MickD

With the right jig head you don't have to add anything. Just put the ned on and fish. For almost forever.

I don't know how to interpret this. Could you elaborate?

Do not go smallie fishing without neds, Canada Craw, Goby Bryant , and Blue Craw. Z Man Finesse TRD with Owner Block Head jigs. Whatever jig you use, it needs a wire keeper-you just cannot get the lure onto a lead barb.

The above responses are absolutely correct. If you want to measure the difference between two guide sets and have an Android device like a phone, Kindel, or tablet, it's easy to measure the natural frequency of bare blanks and blanks with guides on them. It is a significant effect when guides are added. On some blanks there is a measurable difference between a titanium and SS tiptop. Easy peasy to see the difference between SS and titanium runners, even the smallest ones. Send me a message if you want to know how to do this. I call it TNF, True Natural Frequency. Now the big question can you feel the difference? Most fishermen believe they can, and I do too. With lighter guide sets the rod responds from deflection faster, which should mean longer casts. Many experts think higher TNF means higher sensitivity, and I agree. A rod with a lighter guide set will settle without "wiggle" after a cast. In fact with light guide sets you cannot evaluate a rod in the old "wiggle" method. Modern graphite with light guides just doesn't wiggle. Above comments are in my opinion all correct, including "crisp" and "clean."

My philosophy is "no one can have too many rods." Since I build, and love to build, I have rods all over the place and enjoy them all. But to directly answer the question, when I'm in my boat I have over 10 on board. When I go fish on my son's boat, it's hard for me to get below 5, but I do. Direct answer = 5

I'm not sure of your experience level, but if really new, you might want to consider using regular thread for the main wraps and do some simple inlays and nail knot wrap ends with the metallic. Some metallics are somewhat difficult to use, with them coming off the spool and tangling easily. Black, dark green, or candy apple with metallic gold accents make for a very striking appearance, and I think would be easier to wrap.

You are building a baitcaster, right? Even with a baitcaster the running guides can be single foot KB's or towards the tip, even KT's. But if you are worried, just do KB's after the first guide, which I would go with the RV6, (10 LKW works, too) then single foot KB's to the end. Use the Arowana tiptop to retain the fastest possible recovery time for the rod. If doing spin, KLH 20-100-5.5M, then a couple KB's, then KT's to the end. Arowana tiptop.

If an anti reverse switch is something you like, check for it. Many companies are eliminating them.

Save the pieces. They are good for sleeves for the O'Quinn process.

The comment on ProKote cure time is significant. Often it is still tacky overnight while others I've tried (Flex Coat lite, G2) are dry to the touch overnight under normal curing conditions (~70 F or higher). I don't buy large sizes since I don't build a lot of rods per year, and in time the epoxy will darken before you even put it on. Sometimes it will even crystallize (which can be fixed by a few quick bursts in a microwave). The syringe comment is also important. If you don't use syringes and just guess about the mix proportions, sooner or later you will screw it up and have uncured sticky epoxy wraps. I mark my syringes, too, R for resin, H for hardener. If you cut the tips off the tops of the containers properly you can leave the syringes sticking out of the containers thus keeping them clean and ready and in the right container.

Great suggestion! We tend to forget the Silver Minnow, but it is so versatile and effective.

Another similar option is do drag a super fluke across the weeds, or a more buoyant Z-too. If you don't stop, it won't sink. EWG hook with tip just enough into the lure to make it weedless.

Both the jitterbug and the WP are lures that steadily gurgle across the water, not much difference from a bass's perspective, I expect. Not exactly the same, but similar. I really think the jitterbug is superior, though. Certainly not inferior to the WP.

On re-reading the OP another thing that might help is to go a little longer on the leader. Going lighter on the rod power could be worse if the problem is poor hook sets/hook penetration. Try what I suggested in my first post and see how it goes.

I think this problem may be associated with the traditional way of rigging where the hook gap is somewhat small and hook misses. I also think that many of the misses are because the fish has bitten and is just holding on, maybe below the hook itself. What I did to increase my landing percentage dramatically is to use a screw lock jig head, cut off the hook just before the bend, thread the minnow onto the jig, then run a leader from the jig eye to a #6 treble with the leader about 2 inches long. Embed one of the treble hooks into the back of the minnow. this pic doesn't show the leader and the alignment is a little off. But it shows the idea. The leader attaches the treble to the eye of the jig. Experiment to get the length of the leader right and the size of the treble right so as to not adversely affect the action.

I have never changed hooks on them until the originals rusted. If changing hooks, get short shank so that the front and rear don't tangle. I would not go up a size either. These little jewels catch fish, and don't need bigger hooks to do it. Hope you got gel craw finish, that is the best I've found.

Neither. They are not even as good as the lure they emulated, the Jitterbug.

Poor hook sets, IMHO, are the achilles heel of shorter rods. Which is why I much prefer ultra lights that are at least 6 1/2 feet long. Longer rods provide better hook sets and cast farther. I have a 7 1/2 foot 3 wt fast action fly built as a spin which works well for what you are doing.

I respectfully suggest you have never seen one repaired with the O'Quinn process. I built an 8 wt Quickline fly rod once, measured CCS numbers, and fished it for a few years. Then broke it. I repaired it, rechecked CCS numbers and they had not changed. The rod cast as well as it had before. Of course it had to be a little heavier, but I didn't notice it. A friend broke his RX8 Rainshadow casting rod about 10 inches below the tiptop. I repaired that one and he has been using it for many years now. He is a discriminating fisherman and wouldn't be using it as his primary rod if it did not perform well. My son broke his 8 wt RX8 Rainshadow fly rod about 8 inches below the tip. I repaired it and he used it for probably 3 more years until a boat partner stepped on it and broke it again lower down. He is an expert with the fly. I built a replacement, but he wants me to try to repair it again. This repair process, in most cases, works well. It is certainly worth a try if a rod is one that one enjoys fishing with.

Putting a new tiptop on will result in an action that I don't think you will like. Shortening a rod that much always messes it up severely. But it can be fixed so that it fishes well using this process. I've done a lot of rods this way and they work quite well. The biggest flaw in this process is that you see the sleeve. https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/repair-oquinn.html

I just don't see the FG for 6 pound leaders, but if it works for you, great. I just cannot get it to work on that light a leader. But for leaders as light and small as that, no need for an FG. A double uni will work for any guide size with 6 pound leaders. 15 or 20's, not so.

The FG was developed for heavy salt leaders, and since it depends on deforming the leader to provide a mechanical lock, it works better on heavier leaders. I won't use it on anything under 15 pound test, although I know many do make it work. But I cannot make it reliably for lighter leaders. The Alberto is easy, almost as small, and with a couple half hitches of the braid tag end onto the end of the knot, it is highly reliable. If one uses 4 mm micros and leaders of about 15 pound test, the double uni is just too big to cleanly go through the guides even though it obviously does fit through the guides

It seems to me that the last sentence in the paragraph is in direct conflict with the first sentence. If all the exceptions are made, what is left to prohibit?

I don't think you will be disappointed. I have recent Tatula baitcasting and spinners (LT), and they are great reels.

Yes.