Lead Head

So... your trying to pick between 16, 18, or 20. I would split the difference and roll with the 18. It will give you a good idea of what the line is all about, and you will be able to decide from there if you should size up, down, or stay the same next time.

The stiffness will be greatly affected after you use the line. I believe the majority of braided line's stiffness comes from the color or coating. After an hour on the water your observations would probably be totally different. I really enjoyed the post, the pictures are very cool!

Do you guys still sell skirtless fogys? I asked in a email about a month back and never got a reply. I know in the past it was a option but I couldn't find it when placing my last order.

I find it odd that some people struggle with more overruns from braid. I also find it odd that some people have more trouble picking those overruns out (than they do other lines). I have always found the opposite to be true for myself. Just goes to show, we are all different, and what works for one person might not work for another. I will make a cast to "even out" my braid occasionally, but don't find the need to excessively clean because of water splashes. I figure fishing reels should have no trouble holding up to that small amount of water. In the past I would only break down and clean a reel when it started acting up. Had a Lews tournament mb go 3 years with 0 maintenance beyond wipedowns (stupid cottonwood gets into everything). It was used heavily fishing frogs on 50lb braid. In the last 2 years I've started treating my gear far better, but only break down to clean and re-lube annually unless something out of the ordinary happens. If a reel can't hold up to minor exposure to water from braid, I don't want it. Having said all that (sorry, lack of sleep has me rambling a bit), do what you need to in order to feel good about your gear.

I highly recommend running braid main line on your spinning reel, then just changing the size of your leader as needed. This eliminates the need for a spare spool and will greatly increase your line manageability, casting distance, and (for me anyway) will improve sensitivity.

What leader knot do you tie? How long is your leader? I can pass up to 16lb sniper through #5 guides (fuji alconite) and 30lb braid with no major issues. I can get 25lb sniper through #5.5 guides (again fuji alconite) and 50lb braid. I haven't actually tried the 25 with #5 guides. Having said all that, I will use #6 guides when building a rod I'm planning to use leaders on... just because. While the guides you have will probably work, I would definitely suggest that you get the guides you WANT. Thats the whole point of building your own rods.

The X-ray blank I built a few weeks ago required a tip 2 sizes larger than the website stated.

"Sufficient for bass fishing" is a relative term. People can blow your mind with the amount and size of bass that can be hauled in with a $20 Walmart combo and a ned rig. I have no idea what your dealing with though and am sure they will be pleased with the new rigs. I would also like to tip my hat to you sir. To not only take the younger guys out, but also gifting them new gear is commendable.

Keep in mind the setups they currently have and get them something to compliment that.

No, #5 are just (I THINK) the largest of what is considered "micro guides". They go much smaller. Thats why I was asking if he knew the actual size. As to knocking out the tip top insert... highly unlikely. I'm not slamming it with any force, or even allowing it to catch at all. I simply do not reel the leader knot into my tip with my rod straight up. And you would likely have to do that several hundred times to equal the force of using your rod to retrieve a single snagged lure... Its a interesting thought though, I have never heard of anyone losing a insert to a leader knot. I'm sure it has happened to someone..

I guess if Catt is a "bottom feeder" I'm a "force feeder". While I'm quite capable with cranks, spinnerbaits, senkos, neds and various top water techniques, most often I'm going to force feed those bass a jig. If the bite is tough or I'm in a friend's boat ill use whatever the situation dictates, but I'm just not happy unless I'm pitching a jig. Unlike most fishermen, I do not require numbers or size to enjoy fishing so the majority of the time I'm quite content doing what makes me happy. Force feeding those suckers a jig! A funny thought occurred to me as I was writing this. In the last 2 years I've caught 7 or 8 bass in the 4+ pound range... only 1 of those was on a jig.

There are different size "micro guides". I can get 30lb 832 with 16lb fc sniper through #5 guides without any casting issues using a few different knots. Only problems I run into is the knot hanging on the tip top guide when reeling in with the rod tip up, and the same hang up when dropping line off the reel with the tip up. I have found I have this issue with every line/leader/guide size combination I have ever used, and pulling any knot up and into the tip top at such a steep angle, I expect it. The FG knot isn't nearly as bad as others, but still sticks. I think any guide size 5 and below is considered micro and I have no experience with guides smaller than 5. See if you can narrow down your question to a specific guide size (or rod with known guide size) and maybe someone else will have a more specific answer for you.

If it were me, I would go 30lb 832 then add a leader of fc or mono as the situation required.

In the past I used a empty 2 liter bottle. Put the end under the cap then wound down the bottle doing my best not to overlap the wraps (only wrapped snug not tight). Then just reeled it back on from the other end. Its not a super fast way to do it (wrapping down the bottle without significant overlap is tedious) but it is a super cheap way. I now have two empty reels that I use.

Use your finger nails to scratch any coating off the braid section you use for your knot. This helped me when having slippage problems with the fg knot.

Try a 8 carrier braid (I like suffix 832), it is less noisy. I believe it was Catt that pointed out fish can most likely hear (or feel) braid coming over submerged branches or other cover when working jigs or Texas rigs. Since that makes sense to me, I decided to use fc leaders more. Haven't noticed any difference in catch rate or had any leader complications so I guess it's a push. Most of my waters are so dirty the added noise and vibration is probably just as likely to help as it is to hurt.

Throw some 15lb braid on that thing and call it good. Grab a ML spinning rod of whatever quality you prefer and your in business. Only reason I upgraded from my super cheap setup was because I found myself grabbing and using it so often. That and I really wanted to build a spinning rod.

I landed multiple 4lb fish (and who knows how many smaller) on a $15 Academy brand spinning rod and a 20 year old spinning reel i dug out of a closet. If you don't want to spend big for a spinning ned setup, a $30 combo will work just fine. Most commonly, the lighter the ned rig the better the results. Fewer hangups too. I used the cheap gear for about 2 months before I broke down and got nicer stuff. Neds were just too productive for me not to Invest in something decent. I can feel a bit more, but I really don't think I have caught a single fish with the "good" gear that I wouldn't have with the cheap stuff.

Just a note. You need to really know what you're doing if you use acetone on your reel. It does not play well with plastic. I would only use it on removed metal parts.

I'm looking to add a SV spool to a Steez 100. I'll be using this reel for senkos and TX rigs mostly (skipping as well as casting), but it will see the occasional 3/8oz jig and swim jig. Maybe a 1/8oz shakey head (with lure it should weigh well over 1/4oz) if the rod can swing it, and it should. I'm thinking 14-16lb fc sniper for line but 30lb braid is a possibility. Right now I'm looking at the sv103 spool or the zillion sv tw G1 spool. I'm wondering if any of you Daiwa guys can give me some insight as to how these spools will behave in a steez for my intended applications, or if you would recommend something totally different? Distance matters, but is not as important as control. I figure either spool will cast far enough that hook sets get sketchy but that is just a guess. I've been looking down the older Daiwa rabbit hole for a while now... between how much I'm enjoying my alphas and ss reels, and some of the recent threads I've been reading, its getting really hard not to just dive face first down that hole.

I use an older green bps extreme H for frogging. It says its fast but I would call it moderate fast at best. The tip is extremely soft... after using it I discovered I really loved that soft tip for skipping under overhangs and walking the frog. The slower than "normal" fast action means I need to really drop the hammer on hooksets, not all that difficult with heavy braid. I can't recall ever feeling a fish and not getting a hook in it. Another good thing about the slower action is I very rarely lose a fish after its hooked. I built up a heavy Xtra fast rod for frogging last year and hated it. I lost as many fish as I landed. Pretty much anything I didn't rip across the surface to the boat would shake free. I'm guessing that had as much to do with me as it did the rod because some people love XF frog rods. If the moderate action on the Kistler is on the faster side, and not a total noodle, I wouldn't be afraid to frog with it at all. Thats my experience anyway. I would strongly suggest a phone call or email to Kistler before pulling the trigger, to give you some peace of mind.

I cup my off hand loosely around the spool to control my cast (similar to thumbing a baitcaster) so its natural to just close the bail manually. Didn't even realize it had added benefits until I started reading these forums.

I fish mostly heavily stained water so its jigs all the way for me.

I managed to get one off the bay for $109 shipped. Dropped in the 8.1.1 gear set and drag upgrade from TT, then grabbed a longer carbon reel handle (it included bearings in the knobs). Still using the stock spool, but I mostly pitch and skip jigs with it so its not a problem. While I'm not very experienced with the high end stuff I'm VERY pleased with this reel at about $220.