MickD

Let's get together on Sag Bay mid summer and you can find them for me. ? I agree on the wind, but it's still tough to find them, at least for me and many others who fish Sag Bay.

I'll bet big money it will. But to find out takes a big risk of having a big mess that is hard to get out of.

Not likely at this time of the year. I expect it might be an old video. I've never found them in mid-summer in Sag Bay. I don't fish Lake MI. St Clair, go deep, find weeds or rocks and fish out from them 20-30 yards. If you get one, keep working the area. If you find one, there will be others nearby. Save your days off for Sept/Oct.

You can fish it and apply later, but doing it before it is soiled is the best, easiest. If you put it on later clean the cork with a magic eraser, and maybe sand it if necessary to get the clean cork exposed before applying the sealer. If I planned to wait I would not take off the plastic until I applied the sealer.

You're my hero A-Jay. My son can back it in like you, but I cannot. If someone like I am who cannot rely on getting the boat that close to the dock is interested, I run a rope from my bow to the trailer boat guide at the rear of the trailer, back it in, let it float off, then gently nudge it in with the truck to where I can get the rope off the trailer boat guide and walk onto the dock to position the boat there, securing it like A-Jay does. A-Jay, cobble a couple 3/4 treated plywood steps onto your trailer to give you a wider place to put your feet. Helps a lot for old farts. With a little luck, you will age.

If you want to go fishing before getting it fixed right, just tightly wrap over the foot of the guide while holding it down with electrical tape and you should be good to go.

I agree with most of the posters who don't see a significant advantage to spiral. I don't feel the torquing that spiral eliminates. (fresh water, bass, walleye, etc) The heavier the load the more difference it will make. But I use micro guides on my casters, and they are quite low so really don't develop much torque. There is no reason why a spiral will cast farther than conventional, and it has been my experience that there is no penalty of casting distance either. I like it for trolling rods which are used in rod holders. They seem more stable in the holder, which makes sense. With the small guides in use most of the time today, I don't have that uncomfortable impression looking down the rod that something is goofy/wrong with the setup. With bigger guides I just couldn't get beyond that. If interested in making one, do a search for simple spiral, the simplest, easiest to lay out , and just as effective way to do one. In fact it gets the line to the bottom faster than other designs, so should reduce the torquing more. Comments that state that fewer guides are necessary are correct, but I've not found that to make a significant difference in anything.

I expect it will work fine, but have no experience with it. U-40 is very well known and highly used by custom builders.

Cork sealer will make it easier to clean them after use. Don't love them to death, but also don't wait too long to use the magic eraser again. As they start to look like they need some attention, give it to them. Yes, remove the plastic. It's only there to keep the cork looking good in the showroom.

I don't see an easy fix. Guide has been bent and the wrap ruptured. The guide can be straightened, but not in place. and the wrap is not repairable. Best solution is to take off both wraps, straighten the guide (or replace if it looks like the ring has been loosened or damaged-check for cracking by using a Q-tip rotated inside the ring-if it's cracked, the Q-tip will catch some fuzz), and rewrap. A good builder may be able to match the wrap color quite closely.

Nothing smaller than Kalins 5 inch, they work well on LMB, slow steady retrieve. Mardi gras is my favorite color, although others report good results for SMB in the brown colors, like motor oil. (during the mayfly hatch).

9 guides on a 7-6 on top casting rod is not too many. I often use 9 for 7 foot on top casters, and I've never felt that I was giving up anything on performance. But if you're going for the fewest guides, then spiral is the way to go, as Ghoti said. Do a search for "simple spiral casting rod builds" and see if you get instructions. If not, come back. Would take a minute or two to give them right here.

I've taken one to salt for the last few years, rinsed it daily, and it seems like new. Dr. Slick pliers did the same thing, blades moved so won't cut braid, can't seem to get them to fit right and stay. Not a good pair of pliers. I think they are made more for salt with the jaws good for pulling knots tight, and probably cut wire well, but no good for removing hooks and cutting braid.

OK A-jay. . .here you go! I've never fished Hubbard, but at that time of year I would first look for weed beds and rock piles in 9-15 feet of water, and fish away from the weeds a few to 20-30 yards and on and away from the rocks the same. I'm basing this on thinking that Hubbard may be like mini-St Clair or mini-Sag Bay. I'm talking SMB, too. If it has LMB, then in and right against the weed beds and possibly even shallower.

You are doing fine, I just wanted to clarify with my opinion.

Rage tail craw by Strike King has been very good to me for LMB this year.

Whether the braid is 10 pound test or 20 pound test will make no difference on hook set on long casts unless the 10 is breaking on the set. Which it most likely won't. It will make no difference since both lines will have essentially zero stretch. Abrasion resistance might be a different story. Try it. If you need to make changes, make them. But this will be the longest casting setup. The rod power should be matched to the lure weight you plan to cast,, in order for it to load properly.

The situation where the braid is smaller than the leader is universal, that's the case all the time. Your proposal in the original post should work fine. If you are getting too many break-offs then go up on both line and leader. If you have to go above 15, I will be surprised. Go to 20 and casting distance will certainly be affected negatively. I usually use .006 dia braid with .012 leader and don't recognize any problems. Also Alberto, sometimes FG.

Great reel for the money, Patriarch I just bought doesn't have anti reverse- disappointed.

Gave one to my granddaughter, she's now an experienced baitcaster in less than one season. Good reel for the money.

The screw that holds the back cover on the body of my Shimano Stradic FI recently fell out and was lost, and many weeks of attempts to find a seller for the screw were unsuccessful. So I wondered if I had any old reels that might use the same screw, so I went to the pole building and started looking. Since the Stradic most likely used metric screws I took a look at the Alcedo Micron that was my dad's. I think he bought it in the 1950's. As many of you know, it was the first reel marketed as an ultra light, only 6 1/2 ounces if I remember correctly. Dad was an early adopter of spin, in the late 40's, I believe. Lo and behold the first screw I found, one of the three side plate screws, was a perfect fit. How neat it was to have Dad get my Stradic back running. He died in 1993. Now if I can find a Micron side plate screw. . .

the Stilletto is a government hammer, right?

For spin rods, if you want to get the fingers to the blank easily, comfortably, build your spin rod up-locking and turn a ramp about 1 inch long and the same diameter (or just under if you are going to coat it, just under allows the seat hood to provide a shoulder to finish against). Burl cork is good since it is tough and denser than regular cork. Reel seat shims are very good, can be easily turned by "screwing" a drill bit into the 1/4 in hole and turning it on a drill press. They machine VERY rapidly, so be aware of this. They also are fragile until coated with something like wrap epoxy, so be careful in handling and reaming and fitting to the blank. They can be painted with hardware store paint. I put a matching one of the seat thread diameter on the rear, but it's mostly for looks, not function. The pic is one done with green burl cork, coated with wrap epoxy. I use the Fuji DPSSD deluxe seat size 17, very comfortable, bullet-proof.

Winns are probably lighter than cork, especially burl cork, and since sensitivity (if you can define it) is related to weight (lower weight = higher sensitivity) they are probably more sensitive than cork. With regard to sensitivity, I think we are splitting hairs. The Winns certainly offer a secure, comfortable grip.

When I saw you had commented I wondered why you weren't fishing today. Now I know. I hope everything is going well with you and your family. With the heat and some projects I couldn't postpone, I haven't been out in a couple weeks. Gotta get out again!