MickD

The old way of fishing hard jerks was to use glass, sometimes even adding weights about 8 inches below the tiptop to slow them down. That may still work for some jerk fishing , but if you're fishing smallies in waters like Lake St Clair, you may never get a bite. The ticket there is to have a VERY aggressive twitch/jerk, and you just cannot get it with a slow action. For that you need something like medium power, XF action. Braid helps keep the twitch aggressive with minimum effort.

Here we go again! The Alberto, sworn by by many, sworn at by some, can easily be screwed up in the tying process. I have given up on it. Most on this forum have heard it before, the GT knot is the smallest knot, is a very reliable knot, has won strength contests, but looks intimidating to tie until you get it down pat. Then it is easy to tie correctly, can be run though micros, lasts until you cut the leader off because you've almost used it up with rigging changes, and it is now my only line to line knot. Lots of videos on line on how to tie it.

Glenn, I have to disagree. I know that if they are swiping something isn't right, but in the process of changing stuff to get it right I could lose a good number of fish. I'll compromise. I'll use a trailer hook and if the fish are caught on it I'll use that as a signal to change something until they start eating the whole lure.

When you solve the glove and clothing problems, just be sure to wear your PFD. As my son always tells me, it makes it a lot easier to find the body.

In this order, based somewhat on your location: Tubes, lipless cranks, and hard jerks. But have to ask, how can any bass fisherman not have spinnerbaits in their arsenal? Don't worry about having a rod for every technique. Your rods will work for almost anything. As you gain experience with techniques, you will add to your rods with more technique specific rods, and you will soon be out there with 5 or 6 rods and will not be doing much rerigging.

the biggest issue is not the weight or the depth of the water, it is the action of the lure. Some sizes of a brand's lipless cranks work better than other sizes, so find the one whose action you (and the fish) like, and alter your retrieve to accommodate the conditions. Experiment with the retrieve. Sometimes yo yo works, others a fast retrieve, in colder water, a slow steady often is the best. From my experience for largemouths, smallmouths, pike, and walleye, usually the sweet spot in action is around 1/2-5/8 oz. The bigger and smaller sizes either don't have the right action or they are larger than the fish are looking for. I prefer Xcalibur first, Strike King second, but just discovered that the new Rapalas can be very effective, will have to learn more about them.

Rainshadow Revelation has some blanks similar to what you're after, and they get high reviews from builders. They also are reasonably priced.

Look at the SC2 blanks from St Croix. There are some 6 footers for about $75. I'd rather learn on a $75 blank than a $150 blank. Use running guides of about 4-4.5 mm to keep them light and you'll have a very sensitive rod. Good luck!

Six foot, light power, fast action IMX. I don't think cutting any blank will give you the equivalent of that blank. IMHO. Closest thing I've found is the SCV St Croix . SCV is a very high quality blank. 5S60MLF-G Bass/Walleye 6' ML FAST 1 4-10 1/8-3/8 0.425 4.0 1.1 $155.00 00

I am not a fan of cutting blanks. Cutting from either end will slow the action. I think you should keep looking and find a blank that, as designed, is what you want. I know from my experience that as I built rods I got better with every one for a long time. I also started with an expensive blank and ended up later on totally rebuilding the rod to get it right. I recommend starting with an inexpensive blank to at least get one rod built before trying a $100 + blank. What is the length power and action of the Loomis you like so well?

I have no personal experience with either, but I know SC3 and SC5 are very fine, sensitive blanks based on personal experience. I submit that the differences between Rodgeeks and SC4 if any will be minor, and the best thing you can do for max sensitivity is to use the lightest, smallest, running guides that you can.

Exactly where did the break occur, and describe the appearance of the break. It is possible, if it's a rod worth some time and effort, to fix many breaks. The rod most likely, if it's a candidate, will fish just the same after the repair as it did before. http://www.rodbuilding.org/library/repair-oquinn.html

Mizmo tubes are very good. Skinney, shiney ones don't work well for me. "Hand poured" usually do. If buying in a store, look for duller finishes, sort of scrubby, chubby, tubes. I'm talking surface finish re the shine. Not the flakes.

Suffix or Power Pro, 15 for almost anything works great. IF YOU WANT TO USE A FC LEADER, learn a good line to line knot that is either not going to go through the guides or is small enough to go cleanly through the guides. Double uni is easy and reliable, but big. Albertos is usually good, but you have to put the line back through the FC loop in the same direction it came in, or it will fail. Also, some FC's, in my opinion, don't like being folded as sharply as they are in the Alberto. FC is fragile in certain conditions. For the smallest and best knot for most all conditions, learn the GT. Many videos on line. Search this forum for knots by name and find that there have been very extensive discussions on which are the best.

You can throw it on a fly rod if you want. Or you can handline it. Or use a 20 foot bamboo pole. Suit yourself.

Tubes are great lmb lures, the lightest tube jig you can use depending on depth is usually the way to go. Vary the retrieve, but if you have the pattern right, they will hit on the fall. I like Mizmo tubes, haven't tried some of the others mentioned. i'Ve never found "shiney" tubes to be very effective, the dull, softer, "hand poured" ones are more effective. I'm talking about the texture, not the flakes. It seems the more primitive and irregular the tubes are, the better. Most often shades of dark green with sparkly flakes of different colors on different days work the best for me.

You haven't mentioned tackle, but the sensitivity of braid makes feeling what's going on down there much easier than mono or FC. I use 10-15 pound braid with a FC leader. Regarding weighted vs unweighted, Senkos and similar will sink pretty well without weight, and if I'm in shallow enough water , I'll be weightless. When the water gets so deep that waiting for the lure to get down is impractical, I'll put a BIG snap about 1 1/2 feet in front of the lure to get it down faster, yet allow it to have almost normal action. Even deeper water, use a pinned small bullet sinker instead of the swivel.

Sorry if I misrepresented the repair. It was a casting rod, it was a Dobyns, and the grip area was coming apart. What I remember was that I was surprised that a supposedly qualtiy rod was coming apart. The reason the rod was brought to me was a blank failure that was not a Dobyn's problem. The blank had been struck on a sharp object causing it to fail. But the workmanship in the grip area was deficient, and needed repair. I remember it as in front of the reel seat, but I could be mistaken. But I am not mistaken in my memory of a rod coming apart.

The direct answer to one of your questions is that the improved clinch knot is not reliable for braid to lures. Palomar is the ticket. What I don't like about the palomar is that it uses a significant length of line with every tying, so I recommend either using a snap so you won't have to retie so often or a flourocarbon leader with a snap or tied with your improved clinch knot (wet it when sliding it). For braid to mono or FC the double uni is reliable and easy, but it's big. The GT knot is a little harder to tie but is very small and will pass through almost any guide set.

Have faith.

I repaired a casting rod a year or so ago and was disappointed in the quality of the cork and the grip to blank structure, which was coming apart. I'm not familiar with the prices involved, but I would certainly compare with St Croix before buying.

I have made many rods on the old Legend blanks, 7 foot , medium fast. I have every confidence that you will find that rod your favorite rod for the right techniques. If that blank is similar to mine, it will be on the high side of medium power, fast action (CCS data), and very capable of handling just about any fish. The new ones with nano tech should be tougher than the old, and mine are not at all fragile.

I am surprised so little attention is given to getting an imbedded hook out. The reference to a "hook remover" probably is simple a length of heavy braid. But you need to know the technique. I have used it effectively for hooks as large as spinnerbait trailer hooks, and it works cleanly with no damage to the flesh. It does take a big dose of confidence and the will to jerk hard. Put the braid through the bend of the hook, press the hook down toward the flesh so as to push the barb down so it will clear when the hook is jerked out, and jerk fast and hard. The link below is by a doctor, so this is not "junk science." If you are out in the sticks of Canada or some other remote location, this can save the trip. http://www.aafp.org/afp/2001/0601/p2231.html (string yank method)

If you can retrieve it, based on my experience, a good reel service person can make it as good as new with the deep cleaning as DVT said. I've been there, done that. I was lucky mine was dropped within 15 feet of shore in 15 feet of water. I knew within a few feet where it went down, still took me more than an hour to locate it with a video cam. Locating it is the real problem, then snagging it with some sort of tool is the next. I made one out of an old bike rim with the spokes bent to form hooks, mounted on my roof snow rake pole, but it still took me another hour to snag it. I think the only way to get one back out of 25 feet would be to dive for it. And you would have to know within a fairly short radius of where it went down. Keep in mind it's not worth taking safety risks. It may be that 25 feet makes it an expensive lesson, but not the end of world.

If you don't use CP on garnet it comes out a very distinctive, rich looking, 'black cherry' color. See approx what it will be by doing a test wrap, then applying alcohol to it. Before the alcohol evaporates you'll see the approx color. Looks very good on the Ti Chrome Rainshadow Immortals. My first build was in high school, graduated in '58, did a few then and when in college, then gave it up for a long time. Used to order all the parts from Herters. Remember "Finest Procurable Quality?" Kids/work/rebuilding an old house. Did my first modern build as a present for my adult son, an avid fisherman. So he could experience a world class rod. I built a St Croix SCV 7' MF. He was pleased, but after we really looked it over, we found that I had misaligned the guides. What to do? Being "new" to building, I tried bending the guides into alignment. The guides were Fuji Y titanium guides, and those of you who have tried to bend one know, it isn't easy. And it really didn't come out well. I didn't know at the time I had damaged the blank (longitudinal cracks under the first two guides). My son used it for a few years with no problems, but then I asked for it back to fix it right. When removing the guides I found the blank damage. Only option was to carefully add a fiberglass cloth reinforcement at those points, straighten the guides to original geometry (again, a very tough job even off the rod), add the guides and rewrap. You would have to know what to look for to detect anything out of the ordinary with the rod. Son has used it for another 4 years or so, no problems, no detectible loss in sensitivity or other functions, and all is well. Since then I have built him another St Croix SCV , his wife one, one for me, and two Avids for two of his kids. All great blanks. The 70MF SCV is a terrific blank for tubes and other finesse. The main moral of the story is, for first builds, don't use a $160 blank.