MickD

With the lure weights you are talking about you need to go longer rather than shorter to get better casting. Or simply go to what works much better with 1/16 oz and similar lures and use spinning outfits. You are, in my opinion, making it way too hard on yourself trying to make baitcasting work on such light lures. Unless I'm missing something. . .

I see no advantage to going as light as 8#, but if it works for you , do it. One advantage will be a smaller knot. I usually use 15 or 20 FC for jerks. For surface, I don't like FC because it sinks and affects the action of the surface lure. Always mono leader for surface, or straight mono from reel to lure. For surface the stretch of mono is advantageous, in my opinion as I have trouble slowing the hook set enough, and braid is too direct/solid/non-forgiving. If you want a double duty outfit, jerks and surface, just use a mono leader. It will work fine for both. I think the visibility advantage of FC is overrated.

Expanding on the Tackle Logic folder, I've found that the folders sold for CD/DVD storage work well , are inexpensive. Not so good for buzz baits. Easy to organize by color or blade shape, etc. With the plastic boxes you are storing more air than you are lures.

You may be able to get some cover from a count of your wife's shoes and purses. "Why do you need so many rods?" "Why do you need so many shoes?" "Because they are for different situations." Bingo!

Depends on the boat to some degree. When they are too thick and you start stepping on them, that's too many. I usually have 5 or 6. Above that gets a little hard to handle and doesn't add that much function.

I prefer moderate actions for cranks and surface, power chosen to properly load the rod on casting with the weights I'm using.

I disagree that it is hard to find a bad braid. I seem to have found some pretty easily. I now stick to Power Pro and Suffix Performance Braid, and don't go over 15 pound test. Casts a mile, plenty strong enough for what I do. I think 30 is definitely overkill for spinning and will cost significant distance. As someone said, you don't need to fill the reel with it, so cost should not be a factor. Buy 150 and use 50 yards per spool with backing required to fill the spool. It lasts for years, so you won,'t be replacing it soon.

I looked into the TT ratings, and their chart appears to me to be a simple rod deflection chart, and I don't see how one can interpret it to get "action" ratings. It appears to simply measure "power." Force vs deflection. The CCS system measures deflection at 1/3 (and at other points if you want more sophisticated info) its length (a 9 foot rod is measured at the weight it takes to get 36 inches deflection). The weight it takes gives an objective measurement of "power." At that deflected position the angle of the deflected tip is also measured, and this gives an objective "action" rating. The higher the angle, the faster the action. A very fast action is usually about 77 degrees, a fast about 70-74, and moderate about 65 or a little higher. But it doesn't matter what you call them, the number tells the story. So 500 (grams)/75(degrees) blank is about what a St Croix SCV 7 foot MF measures. More sophisticated measurements can give you numbers relative to sensitivity and speed of recovery. If you want to really get objective about rod ratings, CCS is the way to go. It works for any rod or blank, no matter what type.

All ratings on rods are somewhat subjective, thus are approximations. I agree that St. Croix rods are usually a little more powerful than you would expect from their description. I'm not familiar with the TT system, but the CCS system is a good way to get objective data on rod power and action. http://www.common-cents.info/ One can make their own rig that doesn't take up the space of the one described at the CCS sites, and it correlates well with the big sheet rig. With CCS it all becomes objective, and once you understand it, and fish with rods that have been rated, it is easy to get the rod you want for the next one. It does not damage or mark the rod in any way so one could buy a rod, test it, then return it if it didn't perform as expected. With time and experience (there are data on line for some rods, but not even close to all) one predict very well what CCS numbers will work for what your are trying to get.

Make sure you know the reputation of the person who is to super tune your reel. There are a few idiots out there who advertise super tuning but will ruin your reel.

I have used the alps seats and they are fine. You don't need to spend a bundle on a reel seat to get a very nice, functional rod. I recommend the Fuji RV for the first guide, two or three KB's, then the small foot KT guides the rest of the way. Or look at their alum oxide versions of the guides. All running guides the same size based on what knots you want them to pass. I recommend 5's. The Fuji ACS seat is nice, doesn't cost a fortune. I use it on some very expensive blanks. Coordinate the seat hood finish with the guides.

There are many companies out there with very high quality components. It's more about finding something that fits what you want to do than it is brand. Although sticking with the big names is safe. All companies have a range of components from very inexpensive (but still very good-all their guides are braid safe, although I like to use a preimium tiptop since that is where you'll get grooving if it's going to happen) to very expensive. No need to go top of the line. I have to suggest an alternative to your plan. With every build you will get better and better. And your first may not meet your expectations. So consider a moderately priced kit for your first build. You can spiral wrap any blank. If you want to spiral wrap, look into the various methods. The easiest, and it works just fine, is to do the simple spiral. Locate all your guides as if building on top. Move all but the first guide to 180 degrees. Add one guide, the lowest you can get, can be same diameter as your running guides, at 90 degrees 1/2 way between the first and second guide. Its function is simply to keep the line off the blank. This method works well, you get no loading to one side of the reel as you do with many others that put the first guide at an angle. This forum is a good one to add to your list of resources. Check out its library. http://rodbuilding.org/list.php?2 http://www.mudhole.com/CRB-Light-Freshwater-Rod-Building-Kit-IS701L

Vodka gimlet.

I believe the right way to spool line, unless your reel has specific directions otherwise, which some do, is to have it come off the end of the spool clockwise if your reel spools it counterclockwise. Every rotation of the reel line pick-up puts a twist in the line and by taking it off cournterclockwise it takes that twist out. By doing it ccw-ccw the twists are doubled, and twisted line adds to the memory issue. My experience is that light braid seems to perform pretty well even when twisted, but I'm sure that twist has to add to wind knot problems at least some.

the rod pod is fine if you can assure that all the rods will be straight in it. You don't want to have a bend in them-might take a set in time. My worry would also be that it might be easy to steal. Then ALL your rods are gone. I think an 8 foot box (8 foot based on plywood-if possible, add an extra 6 inches or more), lockable, hinged top so you can easily arrange the rods the way you want, and a method to lock it to your rig, would be good. Out of sight would be nice. You certainly don't want it rained or snowed on.

The palomar takes a lot of line to tie it compared with others, and you have to put the lure through a loop. This makes it hard to tie with multi-hook lures. It is only an advantage with braid. With mono, while the palomar works fine, other knots work well too and are easier to tie with multi-hook lures and don't take as much line to work with. The advice above regarding the other knots is goodf for mono and FC, in my opinion.

One other factor is size. The feathered treble will make the lure appear larger. Could be good or bad depending on the fish's preference that day. One thing for sure, keep them very thinly dressed, so they have a little flash, like fish's tail, but don't look thick/heavy/unnatural. A thin white feather and a few strands of pearl crystal flash or similar is all you need. Maybe a very small red feather (or red crystal flash).

Re the Albright knot, note how the tag end goes back through the leader loop from the same side as it went out. If you don't do that exactly right, the knot will fail. It's not hard, but you have to tie that knot (and most others) exactly right. Re the comments about the double uni working well with leaders of 25 pounds or so with micro guides, I'm very skeptical. Of course there are diameters of guides that are called micros that go up to 5.5 mm (outer diameter, not inner diameter), and maybe it will be ok for those, but for the smaller micros, I just don't buy it. To be safe try what you want to use yourself to make sure it will work to your satisfaction. (there are five layers of leader in a double uni, and 25 pound mono is about .017 inches in diameter, so that knot can easily be a little less than a tenth of an inch in diameter. That's pretty big to pass easily and cleanly through the smaller micros.)

The FG takes some time and practice to get used to , but it is the smallest knot available. For the pound tests you are working with, it's pretty well in its sweet spot. It gets difficult in the lower pound tests, like 15 pound leader onto 15 pound braid. But the saving grace is that in the lighter pound tests the double uni works well, is easy to tie, and is small enough to clear most guides. If your knot is going onto the reel, you have too much length. Try shortening the leader to about 4 feet. As one poster reports, a lot of fishermen don't use the leader, but in clear water, I'm convinced it will give more strikes than straight braid, especially if the braid is light colored. One way to make braid less visible is to "mottle" it with a dark sharpie to give it a sort of camo appearance. The FG is so small that it can go through micros well, and it lasts almost forever while double unis get beaten up and have to be retied more often. I've had FG's last until the leader got so short from retying that I had to start over. But the knot lasted many fishing trips. If you want to try the FG, search for videos; there are a few very good ones. Search for "FG knot."

I don't really care what the MSRp is; what I'm interested in is what it costs me to buy it. The Immortals don't cost me as much now as they used to. They are great blanks, and I agree that at the current prices, they are really good values. The titanium chrome finish is beautiful and very versatile, allowing almost any color thread to look good. Try a merlot or garnet without CP and you'll have a rich "black cherry" color, trim with silver metallic, and you have a very handsome, classy, build. The ned rig is very popular now, and the 7' 2" med lite walleye rod works very well with it. WS72-ML.

http://www.americantackle.us/spacing.html

Real Microwaves? Or is there a Chinese counterfeit. I believe the instructions are available on line, give it a try.

Didn't remember that. I'll have to look at one! Mustad 7790X hooks? Don't need rings.

I don't bother, but I've never heard of any glue which damages the line. A good one to use is UV curing epoxy. There are many different ones available, but I like Solarez (do an internet search) and zap a gap knot sense. Read the following article for some insight. The article states that knots that depend on stretch are best not glued. If you use the UV curing products, and you tie inside the night before, you'll have to use a UV lamp to cure them. Batteries and Bulbs has a couple good ones. https://www.deneki.com/2014/05/gluing-knots-for-extra-strength/

Unless you've dealt with hot melt attached tiptops before, I would not recommend heat. It doesn't take a lot to damage the blank. I really think you are wasting a worry here, and are dealing with a non-problem . Picking at it A LITTLE is not risky, but this "problem" will not affect the performance of the rod. If it really bothers you, enough to get into the hassle and cost of returning it, do what you have to do. But call them first, as recommended earlier,