MickD

Fishing with a more forgiving line will provide lots of practice. I've been fishing with baitcasters for 60 years, have had plenty of practice, and still find mono a much more forgiving line than FC.

No one said nylon floats like a cork. Since its specific gravity is the same as water it has neutral buoyancy. That is nothing like a cork.

I suggest braid, about 20 pound test to retain really good casting characteristics with a 20 pound test hard saltwater mono leader for toughness, abrasion resistance. Learning the FG knot will have the knot going through the guides very smoothly.

What is the solution for someone without your ability and experience? Keep being frustrated by FC, going through lots of money and time and still getting backlashes? Or moving to a more forgiving line until the ability and experience is gained? Just stating that there is no FC problem solves nothing.

Hovanec, geat epoxy work there.

The Kigan looks very functional, ". One thing I like about the REC single foot fly guides and their keepers is that they almost disappear on the rod. I favor function first, but if I can get the same function with better "style," I'll go that way every time. Thanks for all the posts on this-much appreciated.

This is the keeper I was referring to when I mentioned they are hard to epoxy without clogging them with epoxy. You have to get epoxy under them. They are a little small, too, IMHO. I like this keeper for function, but put it at 90 degrees and you may have the line catch on it. Also, in black, the finish came off of mine. That location is my favorite unless I plan to use a rod sock on the rod. It is easy for the builder since the foot is well away from the loop.

I would like your opinions on hook keepers, the style and location you prefer and why. I've built rods for many years and have tried all kinds of keepers and put them in a number of positons and have finally settled on what I think is the best option, a REC RHK-M keeper, ID 1/8 inch.. If I want to keep a lure on the rod while using a rod sock, I'll put it right behind the grip/reel seat on the blank at 180 degrees (I do split grips exclusively), if not I'll put it at 180 degrees right in front of the reel seat/grip. Why the REC? Essentially corrosion proof, very tough, easy to put a hook into, unobtrusive, works for drop shot to hold the line at the sinker (install it sloping to the rear). I've tried the 90 degree location, and occasionally the line will snag it (spin). I've tried the folding keepers and I have to fart around with them to get a hook into them, and they sooner or later break. I've tried the little drop shot keepers, the "U" shaped ones and it's hard to keep wrap epoxy from clogging them, and they really don't work well with lure hooks. I've tried ceramic ring single foot fly guides at 180 degrees and found them very satisfactory, easy to use, but few have the corrosion resistance of the REC. They can be bent to work with drop shots. They work very well in fresh water, however. I've tried the big drop shot keepers and while they work well, the finish comes off. If put on at 90 degrees, they snag the line now and then. On fly rods I don't use keepers, preferring to keep the area below the first guide completely clean. I use the frame of the first guide. What do you prefer and why? thanks,

The fastest, cheapest, way to solve the FC problem is to switch to mono or braid. You can search for better FC's, and each try will cost time and $$; many will recommend premium FC's, more money and time. As stated , the ONLY true and significant advantage of FC is that it sinks faster than mono or braid. If that's what you want, OK, but I find a little lead makes a lure sink pretty well without the other problems of FC. I only use it for leaders, and I use the hard FC designed for leaders because it is much less fragile than FC designed to be a line. I think the best casting (baitcasters) line of all is mono, but I do like the lack of stretch of braid so use a lot of braid with FC leaders. For spinning I am almost exclusively with 15 # braid with an FC leader. (mostly open water or only slightly weedy fishing) As a line I think FC is highly overrated and not worth the cost and problems.

Ditch the spincasters for a decent conventional spinning outfit, then progress from that to baitcasting. But baitcasting will not replace spinning; it will give you more flexibility to do more different techniques. Spinning for finesse, lighter lures, casting for heavier lures, more power. This is a progression that most kids ultimately do if they are serious about getting skilled at fishing. Nothing wrong with spincasters as a starting point, but don't be limited by them. Go on beyond them.

DVT, this is a good time to ask a question that has been on my mind since I had my Calcutta 100 ruined by a guy on line who "super tuned" reels. I'm not suggesting that you would do anything like that, but my question is why does it make sense to super tune a reel when we (at least me) have to add friction to prevent backlashes? Seems like if it's super tuned we just have to add more friction. Please don't get me wrong; I'm just trying to clear up my logic on this. Not doubting your work. thanks

It sounds like the anti-reverse clutch bearing failed. It is a clutch bearing that allows rotation in one direction but locks up in the other. It is doubtful that it would work, but I think a wise first step would be to lube it. After that, it's as has been suggested, talk to BPS. I do believe that simple replacement of the bearing will not be super expensive. I presume you have checked and there are no loose or missing parts, right? Does "reel hard backward" mean that you can reel it backward but it takes a lot of torque to do so? If yes, then the clutch bearing may be "skidding" due to lack of lube that is stopping the rollers from moving freely. It may not be totally failed. Look at your schematic, find one on line if you don't have it, and figure how to get some lube to it. Long shot, maybe, but still a possibility.

Mono and braid have a specific gravity of about 1.0, same as water. Braid with the Gore thread is a little higher. FC has a specific gravity of about 1.5. A sinking line, like FC , will screw up the action of most surface lures, causing a jerk to pull them under, not pop on the surface. I use braid with a FC leader for soft jerks in fairly shallow water, and it works fine. For 30 feet, I'm not patient enough to wait for anything unweighted to get to the bottom. Keep in mind too that the resistance of the line to water will act like buoyancy if you move the lure. It may get to the bottom, but most likely will not stay there when you move it. Unless it's weighted.

KVD Perfect Plastics Caffeine Swim n Shad. Very soft, full of action. One usually lasts many fish. (4 and 5 inches, 4 for smallies behind a darter head jig).

I would not go back to FC for the casting part of the line. While others swear by it I have never found any brand that works as well on a baitcaster as mono. The difference in any supposed attribute of FC vs mono is simply, for me, not worth the hassle. Same for spinning. I use it for leaders for bottom fishing because it has a specific gravity 1.5 times that of water, mono is about 1.0.

Sounds like your leader is so long you're casting with the leader not the braid. You only need a leader of a few feet, the length of the rod max, IMHO. I usually use about 5 feet. 30 pound braid is not too light or too heavy, although some advocate heavier. Make sure you don't have the reel overfilled to the point that the line slaps the reel frame as you cast. Don't try really long casts at first, and use forgiving lures, like lipless cranks and spoons until you get pretty skilled, then spinnerbaits, and not spinnerbaits up wind.

Hard to believe a rod would be built with ceramic guides and a metal tip top. You may have lost the ceramic ring of the tiptop and not noticed it. And were fishing on the frame. Anyway, good that it came off easily, and a new ceramic tiptop should take you a long way into the future of fishing. On installing the new one, it's best to get a hot melt stick, preferably one designed for rod ferrules (will likely have a higher melt temp), shave off a bunch of slivers into the tube of the new tiptop, and then heat it gently and shove it onto the blank tip. It should freely rotate for a few seconds, then tighten up as the hot melt solidifies. Make sure it's aligned as it hardens.

Yes, that technique ensures that you use no more heat than necessary. In the event epoxy was used, you have to be very careful because just a little heat will not loosen the tip top. In that case, if it doesn't come right off with just a little heat, take it to Ghoti and have him do it. Less risk. I'm curious about your post, and whether I'm interpreting it correctly. Do you have multiple guides that are grooved, or just a tiptop with a lot of grooves? If the guides are grooving, they really must be junk, so is the blank also junk? If so, maybe you're better off with a new, better, rod. If just the tiptop, then a simple replacement of that will do fine. It's not that unusual. Use a premium tiptop, not another cheapie. My point is that it is unusual to have grooving in the guides, but not in the tiptop.

2500 should be fine, especially if using braid under about 15, as previously mentioned. Symetres are nice reels, and I have always liked every Daiwa I've owned. No experience with most other brands.

As an aside to this post, the security of reel seats is one of the major advantages of custom made rods. Custom builders don't skimp on epoxy and know how to use shims correctly. So having a reel seat come loose on a custom built rod rarely if ever happens.

I have no experfience with either but I have a lot of experience with Rainshadow blanks. They are consistently rated so are pretty predictable based on their ratings. Another piece of info that should help you would be the recommended lure weight and line spec. These deal with power, also. Since you are dealing with a rod for "casting" then the weight to be casted should be considered. Try to keep your intended casting weights well inside the rod's recommended lure weight.

That blank is about $180, so add reel seat, guides, etc, and you will have probably $250 in parts. What the labor would be, I would be guessing, but you'd probably have in the neighborhood of $400 in it. It is my favorite all-time spinning blank, having made about 5 for family and me. With a good builder you will have a better rod than factory, IMHO. You will get what you want in ergonomics, reel seat design, probably better cork, probably better guides, you get to choose the type of guides you want, and most likely better structure from the practice of most builders to not skimp on the epoxy which mounts the reel seat and cork. As stated before, contact DVT.

There is no problem repairing this area, and if you want it to look pretty good: - lightly sand it to smooth the surface and get all of the decal off. Do not sand into the blank. If in doubt, don't do it. - wipe with a dry paper towel or tacky cloth. Do not wipe with alcohol or any other liquid to clean it. - The best finish to apply to it is Permagloss, a single part urethane that dries very rapidly and leaves a smooth, very hard, surface. You'll want to taper it off as the repaired area meets the old good surface. To apply it use a foam disposable brush, practice on something else a little, like a pencil or wooden dowel to familiarize yourself with how it acts. then apply it quickly, fairly wet but not runny, and don't go over and over it. It will dry as you are doing that and will leave a messed up surface. -- Nail polish will not hurt anything, nor will rod epoxy, but they don't level very well and you will likely have a wavy surface. Rod wrapping epoxy will work better, but is not as good as the Permagloss. If using rod wrapping epoxy use longitudinal brush strokes to get a smooth apply trying to avoid waves which are caused by uneven application. Rotate the rod while it sets to keep the finish even. Turn it every 10 minutes or so until it is pretty tacky. Check the state of the finish by touching the left over epoxy in this mixing container, don't touch the rod. You also can simply leave the sanded surface without finishing it-the rod will not deteriorate-many custom builders do this, but you will have the gloss/matte appearance. If you have any questions, just ask.

How is it cheating? You're serious? If the rod was broken when purchased and you try to get St Croix to make it good, you are cheating. Pretty clear to most folks, I'm sure.

If you are like I am, I would wonder with almost every cast what the rod would have been like if it were not broken off. The actions of all will be affected to some degree depending on how much is gone, as others have said. Life's too short for me to be agonizing over the rods. I would instead buy one good one rather than a bunch of question marks. As to those who sound like they are suggesting cheating St. Croix using their return system, shame on you.