MickD

Rods are rods. They have length, weight, power and action. And are much more versatile than most anglers who are infatuated with "technique-specific" think they are. "Walleye" rods generally are lighter in power than "bass" rods, but I use one all the time for neds, which are light, like walleye jigs normally are. It's about matching the power to the weight you'll be casting, mostly. Give it a try and you'll probably like it ok unless casting really heavy stuff. If you see deficiencies, you'll know better what to buy to optimize your finesse bass fishing.

Why does the boat have to be a jon boat? I would not own one. They are terribly noisy, even little waves slapping against the square bow is noisy.

You are not as old as I am, A-Jay. And yes, I know Otis, good buddy of mine.

I think he's gone back to robbing banks. Shame. . .

For rods of the same length and power, the faster the action the softer the tip. Did you use CP on the nylon over wrap? When my grandkids were ready for rods I built them 6 1/2 foot St Croix SCIII's, and they handled them just fine. Still using them 20 years later. I'm not a fan of really short rods for kids. They quickly learn to handle rods of "regular" length and those rods cast farther and set hooks better than the shorties most people start their kids on. Nice build!

Slow down on the hook set, use a medium action and power rod, a floating braid with a mono leader. Take some Keitech Swing Impact 3.8's in smallmouth magic. Great for covering a lot of water, then you can go to finesse if you want. I like to cut the bend of the hook off a screw lock jig, then attach a small treble stinger to the jig , leader just long enough to embed one hook of the treble into the back of the bait. Better hook set %

A number of new Katana blanks by AnglersResource/Fuji and and a power wrapper from HFF Custom Rods. :-)

We have a couple lakes here, housing development lakes, where I think a LOT of bass are being kept and possibly the link to size I mentioned may be taking place. I have no data, just an educated guess.

Might be because we have a 14 inch minimum size limit and when a fish gets legal and caught, it's gone?

Yes.

I'm 85, been building since high school off and on, still am. I just build for family, friends, and me. I cannot buy rods that have the dimensions, the grip shapes and sizes, or in most cases, the guide characteristics that I prefer. One thing for sure is that I cannot get the cork quality I like on commercial rods at any price. I know when I build that I have the seat and guide orientation relative to the blank characteristics (spine/Flat Line Oscillation) what I want also. Whether they catch more fish or not is certainly debatable, but the pleasure I get fishing them is not. I caution anyone thinking that they will make a lot of money building-you'd better be able to build a lot faster than I can if you want to make money. I could probably do better greeting at Walmart than I could selling. You also better have a good, well-communicated policy on warranty because I guarantee-you will have broken rods brought back to you. And the story will most likely be "I was just casting and it broke."

First guide at 19-20 inches is fine. The reason smaller reduction guides work is that they are higher, so don't just go with normal low but small guides. The Fuji KR software works fine for reduction guide size and placement-I use 20KLH-10KLH-5.5M with runners that vary depending on what the rod is being made for. That's good for braid up to about 20 pound test. Mostly I use 4-4.5mm runners, but if you don't want to worry about knots going smoothly through with a double uni then consider 5 or 5.5's. I don't EVER buy guide kits because I know what I want and it's never in a kit. 3 reduction guides, 2 KB's, and 4 KT's for a rod like yours. KB/KT's all the same size. If you get into selling rods make sure you understand the excise tax rules-see the library in Rodbuilding.org

A couple things I'd try before tearing it apart would be 1. tacky grip enhancers. Cremes or sprays that give a tacky grip or 2. Tennis racquet grip wraps that advertise increased tackiness.

It is my opinion that SMB have strong color preferences, in addition to using other cues to determine whether to eat. It may also depend on the water. On Lake St Clair I don't think any color other than green is necessary to catch SMB. That indicates the importance of color.

This is the tutorial on the NFC carbon mesh product. Watch the whole thing before making assumptions and conclusions that will mislead others. It tells the story very well.

Agree on the cork vs. foam. You can easily build from wood a wrapping "station;" I used my homemade one for many years. Same for a drying motor/stands/setup. But yes, Mudhole is a good company and an all in one kit might be the best way to get your feet wet. One thing to keep in mind is that Pro Kote wrap epoxy takes a long time to set, so don't get impatient-let it cure fully, might take an overnight + a day depending on conditions. It is a good product, just takes a long time.

I have often forgotten where I put my lures.

I have two Ark Gravities, both perfect out of the box.

Got into it this year, lots of fun. I build my own rods, and under the advice of another builder, I built a 6 foot rod, what most would consider UL power, moderate action, and it loaded nicely and cast easily very light stuff, but hook sets were a big problem. I think due to not enough power. I then built a Rainshadow IMMWS72MLF, a walleye spin blank. It is lighter powered than most would consider ML, and the action is what most would describe as moderate fast. It is 7 feet 2 inches and it casts farther than the other and has much better hook sets. 7-2 is longer than many prefer for BFS, but it works well for me. I fish only from a boat. I have not caught any really big fish on either rod yet, but it's fun on the "government issue" LMB I've encountered so far, about 15 inches. And it handles them easily. Hoping to get into some big SMB this next spring.

Bingo!

What you get on forums are opinions, often biased, often based on misinterpretation of the question, often axes being ground. In time you can gain confidence in some people's opinions. But not all the people. In this case, it is my opinion that DVT has it about right. If one doesn't like the feel of cork after using U-40, then a light sanding takes it off. Give it a try and see for yourself. Does cork not get slippery when wet? I don't think it does, at least not much. It certainly does with fish slime on it. Sealed or not sealed. I believe that U40 doesn't significantly affect the feel or friction or gription, and it might keep some of that inevitable filler from coming loose. My grips don't have filler in them since I use exotic burl cork, which has no voids and has no fillers. They feel just fine whether left alone, sealed, or even with wrap epoxy or some kind of polyurethane on them. In my opinion. The major influencers of the grip staying in your hand are shape and size (ergonomics). Give U40 sealer a try. Have your own opinion. Then you can post it and sound like an expert.

Be careful with big corrections. They tend to torque the rod out of the hand on aggressive casting. Don't ask me how I know.

Like Spencer says. I use size 4 running guides on most bass spin and BC rods, Fuji KB's and KT's. For spin I like the Fuji KLH reduction guides, usually 20H-10H-5.5M, then KB and KT 4's. With this combination I don't even bother to test cast anymore since I can never improve on the KR software recommendations. I just wrapped a rod with the gunmetal SIC's and they look like jewelry, smooth as silk on the underside, no need to grind the feet. My leader is usually 15 pound test tied to 10-15 pound braid with an "improved" Alberto knot (improved = tightly set half hitches of the braid tag end after tying the knot) and the knot passes 4 mm guides fine. I don't use any guides other than Fuji for either spin or cast.

Yes, Spencer, we rodbuilders and anglers do tend to overthink things and go for the ultimate when less than ultimate will serve nicely. I have some old cheap rods that I used to use and never saw a guide grooved. Those guides were junk compared to the modern stuff we have today. I saw tiptops grooved, which is why I use SIC tiptops on all my rods. Regarding blanks, I still buy top of the line blanks when I want the most sensitive, cleanest, crispest feeling rods. I have found that their True Natural Frequency, which is a measure of recovery from deflection speed, is normally higher than lesser blanks. And I use the smallest guides I think I can get away with in order to minimize the deterioration of TNF caused by the weight of guides and tiptop.

I don't know if it's a different material or just a different size for rod building. Amazon has had carbon mesh available for a long time, as you state. https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=carbon+mesh+tape+fishing+rod+guide+process+video&mid=617667CC745F5153CC13617667CC745F5153CC13&mmscn=stvo&FORM=VIRE