Hooligan

Glad to hear they took care of you. I know they took care of me, as well as everyone I've ever talked to with the same issue. Going back and reading that people can't believe they haven't acknowledged the problem- They have, numerous times. Through, not only their customers and saying that, "Yes we had an issue with the initial runs" and through their presence on many forums on the internet. Bantam1 has offered much the same here previously. Nay sayers will say nay, it's sour grapes rationale, I rather firmly believe that. Just like when many of us bought GLX and "the guide inserts were brittle" and things of that nature. Loomis fixed the issue, that by the way wasn't their issue, and righted the situation, as they did here.

I've broken five NRX at, or slightly above, the reel seat. Only one of which was a replacement that broke. Overall, I'm still very happy with them, but like DVT states, the custom factor has begun to far outweigh what a stock rods can be had for. There are also custom builders, though, that are ridiculously overpriced.

Yeah, I've had it happen on mine three or sixteen times. I've slowly started to move many of my NRX and have been fishing a custom that I found I've really, really liked. The rods are finished well and they're on either NFC or MHX blanks, and thus far I've not had issue. I'll still keep a handfull of my NRX rods, but for the price I can't do much better.

No, the first statement I made is concerning my half ton Ford with a 5.4L Triton, which I'm getting around 20 when pulling the Triton. When I hook it up to the diesel on longer road trips, is concerning the second part of my statement. As such, I stand by my original statement. I have friends with Chevy's, Ford's, Dodge, and there's a substantial difference on dollars spent on fuel between the three. All of the guys with the 5.4, 6 Speed, and 3.73 rear are getting considerably better mileage than other vehicles in the same class. They're not all the same is the point. Also, JF, I saw a write up about that very thing somewhat recently. Ford and Toyota are said to have the same options in development. If Toyota brings their I5 with 355 Horsepower and 620 odd torques, I'll be driving a Tundra, make no seconds about it.

I disagree with that, quite a lot. I get better mileage by 5-7MPG when towing than many of my fishing partners pulling the same rigs.. In economy that's a substantial range, let alone when under towing load. When I drive the diesel, my economy is effected by, usually, only 2-3 MPG when towing versus no load. There are extremely economical tow vehicles out there, particularly in terms of towing a boat. I know of several people that are getting 28MPG out of their diesels when towing. That's plenty of economy.

I disagree on adding ice at any time, as would any fisheries biologist that I've ever spoken with about it, and I've talked with a lot of them through the years in my other career; couple that with having a degree in fisheries biology (but not using said degree) and you get where my standpoint is. The differential between the water temps with iced water is often too great and shocks fish almost always. As a result they end up with lactic acid build up, and delayed mortality as a result. In terms of other additives, think about it this way- the number of things that biologists can use, in terms of chemicals, for fish is extremely limited. Primarily because there is a long term half life that cannot be metabolized by the fish. There are also a large number of the chemicals on the market that will initially strip the slime coat because of the way it acts as a disinfectant. SDSU fisheries dept has done much research on the subject and it's mostly readily available on their pages. Todd, you make a valid point, yet typically, osmotic imbalance is unlikely to occur in livewell situation with fresh water flowing through. It's almost impossible for that to occur because of the nature of their regulation. To say that an imbalance would occur because of a lack of solutes in a body of water isn't very accurate. What, actually, can occur from a higher than normal concentration of salts, as in the case you present to create a base of .5% salt solution, is that they can actually become lethargic and the salt will then act as a sort of anesthetic. Where a salt solution is most effective is in long term holding or recovery. There are instances in which it may be beneficial to salt fish in a livewell, but rarely are they effective for the tournament angler, other aspects of the catch/hold/release have much greater effect than salts. Lastly, define your normal scale for delayed mortality. It's been shown to be in the 25%+ range by some studies (http://www.biol.ttu.edu/faculty/gwilde/Shared%20Documents/Reprints/Tournamentassociatedmortality.pdf) and as high as 51% in others (http://www.tnfish.org/NorrisReservoir_TWRA/files/BassTournamentMortalityGeneGilliland_TWRA.pdf) I have seen studies on the low end around the 13-15% marker, and I've seen studies at near 100% delayed mortality. It's far too subject to specific environmental affects to base a "normal" range. That said, the vast majority of post tournament delayed mortality rates are going to fall below the 20% mark from nearly all modern studies.

That, most certainly, is not "all." Using a spinnerbait as a tool to pick apart structure and cover, regardless of depth is far more than a cast and reel. Then again, go ahead and do that, and I'll continue to catch fish behind you, and those like you, and smile all the way to another check in my hand.

I'm sticking with Swimming Fluke Junior on 1/8 ounce heads, usually three on the lower three then two #5.5 willow blades on top. Total weight under 2 ounces.

with most monofilament nylon, I change after each trip, or tournament, typically. With fluorocarbon, rarely, unless it's heavy diameter Abrazx, in which case it will be a couple times a month. Most other fluorocarbons, I don't typically worry about, I generally add backing to fill the spool. Braid, change at least four to five times a year on those rods that I fish it, it's usually due more to fray and abrasion than anything; I'll reverse it every month, usually, and then change it thereafter.

If you want a Rapala replacement hook, the VMC 9650 and 9651 is the hook to use. It matches all the other hooks from Rapala, and they're a fine hook.

I think that's the String Ease Fastach. They have changed it slightly, but it still works great for cranks and traps. I love the things for cranking.

I think the RTO is the better replacement, really. The Luck E Strike is a great bait in its own right, too. It's got a lot of the features that rick was looking for initially in the RC series. He'd never liked how wide the bait yawed, and how much roll it had. That's been fixed, to his words, in the RC2 baits. If you're looking for a straight replacement for the RC series, the RTO is likely that. If you're looking for a great squarebill, both all three fit the bill.

And many will disagree. Fact braid doesn't transmit on a slack line because of the belly. Fact: fluorocarbon does. There's no debate about whether or not these things occur, it's been proven far too many times to even argue about it.

The majority of my swimbait fishing is on 15# Tatsu. When I move above the regular baits to Hard Triples and the like, I am typically throwing either Maxima, or this year I've been playing with C21 in large diameter as well. So far, I'm liking it.

Yeah, I spent a little over $2000 on plastics, Trokar and stuff that I can't get under other agreements.

Caron Pro is a long standing favorite for many, many anglers. It's a great line at a reasonable price. KVD line and Lure is a near necessity with all fluorocarbon lines anymore.

That's cute. No really. It is. Rather than blame what we should, the people that don't know how to manage their money, we blame business. Lay blame where blame lies, man. If people are too stupid not to spend money they don't have they deserve it. Meanwhile, I'll continue to ride one of the best years I've had for investments in companies like BOA and reap the benefits of all they offer. It's not greed, man. Welcome to capitalism.

Not so. They're a different bait. Weighted different with a slightly different body style. The RTO will not yaw as much as the RC.

That's one of my favorite things about the rod.

Ha! That's awesome! What kinds numbskull would you have to be to do something like that? I love it...

GAH! I had a response to this all typed out and something happened. I'll make note of it and try to revisit when I can dedicate the time to it.

I typically fish two types of blade anymore, and most generally only three sizes of those blades. They cover the water column for me, and relate to how I fish the baits i question. I fish a size 4.5 to 6.5 willow, more in the 5 and 5.5 than anything else, and I fish a Wide Willow in 3.5-5. Those are on baits ranging from 5/16 ounce in weight to 1.5 ounce baits. What I want to do with them is greatly determined by the gear I fish them on.

That is very similar to how Gary Loomis has described the rod taper issue in the past. It's about as accurate a description you can make in a logical sense. He broke it down from there and has some very good information dealing with blank thickness and speed in relation to rod taper as well.

That's my point. That short of leader is simply another junction and opportunity for failure. It's not even remotely necessary, or logical, to fish with 8" leaders.

Pretty much defeats the purpose. Might as wellgo without.