Lead Head

I'm currently in the process of accumulating everything I need to do this. Cerakote is pretty involved if done correctly. It requires a lengthy cleaning/prep process, blasting with specific media and grit, and oven curing. It's way tougher than any paint and is applied so thin that it won't have the tolerance problems of auto paint and clear. I'm still a good way off from a first attempt but it's going to happen.

In my opinion, it's about equally manageable and a solid step up in every other way.

Definitely try a Point Blank if you like high end stuff and don't already have one.

If I'm understanding correctly, you will be fishing at or below the visibility line (for humans) in cover. I would approach it the same as overcast conditions. Natural leaning to dark, or natural leaning to bright/contrasting colors. I make my own skirts and would start off green pumpkin with a little dark green pumpkin on the back and watermelon on the belly. Then use trailers to switch between darker/brighter colors that are commonly successful in your area. 90% of my fishing is in water about the color and consistency of a Yoohoo, but we vacation 2 weeks every year on a lake that is pretty clear for around here. This is how I approach it. I find that a natural colored jig leaning to dark presents effectively in almost any condition with the right trailer.

You could use tip top adhesive. It holds pretty good, and light heat softens it up. Personally, I would sand contact areas and use something permanent (epoxy), but that's just me.

I have had my eye on that kit, but don't swap inductors enough to justify it. Rays ramp on left, broken stock ramp on right (feet sheared off). The Rays ramp is thinner than stock, time will tell how it holds up.

I didn't take any in the process, but I'll get some of all the parts and finished swap after work tonight. I stumbled across a SV103 on ebay listed as "used, with a rough spot when reeling". I bought it thinking it would need new bearings and possibly gears. The thing looked like it had been fished hard for years with regular spray downs in WD40. It was gunky everywhere that wasn't easily wiped off. The drag was so tight I almost needed tools to get it loose. When finally freed up the "rough spot" went away. After a full tear down and cleaning (grease on gears was nearly solid) it is flawless mechanically, however the inductor ramp on the spool was broken. I already had the rays kit on hand to try on a SS SV spool, so the kit went on the SV103 spool and the SS spool went to the SV103. I'm very pleased with how it all turned out.

Bit of a project reel. Has a sv103 spool with rays inductor. It's a absolute pleasure on the water.

Most of my baitcasters have 30lb 832. Jigs and frogs get 40lb 832 or #4pe (sunline is all I have tried so far). I use 14lb sniper for a fc leader, and 16lb supernatural for mono (top water). I run a 25# sniper leader on my jig rod most of the time so I can pick my jig through the razor edged chunk rock all over my pool of the AR river without spending a fortune on line and jigs.

At that price point, and looking for something to fit a specific technique/preference, I also suggest talking to a custom rod builder before you pull the trigger on anything.

Yup No problems setting the hook I have cut that finger 3 times in 20+ years though. 2 of the 3 times with mono.

Having the leader tag pointing forward when casting may be what's causing issues. Try some different leader knots. I get 40lb 832 to a 25lb sniper leader through #5 guides without issue using the simplified GT knot from a few years ago. It's not a small knot, but is easy to tie. It will occasionally catch when reeling in through the guides, but not when casting.

I don't know much about their finished rods, but when on sale Delta blanks are an amazing bang for your buck. Based on the reaction of a few of my buddies I have let use them, I believe that most fishermen would never guess they are composite. @ConnorC "surprisingly sensitive for a composite" is spot on.

I cut the reel foot and stem off a old plastic spinning reel and glued a small bubble level to it. It's definitely not perfect but passes the eyeball test and allows me to find the same "up" on my blank when wrapping. I usually center a guide before, halfway, and when finished wrapping. After they are all on I look down the blank for final adjustments.

I use sunline sniper for leaders now, the differences between it and invizx are minimal (to me). If you want your leader to sink (I do for bottom contact) you shouldn't have any problems with the invizx.

I had knot to hook failures when using yzh as a leader as well. 8, 12, and 15lb all failed on the hookset. My leaders were 5 to 6 feet long. I just decided yzh didn't like my hookset and moved on from it for leader material. Hearing that this can be a problem with other co-poly lines probably just saved me some heartache down the line, thanks @Dwight Hottle

I love this for a fast walk the dog retrieve. Many baits will walk well slow and steady, but few can walk as fast and smooth as a spit'n image. It's absolute money when bass are aggressively feeding on the surface. My first choice when chasing schools in the hot summer.

Last couple of daiwa knobs I pulled had blue loctight heavily applied. It makes sense from a production standpoint. Use slightly more shim than necessary, add loctight and tighten until you get the desired free spin to slop ratio. Set aside until loctight cures. This has to be much faster than disassembling and reassembling to swap and adjust shims for perfection. I'll bet this is what is causing your frustration. They probably didn't have the screw anywhere near as tight as you do, and were trusting the loctight to hold and give you the perfect fit feeling.

I'll bet your knots were slipping. When I first started using braid, I had a few trilene knots slip. I switched to the twice through the eye uni knot (often called the fishing fool knot) and haven't had any problems with braid knots since.

How difficult is permagloss to remove if applied to wraps? Would it make replacing a guide annoying, turn it into a major ordeal, or just be nearly impossible to do cleanly?

I wonder how well they would do if they ran a few daiwa reels without the t-wing? I'm sure I would be priced out, but a 21 Zillion with a standard line guide would pretty much be my dream reel.

With a couple of exceptions, all my reels are purchased used. Only a few are still pretty and I'm OK with that, they are tools. I build my own rods and while they look good to me, appearance is a pretty distant second to function when I build. A few are built to be pretty to my eye, but I'm still making tools, not art. To answer your question, no, none of my tools are too pretty to use. My waters are so dirty my stuff probably accumulates more filth in one trip than most people's will in months. If I had an office or study I might like to have some display equipment, but even then I would prefer there was a story to go with the item so it likely would only be pretty to me.

I love Daiwa SV spools and most of my setups are using them. Having said that, none of them perform better than my 21 Scorpion DC in the wind. I don't even use the DC anymore (replaced it with a 21 Zillion) because I just like the feel of Daiwas more, the spool being a tiny bit closer to the thumb bar just feels right. I have used the SV G1 1012 spool and a SV 103 spool in a SS SV, Steez 100, TD-Z, and Steez 100sh. I have 2 Alphas SV 105, a 21 Zillion, and I've used a Tatula SV. They don't struggle with wind, but they don't get as much distance as the DC will straight into strong wind. Maybe it's my casting stroke, maybe it's my dated equipment, but that is my experience.

Is it getting snagged when reeling in, or casting out? If it's only while reeling in that's no big deal if you point the rod tip down at your lure just as the knot reaches you. If it's catching on the way out you need to try a smaller knot. The FG will likely be the best. It's not as hard to tie as it looks when you get familiar with it.

By "dug in" I mean the line has pulled down into the spool and is not rolling off freely. As mentioned before, this isn't much of a problem if all the line is tight on the spool. If you notice loops or slack on your spool, strip line and pinch it when reeling in to re-tighten everything. You won't have to do this as often as you get more accustomed to braid.