Lead Head

I have bought blanks from mudhole, NFC, get bit, voodoo rods, and rod geeks. Components from all those places except rod geeks. In my experience, you're not really saving much (if any) money by building your own until you get up around $200-$250, depending on the deals you find. You are getting exactly what you want though, and that makes all the difference in the world for me.

Split, because I build my own and that tends to be lighter. I want light bottom contact rods. I'll take light over "balanced" any day. Even more importantly, I like split grips more. They feel... right.

"It just feels right." This is all that matters.

Haha, my son is 5'11" and has a 16 foot... poor guy is walking around with Bozo feet.

I typically cover a band-aid with electrical tape if I want it to stay put. This seems like a reasonable alternative.

Off the top of my head, I think most 30lb braid is the same diameter as most 8lb mono. If you get the sunline, going back to 10# might be the way to go. Sunline usually has a break strength much closer to what it says on the box, but has a much smaller diameter. 10# sunline and 8# hybrid are far more similar in strength and size than 10# sunline and 10# hybrid. Honestly, when dealing with mono and copoly, its best to find the line diameter you like best and buy based off that. Rated lb test is all over the place.

Keep in mind, 10lb hybrid has an average breaking strength of 16.5lbs. Far more than you need. This is why I suggested 8# for lines like hybrid and big game (another line far stronger than advertised). They have a larger diameter than most "higher quality" lines as well. For your purposes, if going with budget line, consider downsizing. This will also help out with the coiling.

I would go 30# braid if you are set on t-rigs and jigs. The no stretch braid should help compensate for the moderate action of the rod and let you still get good hook sets. The hooks will be light wire after all. The soft rod should do all the work with treble hook baits, just be sure to set your drag appropriately. A little tighter than normal for single hooks and a little looser for treble. If you want to feel the difference grab some big game mono in 8# and try it out. If you don't like it you will only have spent $7 and will have some line for backing laying around. If you are comfortable with 30# braid dropping down to 20# shouldn't be too difficult, just keep in mind that you will have to put in a little more effort than normal to make sure the line stays tight on the spool.

You can always look into custom builders, or even build your own.

Carbon fiber grips don't look comfortable, but they are fine. When I first saw them I thought they would be slick when wet, they are not. I first started using them on bottom contact rods only, because I'm usually holding the reel anyway. After actually getting on the water with them, they have become my favorite grips. I use them on every rod now, regardless of what its intended purpose is.

They are North Fork Composites (NFC). Not exactly what most people think of when you say a "Loomis" rod, however they are all blanks designed by Gary Loomis. NFC is his current company. From what I understand, Edge rods are finished rods sold by NFC, or some extension of them. I own 8 rods built on NFC blanks and love them all. The old Kistler rods were built on NFC blanks as well, if you want to look into some of their older reviews. NFC blanks are made in the USA.

My best guess... You do a good job keeping line tight on your spool (I see you're using mostly moving baits), you have your drag set properly, and you don't use the reel to pull free snags. These things will eliminate most line digging problems. Most people who use 65# braid in slop aren't using line that heavy to prevent breakoffs. The majority of bass rods will fail long before 65# braid. I would guess thumbing the spool and attempting to fail 65# braid would damage many reels. Many people who report unmanageable line digging problems are either new to braid, new to baitcasters, or both.

I use 832 in 30, 40, and 50. 30 on a couple of all purpose rods. 40 on jig and 50 on frog rod. Switched from power pro to 832 3 years ago and haven't had any break off issues. I would definitely suggest going from 20 to 40 for where you are fishing. 50 would be fine too, but if you're tying good knots, 40 will probably fail your rod before the line.

How many rods do you usually take with you? If you don't already take all your rigs when you go out, adding another one isn't super beneficial. In this case, an upgrade would make more sense. If you are carrying everything with you, having another setup already rigged and ready for a different presentation is always nice.

My BIL has one and I used it a few times. I would would use "decent" to describe it also. I think he paid $200 for it when they first came out. At the price you are paying, I would call it far beyond decent. The reel was finicky, but will absolutely bomb when you finally get it dialed in. He loves the giant round knobs on it, I hate them, but this is completely a personal preference thing. The rod is solid, it won't blow you away with its sensitivity but it definitely isn't dead. Neither of us had any trouble feeling or catching fish with it. At $70 and in the condition you described, it is a great deal.

You should be fine with 4.5, however I would stick with 5 for runners if planning to run a leader. Again, 4.5 should be OK, it's just my personal preference not to go smaller than 5 if I know I'll be running leaders.

In my experience, even the cheapest graphite rods give feedback equal to, or better than glass. They are also usually much lighter. There is a lot of personal preference involved in cranking. I prefer a moderate-fast over a true moderate, and graphite over glass. My favorite cranking rods are built on Bushido cranking blanks. I know this doesn't really answer your question, sorry about that. Looks like you have 2 options... 1: admit you won't be happy until you try a "high end" cranking rod, and get one to try (bait monkey approves of this decision). 2: stomp out your curiosity and force yourself to believe that "high end" rods give no real advantage over "mid-grade" rods (I wish you luck in the epic battle with the bait monkey here). Full disclosure, I haven't actually used what you would probably call a high end cranking rod. I have used enough different rods and blanks to know what I want out of a cranking rod.

Rock bass... what we usually call a goggle eye, or war-mouth down here? A super aggressive, giant mouthed, sunfish looking, soft plastic destroying, craw trailer arm stealer? I've never noticed them stinking any more than bass. If you can get into them big enough to filet, they are indeed good to eat.

You are over thinking it. The 6 speed reels will serve you just fine for moving baits. Personally, I strongly prefer them for moving baits. Some people find it easier to slow down a retrieve and some find it easier to speed up. With moving baits, I find myself burning them in way too fast the instant I lose complete laser focus... something that is easy for me to do when making lots of casts covering water with moving baits. I would suggest not replacing them out of curiosity. Actually, for the price of 2 new reels you could just get another combo with a 7 speed reel to see what you like better.

P-line floroclear... YIKES!!! If you like manageable, great casting co-poly that stretches more than BG, randomly fails at the knot, and occasionally comes in whole spools that fail on every hookset regardless of knot... give it a shot. If you're lucky, it can be pretty good. If you're not so lucky, it can be really bad. This was my experience with floroclear over a 5 year period including about 20 spools of line (3 of them were completely faulty throughout). I didn't realize all my problems weren't normal until I started using different lines. A few people suggest it from time to time, they have obviously had a different experience than I had. I'm not trying to discredit anyone, their experience, or their opinion. I just have a hard time not sharing my experience when I see this line mentioned. Give it a shot, you may like it, it really does handle well.

All it takes is whatever gives you confidence. Fury rods are great at their price point. My only complaint about them was, in my hands, they weren't very sensitive. I caught plenty of fish with them on jigs, they work just fine. However I have far more confidence in, and feel way more structure with (even if it's all in my head) a better blank. What constitutes a better blank is largely personal preference. What I'm getting at is, if you want to stick with Furys, you will be fine. Just make sure you get one that can handle the weight you are throwing. But... if you are ever going to splurge on a nicer rod, a good jig rod is a good place to do it.

What weight jigs? Keep in mind a 3/8oz jig + trailer weighs right at or just over 3/4oz (depending on trailer). You will definitely need a H or XH in the fury line since they run a little light, unless all your jigs are lighter than 3/8oz. I always suggest that people upgrade on a jig rod. While sensitivity is mostly about the person holding the rod, a nice rod tends to bring confidence, and that is very important. When I say "a nice rod" I don't mean expensive, if you are confident in the fury line of rods and your ability to catch fish with jigs, then you will be successful. I just find that (for me) jigs are the most rewarding bait to have confidence in. Please forgive my sleep deprived rambling...

@SkinnyWaterBasser Keep in mind, a blank's (or rod) stated weight rating is for total weight. While not absolute, something like a weightless 5" senko or 1/4oz shakey head (+ weight of the plastic) will be very near the maximum weight rating for a blank capped at 3/8oz. This might be old news but I felt like it was worth mentioning. If nothing else you will probably end up with a great ned rig rod, everyone needs a dedicated ned rod...

What measurements make you think its wrong? Was it labeled as a 722? Was the decal for a 722? NFC isn't super consistent with tip and butt diameters. Either way, if you're not happy with it, sending it back is the correct choice.

I'm probably totally wrong, and someone will surely come along tell me how wrong I am, but I look at it this way... If you are using 0 brakes and 0 spool tension, you will probably notice improvement with upgraded bearings. If you are using brakes and/or spool tension, your bearings are probably already doing as good a job as they need to do. If you are upgrading because of salt, replacing old/worn bearings, or just want to try something different, thats fine. I just wouldn't expect a significant difference in performance if I'm already using brakes or spool tension to slow down stock bearings.