MickD

I have no experience with glass boats, but there has to be an easy refinish for the topcoats on them. Check with one of the big shops like West Marine. Or do internet searches. Here's one: https://www.auroramarine.com/main/ask-the-skipper/restoring-clear-coat-on-metalflake/ the guy sounds knowledgeable.

Regarding floating mono. Mono does not float since its specific gravity is essentially the same as fresh water. Will float in salt. But possibly the fact that it doesn't sink gives FC a "sensitivity" advantage while fishing sinking lures. Good comments. thx The reason for less of a problem now than earlier is that braids are generally round now, used to be flat, and edge would slide under. Trying cut a full spool of braid off. . . not fun. I don't use braid any lighter than 30#, usually 40. I think it handles better, casts more like 12 pound mono, very little chance (I've not had it happen) of digging in. Do you know what line you had dig in?

This might help. https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Selecting-a-Fishfinder

Thanks, Im aware of that and the relationship of Rodgeeks and St Croix, but was looking for some comments of those who have built or fished them. I expect they are very good, but have never heard from anyone who has built one.

Do any of the posters who advocate that FC is more sensitive than mono have any data to confirm this belief? The only hard data comparing the two that I have seen are density comparisons that show mono has a density about the same as water and FC about 50% more. Which confirms that mono is better for most surface lure fishing. Since there is no objective test (at least I've never seen one) for sensitivity (how does one measure sensitivity?), what attribute of FC would lead one to believe it is more sensitive? Stretch? I think that has been debunked by many tests indicating there is little if any difference. Just asking. Just trying to learn. I note an appropriate quote above in red.

It really doesn't matter. You cast it. You retrieve it. Even the line doesn't matter. I'd say use whatever setup gives you the longest casts.

In central MI it stopped two days ago. they yesterday we got 3 inches more.

Can anyone offer comments on their experience with Rodgeeks Carbon 4 fly rod blanks?

I worry more about the spot lock holding the boat, but my experience of a few days ago doesn't indicate that smb are "chased away" by electronics or spot lock. We sometimes had as many as 6 big smb in sight, some going right under the boat in about 6 feet of water. WE had a hard time getting any to bite, but they looked like they were just chilling. Water was obviously very clear and there was no wind. Always tough for me. I think we had gotten in too close to their spot and that was part of the problem. Remember the string about long casts? I took one immediately on getting into the area, 3 chased it. A few gave a "lazy" chase at some lures, but as time went on they stopped that. But they didn't leave. I think if we had been out another 30-40 feet we would have caught more than the few we did. In the past I've fished with both spot lock and electronics on and caught a lot of fish. A month ago I took 13 lmb from a little corner of a "pond," without moving. Nothing huge, I admit, only up to about 19 inches, the rest smaller. One time a few years ago three of us found smb packed into shallow water and we took about 60 in about 2 hours with spot lock on. Most over 3 pounds, some above 5. But they were obviously not chiilng that day.

They are often not in the rock piles or weed beds, but outside. LAst trip to St Clair they were within about 50 yards of weeds. But not one fish from the weed bed.

73 years for me, I believe. Old black line casting reels, steel rods, bamboo poles. Orvis glass minnow traps, (I still have one), catching crawfish under rocks, perch fishing the piers and Elberta and Frankfort. I remember about 1950 Dad buying his first spinning reel, Airex? From Europe? It was magic. At that time it used a green "braid," not sure of the material, but I guess there was no mono at that time. In time I became a fan of the Italian Alcedo Microns, still have a couple of them, but they don't measure up now. I could get the Microns, which were not cheap, because in my sophomore year in high school I got a job in a sporting goods store. You know where my income went, fishing tackle, an Ithaca 37 rib-deluxe shotgun, etc etc etc.(Still have it, a wonderful shotgun). We fished smb on the Shiawassee River, still a good smb river in spots, and the killer lure, discovered by my boss, was the F7 silver Helin's Flatfish. My boss posted a pic in the store of all the smb and rock bass he and a friend caught drifting the Shiawassee, and we couldn't keep them in stock after that. Sold hundreds before it cooled off. I gotta try that lure again today.

Color film. You're a young guy. ?

Green green green! Muskegon Lake is a great lake for just about everything. For both LM and SMB the ned is very effective if the lake is suitable. Also tubes for both species. In clear water bubblegum and white in super flukes and swim baits are good. 4 inch swim baits on a darter head jig snapped off the bottom will at times kill SMB. And always the drop shot in colors that match the habitat. The new Z man minnows on drop shot are proving effective at times.

Tied on, not with a snap, is the most weedless lure ever invented. It works really well crawling over lily pads, too. I had forgotten it, nice catch, Tom. Gotta find some real white pork strips! The kind in the jar that has the cap that rusts on when you don't use them for a while. So soft they do not catch any vegetation, just fish.

Good plan. It may be that the rod will change to fulfill another function in your inventory, or it may be relatively unchanged. I'm not sure the sleeve method is practical that close to the tip and I don't know another option.

That's about the worst place. Farther down the added weight of a sleeve is most often not noticed. But the weight right at the worst place to add weight, iffy. I expect you're just going to put a new tiptop on the blank? Might be the best option. I'm not sure what I'd do, but I'd try something. IF you just put a new tiptop on, try it out before moving that first guide and see how you like it. If it's ok, then move or remove the guide. If it's not ok, you still can try the sleeve. Might then have to remove, then replace the first guide if the sleeve gets into it, which it sounds like it will. Good luck

I snagged my son's carpeting with a ned jig Friday, crushed the barb to get it out, then kept fishing with it. I probably took another few SMB on it without losing one. Braid with a 7 foot ML moderate action rod. Mod action helps keep them on-just keep a lot of bend in the rod so they don't get any slack.

Whatever rod choice is made, it's no problem, because one can never have too many rods.

Why do you have to lose an inch or so? Broken that close to the tip? https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/repair-oquinn.html

Nice fish, nice continuing effort under challenge. Don't throw the rod away, it can be fixed, most likely.

I have no argument with this recommendation for heavy tubes, but they would be heavier than 3/8. The 7 MF will handle 1/4-3/8 very well and have better tip "feel." But it's a matter of opinion.

7 foot MF will allow easy casting of tubes from 1/8 oz on up. If you go heavier in power you will not have the easy casting coverage that you'll have with med power. Also, I like the lighter tip power of the med power. You could go XFast action if you want, but I wouldn't recommend power greater than Med. My favorite tube rod is the St Croix SCV 7 foot med power.

Nice to hear from a manufacturer.

I'm surprised you haven't found that FC line or leaders on surface presentations, exc for stuff like the whopper plopper, screws up the action on surface lures by pulling them under the surface. I'm getting more and more convinced that FC is simply too fragile. I'm using leader grade mono. I have one casting reel with FC, and I think I'll take it off and replace it with mono. The water clarity advantage is insignificant, IMO. Its sink rate is advantageous, but I think thinner braid, even though less dense, sinks OK since it cuts the water better. There just seems to always be something going wrong with FC.

To help others, can you describe what you did? If the tiptop took more than just a few seconds of heat on the tiptop, it was epoxied on. In that case, it's a job for a pro builder.