FD.

I think they are going to sell raffle tickets instead of auction them. It's a minimum of $2500 per team so there should be plenty of heavy hitters there to buy a pile of raffle tickets. I'm going to send some money with a buddy to buy some tickets myself if you want I can do the same for you.

One of my clients is hosting a salt water tournament to benefit "Make a Wish Foundation." The Make A Wish Foundation funds wishes for terminally ill children in the Tampa Bay Area. I can't fish it because we will be on Smith Lake Al for an extended family vacation so I'm going to build 3 spinning rods to be raffled off on tournament day. The blanks will be MHX L-904 light salt water 7-6 Medium Heavy / Moderate Fast. Chrome Micro Wave Nanolite guides, Cork Split Grip, Fuji SK-2 reel seat, Aluminum trim rings. One in Black, one in Red, and one in Blue. I ordered everything tonight and will document the builds here once the parts get here.

Nice rig Chris!

I'm in that lock on a regular basis. 5 boats at a time on a normal Sat afternoon and it's no problem. Jam 12 to 15 in there at sunrise on tourny day and you are going to lose some paint. That's just the way it is. You have to deal with tricky currents, bad boat operators, and a lock master who just finished his "liquid" breakfast.

I have the Humminbird equivalent and they are worth the money. Any good side imaging sonar is going to do what you want. Brand is just a matter of personal preference.

That's a cool story.

4 batteries, 4 bank onboard charger, 2 power pole pumps, 2 gal oil tank, 1 gal extra oil, small collapsible handle paddle, jumper cables.

Epoxy and finish http://www.mudhole.com/Rod-Building/Supply-Kits-Tool-Kits/Rod-Building-Supply-Kit-1 I would buy a dryer if you could. You can get a crb dryer for $40, unless you have hours to sit and turn a rod.

This is what you should start with. http://www.mudhole.com/Rod-Building/MHX-Casting-Kits_2/MHXCK-5 Around $100 with shipping and everything is included. Reel seat, grips, guides and tip top. It's an 843 blank which I build on the most. It will be an awesome, multi purpose rod you will have forever.

Optima for cranking, always. Todays FI motors have a high demand for power. Spending $300 on an optima solved my 250 optimax problems. Walmart Everstart for TM batteries is the way to go. I have 3 on board and get around 300 cycles out of them. Spend the money on a good on board charger and they will last a long time.

I have two new 8' sportmans in my boat. The new pumps are smaller, they are wireless, and are fast. My old sportsman, an 07 model still works fine on my nephews boat. I have no experience with the Talons, but I've had nothing but good experience with Power Poles.

I still owe Gary for trying to knock off a six pounder with the net about 7 years ago. Plus he is one of the few with a hat as ugly as mine so it's all good.

There are some badly built rod out there. Mostly factory built. But as you are mocking up your handle assembly you will get a good idea of how the finished rod will feel. Moving your reel seat trigger 1/4 inch one way or another can make a huge difference in balance.

And you would know a thing or two about "adding weight" and being unbalanced...

X2 I never add any weight. Maybe it's just a combination of my choice of components and where I like the reel seat, but all of my rods seem to balance at the reel seat. Without a lure hanging on the end, they feel weightless.

very nice

I agree. I would buy a kit. Mud Hole has them starting at $70. That's a good blank, handle kit, reel seat, and guides. That's what I did and still have and use several of them 10 years later.

Somebody will be taking aerial photos while the lake is down. Either the DNR or Fish and Game or the contractor doing the work. Find out who and offer to buy a copy. If it's the contractor, he will probably give you a copy if you tell him it's for fishing purposes. I would.

1. Search for "how do I post a video." 2. Read instructions. 3. Follow instructions.

We are headed there for Easter weekend. I had never even heard of it before last week. Any tips? We will be staying next to the Duncan Marina. I was planning on hiring a guide to do some striper fishing one day but the other 3 I'll be on my own.

The short answer to your question is "NO." It's really not an issue under most circumstances. But since us engineering nerds don't particularly like short answers, The physics work something like this... A rotational force is primarily focused at the point the load changes direction. Meaning, the tip top takes most of the force of the line load. There is very little load on the rest of the guides however the force is transferred down the blank to the grip where it is anchored, by your hand. The break occurs at the weakest point, normally in the first few inches from the tip. That being said I have only broken two or maybe three rods in my lifetime from what I think was rotational force. Most breaks are from weak and damaged spots on your blank caused by car doors, rod lockers and such. As a rod builder rotational force is not the only reason I have started acid wrapping. I'm convinced I gain casting distance and eliminate line wrap at the tip top. Plus they look good and since you can't buy them at BPS, they are clearly identified as a "custom rod."

This is what I use to start with. I then adjust under load. ATC Gold/Black Nano tip top rotated 180* from the reel seat ATC Gold/Black Size 8 5" from tip rotated 180* 8 10-1/2 rotated 180* 8 16 180 8 22 180 10 28 135 10 36 90 10 46 45 12 59 10

I use both. A tip top takes a lot of abuse and is usually the first thing that fails.

X2 You are going to put things on upside down sideways crooked and other ways until you get some practice. Buy a cheap kit from mudhole and practice before you spend a lot on components. I have just started using high end components and I am on rod number 16.

Even easier than tape is to buy some of this http://www.mudhole.com/Rod-Building/Misc-Supplies/Guide-Tubing and slice into thin pieces and roll them down the blank like tiny rubber bands. They hold the guides much better than tape and you can move them up and down the blank while testing.