NOC 1

It will wok fine for anything you care to use it for. If you want it to retrieve faster then crank it faster. It's only a few inches less retrieve less per revolution of the handle. Those few extra cranks might matter if you're a big shot fisherman and you are fishing in a tournament with $50,000 on the line, but not many of us are. Now, if you are picking a reel out from scratch for a specific thing, maybe you wouldn't choose a 5 to 1 reel, but since you already have one, don't let that stop you from using it. I use 6 to 1 reels for almost everything as I'm older and it wasn't so far back that a 6/1 reel WAS a blazing fast reel and that is what I like. I do have a couple of 7 to 1 and an 8 to 1 as well and don't see that much of a difference. A lot of this stuff is marketing hype that provides we gear junkies an excuse to buy more reels I think.

It does mean fiber glass and it may be a composite of glass and fiber, but there will not be enough carbon fiber to keep it from behaving like a fiberglass rod. The 2 materials behave quite differently one from the other.Look at the chart below. It shows the relative actions of carbon fiber rods. You see that even the bendiest action (slow) hits the backbone of the rod 1/2 of the way down. If this were a glass rod that bend would start all the way down the rod near the handle. This works great for a crank bait rod because it isn't too important for the rod to be sensitive (and a glass rod isn't) but it is important for you to maintain a constant pull on those treble hooks so they don't come loose. Now a Moderate or Moderate/Fast action CF rod will still be bendy enough to pin that treble hook to the fish, but yet stiff enough to have some sensitivity when you have to feel very faint tics on the line that means a fish is biting with other techniques. The thing is that a glass rod is too bendy for many techniques and not sensitive enough for the others. Now that said, You say that yo mostly throw 5/8-oz baits, so for you a MH would be a better choice. it seems like most rods perform best when the weight of the bait is around the middle of thier weighted range and maybe a little above the middle. 5/7 would be at the very top of the range for a typical M power rod. Hope this helps some. Falcon rods are some of my favorites. Even the lower priced rods fish like they cost a whole lot more. But if choosing a Falcon I would definitely go to the MH if you always throw in the 5/8 range as they fish a little lighter than their ratings. Some rods are prone to snapping in two if you overdo the power with a lure heavier than it's rated for.

A shorter rod is always a nice thing to have when you are casting into brush, limbs and lay downs. The shorter rod will likely be just a bit more accurate and sometimes that little bit is just enough to hit that small opening rather than wrapping your lure around some brush that you can't get into to retrieve it from. Now that you have a boat, why limit yourself. I carry rods from 7'6"down to a 5'10". Trust me, at some point you will be glad that you have a shorter rod handy.

If it were I, and I were going to have only one rod, I think I would go for a 6'8" to 7' M/ with a MF action. That is a rod that can do a lot of things pretty well. A lot of guys will tell you that a MH/F is better for an all around rod, and it might be depending on how you fish, but I tend to like to fish lighter more than heavier and most MH don't work that well with baits under 3/8-oz .....in my opinion. But either would be a better all around choice than a glass cranking rod which is going to be pretty much a one trick pony.

No kidding. the last time I had an issue like that it took me 15 minutes to figure out that I had somehow wrapped the line around the rod between the last guide and the tip. I have no idea of how I did it, or why it escaped my notice for so long.

Yes, the XXX are a bit of a step down I think, but then so is the price. That said they are still very nice rods, still plenty sensitive, balanced and built with uncompromising quality. So far, my favorite series is the Destroyer Evoluzion. I can't really explain why, but they just feel how I believe a rod ought to feel.

you could try Japan Tackle, JDM Heaven, and 7Seas Pro shop for starters.

I am missing your meaning here. Soaked the cork?

It's pretty tough to get a crank-bait 17' feet deep and nearly impossible to get to 30'....just saying that because it may affect your choice if that is the main reason you are looking for a crank-bait rod.

Thanks, I've been sort of eyeing those up as well. A lot of guys seem to really like them. And 6'6" is right in my comfort zone for length. I think that what is holding me up there, and I should probably be ashamed of it, is that it seems a waste of a good opportunity to add another MegaBass or the like since I've already pretty much convinced myself that I "need" another rod. I have also been thinking of the Adermine which has been mentioned too. I have been neglecting my spinning gear for a long while, and I've been thinking of getting something fairly nice there. I'm also drawn to the 6'8" UL Poison Adrena, 6'5" F0 World Shaula, Legit Design Wild Side 6'8" L/MF, and I'm liking the Major Craft MS-X Limited 6'4" XF solid tip more and more all the time......Ah, So much great gear...never enough cash.

I could see where you would want to reapply if you are using the Magic Eraser to clean the handle because it is an abrasive and it probably sanding off the light coat. I started using Windex to clean cork 40 years ago when I used to ride a lot of bicycle events. No fishing rod handle gets dirtier than cork handle bar tape after sweating on and grinding the dirt into them with leather gloves for 100 miles or more. It cleans cork to brand new looking without sanding off the surface..Right now my oldest current handle bar tape was installed in 1987 and it is now just as bright and clean as it was 23 years ago. Just make sure you get the Windex with Ammonia (or just use plain Ammonia) as Ammonia is not damaging to wood. It's the go to for removing old wax from fine furnishings...I'm not sure about the newer "greener" formulations.

I know how you feel. I did the same with my Lews reels.

i think that the difference is mainly that for the same motion, the rod tip will travel further. That can be pretty useful if you are using stretchy line and you've got 40 or 50 yds. of it out there I guess. Yes the ratio is higher so it is is a little more effort, but like you say, not so much that anyone would notice without a a machine to measure it for you. Or maybe if you had an arthritic shoulder. They are making me go in still, but I agree in principle. If I'm going to be figuring stuff, I'd rather be figuring fishing stuff.

Well, the thing is that things work the way they work whether or not you consider them. I like many others understand how they work because I have learned that. I can't unlearn it just because I am fishing. BUT....personally, I don't think about it much when I'm fishing except when I have problems. For example if I'm losing fish because I'm doing 50 yd. hook sets with a 6'3" regular action rod strung with mono. It is nice to know the physics so that I know how to fix the problem. But mostly I just go with what feels best to me when fishing. I figure out stuff at work and I like fishing because it isn't like work. What's the other choices? You could just stumble onto a solution I guess, or you could ask on a forum like this and let somebody else figure out how it works.

Well, given the same power applied, torque is converted in part to speed. The upshot is that a shorter rod has more torque. It's a lever after all. Longer rod equals more distance traveled with less power while a shorter rod travels less and slower but has more power given the same motion and the same power used to make it.

I usually just wipe them down with a little Windex. Seems to work well enough. I've not had to reapply yet.

I am considering a Light action casting rod lately. I am considering having something built. I am thinking along the lines of a Phenix Iron Feather blank 7'1" EX Ln. 1-7, lure 1/16-3/8, Titanium with SiC guides etc. Or maybe something built on a Walleye spinning blank of some sort. Still working it out I guess. Maybe I'll try making it myself, but then again I don't it think it would be a wise move to build my first rod on a $200 blank, so...

I don't know. I really prefer a 90mm handle, but use plenty of reels with 80mm handles just fine. On the other hand a reel with a 100mm handle will get the handle changed to a 90mm. The longer handle seems like a lot of wasted motion to me and I don't worry much about the torque. Even a 20lb Flathead cat is no match for a 240lb human with tools. I think that one's preferences might have to do with hand size. I have small hands so smaller handles and small precise movements seem fine to me. But I can see why somebody with big ham fists might not feel it the same way?

For Ned rigs, I've been using an OG Daiwa Black Label ML/R with a Daiwa PX68R for the lighter stuff, an F3 Megabass Speed tip Custom (solid tip) with a Daiwa SS SV 103 upgraded to a Zillion SV TW G1 spool for the stuff that is a little heavier. I will also use an Abu Volatile ML/XF (really supposed to be an inshore rod) with a Daiwa PX68R from time to time.

Holy cow...I use 12lb and 15lb on my MH set-ups and 8 or 10lb on my medium rods. My finesse rigs are loaded with 4, 6, and 8. What lure weight would you consider "finesse"? I know people have differing ideas of what that means. I can't imagine using 15lb line to throw 1/8 oz baits.

Maybe it does a little, but if so it is so little that I'm not sure it does at all. I can't tell any difference really outside of the fact that it seems to give the cork a nice velvety touch.

https://tackletrap.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1066_2409_2410

You could also check out the MegaBass Orochi XXX rod. they are usually around the $250-$300 range. I have a Black Elseil II, F4/6'10" rated for 1/4-3/4 oz. lures and like it a lot. The only caveat is that the XXX rods are a JDM series, so the the lengths and etc may seem a little odd if you are used to nothing but US market rods. I also like the new Falcon Experts at $200. Both of these rods are sensitive and light.

If the Lews reel is somehow allowing the bait to "waggle" more (it isn't) then you would be getting less depth from it. The quickest and deepest dive takes place with the lure lip facing straight down. The lip is going to be providing the same amount of force given the same speed and any sideways motion is using some of the force to move sideways and not to go down. Yes, the speed will make a difference because the downward force is a function of the surface area and shape of the lip, the angle of the lip, and the speed of the water trying to move around it. Just the same as the way that an airplane wing provides more lift the faster it moves through the air. That is why a jet liner will not fly at 40 mph but will lift itself into the air at 130 mph. Or more to the point, it is why a pilot can pull the rudder all the way to the side while he taxi's on the ground while it is a very bad idea at 200 mph. But, more speed doesn't mean the lure can gp deeper. It just means that it will go to a given depth faster. the limiting factor on how deep any diving lure can go is the angle of the line pulling it. If you could keep the line strictly horizontal, the lure could dive for as many miles as you wanted it to. But the reality is that while the lip is digging down, the line is at the same time pulling the lure upwards and the greater the angle of the line, the more it does so. so there is a point in the cast where the the up-force out-pulls the lip and you are then pulling the lure up. That is why to get a lure truly deep you need to troll using a outrigger cannonball weight or a maybe a Dipsy Diver set-up. Have you considered the the vibration in the Lews is simply because the Shimano is a smoother reel?

I just keep covers on all my reels when they are on the racks. A little bit of dust I don't worry about cleaning, it comes off fishing usually. I have used a can of air before to blow the dirt off of a rell that got covered in dust fishing, but usually I just keep them covered and then clean everything really well when I do the yearly tear down and clean. I always put a nice thin coat of Carnuba wax on the outside of the reel. That seems to keep a lot of dirt from sticking to them.