Lead Head

Isn't the knot in @Fishin Dad video the double pitzen? It's what I use with 14lb and above sunline sniper. I have a pretty big swing and that's on a 5-6 foot leader of FC. In theory, the line and knots get more stressed than they would with straight FC. I have had 0 mystery failures in the last few years. The few failures I have had were either my fault or unavoidable. I never cut my tag ends flush or even very short. With t-rigs I will thread the knot and tags into the plastic. The 3 tags actually bite into the plastic and help prevent plastics from sliding down on the hook. The weight contacts the plastic instead of the knot.

40lb suffix 832 to a 6 foot (ish) 25lb Sunline Sniper leader. Started using this setup because of the super sharp rocks I love to pick through. Stuck with it in all cover and conditions because it has just simply worked for me. It has also been very economical, I buy braid every 2-4 years (flipping it around on the spool 1 time) and a spool of Sniper every 1.5-2 years.

My preference would be a KDPS hidden thread sleeve with a matching cover. To me, it looks cleaner and more importantly, is more comfortable. I see you have already purchased the VSS, I prefer the AmTak Aero. Mick's suggestion of the DPSSD looks nice, I think I will mock one up the next time I build a spinning rod.

You should be able to get Gomexus cheaper than that on aliexpress.

If nothing is loose all you need to do is seal the cracked epoxy to prevent water intrusion. Personally, I would use a needle to apply a tiny amount of clear nail polish or super glue. All you want to do is seal it up, no need for epoxy.

I'll throw out there... if you're considering custom, look into Point Blank rod blanks. I use a pb731mhxf for 3/8oz jigs + trailer. If I used 1/2-3/4oz jigs much, I would absolutely have the pb731hxf.

Custom Point Blank rod (PB731MHXF) with a Daiwa SS SV upgraded to 8.1.1 brass gears and carbon drag. It's my 3/8oz jig rod.

I haven't fished your area specifically, but I am on the AR River south of LR 2 or 3 days a week. The past few years I have been very successful throwing black neon (red).

No full ceramic.

I have been switching in the hybrid bearings from China recently. Only major performance upgrade I noticed was with bfs spools. I'm doing it because they don't need lube, and I don't mind the noise. It's a experiment to see how long they last without oil. I will mention, 2 of the 10 I have ordered so far did not spin freely. The other 8 put stock bearings (flushed and oiled with tsi321) to shame from a free spin perspective. Not much of a noticeable difference when casting though.

In my opinion, the lews tournament mp/mb is FAR superior to the crush. Shimano dc braking is nice, but not nice enough to justify the cost over a mgl. SV spooled daiwas are the most user-friendly, hassle-free casting reels out there, and while they don't typically get the distance most centrifugal reels will, they don't fall as short as many people would lead you to believe. Again, this is all just my opinion. My suggestion would be a Shimano Mgl or Daiwa SV in your price range. If you want Lews, go with one of the models suggested above and avoid the Crush.

I listen to audio books most of the time while I'm on the water. Either earbuds or bone conduction headphones depending on my mood and if I need/want to hear ambient sounds. A good pair of earbuds with ambient mode could not only solve your problem, but be a nice gift for her (they aren't cheap). If she likes that idea you won't be subjected to any of that God-awful noise that passes for country music nowadays.

I use the uni (the foolish version) for all braid to lure connections.

For me- They have better vibration and contact feedback (in short, more sensitive.) They are the perfect moderate-fast for long accurate casting while still getting a good deep bend on hookup. Just keep in mind, this is my opinion. Someone else may dislike the Bushido for the same reasons I like it.

Look into american tackle Bushido CB blanks. I like them much more than MHX cranking blanks. I have never used the StCroix though.

I pick my way through a lot of very sharp rocks in 5-25' of dirty water. It's pretty common to encounter substantial wood cover on or very near these rocks. After some trial and error, I settled on 40lb 832 with a 5-6' 25lb FC leader (sniper). Straight braid gets cut on the rocks, and I retie so often that straight FC leaves me shallow spooled (not a big deal to some people, but it drives me crazy). I have grown so confident in this combination that I now use it for all jig fishing. I will downsize the leader for swimjigs, or if I'm on a different body of water and it's clear.

They don't bother me too much, I've actually grown to like the texture on finished rods. Occasionally they give me a bit of trouble when wrapping, but some light burnishing in the problem area solves that for me.

I definitely agree with everyone who is suggesting you upgrade your TM. If you have no plans to put a gas motor on it I would suggest something 24v. You want to be confident in your mobility on windy days, otherwise you will miss out on some good fishing. Even if you have no interest in "fancy" electronics, simply knowing your depth is extremely beneficial. I suggest something with basic downscan, gps, depth, and water temperature, if you can get by with a small screen you can get all of that at a very affordable price. If you use it a lot you can add it to your list for upgrade.

I have smoothed that seam on a finished rod in my rod drier before. It's tedious because the drier is slow and can't handle much pressure, but it did work.

I recently jumped into semi-bfs just like you. My bottom end weight is a 1/16oz jig with a TRD. I grabbed a couple of the cheapo (under $20 shipped) Chinese bfs spools off the express site. One for a Fuego CT, and one 34mm for a Steez 100. They are heavy for bfs spools (I think around 11g) and have actual SV breaking instead of the typical fixed inductor you see on most Daiwa bfs spools. Both have served me well so far, allowing me to cast both the 1/16oz ned and a 1/16oz chatterbait mini with more distance and accuracy than I had with a ML spinning setup. The rods are a MHX mb842 (1/8-1/2oz, fast) and a NFC delta ds6107 (1/8-3/8oz, extra-fast). I will mention that upgraded spool bearings made a noticeable difference for me. I suggest a unlubed hybrid bearing. I have no idea what is in your zephyr but some decent unlubed hybrid spool bearings may help with spool start-up. (I went cheap on this as well, ordering $3 hybrids from the express site. Of the 10 I ordered, 3 would barely free-spin but the rest performed similar to boca hybrids I have purchased in the past. I can't speak to longevity yet.)

832 is a little tacky when new (not anywhere close to as bad as PP) and the light spool and lure make it way more noticeable than it normally is with more traditional bass tackle. It will get better with use as the coating wears off. You could try stripping some line off and reeling it back on through a wet cloth to try and speed up the process.

I agree about knot strength, it's far more important to me than straight strength. I use absolutely 0 fluorocarbon line without a knot. I'm not sure how you would test it, but knot shock strength would probably be the most important test for me personally.

I will never buy a rod or reel because of its appearance. I will however, NOT buy a rod or reel because of its appearance. Matching rods and reels has become moderately important to me since I started building my own rods. Previously it didn't really matter, but now I don't want to tell someone "yeah, I built that rod," and have the combo looking like a mix-matched train wreck of colors. I also tend to dislike "shiny."

Barely under 6'. It sets just outside the reel when casting, and just outside the rod tip when pitching.

With a soft rod, you will be fine. If you're really worried about it, grab some stretchy mono for leaders with treble hooks and topwater (big game works well). Just be aware you probably won't feel much stretch. As mentioned above, I prefer a leader for treble hooks because it drastically cuts down on hooks fouling in the line. Also, use appropriate drag.