MickD

Do not give up on that rod. Repairs can be made that will allow the rod to be almost perfectly like it was before. Here's how: http://www.rodbuilding.org/library/repair-oquinn.html I would get a good repairman who has done it before, but anyone good with detail work can do it. Read the article a few times before trying it to make sure you get the subtleties involved. It sounds like the rod broke in the high power/stress area of the rod, so you'll want to do it right, but I think it can be salvaged quite nicely.

Agree with above that it's not so much about depth as it is about pace and depth control for the lure. Drop shot allows you to control how far the lure is off the bottom at any pace except very fast. One October day when the smallies were ganging up on minnows in 2-3 feet depth we made a killing with 4 inch white Storm minnows about a foot above the sinker. (clear water) I'm not saying that that was the only way to get those fish, but we happened to have drop shots on when we found them and didn't change due to our success. Whenever you want to control how far off the bottom you are fishing , think drop shot.

I was using white 10 pound nanofil on super flukes in the lily pads one time, wasn't getting the strikes my son was, so added a FC leader. Many more hits after that. Just one data point.

I just leave my reels basically alone, lubing the obvious points now and then. They just keep working and working and working. I'm thinking of lubing the drag washers as soon as I can find a source for the lube without the shipping being twice the cost of the lube. In the meantime, they just keep working and working and working.

With some types of spiral layouts the line on retrieve can build to the side that the first guide is offset to. With the simple spiral the first guide is at zero degrees, so this is not a problem. It is the easiest to lay out and in my opinion casts as far as any other layout. I like spiral for rods which will be used for trolling from rod holders, but I don't build spirals for any other use. To me they look goofy and I just don't feel the stability "problem" with standard on top layouts. I think it's a solution without a problem. Keep in mind that if you are using very small guides, close to the rod (low height) there is not much of a lever arm to create the "devil" torque that spirals supposedly solve. You can get away with a couple fewer guides with small guide spirals relative to small guide on top builds, but I don't mind. there is no penalty in casting distance that I've been able to find (by having an extra guide or two). l If anyone wants to know how to lay out a simple spiral , just ask. I think where spirals make super good sense is with heavy power boat rods, vertical jigging rods, and trolling rods as previously mentioned.

grooved guides will not break line like that, but cracked rings will. Use Q-tip and rotate it inside each guide and tiptop ring. If it snags at all, you have a cracked ring, and the guide must be replaced. I have never seen a spool of "bad braid" with respect to the strength of the line. Rings get broken by the rod hitting the boat or something rigid when jerking a jerkbait or similar action. Did I miss seeing advice to check your line to lure knot? If it's breaking there, you may not have the right knot or tying process. Do you notice the line "jumping off the reel" early in the cast and your having to untangle a single knot right at the spool?

Never had a Daiwa that I didn't like. Never had a problem with one.

Spinning, casting, details of problems? All braids are not the same, and things as simple as pound test can determine success or failure. I'm sure the expertise of this group can help if you give the details.

No one has given a definition of "cleaning." If it means taking apart, brushing everything with a solvent, re-lubing, and putting it back together, I don't think that needs to be done very often, maybe not for years. That doesn't mean one doesn't open it up and re-lube. That is appropriate fairly often depending on use. I recommend the "taking apart" be done by experts since reels are so complex now. On casting reels, the most important two areas, IMHO, are the level wind and the spool bearings, and relubing them a number of times a season is probably appropriate, and will keep a reel in good condition. On spinning reels, the most important area is the bail, its pivots, bearings, rollers, etc. Relubing them a number of times a season is appropriate. Taking the reel apart and doing the "cleaning" is not necessary very often. Again, I'll send mine to the experts. But I have to admit to having reels that are as smooth as they were when new that have been used for many years and have never been dis-assembled. They have been strategically relubed regularly.

Mono and braid have the same density, so equal volumes weigh the same. The title of the post mentions elect tape. Not advisable in my opinion, would likely in time get gunky, hard to remove, hard to clean the reel.

Based on the fact that the jug fishing was a very slow and effective presentation, I would try some of the ideas presented, like wacky rig senko, but fish them very slowly, lots of stops. Or wacky on a drop shot with light line, so you can just let it suspend just off bottom without much movement. One of the best search baits, if you can fish it in your water, is the ned rig. If bass are there, and they can see it, they will eat it.

Typical of Z-Man customer service, excellent. Always stand behind their products.

You can try to reset it with epoxy, no harm done if it doesn't work. If you need a new guide, and the guide being a micro, you needn't worry about an exact match. They are so small you won't pick up on minor differences. A custom rod maker can fix it pretty easily without costing you a fortune. Biggest problem might be thread color match, but most factory rods are done in black, so. . . piece of cake.

All high mod rods are more sensitive to breaking than the old stuff. http://www.rodbuilding.org/library/rodusage.pdf

Anything but the red crap. Nothing but hype, and some reel servicers charge extra because it contaminates their cleaning fluid. Sewing machine oil is designed for precision machinery, so as DVT says, it is a good choice for the areas that are appropriately lubed with oil.

Short rod, micro guides, light action (to make the blank as light as possible), or just forget it as recommended above. Much ado about nothing.

There is a pretty tough "almost clear" UV resistant tape available, seems about 4 times thicker that packaging tape, easy to handle, would work fine for your strategy. I've found it at the big tape displays at Staples and other big stores.

C +. Some good, some misleading. He talks about $200 entering the custom market then shows a $150 blank with probably 75- 100 more in components, with nothing for the labor of the builder. If he wants to talk about a $200 custom rod, show a blank, like RX6 or maybe Revelation that might build into a $200 rod. With good guides, but not the holographic ones which are pretty pricey. One big advantage of a custom build is quality of the cork (usually), but that's pricey too. Another advantage not mentioned is that custom rods usually are structurally better with respect to reel seat to blank integrity. Many factory rods use cardboard shims and insufficient epoxy while custom builders use better shims and plenty of epoxy, totally encapsulating the shims to prevent long term deterioration due to water. He obviously doesn't understand the spline of a blank. He makes the point on custom tailoring of the rods' proportions as required to fit the owner properly quite well. More guides are good for sensitivity and line control for better casting and feeling what's going on , but he misleads on the line being damaged by contacting the blank. That is not true. Better to not even mention that aspect of the design and stick to the better performance offered by extra guides.

Many of their grips have tenons on which their end caps may be glued. On the butt knobs, don't ream all the way through, just ream to about 3/4 of the length of the knob. For your specific question, I think you want a full grip finished off nicely, right? In this case ream carefully, not generating a lot of torque, with your Dream Reamer or equivalent to get the ID you want, a fairly easy slide fit over the blank. Remember what Ghoti says about skin wrinkling. The grip you should be using will have the previously mentioned tenon. Glue on the appropriate Winn butt knob to finish it. Mudhole offers much of the Winn line-up.

If you want it to sink faster, use a steel split ring. I've just started to use very small cable ties, but not enough experience to comment. You might try them.

I guess I'm a little slow today, ghoti. But I would like to get it. I just spooled up my first reel with Bushido 15# braid, and I think I'm going to love it. Very small diameter, sort of a tight weave/harder finish than some braids. I haven't fished with it yet, so out on a limb (avocado tree), but it looks very promising.

Showing it to an expert as a first step is good advice.

Braid works fine for any technique. I use leaders, but some do not. You'll need to learn a good leader to line knot if you choose to use leaders, and your braid to lure knot needs to be better than the usual mono knots. Palomar is a great one. If using surface lures use mono as it does not sink like FC. An easy to learn and tie knot that is very reliable for line to leader is the double uni. There are other good ones, but most are harder to learn and tie.

Bushido and Rainshadow Revelation are great blanks for the money, select the action and power you want. Keep in mind that blanks may be built as you want-you don't have to pick a "spinning" blank to build a spinning rod. A casting blank with the right characteristics many be built as a spinning rod. I personally think medium power might be better for lipless cranks, but go with what you want. I usually try to get the recommended lure weight to match what I'm going to be using in order to properly load the rod. Go with a faster than normal crankbait action to get the snapping-free-of-grass attribute.

Don't worry yourself, S. Sass, I won't be anywhere near where you are fishing. I don't remember seeing anyone preaching to you about keeping fish. Great attitude.