MickD

I almost always wipe it down the next day after 4 hours on the road and 8 in the boat. It still only needs the speed wax.

Once you get the water stains off you never have to use an acid product again. After every outing I go over my (black) boat with Lucas Slick Mist . Just spray it on and wipe it off while it's wet. Very easy and quick, and effective. My 8 year old boat, exc for a couple small dents, looks like new. As does the Merc black engine. There is no need after one acid -based cleanup to use acid-base again. Other wax manufacturers make other speed wax products that seem to work as well.

From looking at my baby bass lures I would think starting with a light base, like a cream color, and working from there with different shades of green might look better. It seems to me that going from light to dark would be better than dark to light. But I'm just guessing that if this doesn't work, then try that.

I have no experience leaving rods in a bent shape , and "long" period is hard to define. All I'm saying is that within the time frame I have experienced I have observed no change. High temp while bent is a different situation. I'm not saying you are wrong, just that I have not observed it. At least to a measurable amount. To directly answer the question do rods break in, I'd have to say no in at least a "reasonable" time period.

Casts by fly is right-they don't change. Did you change lines? I have proven that the numbers of rods, CCS power and action and True Natural Frequency (TNF) do not change with use or time on graphite rods. Bamboo certainly, glass I doubt it but have no data.

There are a lot of opinions on these forums, but very few facts. It is my opinion that the proper rod for good control of walking baits has just the right tip flexibility to give a little during the twitches. Whether this is about action rather than power doesn't seem logical. But it is just another opinion. I would expect that line stretch would get into it too. Keep in mind that power descriptions and action descriptions are approximations varying greatly between not only brands but between different blanks within the same brand. The only way this whole thing could be resolved would be if objective CCS numbers were known and discussed relative to performance of the rods. Even then there would likely be different opinions of what was good or not so good. The tip flex (another word for stiffness or power) of moderate and fast action rods and even extra fast can be exactly the same for rods of different overall powers. Find something that works for you and use the ones that don't work for other techniques.

Chris, is this the medium duty version? I wouldn't use one that has to be significantly heavier than the tiptops like Fuji LG on light duty normal bass spin and cast. The heavier the tiptop the slower the recovery from deflection, especially on light duty normal bass stuff. I have seen True Natural Frequency differences between light duty SS and titanium tiptops.

All the brands are OK, IMO. But the most important thing is the ring material. Since the tiptop is the most likely to groove, I always use premium material tiptops, like SIC or Zirconium. But they are easy to change if you use hot melt to install them, so if one grooves, replace it.

Couldn't spell "snobs" so used "aficionados." Couldn't spell "aficionados" either. 🙂

Rodbuilders and fishermen overthink everything. Sort of like wine aficianados.

It really doesn't matter that much. Power is more important for hook setting and casting easily for the weight lures you use. I like braid with mono leader for surface, mono or FC for underwater. Kingfisher makes a good point about working surface properly, but I'm not convinced it's as much about action as the power and flex of the tip. I think only experience with rods will sort it out. Remember, you can never have too many rods, so whatever you do, it will work with most techniques, some better than others.

Show me a $500 blank that is not a fly blank. I have never seen one.

This may or may not be consistently associated with the spine of the rod, but it is easily found by deflecting the tip a few inches with the butt tied down and observing the shape of the path of the tip as it vibrates in recovery. If in the right orientation it will have what the golf industry calls "flat line oscillation," FLO. A truly steady and straight path which does not end up going oval or some other shape with time. Do a search for flat line oscillation on line, something like "flat line oscillation in golf club design" and you'll see a lot of info. A fellow rod builder who also builds golf clubs informed me about this in our discussions of True Natural Frequency. I need to get a bunch of blanks in hand so I can determine the relationship between the axis of FLO and the spine, if there is one.

Sounds a lot like an extra fast action. I think rod blank advertising is written by the same folks who write wine labels. Some fly rods even have "soul." Rod action descriptions, fast-moderate-slow etc were developed as a description of the tapers on bamboo rods, fly I believe. Meaning fast taper, slow taper, etc. With all the new blanks from Point Blank I would think one of them would work very well.

I respectfully point out that that blank doesn't come in 5-9 length. Cutting it off from the butt? AO2 model? Bill is good, but I admit I don't see where this is coming from or going. But if you are pleased, that's all that counts. Still, would really be nice to know the CCS numbers on the blank as made, and as altered. It's really not that hard to do. I wonder what Turbo Taper means? I'll butt out.

There is no perfect rod blank since preferences vary. My first rod was 6 feet built under Bill's guidance, and while it handled very well, was so underpowered that hook sets were a problem. I would ask CTS what the CCS numbers are on the P2000. If it's under 10, it would not meet my preferences, but would Bill's. BFS is a conflict between low enough power to load properly on the cast and powerful enough to handle decent sized fish and to get good hook sets. I think we all agree that actions should be mod or mod-fast, the the power and length is where the disagreements over preferences come. Would be nice to know the numbers and to try some stuff out before investing a lot of money. I have a nice 6 foot rod that I'll never use and could sell. Can you give me a web site that shows and describes the CTS P2000? I can't find anything. thanks

I have built a couple for BFS and have come to the conclusion that the "group-think" about using ultra light power blanks is wrong-you want a CCS power number (ERN) about 11-13, not less than 10 as many ultra light rods are. Longer is better for casting distance, and I wouldn't go 6 feet unless you are really concerned about avoiding brush. Less than 10 will make it hard to handle substantial fish and gives poor hook sets. My favorite right now is the Rainshadow Immortal spin walleye blank IMMWS72ML. If Bill is going to use one of his new Katana blanks, then I would consider the PBK691LMF light power moderate fast action (6 ft 9 in) or the PBlKT701LMF (7 ft), both moderate fast actions. I didn't go with the medium lights because I know most Point Blanks historically have been more powerful than the subjective power descriptions. And I know the Katana PBKT701MLF has an ERN of about 19, which is what most would consider medium power, and is much too powerful for BFS. I expect the new light power Katanas will come in at less than 15 ERN but so far have no data. I can't wait to get further into the Katanas; Point Blanks are my favorite high end blanks. Worth a long discussion with Bill. He and I have discussed this, so he knows where I stand-feel free to mention this discussion to him.

Vinyl for the horizontal surfaces is much easier to maintain than carpet.

Yes

Blanks will not change their bend characteristics after they are made. Whatever shape it's in is permanent. Slight bends are not IMO detrimental to function, but can be hard to overlook when looking down them all day long. It's up to the personal preferences of the buyers. When building one can orient the guides so that the bend is not as obvious.

While I agree that most FC has a smaller diameter specified, I've found that the specs are not always accurate. If you really want to know a line's diameter, measure it. Whether FC, mono, or braid.

I have tried to rehydrate U40 but with no success. Tru Oil gunstock finish works well, but some don't like the harder feel of it. With any product used on old cork, you have to "renew" the cork before application by cleaning and possibly light sanding. Nothing will "renew" deteriorated cork.

Try either hard mono leader material, usually used for salt fly leaders, or FC fly tippet leader material. I never use "line" for leaders. I use leader material. There is an advantage to having stiffness in the leader while it's a disadvantage to have it in a line. So lines are generally softer.

Not all stocking foot waders are comfortable. I have a wader that is all breathable fabric, even the feet, and that material doesn't stretch/give at all, and the result is pinched toes. I think you need to get flexible feet. I think they are called neoprene feet, but am not sure.

Longer will cast farther. Shorter most likely will balance better. One way to see how the rods will feel with a casting weight on them is to cobble up a small weight with a plastic clip or pipe cleaner and fasten it to the tiptop of the rods and simulate casts with the reel you plan to use on it. I would not use a metal snap; the retailer might object to metal contacting the tiptop guide. I have used a 1/4 oz practice plug, but you can use any weight you want to simulate. I don't know if the same patterns are used for different lengths, but I doubt it.