier density and their very small diameters for a given pound test, they are very good for getting deep when you want to. But it's the reduction train that has to be considered too. See details above.

Been there done that. I bought a leftie to favor my bad left shoulder when jerking. Then my bad shoulder became my good shoulder. Stuff happens. Took me a number of days fishing to get to feel normal, but now I fish baitcasting both ways, putting one rod down and picking another of the other side. Just stick with it, just fish, and you'll get it down fine. I always have cast with the right, still do. If you have to switch casting arms I expect that can be much more difficult. But I expect time and practice will get you there.

I think you'll have to ask a bass. Yup, if I had to use just one color, that's it.

Oversimplified, and essentially untrue.

I don't fish big rivers with dams, but have seen shows on TV, and they seem to fish the eddies below the dam, out of the strong current. I find that true here on small rivers, too. I don't think they like to fight the current all the time; bait probably doesn't either, so. . .eddies, pools, most likely.

I have a very good guide for St Clair. So if you choose St Clair and want a reference, let me know.

If going to MI area, Lake St Clair is it. Can get you both species. Running into muskies is not all that uncommon. But you'll need a guide. Lake St Clair is simply a big bowl, almost featureless, but the small "features" make all the difference. Not much on scenery since it's mostly simply one hell of a lot of water. But with a guide you should be able to get a good number of very big smb, and probably a walleye or two thrown in. If you are coming north for smb I believe Lake St Clair is your best bet around MI

Come north. We'll get you a walleye, too.

One lure that works well on a wadeable rocky river here is the 5 inch Zoom super fluke in pink and Tennessee shad colors on a 3 or 4/0 Gam EWG hook. It is not a bottom lure and casts very well, so snagglng shouldn't be a big problem. Get them onto the hook very symmetrically so they will jerk randomly, vary the jerky retrieve. If you don't get deep enough with them tied direct, tie a BIG swivel onto the main line, then 15-18 inches to the lure with mono or FC. If the river has rocky sections, try those or holes close to them first. In rivers smb also sometimes use sunken logs for cover. Another good lure for river smb is the old original floating rapala fished like a wounded minnow.

I use and like a rod I built that sounds like the first rod you mention. Keep in mind that in order for a light power rod to have a fast or XF action the tip has to be pretty soft. It has to be that way if the rod isn't bending a lot in the middle and lower section and it still can be called light or medium light power. The challenge in ned rigging, in my opinion, is getting a rod that will comfortably cast the light jigs, that will load properly with them. And that leads to a light or ML power. A medium power with XF action might please you and cast the jigs pretty well since it will have a pretty soft tip compared to a fast action medium power. That St Croix med light power fast action rod is a favorite of a lot of anglers here; they rave about it. So you might take another look. I've not heard anyone call it "very whippy" before. I've never felt a "whippy" St Croix spin rod. But we are talking subjectively, no objective numbers, like CCS.

For largemouths I've found no color , including bluegill, that works as well as black. Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, clear water and not so clear. Not the same for smallies.

You want to put something on it to seal it, but you want sun protection. I think Sally Hensen hard nail coating has UV filtering. This is not critical for strength, but you want to make sure that water cannot get into the thread. If it does you will notice a foggy appearance on the wrap. Don't overdo it, just where the crack is. I've used rods for years with little cracks at this spot with no fogging, but I've had some that fogged, so. . .try to prevent it up front.

Sorry, I do not. Tatula CT 103 SV I think it is. But IMO, all Daiwa reels are very fine quality. I'm not bad-mouthing others, but I have recent experience only with Shimano and Daiwa.

Casts fine, I don't recognize an advantage or disadvantage compared to other reels. But they are not all set up the same either. Certainly not substantially less than any other setup.

I just saw a TV program where Al Lindner, I think it was, talked about waters that should have trophy smb. He said big water, lakes with good spawning areas, lots of deep water minnow forage like tullabees, smelt, etc, with mulitple "basins."

I only have experience with the Daiwa, and it has performed superbly since I've had it, about two years now. Silent on the cast, takes very little adjustment, smooth and quiet on the retrieve, drag seems very smooth. I have found no cons. I have a couple recent Daiwa spin reels and they are exceptional too.