Youll be set for an entire years worth of successful smallmouth fishing on lakes and rivers under simplified, minimalist (for me, anyways!) means
I am sure other materials like ceramic or glass balls would also work
Whether that be a push of nervous water, the bloop of a rolling fish, or the steady hydraulic churn of chaining fish if the fish are there, they eventually show themselves in the first hour or two
A great 5-weight rod may have the ability to cast well in-close, fool the fish, and possibly protect your 6X tippet, but you dont want a rod with so much backbone that it skates your fish in like a piece of wood, depriving you of the sense of enjoyment you might otherwise get from playing a small fish
The Phantom can do continuous casting as it comes with a 7.1:1 brass gear ratio which is also available as both left and right-hand models