Adam Harbuck

PP is my personal favorite. I am not going to go and spend $$$ just to see if I can find one that works better. I found PP, it works better than ones I have tried in the past (Spiderwire, Fireline, Tuffline), so I am sticking with it. Maybe there are better lines out there, but PP is competitively priced, available everywhere, and works for me. But heck, I'm old school....been using Big Game for 15 years and never found a reason to find a different mono.

Sure, adheasive backed sheet foam, about 1-2mm thick; put it in the lid, "wall-to-wall" to act as a gasket and keep everything in it's proper place. Fly fishers do it in thier flyboxes to keep tiny flies from migrating from one slot to another.

Try Real Smooth Reels.

Brake parts cleaner, mass air-flow sensor cleaner, and thottle body cleaner all contain MEK, which will wreck plastic, peel paint, and etch anodized aluminum. I wouldn't use them. Either a simple parts wash solution (most likely naptha), spray lube like WD-40, Reel Scrubber, or good old soap and water all work well. Bearings can go into a bath of acetone, or naptha, but the acetone will get ALL the gunk out. Simple Green and Purple Power wil work too just like soap and water, just don't use it in the full concetration, as it will discolor aluminum at that strength.

When they fist came out like nearly 20years ago, I "bought into them" and fished them all the time. Not only did the frames bend out of shape like they were not supposed to do, but they had problems with the wire breaking, right at the line tie. I had that happen only once, but I don't buy them anymore. BooYah work fine for me and they don't cost as much as t Ti spinnerbait.

Love the cranks, especially the shallow runner, and the colors are good too. The Sammy copy is good also and I will continue to buy them. The frog is junk; mine don't sink, but they sit really low in the water and most importantly, don't catch fish! I will stick to my Trophy Scum Frogs for now...I KNOW they work.

I have got to admit; at first, I thought you were trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear and wondered why you didn't just scap the boat and keep the trailer, but you have done some good work and it looks like you will end up with a fine fishing boat....maybe a Frankienboat, but a good boat all the same. GREAT JOB, and thanks for the "log" of your efforts.

I just bought another Accurist PT for my son (I too have one) and it's a good reel. Same price as the Citica. Remember that all of the PT reels are a different animal than the other Quantums, and are better made and will last longer. I have one of last years Energy PTs that I bought on clearance at Dicks for about $50 off retail. It's big, and strong, and heavy, but it should be around for the duration.

Hey Kerby, you from around Glouchester? Many, many years ago I built the Wal-Mart in Glouchester.

Or, just look at the "scum line" on the transom of a bass boat, or on the outboard and measure that difference down to the bottom on the "pad", not the bottom of the transom, and I bet you would be looking at close to 16, 18, or even 20 inches. Light weight aluminums certainly wouldn't be that deep, but a big heavy 20' high performance boat sits deep at rest.

4, I fish in a kayak and more than that just get in the way. Usually not the same 4, it is based on where I am fishing and what baits I am throwing.

Alberto!

Oh, and I might add that you can buy a Platinum for LESS than you can buy a St. Croix Avid Series Blank (SC3).

And it's considerably less expensive than an Avid. I own and fish three every week. I also build many of my own rods, so I have a good eye for build quality. It's not a Loomis, nor is it a higher end St. Croix, but at less than $100, it's a good rod. I have the 6'6" Light Fast, 6'6" Medium XFast (awesome spinnerbait rod), and a 6'6" MH Fast, which is no where NEARLY as stiff as my custom 6'6" MH Fast SC3MHF (Avid Series Blank).

Devcon 2-Ton is waterproof and fully cures in about 30 minutes. Devcon 5 Minute is not waterproof, but it wouldn't really matter unless it was going to be submerged and it does cure up in 5 minutes. I would just dab a little 2-Ton on it, smooth it out a bit, and go fishing. The 2-Ton will saturate a little better because of the longer cure time. I keep 2-Ton in the shop because it is good for glueing so many things, it cures quickly, is waterproof, and strong as all get out. As a rod builder, I like Devcon 2-Ton because you can get it at Wal-Mart (hardware department), it is very strong, and it has a more flexible bond than 5 Minute.

Quality. I fish in a kayak, so I don't carry much tackle, but the 3-4 combos that I take with me are the best I can afford (or rather that I am willing to pay for) and they include: Three Curado e7s and one Quantum Energy PT riding on three AllStar Platimums and one St. Croix C3 Custom. The rods are all 6'6" because that is how I like to fish in a 'yak, up close and personal. They are a 6'6" M Fast for topwater, jerkbaits, and Traps, a 6'6" M XFast for spinnerbaits, a MH XFast for frogs, and a MH Fast for worms/creature baits. That's how I fish.

Two of the three worked fine for a long time before needing a little TLC, the third reel needed a good cleaning and re-lubing from day one. I used Penn Synthetic Lubes, the only aftermarket lube I have ever heard anyone say BAD things about was Quantum Hot Sauce,...after doing that one reel, I decided to do all three. Perfect! Good reels at that price point. Not quite a Citica, but then the Citica is at a higher price point. You most always get what you pay for. I have some higher priced Quantum PTs that compete against (price-wise) a Curado, but I REALLY like the Curados.

I have three of them as back-ups for new 200e7s. At less than $100, it's a good reel if you clean the factory lubes out and replace it with top end aftermarket synthetic lubes. HOWEVER, if you stretch you money about $20 you could have a Citica, which is in a whole different class. But they are capable reels, durable, economical, and will put a whoppin' on big sheaphead!

A pad boat (high performance bass boat runs on plane on a "pad") would have a deeper draft than a displacement hull like a bay boat.

Curado is 11mm, I assume the Citica is the same.

Check the vent first, and if that's open, I bet it the pick-up hose.

Mustad Ultra Points, get them at Academy.

I am 47 yo, and I only fished Smithwick Lures when I was a kid, b/c my Grandfather owned a small sporting goods store, which was the first place you could ever buy a Smithwick bait, which was a small Shreveport, La based bait company. Kind of cool, as Bo Smithwick (founders grandson) was in my wedding. I still have and fish lots of Smithwick baits, including the Rogue (jerk-bait), Carrot-top (walk-the-dog stickbait/chugger like a Chug-Bug, but bigger and wooden), Toothpick (small, slim wooden stickbait), Wood-Chug (chugger), and of course the original Smithwick bait, the Devil's Horse (prop-bait).

Slow cure epoxy is not going to work on a flexible hull. Go to Kayakbassfishing.com and do a serch...many, many guys have transducers permanently attached using Goop or Lexel, they will stay stuck to the "tupperware" boats.

If I need it, I go to BPS or Academy and buy it, at full price. Sometimes I will look at a clearance selection, but in my case, all I see is picked over junk that no one else wants, why would I?