MickD

Use a search engine and search for "flex coat rod building videos" and you will find enough to keep you occupied until next year.

Regarding the method to use to cut the handle off if you choose to do it, I use a table saw with a very fine carbide blade, moving the blank/rod through it VERY SLOWLY after carefully mounting it to a sliding vise to ensure perpendicularity. The vise is used against the sliding fence of the saw. This is very steady, one clean, continuous cut, that is perpendicular/square with the axis of the rod/blank. Of course the perpendicularity depends on the accuracy of your set-up. I've never been able to get a truly straight, continuous, square, cut with hand tools.

I think, regardless of how small the swivel is, you will be risking guide damage if you continually pass it through the guides. Unless you are using drop shot or other special techniques requiring a swivel, learn a good line to line knot. Double uni is hard to beat if you are not using micro guides.

For spinning rods I really like a 17 over a 16, the larger O.D. is significantly better for ergonomics than a 16, more comfortable on a long day of fishing. As the size goes up the weight goes up, but not appreciatively on 16-17.. Also, you may find the length is longer on the larger sizes (seats are available in 18's, 19's, and at least 20's, too, but I think most would consider 18 about as big as one would normally go on a fresh water rod. The longer length is usually unnecessary so many builders cut the threads off on even 16's. Keep in mind your current reel may not have the longest foot you might want to try in the future. I would appreciate someone explaining the differences between the 16 and 17 casting seat. The bore at the rear is larger on a 17 requiring non-"standard" cork and fittings? thanks

The main thing is for the rod to be matched to the weight of the lure. I prefer slow actions for most cranks and surface lures, but there is one application for treble hook lures that you must have a fast action for. When smallies are hitting hard jerks in the fall, they will not hit it unless it is really twitched fast, and you just cannot do that with a slow action rod. At least that is how we have found it on Lake St Clair.

There are a couple more videos on the back of the one posted above, and in one the presenter uses UV knot sense or equivalent. The questions are, IMO, will knot sense keep an improperly tied knot from failing, and if the knot is tied correctly, does it need knot sense? You can pretty well tell on testing the knot right after tying if you have it right, unlike some of the other knots commonly used. The guy in the video says he can streamline the knot further with it. I have not tried it.

That is exactly what the video posted earlier does. I've gone from "no way can I get this" a week or so ago to "piece of cake."

The video of the Aussie tying the knot is excellent, so watch it, study it. One thing that I didn't notice at first is that the tag end and the line end of the braid always stay on the same side of the leader as when you start. So if you notice you've got them on the other side all of a sudden, you've probably missed a weave or the leader end slipped out of place (more common with light leaders than heavy stiff ones). When you arrange the weaves each time, you should keep working them until they are tight and look just like they do on a finished knot, then go on to the next stage. It seems everyone has their own idea of how many half hitches. At least two over both lines, then two over the braid, then the 3 tight wraps of the braid over itself followed by the last half hitch, according to the video. What worked for me in learning the knot was to watch this one video over and over and many tries at tying the knot, and little by little it fell into place. Now a piece of cake, don't give up.

Buy the same size as those already on the lures unless you have a specific problem with the current ones, like if the front and rear hooks are tangling, go to shorter shank hooks. It's tough to know the sizes well enough to order in bulk from a catalog or on line, so I suggest you take a few of the hooks you want to replace and go to a store and see what sizes they are. You can buy right there, or if they don't sell in the quantities you want, record the sizes and go home and order. Trebles come in all sizes and lots of shapes and strengths. Gamagatsu is about as good as it gets, but there are others that are very good too. If you are having trouble bending hooks, get the 2x, 3x, or 4x strengths. The 4 x would be good for salt water or king salmon or other very strong fish. Some lures are very good at getting strikes from big fish, but their hooks are too weak. Here is one that KVD endorses. http://www.***.com/Mustad_KVD_1x_Strong_2x_Short_Triple_Grip_Treble_Hook/descpage-MKVDEST.html

I just cut one off that had been used a lot. Cut it off because the leader was getting too short. It looked like new. If it had been a uni, even with much larger guides, it would have been beaten up. Been there, done that.

Have you watched the video? I think the sliding of the wraps together is key to its success. I had trouble there, too, until I learned it takes a lot of force (Pulling on both pieces of braid, holding solid tension on the leader, and a lot of patience). The wraps don't slide into position immediately; you have to patiently "work" them into position with a lot of force.

The pumpkinseed, finished over an old Rapala that was never successful, caught a fish on its first cast today. Action looks good, and obviously it works. Nothing on the bluegill finished Rattletrap, but it looks better than the blanks we've been trying to use. Looks like refinishing lipless cranks that work is the way to go. By the way, the added flat top on the China blanks does give it a better action, but I still don't think it's as good as most commercial lipless cranks. Not the way to go.

Got it, thanks. I have for years used a home cobbled hand wrapper, and just recently bought what I think one would call a wrapping machine without the motor. Wow, is that a game changer, love it. I has 3 supports and a thread station that slides along to any position. If I'd known how good it gets, would have done it years ago. Didn't think I'm quick enough to take advantage of the motor.

Regarding the choke point of the guides, that's not it. The choke point on some guide systems is where you place the first running guide (the small ones, all the same size, from there to the tiptop), and usually there are three reduction guides closer to the reel. I'll bet that when you get the outfit on the water you'll find everything is cool. You don't mention a casting problem, and if the stem were bent, pointing the spool shaft up, I would expect a casting problem. I think you have some stiff, heavy line that when reeled quickly onto the spool, hits the rod due to centrifugal force. Put some 8 pound fresh line on it, and take to the water, cast some lures, and see if you still have a problem. I was watching my 2500 Symetre wrap line onto the spool this morning, 15 pound braid, and it goes right on in a straight line from the guide to the reel. I guess there are three dimensions that might be of interest. Measure the diameter of the first guide's ring, to the outer diameter, not the inner diameter, measure the height of the guide from the blank, to the outer diameter, and measure the distance from the center of the spool drag adjuster to the first guide ring. I didn't see an answer to the question about the reel being under the rod. Please don't be insulted, but some people do reel conventional spinning reels with the reel on top. It makes it really difficult, but some do it.

If the "slap" is on the retrieve you should be able to see it. Things are not happening that fast on retrieve. Retrieve only? WHAT ARE YOU OBSERVING? EXACTLY, SPECIFICALLY, AND IN DETAIL, WHAT ARE YOU OBSERVING? Is the line contacting the rod, or is it not? Where is it contacting the rod? You tried it in your yard, but does it do this on the water with tension on the line, or just when the line is not tensioned?

I'm a switch hitter, can and do go either way. If you don't you will at times find yourself disadvantaged. If you can wrap only one way the comment on double foot guides comes into play. Going to reverse your rod in the wrapper with every foot? It really isn't that big a deal to go either way, with a little practice.

If you haven't seen the FG on salt here, it may because it was developed in Australia. If you don't like micros, don't use them. If you like your uni-uni, fine, keep using it. If you want to know what I think is the easiest way to tie an FG, go to . You don't have to keep tension on the braid or the leader except between sets of weave when you put the leader between your teeth and work the weave into a compact arrangement. It really is not difficult once you put in a little practice. Were you an expert caster with your first cast, or did it take a little practice? Was it worth it? ALL I'm saying is that this knot will do things that I want better than any other knot I've found. That's all. Just trying to provide some tips for those who might be interested, not trying to change the world. I will not take your double uni or Albright or Slim Beauty or Alberto from you. Relax.

Just finished two today, one on an old Rapala and one on a Rattletrap. I took some good looks at the lipless cranks in my box and noticed a couple things of interest. The tops of the fronts of all of them are much wider than these blanks. I added a flat top onto one, didn't help, but today I about doubled its size. Will let you know how it works. I noticed the construction of a translucent ghost pattern Excalibur, and it has about 8 small, about BB sized balls in a compartment very low on the lure. These blanks have about twice as many balls, some very large, so large they cannot really rattle, and they are mounted higher on the lure, so that positioning may affect the tendency to turn over. I took the big 3 in the middle out and am replacing the big balls with 5 .186 diameter balls. They really do sound better, will let you know what happens with the action. One last thing, the Rapala had a larger front hook than the rear, which might tend to keep it upright some. I think that making the top much larger and flatter, changing out the big balls for smaller ones, and putting the larger, heavier hooks back on (at least in the front position) might help a lot. Worse case scenario is to use, as suggested and in process now, proven lipless cranks for blanks. A lot more expensive, but should work fine.

Same experience with lipless cranks as Minnow. I've tried smaller hooks and flattening the head with an epoxy add-on without success. I think they just have too many steel balls in them, too high moment of inertia. I think I'll try drilling out some of the balls, repairing them, and see if it improves the action. They might catch fish that are really on, but they are not anything like Excaliburs.

I finished the lipless cranks with your templates. Look great, but action is somewhat subdued. I tried to speed up the action by changing out the #4 hooks for #6, with no success. I took an unfinished blank and put a truly flat top on the head of it, thinking it would help, but it doesn't appear that it worked either. These blanks have way more weights/balls in them than normal lipless cranks, so maybe that's the problem. I think I'll take a couple old lures that have good action and do the bluegill and sunfish treatments on them.

I've tied unis for years, no sweat. The problem with unis is their size, won't go through 3mm micros well. Unis have FIVE thicknesses of both lines, including the leader, which is the big one. The FG has one thickness of the leader. I don't need practice on unis, I need practice on the FG.

A picture of the failed grip would help. I still don't have a good understanding of what you are dealing with.

Remember a couple weeks ago all the hype over the FG knot, with the strong advocates, the doubters, those who would never think they could tie one efficiently? My experience since then has been this: I finally got a good one tied on my braid to FC setup on a micro (3mm) spinning rod, and have fished the setup 3 days, with that rod being used a lot. The knot goes through the guides perfectly, better than any other knot I have tried, and today it looks like new. Since that discussion I've brought a spool of braid and a length of 20 pound mono to my recliner, and have practiced the knot while watching TV. It keeps getting easier and more reliable with more reps tying the knot. I'm getting to the point where I think I can tie a good one in the boat quite quickly. Bottom line: It's a great knot, and with reasonable practice it can be tied efficiently and reliably. And, there is one thing it can do that I've not found any other knot can do, smoothly and reliably go through 3mm micros and do it time after time without fuss, getting beaten up, or mysteriously coming undone. I guess that's a number of things. great knot, worth the time and effort to get it down pat.

For all you guys who need help on finding Ned rigs, do an internet search for ned rig, then follow your nose to figure out what it is and where to buy. It's not that hard.

This is a good example of how poorly some factory rods are built. Not knowing all the details, and whether there is any structural integrity left , it's hard to recommend a fix other than taking all the loose parts/cork I presume off and putting on a new grip. However, if you think it can be made structurally sound, glue everything back together as best you can then wrap the whole grip with one of the new Winn Grip tapes, a tennis racquet grip tape (cheap at tennis pro shops/clubs/etc), or bicycle handlebar tape. Any of these tapes will help hold the thing together and provide a tacky grip.