MickD

Baitcasting, more on the reel. Spinning, more on the rod. I have made some good purchases on Ebay. Don't even consider someone with less than 98% favorable. There are so many ways shysters can get good grades, stick with 98-100% favorable. Look carefully at the photos and read the descriptions carefully. Stay away from the "hottest" stuff like Shimano Stradics and whatever else is hot this week. If you don't understand the product, don't buy. Stick with what you know.

You have many choices, the RX 6 Batsons, the Mudhole line of unexpensive blanks (CRB?), JannsNetcraft has some inexpensive blanks, and I've probably forgotten a few other options.

I said syringes are the only sure way to measure, then later mentioned weighing. The Riley product is intended to be proportioned by weighing. I would not recommend weighing the great number of epoxies that are intended to be proportioned by volume because there is no assurance the resin and hardener have the same specific gravity. So, for volume proportioned epoxies use syringes. For weight proportioned epoxies use scales.

The only way to be sure about epoxy proportions is to use syringes, available at rodbuilding sites or drug stores, and the drug store ones are a lot cheaper. Make sure you mark which one is for resin and which for hardener and keep them separate. You don't have to clean them between uses as long as you've kept them true to their intended use (resin/hardener). There are probably hundreds of different epoxies. The ones used for rodbuilding are very different from the "adhesive" epoxies. The ones intended for guides are clear, flexible, but not that hard. The ones intended for mounting grips and reel seats are very strong, not so clear, not so flexible. Riley Rods website has epoxy intended for carbon fiber grips, and it is clear and very hard, so I'm betting it would be very good for lures. It is proportioned by weight, and Riley Rods sells a very nice little scale to do that with high accuracy. http://www.rileyrods.com/

Seems everyone has a personal preference, so you'll have to get yours. I've tried everything already mentioned, and by far, the best bet for me is surgical tubing for the sections of the blank that are small enough. For the bigger guides masking tape is ok, but make sure you don't get any residue. Blue tape, in my opinion, isn't sticky enough. I've never found dental bands very effective, but it is obvious that some do. Maybe I had the wrong sizes. They are not slippery, so I expect size is the key. My problem with the flexible thread is that it is too slippery to hold well, although I have used it effectively on two foot guides on the bigger sections of rods. I don't like the glue as it leaves a chunk of glue under the foot and isn't adjustable for position. The surgical tubing of the right size will hold guides strongly enough to test cast and allow easy moving up and down the blank. (Be very careful not to scratch the blank when moving guides-best to take the guide off, move the tubing, then put the guide back in) The flexible thread would be ideal if it were less slippery (for the bigger guides/larger sections where surgical tubing breaks).

As a strategy I would do a cruise along the windy side, (unless there is a stream coming in, in that case cruise that side first) starting 50 yards or so outside the weeds and working deeper, looking for structure in the form of weedbeds, rock piles, grass, lumber, marking with GPS or memory, then use the techinques mentioned above for the pads. If it has a stream, use the technique below at any depth less than about 10 feet. Deeper may call for a sinker rather than swivel for faster sink. If that yields nothing, go to any structure you may have found. If it is in 10 feet or less, a big swivel, then 18 inches of FC, then a 5 inch Zoom Super Fluke on a 4/0 EWG hook, starting with baby bass color, then white. then. . . Try different retrieve techniques, from slow drag to lift and fall, but especially short but aggressive jerks with 5-10 seconds of wait.

I did some recent research on materials and the normal braid materials dyeema and spectra had .97 specific gravity, which is only .03 off water (less than fresh water at some constant test temp). That is very close to neutral buoyancy. Flourocarbon fibers have about 1.3 specific gravity, more than fresh water. Therefore flouro should sink. It is heavier than fresh water. Suffix is now making a braid line that has 50% Gore fibers, which I think are PTFE, a form of flourocarbon with density of about 1.5. Whether it retains braid's lack of stretch, I don't know, but it should sink pretty well. The reason Suffix is putting those fibers in is to increase sink rate over their 832 which has only one Gore fiber. Its overall density will be less than the 1.5 since the denser material makes up only about half of the line. Hevi core has a core of PTFE with the objective of faster sink rate than braid. How it compares with pure flouro at a density of 1.3, I don't know. Like the 50/50 Suffix, the Hevi core line's overall specific gravity will be less than 1.5. In salt water, which is heavier than fresh, all the varieties of lines should "less sinking" than in fresh.

I don't have pics of the brushes, just go to Hobby Lobby, similar craft store , or women's fingernail shop and look for square ended, sort of short fiber, (mine are sable or artificial sabel) in the 1/4-3/8 width range. I bought a set of 4, 3 different widths square end and a pointed tip one that I also use for fine touch up, etc You will have to clean them and the epoxy brush cleaners work very well Note on sizes , I think I use a 1/4 inch for most stuff. You don't need anything over 3/8..

The Fuji video is not about loops that occur after the cast, on reeling, it's about the loops that occur throughout the cast. There is nothing you can do during the cast to prevent them or minimize them. Whether the baitcasting guide setup, position, height, size, affects their growth and/or the reduction of them is debatable, but it's all up to the rod, not the fisherman. I can see one other variable in this, and that is the Daiwa level wind setup where the line goes off the spool without going through a reel mounted eye or guide. It goes on guided, but comes off freely without an eyelet. I don't have a clue how that might affect the line movement through the rod guides.

Oops, sorry, I was talking about Nanofil. my mistake.

Not everyone agrees. From an Outdoor Life review of 832, Todd Kuhn: "Well, much has changed since those days. Now I’m a firm believer and user of braids. The one drawback is that these lines sink too slowly for certain techniques. Enter Sufix 832. This superline is suited perfectly for techniques that require deep-water presentations or the use of fluorocarbon. The combination of Dyneema fibers and proprietary GORE fibers makes for a braid that sinks plenty fast." Suffix printed material does not address sinking vs. floating.

No experience with 832, but I believe it is supposed to be a sinking line, and of course smoother, for better or worst. I have used Nanofil in 10 pound test and it is very smooth, silent. I don't think it is as durable as regular suffix or power pro, tends to separate with use. It is very challenging to get good knots with it; they recommend a couple in the line packaging. But having said all this, it casts beautifully. But so does any 10 pound braid. If you don't like the noise of the other 10 pound braids, it may be for you. I think its silence is its only unique characteristic, and maybe with all the other braids I haven't used, that may no longer be unique.

Lots of discussion on the various knots in the last week or so, and of course, everyone needs to come to their own conclusions as which knot fits their needs the best. I have tried them all, have failed most of them at one time or another, and am just learning the FG. I have found that if you want to use braid/FC or braid/mono with micros and have not tried the FG, you are missing out. On my spin rod with 3 mm micros I cannot even hear or feel the knot go through the guides (10 braid, 15 mono - don't bother asking why I have my reasons). While I haven't tried it yet, I'll bet I could get much heavier lines to go through very well. That cannot be said for the double uni. Those who can do the Alberto reliably, good for you, but the FG is still about half the diameter of the Alberto, and has smooth ends for easy passage. Yes, it is not as easy to tie, but for my micro rods, it is well worth the effort to learn to tie it efficiently.

Regarding the diameter of the weld, is it not simply the welding together of two pieces of the same line? Which makes it smaller in diameter than every other knot I've ever seen at two diameters. The length is probably predicated on weld strength which will be proportional to length. The weld can be located anywhere giving as big a loop as you want, so shouldn't kill lure action. Good comments on handicapped value. It will be interesting to see if it really can handle all lines, all diameters, possibly welds contaminated with dirt, scum, sun tan oil, in the rain, in the cold. I think it has a great chance to work for most conditions, but if not all conditions will it be worth the price? One last question would be how are the characteristics of the line changed with melting it? I would think the temp control would have to be very good. But it is very clever, and I'm rooting for their success.

Forgot to give the Fuji site: http://anglersresource.net/ RE the casting setups, for many years some experienced builders of microwaves have been saying that the rod will work better with at least one, maybe two, rear guides that are bigger than the micro running guides. Fuji has video on a casting setup with higher guides in the first two positions, size about 6 if I remember right. The microwave casting setup is consistent with these philosophies. So there just may be some merit in the argument that casting setups are not as straightforward as most think. It is talked about in terms of damping/controlling a "wave" that comes off the reel, even those with small level wind eyes. I like the comment about using light braid. It is correct. With light braid almost anything will cast very well. (spinning)

Go to this site, click the "catalog" button, and go to page 46 of the catalog for Fuji's recommendations on setting up micro rods with their K series guides. Keep in mind that the K series is tall, so you have to keep the height dimensions in mind if you plan to use rod tubes. Recent testing has indicated that the height is more important than ring diameter, so the first guide is likely to be smaller in dia than the older systems. Also keep in mind that if you plan to use braid under 15 pounds almost anything will cast great. One thing I forgot to ad about the Microwave guides is that the setup for them is much simpler than any other system. American Tackle tells you where the first three guides should be located for best performance. The rest of the guides are a piece of cake to locate.

Re the potential overwrap problem, the one thing that I think this knot has going for it is that if you do mess up the wraps, it's very visible because there will be the bumps from the messed up wraps. Obviously it is a challenge to tie efficiently, but I'm going to try to master it. It has just too many advantages not to try.

I was not saying that the knot will cost sensitivity. It can't/won't. I was addressing the increased stretch of flouro compared to braid. I still don't think it will cost you anything. That "tick" you are mentioning is about sensitivity, being able to feel it, or even see it. The line characteristic that affects sensitivity is the stretch. Take it to extremes, compare a rubber band to braid. Keep in mind that with slack line no line stretches. It only stretches under load. The lighter the load, as in a "tick," the less the stretch will come into play. There are a lot of tradeoffs involved, so the best way is to try it and then you will have your own answer instead of a bunch of opinions which are often based on wrong assumptions. I cannot envision a scenario in which braid + a FC leader will be less sensitive than all FC.

Double unis are very good easy to tie correctly, they are reliable, but too big to go through micros smoothly. Regarding the original question (OK to get back to that?), I think the lighter your leader the more likely what you experience will happen. The heavier the leader the more likely the braid will lay properly. I think the FG shines when you are using a fairly heavy, stiff, leader. For the lighter florocarbons the double uni will probably clear the micros well enough. But not as smoothly as the FG. By the way, not everyone agrees with the reliability accolades given to the Albright and Alberto.

I should mention that one other video says that it is not better to add braids to the knot, that more braids does not make it stronger. This is because the knot depends on the gripping of the leader by the braid braids/turns, and if you put too many of them on it, they will not be able to tighten, and those loose ones that couldn't tighten could contribute to unravelling. This video has two sets of 8 (4 from one line, 4 from the other), total of 16. Other videos have twenty, so they all are close in agreement. I think the half hitches make sure it doesn't unravel, and believe that if we put a few half hitches on after putting the tag end through on the Alberto, it would be a better knot.

Here is the video I mentioned:

You guys have mixed up two different systems, the Microwave by American Tackle, and just micros, which can be any brand. Microwave sells a complete system all in one, with the double guide, another reduction guide, then 5 mm running guides to the end . The other systems using micros have to be designed by the builder. (spacing, guide diameter and guide height.). Usually there are three reduction guides followed by micros to the end, and the micros can be a lot smaller than 5's. As someone commented, the biggest issue with both systems is passing a leader knot, although the Microwaves, with 5 mm running guides can take a number of knots. For the smallest micros you either don't use leader knots or try the FG knot which is the smallest knot. I'm just getting experience on the FG, but I think it is small enough to go through most micros ok unless you are using very heavy leader. The major improvement to having really small guides, especially in the tip area, is that it lightens up the tip giving better sensitivity. Some argue smoother casts and longer casts, but most of us can cast far enough with any system, and the distance difference is not all that great, IMHO. When using micros on fairly heavy duty freshwater rods Fuji has a KB ( I think that's what it's called) with a big foot to take the stresses that develop on the small guides in the middle of a heavy duty blank).

I think you are right. I find that method of tying to be difficult, but I'm just starting with that knot, and maybe practice will make perfect. There is a video on the internet (search "how to tie FG knot video) that shows how to tie it without having to tension the braid. You wrap about 4 times with each braid end, then work it to a tight condition, then do 4 more, follow with the half hitches. That's the medthod I'm going to spend the most time with. You may have to watch a number of videos to find the one I mean, but they all add understanding to how to tie the knot.

The leader will not cost you discernible sensitivity, IMHO. It won't be long enough. 4 or 5 feet is probably more than you need, and even with that length, I don't think you will sense a difference. Check out the two strings of posts on braid to FC knots, one quite a ways down called "Alberto knot fails ?!!", I believe.

Check out the long string of posts under "Albright knot fails ?!!"l further down for some good discussion. To start with , the Alb erto is an improved version of the Albright. It suffers from the same weakness, if you put the tag end back through the loop wrong it will unravel. There is a lot of different opinions on this subject, but my conclusion is that you can tie the Alberto correctly and it still can unravel, not by force, but from going through the guides (micros) and getting ticked a lot under essentially no load. A lot of folks disagree. I have concluded that the knot many are advocating, the FG is the best knot for this. It takes a little more skill and practice to tie, but I don't think it is as hard to tell if you've done it right. You can visually inspect it. If you've screwed up the braiding, it will have bumps where you screwed up. It is the smallest of the knots, much smaller than the double uni and smaller than the Alberto. You can view a video on the string of posts I mentioned, but I suggest you do an internet search for "how to tie FG knot video" and you will come to a number of good videos. The one I like is the one where you don't have to have tension on the braid to tie it. Maintaining tension on the braid while braiding it is a pain in the butt for me. Maybe practice will help. The FG won a contest a group had on the different knots, and it was the strongest. Until you get good in tying it, you may want to tie it in front of the TV the night before you go onto the water. I believe it is the best for all 4 of the attributes you want to know about. Not as sure about shock resistance as the other three. I think shock resistance may have more to do with the braid than the knot. However, since it will go through the guides, even micros, so smoothly, you won't be tempted to really shorten your leader, and the longer the leader is the more shock resistance you will have. If you don't believe that, just stretch a length of a foot of FC, then do it again with 3 feet of FC. Good luck!