MickD

One thing that Eternity 2 has that the others may not is the nano technology which is claimed to provide tougher blanks. The top St Croix blanks have their version of this. Probably others, but I'm not sure. If I were to to build right now and my goal was max sensitivity, with what I think I know, it would be Eternity 2 or Point Blank. I would use the Fuji KlH guide system with 4.5 or 5 runners, the reduction guides to be determined by the likely braid pound test I would be using. If you're not talking braid, the blank selection is not nearly as important for sensitivity.

There is really a lot of good fishing info on this forum, but using it as a source of reliable physics information would not, in my opinion, work. I don't know how you would "qualify" your sources.

You'll get a lot of opinions on this one. Here is mine. Sensitivity can vary a lot depending on the build, mostly the weight of the guides in the upper third or half of the rod. It can make a significant, easily felt, difference. I believe that the overall weight can affect felt sensitivity too, but not as much as the top guide weights. Fancy, long , wraps can add unwanted weight. Butt wraps are less an issue due to their position on the rod. I also believe that harder grip materials, like carbon fiber and burl cork (but it's heavier than regular cork, a trade-off?) vs regular cork, or especially soft EVA, are more sensitive. Don't believe that hard materials don't feel good-the big thing is shape. With a rigid ramp off the front of a spin seat you are in essence putting you fingers on the blank. Put a big front grip on, and that will detract from feel/sensitivity if your fingers are on it and not on the blank. Last question- are the differences minor or major? I think they are more toward minor than major. I've built a lot of blanks on RX7 material and they have been great. I've built AmTac Bushido blanks into rods and they too have been very sensitive, and they are to the low end of the cost spectrum. I have little experience with MHX, but what I have has been positive.

I agree with going with the easy stuff first, and my first look would be fuel problems likely associated with ethanol damage to the hoses, clogged filter from same cause. You've had the compression checked recently, so not likely that unless you've experienced something pretty drastic that could cause scoring, like running with low oil injection. Didn't run out of oil, did you? I think that your idle quality will go to hell if cylinders are scored. If the fuel filter is accessible, change it, then run on a borrowed set of hoses and tank of known good fuel. As someone has stated already, bad fuel cannot be solved by simply putting new fuel in-ethanol damage can contaminate the fuel, leave residue that clogs filters, eats hoses and puts more crap in the system from them. To check it out you need to run from fully clean fuel storage and delivery system and a clean filter.

One area that is tight enough and is definitely ruled by the laws of physics is casting distance as affected by rod length, power, action, line characteristics, guide design (diameter of the ring, type of ring, height of ring, angle of ring with respect to the reel axis or line guide,) casting reel vs spinning reel, etc etc etc . While writing this I see that it too is probably too wide open. If I were going to do a project like this I would restrict it to a few of the variables. Much of what's being talked about here is not physics.

Your 150 is as magic as the Impala of a friend of mine, 40 mph overall for three years. I advise you both to keep them. I doubt if you will do as well with the next one. At least for the non-towing vs towing. But that 17.8 while not towing is pretty low. The difficulty is driving the same for all comparisons.

A friend of mine had one taken out of his forehead. Got it in the tropics. He could feel it moving around in there. Only one of many doctors in the states knew what it was and how to handle it.

Any warranty? NFC has gone bankrupt, haven't they?

But the day to day fuel economy of the 12,000 capacity vehicle is significantly worse than the smaller vehicle. So there is a trade-off. And the laws of physics do prevail. The fuel economy will go down on any vehicle the equivalent of driving the towed weight down the road (approximately because there may be a small advantage of the towed weight drafting the tow vehicle). But anyone can believe what they want and buy what they want; it's not my money. I have to argue, with due respect, that your down by half and only .1 mpg just do not make sense.

The fuel economy will always go down when towing. Unless you can repeal the laws of physics.

Great day for sure. That' s the way it can be in the fall. Can you tell me the water temp?

I guess I have yet to encounter that situation. It looks great, with fine detail, but I've not yet seen a single fish on it, mostly just weeds Thanks everyone for their comments , sorry I hi-jacked the thread. I'll be more careful in the future.

Has any Humminbird owner found justification for DI? I've been using it all summer and cannot find anything of value in it.

I think for Neds a ML power is a better choice than the heavier powers. the Ned jig is so light it doesn't take much to move it, and with heavier powers I think it harder to detect when you're tight onto the jig on the bottom. I don't think the action is as important, but you want a tip that deflects quite easily. A light tip on an XF should work fine. The light wire hook on a Ned, and for many drop shot set-ups, don't need a lot of power to get a good hook set. You want best sensitivity you can get for best bite detection. I use 10 pound test braid with similar test FC leader. FC is probably better than mono to keep the Ned on the bottom better.

I agree that no gauge on boats is reliably accurate. Good suggestions above. I add that when adding gas it is a good idea to add a good marine gas additive. I use Sea Foam.

I tow about 2500 with a V6 Terrain and the handling is fine, and you should have no problem with the Escape or any other of similar size. The 2018 Equinox has what I think the ideal engine for your application (and mine), which is a 175 HP 2.0 liter turbo 4 cylinder. It will tow your load fine (I used to tow with a 175 HP minivan and it was fine) and will get great fuel economy without the trailer. Take a look if buying or leasing new.

Be very wary of "super-tuners" advertising on-line. I had one ruin a Shimano Calcutta. Took a reputable service man to salvage the reel. Go with reputable service people. From what we've read on this forum, DVT is such a person. He would not risk his reputation by screwing anyone.

Depends on when you find you don't like what you asked me to wrap.

I have not noticed it eating, but think it is highly over-rated considering its price. Careful application of super glue works well, and you can keep the white from appearing if you're careful.

I don't believe there is a production rod shop that will give you the bullet-proof structure on grips and reel seats that every responsible custom builder will give you . Grips will not come loose, reel seats will stay secure forever. It's due to not skimping on the epoxy and using better materials for the shims. No cardboard, plenty of epoxy covering anything that could deteriorate from water. Proper fits so that the epoxy is not scraped off while seating the components. There are some very nice rods available from production shops, and if one shops the year-end sales, at very attractive prices. Usually guides are not the mid to top of the line, but now and then they are. But, I have seen some pretty inferior guides on name brand rods, and have fixed some loose cork on some of the top brands that many on this forum salivate over. I'm confident that with decent care, my rods will go to my son, then to his kids, and will still be very serviceable.

The big question is did the old one come off with minimal heat indicating it is hot melt? I have found a builder who has a good reputation in Owensboro, KY, about 65 miles from you. Let me know if you want to contact him.

I don't use any mono on a spin setup any more. 6 is too fragile, handles very well. Good 8 pound mono will handle quite well, especially on larger reel spools, but is a little light on pound test for me. Higher than that just doesn't handle well so I use 15 pound braid with mono or FC leaders. I like a soft mono of about 12-14 pound test on my baitcaster I use for surface lures. Casts well and has some stretch for getting good hook sets even if I get too aggressive. I do fish mostly open water or edges with it, so yanking fish out of heavy cover is not what I usually do, and this gear is underpowered for that.

Now the thugs know where a lot of fine firearms are located.

Where do you stand on your tiptop? Did it slide right off with a little heat?

I fish mostly from my boat. The biggest organizational issue is with softbaits. I keep them in my pole barn in plastic boxes that hold probably 20 sacks. I use a sharpie to keep track of what's in them. When I go fishing in my boat I select the ones I most likely will use depending on where I'm going. Regarding cranks and other hard baits I keep them in appropriately labeled "plano" boxes, with lips marked for diving depth (although it's pretty easy to tell from the size of the bill). Lipless in their own boxes. Hard jerks in theirs, etc. When fishing in my boat I take the ones I most likely will use. Probably all since I have plenty of room. I have a good sized Cabelas bag that takes about 6 plano boxes and it goes every time, whether fishing from my boat or another. It also has all my terminal tackle in it, spare leader material, that kind of stuff. + my fishing licenses. It has the stuff I will need no matter where I fish and no matter whose boat. When I fish from another's boat I cull all the soft bait stuff I have that I most likely will want for that day's fishing and put it into freezer bags (tougher than the normal baggie) and into the Cabelas bag. I'll have one bag for drop shot, one for Ned, one for tubes, one for swim jigs, etc. And I'll have probably just two plano boxes with hard lures, chatters, etc. I use CD/DVD folders for spinnerbaits, so they pack easily. It's not perfect, but it allows me to go on my boat or with another pretty easily. It's the best I've been able to come up with.