LionHeart

Gotta disagree on this one. The second your hand grips the rod, your hand becomes the fulcrum. You could add a 20 lb reel to the rod and that wouldn't keep it from being tip heavy, since most people palm the reel which places the weight in line with the fulcrum (hand holding the rod) Unless you are some kind of weirdo that holds a fishing rod forward of the reel. In that case a heavy reel would help. At the end of the day, if you feel like it helps, keep doing it. Worst thing that will happen is you add a few unnecessary ounces to your setup.

As measured from what? Isn't the balance point the hand you use to hold the rod? Isn't that hand positioned at the reel? If not slightly behind it? I don't see how that would make the tip less heavy ?

How would using a heavy reel help a rod that is tip heavy?

IMO a medium would do just fine.

The action on the St. Croix Bass X medium heavy moderate makes it a fantastic rod for shallow to medium crankbaits. Whippy enough to be accurate with shallow cranks but can handle heavier mid depth no problem. I regret getting rid of mine for sure.

Always try to negotiate. Just politely ask if they are willing to negotiate on the price. If they say something like, "what did you have in mind?" it's a good thing. If they flat out say "No," no harm done. Also, you wanna do this with the owner, or someone in charge to some degree. Maybe mention that it was on sale once, and that you really regret missing it. I try to negotiate everything. I've been surprised many times by what I've talked myself into.

Does braid not shred the rubber? Man, when I say I pull hard, I use both arms to pull on the braid with the leader tied to something. Then I hold while the FG tightens. The braided loops should dig into the leader, slightly deforming the portion that goes through the loops. Here's how I think of it. Whatever force I expect the FG to withstand, I put that force plus a little extra when cinching it down. Otherwise you run the risk of the trimmed leader tag slipping.

To me, same rod for both

FG knot is king. When I cinch the wraps, I wrap the main line braid around a dowel and tie my leader off to something that won't move. I pull HARD, real hard. If I just wrapped the braid around my hands I'd loose fingers. Check out the rizzuto finish to this knot. Tough to find a decent video, but is the best finishing method I have found for the FG. Good video dude. Nevermind the music, but this is a decent video

I own a Dragger and am impatiently awaiting delivery of a custom Deputy. The Dragger makes a great pitching rod but works very well for long casts also. It has plenty of stoutness but enough bend in the tip to load up when casting and keeping a fish pinned. On the sensitivity scale: Tough to say. I haven't fished it across a ton of hard bottoms. There are times that I'll be dragging a T rig across a bottom and think "man I can barely feel what's going on" and other times it seems like every little pebble and twig is amplified. I know that may sound a little crazy. So far I'd give it a solid 7 on sensitivity. Super nice rod though.

A good medium heavy mod fast is a perfect spinner bait rod IMO. Stout enough to drive a hook, but limber enough to keep a fish pinned and casts spinner baits really well. The 'R' thing to me (at least on Diawa Tatula rods) basically just means Fast. One of my favorite rods was a Tatula med heavy "Regular" and it was perfect for plastics. Too fast for what I like in a spinner bait rod but really good for bottom contact on mid to smaller hook sizes

Get a decent setup that you want. Let her use it. If she loses interest, you aren't stuck with something you can't use.

What do you suppose is happening? Are you thinking the hook isn't being properly set, and a stouter rod will make up for that? or that you are tearing a hole into the beast's mouth and the hook falls out as soon as pressure is released? Two different issues with different solutions IMO.

What kinda budget were you thinking for this rod?

Don't they just slide right off if you don't like them? Or do they glue on?

50 lb (easy for me to see) Yellow Power Pro and 12 lb Big Game mono leader.

From the response I'd have to say I didn't do a great job of stating my point. See my previous post (my 2nd on page 1)

Very interesting indeed. I guess a few grams would matter if you are casting a very light lure but not totally convinced a spinning rod wouldn't serve an angler better casting such a lure. Inertia works both ways. A heavier spool may take more to get going, but will stay going longer. I've never really done any experiments with trying to change the weight of my spool, so maybe it does have merit. I just can't imagine it would be much.

Fuego and SLX. Better yet, 2 Fuegos

Dude don't try to force yourself into an extra fast rod. You are at no disadvantage for not using one. ?

Tough call dude. The 6 and 7 would be great for the moving baits but 26 IPT is a bit on the slow side for Texas rig. To me those are 2 separate rods. If those 2 specific reels are your only option, go 7 speed. What manufacturer and model?

If you can find the Tournament ZX rod above, get it. Unfortunately they have all but disappeared. Consider a Falcon Bucoo SR medium moderate or medium heavy mod-fast. I have a mod-fast and use it for cranks, lipless, small moving baits, and it is fantastic.

What size crank baits are you planning to throw with this rod?

I typically use only enough backing to leave me with about 80 yards of main line. Not that I can cast 80 yards, but sometimes casting with the wind, you'd be surprised by how far a a cast can be. Since you're using mono, you will likely have 'break off,' and with each one, be getting closer to your splice knot. Act accordingly

First 40 yards on all my reels are cheap flouro. I join to main line with a cinch not on each side and never had an issue with knot breakage or any weird lumps on my spool.