.ghoti.

Ghot

Outstanding work, Scott. What do you think about those new Amtak grips?

No, You’re not. My thoughts exactly. For bass fishing, if you need a leader, you have the wrong line. i used Seaguar Rippin Mono for the last two years, but it is no longer being made. Likely go back the Trilene XL. Finesse Fluoro on two spinning reels for trout fishing, mono for the other five spinning reels, Invizx for two casting reels, mono for the remaining 21 casting reels. I let Roadwarrior convince me to try braid on two of my casting reels early this year. We were in Florida to fish Toho. Lots of veg in Toho. Don’t remember what braid it was. 50lb on one reel, that was removed as soon as I got home. 40lb on another that I decided to leave spooled up just to try it out again. Really do not know if it will remain on the reel all year. I would take either side of an even up wager on that question.

Where can I get a photon torpedo launcher that will fit on my yak?

That’s enough politics.

Can’t remember the last time I had a haircut.

Easy out if you have a small soldering iron. Get the screw good and hot, and it come out even if the head is partially stripped. When the screw is hot and a philips screwdriver doesnt work, grab a small straight diver that will fit in what’s left of the head.

I like the idea of walking a mile in his shoes before you criticize him. That way, when you start, you’re a mile away and he has no shoes.

I do the cooking at my house, and I do ok most of the time.

This question comes up all the time. So far, I have resisted giving an answer. The voices have overcome my resistance. The best knot is to NOT buy braid in the first place.

Doesn't matter what you use. It will not stay in place.

A Fuji Alconite in size 5 will reliably pass a leader knot. A size 5 Alconite has a ceramic ring which has an outside diameter of 5mm. Not a 5mm inside diameter. A size 5 alconite has a different ID than a size 5 SiC. The rings are of a different thickness. Basically, if you knock the ceramic ring out and measure the ID of what’s left, you get the guide size. Always thought this is a stupid way to specify guide sizes.

You want something to read? Look at the very top of the page. You will find a tab that says fishing articles. There’s enough there to keep you occupied for a long time.

Glenn is the owner of Bass Resource, and it’s chief administrator. He makes the rules, which are clearly defined for you, if you read the FAQ and Rules section. We moderators are here to see that the rules are followed. the short answer to your question is: we lock or dispose of threads in which rules are violated. And yes, we talk about these things, and make every effort to be even-handed about it.

Very nice to see you are still with us amigo!

Never thought of old reels as a source of mulch.

I do not regard fishing tackle as a monetary investment. I never expect to make money, or even recover my initial investment, should I sell a piece. In fact, I do not buy a piece expecting to sell it. Over the years I have spent a considerable amount on rods and reels. What I expect is to get a lot of years of reliable, enjoyable performance, and that sometime in the future; hopefully a long time into the future, something is either going to break or wear out. I don't expect to get my money back.

Still have the rodshop, so i stay busy. Have a bunch of blanks and a few other components on back-order. Currently have Billy Vivona’s book open on the bench, and have been trying to perfect some fancy cross- wraps. Have cut off about $50 worth of thread learning all the things not to do.

A turnkey kit is a good way to start. Mick is right on the money about not staring with expensive components. Use a hand wrapper and minimal tools when beginning. I started with a homemade wrapper and not much else. Got some good advice and built several rods on old garage sale rods to start. Learned how to take a rod apart, and be left with usable components. A useful set of skills. You will make some mistakes, and it is handy to know exactly how to undo what you did wrong without damaging any expensive bits. Spent about a year learning how to wrap guides and use epoxy. There is a learning curve. During that year, I figured out what I really needed to set up my shop. I am really glad I did not rush out and buy everything I thought I wanted. That year allowed me to discover what I needed, as opposed to what I thought I had to have. Don't get discouraged. None of the tasks required to build a fine looking, functional rod are truly difficult. Some just take a little experience.

Good advice from Mick. You wont go wrong following it. Allow me to add a point or two. You have selected a spinjig blank. A medium power spin blank is usually equivalent to a med- light power casting blank. The NMB843 may be a better choice for an all around casting blank. Call Mudhole and ask them. The Fuji ACS seat is not well liked. If you have a rod with that seat, and you like it, go ahead and use it. I find it to be very uncomfortable. Many do. I think it depends on hand size, and how you hold it while retrieving. For my money, the most comfortable casting seat out there right now is the Fuji PTS seat. You will need a Fuji Perfect Fit carbon fiber insert tube, which is epoxied into the seat, and an arbor to glue inside the tube. If you want a foregrip, buy the seat with the hidden thread hood.Fuji also makes other Perfect Fit pieces togo with this seat. Get the carbon fiber sleeve to go over the hidden thread hood, and the cap and base trim rings to set it off. You may also like a trim ring to fit at the back end of the reel seat. Mudhole can help you with this. Give them a call. They have some helpful, knowledgable people. Also, you are going with the ACS or ECS reel seat tell them where, on the blank, you want the reel seat to fit. They will then send you the correct size seat for your build. About guides; nine would be about right for that blank. Get one more just to be sure. I use all BLAG guides for most of my builds. I keep sizes 6, 5.5, 5, 4.5, and 4 in stock. For your build I would use a 5.5 first, the one 5, and the rest 4.5. A 4.5 will pass a well tied leader knot. Also a BFCAT tip guides. For the blank you selected get a tip with a 5.0 tube size. The tip size listed in the rod specs is the tube size for the tip guide. if memory serves, the grips you selected have a 3/8” bore. This will need to be larger. These can be difficult to ream by hand, and remain concentric. Here’s a tip. Use drill bit 1/32” larger than the original hole. Do not chuck the bit up in a drill. Twist it through slowly by hand. Then increase drill bit size by 1/32”. Repeat until you get it to fit. I go a bit larger then use a thread wrap or drywall tape to fill the gap. By drilling without a drill, your bore hole will remain in the center of the grip(concentric). good luck.

I have some rod blanks and other components on order, with no idea when any of it will get in. Just spoke with my regular supplier, and they are experiencing slow, delayed and cancelled shipments. These are tough times for a lot of people. Have patience and keep the faith that this too shall pass.

I have come to believe that bass anglers, myself included, have gone totally bonkers with this application specific concept regarding our gear. Who says that one rod, with that one reel, spooled with that specific line is only good for one thing? The fish are not telling that. Try thinking about what all you actually do with that one combo. You may get lucky and discover that you do not really need thirty different combos. I have at least that many. But, some of them haven't been out on the water in quite some time. Experiment. Take that MH jig rod and throw a buzzbait with it. You may find it works just fine. Try anything you think of. Some of those ideas will work for you, and some will not. What do you have to lose? You may discover that eight higher end combos, that will give you years of reliable service, will fit your needs as well as or better than twenty lower value combos, which will need to be replaced on a regular basis. I have a standard four rod selection I will take anywhere, anytime for bass fishing. All casting rods. 1. 7’ MF built on a Point Blank. OG Fuego with #12 mono. Has a 4/0 EWG hook tied on. Used for Houdini shads, super flukes, senkos, Fat Ikas, tubes with internal weight, and will get used for shallow and medium depth cranks and jerkbaits. 2. 6’10” ML built an an MHX Elite Pro blank. PX-R spooled with #10 mono. Has a 1/8oz skipgap jighead. Used for trick worms, hula grubs, Ned rigs, small poppers, and small shallow cranks. 3. 7’2” MHF built on an Immortal blank. OG Zillion, #14 mono. T-Rig and jig rod. Also used for buzzbaits, deep cranks, larger spinnerbaits, spooks and large topwaters. 4. 6’6” MHF built with a short handle on a Setyr blank. TD-Z #12 mono spinnerbait rod. Also used for jerkbaits, cranks, and topwaters. Sees occasional duty as an alternate plastics rod. That’s four rods for applications most would have to take a dozen rods to cover. If I think I will need it, a fifth rod will be a 7’4” heavy power mod-fast rod built on an MHX blank, CV-Z253 #40 smackdown braid, used for heavy cover pitching. Also used for buzzbaits and frogs.

I used to use Trilene big game and XT, 14 and 17lb. Both would channel their inner slinky after not being used for a spell. I had an old spinnerbait I almost threw away, and then had a thought. That thing had been beat to heck and back. Not skirt, no paint, bent up hook, etc. was a 1/2oz with a huge willow blade. Was a tandem once upon a time but the smaller blade was gone. I clamped a rubber core sinker around the kook shank to make it heavier. A couple fo casts, with a burned retrieve would take the slinky right out of the line, and it would be good for the day. Even caught a fish doing that twice!

Mostly use just one rod I built for the purpose. 6’6” MHF, with a short handle. It works fine for sniper casts, but will crank out a longer cast when needed. I throw 1/4 &3/8oz double willows more than any other variety. When I want to throw a larger spinnerbait I grab a jig rod or a deep cranks rod.

Well then, you may have bought a defective rod. It happens. Not common, but also not out of the question. I would check the warranty, and send it back if it is covered.