.ghoti.

I hate to admit, as much as I've tried otherwise, I'm pretty much "that guy". I've accumulated more rods and reels than I actually use, and more tackle than will fit in the back of my Jeep Commander. There are rods and reels that haven't been out of the house in three or four years; maybe longer for some. And baits that have never been wet. I seem to have a problem. I've been trying to cut back, but except for the last 18 moths or so, the collection has been growing. In the last year and a half, since I made the decision to stop growing the collection, I've spent almost no money on tackle. No new rods, no new reels, and only restocking baits and terminal tackle. I am determined to stop being "that guy". Wish me luck. It's gonna be a struggle.

i don't know what i would ever do with that many rods and reels.

We had some freezing rain this morning. Now have 3-4 inches of snow on top of that. Fun driving, if you're into that sort of thing, and don't really have to get somewhere.

I kept expecting to see Johnnie Knoxville show up.

This!

Nice work!!

Name: Gary KilmartinAge: 63City/State: Pana, IllinoisOccupation: retired professor, part time consultantEducation: Not enoughYrs Fishing: since age 5Preferred Style: I don't have a preferred style. About the only fish I don't regularly pursue is catfish. I fish for bass, trout, crappie, bluegill, walleye, pike and striper on a regular basis. I love salt water flats fishing; bonefish, permit, grouper, snapper, snook, etc. Truth of the matter is; any day on the water is a good day. I have casting rods, spinning rods and fly rods. I use them all.PersonalFav food: depends on what day it is. Favorites, in no particular order are; Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Greek, Sushi, Tapas, burgers and brats on the grill, any seafood. I like food, and I love to cook.Fav movie: Tombstone, The Godfather, CasablancaFav quote: Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt. Abe LincolnFishingFav bait: PlasticsFav set up (rod/reel): I like all of my combos, casting, spinning and fly. If I don't like them, I get rid of them. Fav lake: Pickwick, Kentucky, Table Rock, Tennessee River, White River, Taneycomo10 Questions from Members input1. How do you find the time to work, spend time with your family, go fishing, and still be logged onto the website trying to keep the peace? The sad truth of the matter is sometimes I can’t. I've recently retired from teaching, but I'm still working as a consultant / programmer in industry. That is a part-time job. My kids are all grown up, out of the house and off the payroll. My wife works a lot. I should have lots of free time, but I don't. Strange how that works. I started building custom fishing rods last year, and that has become a black hole, into which flows time and money. I spent more time on that than I did fishing last year. More money as well. I have vowed to correct that imbalance this year.2. What is your fishing background/experience? The same experiences I suspect most of us older guys have. I grew up fishing with older family members, my Dad, granddads, uncles, older cousins, etc. Anybody who would take me fishing was on my good guys list. We were all live bait, meat fishermen. We gathered our own bait, and any fish we caught went in the skillet. I like to think I’ve evolved since those days, but I’m not totally sure I can really call it progress. I got to start fishing with the “big guys” when I was big enough to carry all of my own stuff. If I had to follow that rule now, I’d never get to go fishing.3. What have been your best experiences when fishing? How much time do you have? There have been so many prime experiences. I’ve been doing this a long time. Here’s one of the best. My wife started fishing with me a few years ago. I’d always give her a light spinning rod, and fish for crappie when she came with me. Crappie are usually easy to find and catch, and she would enjoy the trip. One day the crappie were nowhere to be found. I gave her my best bass-spinning combo with a 4” red shad Senko, on a 2/0 EWG hook, and showed her how to work it. About four casts into the experience she said, “I don’t like this”. About 10 seconds after she said that, she got her first tap. I coached her how to watch the line, and feel for the fish. She missed that one. She must have cast thirty times right back into the same spot until she caught her first bass. It was a nice fat two pounder that put up a lot more fight than she was accustomed to. She was as excited as I’ve ever seen her. When I unhooked it her Senko was gone. She looked at me and in no uncertain terms said, “where’s my worm? Go get me another one. I want to do that again”. She’s been dedicated to bass fishing since then. By the way, that rod and reel have been “hers” ever since. 4. Give us a play by play of a typical, lets say, Tuesday for you? What time do you get up? Work? Fishing? Family? How do you relax at the end of a long day at work? Well, how about yesterday? I got out of bed around 5:00AM, had a shower and shave, made coffee and breakfast, ate, got dressed, and was out the door by about 5:45. Drove an hour to Caterpillar. I’ll skip what I did there. Left around 4:00, went to my cabin to work on a rod. Left there about 6:30. Grabbed a sandwich on the way home. Watched a boxing match I had recorded, and was in bed by about 11:00PM. Now do that same for a Saturday? I work Thursday and Friday every week. My weekends are Saturday through Wednesday. I'm new to this retirement thing, so I don't quite have a routine in place. I go to my cabin workshop most days, and have a honey-do project, or two, most days. Need to figure out how to fit more fishing into this when the weather gets better and the lakes thaw. What experience do you have fishing elsewhere other than home areas? We like to travel, and when possible, the fishing gear goes along for the trip. Besides Illinois, I’ve fished in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Ohio, New York, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Florida, Nevada, Ontario, both coasts of Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica. I plan to add to the list as long as I am able. 7. Do you guys get free stuff? Lures, line, rods, reels, etc...? Only in my dreams. 8. What part of being a staff member here do each of you enjoy most and least? What I like the least is the feeling of not doing what I’m supposed to be doing when I get too busy. I do not like not doing what I said I would do, and that does happen. The family and the jobs come first, and if I run out of day, I run out of day. I like being able to say that I’m part of something this great, and every now and then, somebody says thanks. What is your favorite besides bass? Pike, bonefish, panfish on the fly rod, barracuda ( pike on steroids ), Fav hobbies other than fishing: reading & cooking10 People you respect and/or admire: You know, I thought this would be an easy question to answer. It’s not. My wife Mark Twain Stephen Hawking Sam Walton Peyton Manning Turn ons: You really don’t want me to answer that on a family oriented forum, do you? Turn offs: ignorance, bigots, drunks

I like these. http://www.mudhole.com/BMNAT-Heavy-Spin-Cast-Tops

25 - 33% of line test. When I'm trout fishing, that's about 1 lb. up to about 5 lbs for my heaviest power combos.

A killer deal on a great reel, and crab cakes to boot? Sign me up.

14 the heaviest line I ever use.

I do. But then, I know how to use the rod and the reels drag to fight a fish. I see a lot of people who have no idea how to do that.

Every ceramic bearing Ive ever aquired is gone. I believe my reels should be seen, not heard.

I used an aniline from Keda Dyes. Bought a five color sampler kit from Amazon. Five small packets of powder to mix with water. Red, blue, yellow, brown and black. Cork is difficult to color. It took several coats to get what I was looking for. I applied it with a sponge brush, then put a heat lamp on it. Repeat four or five times, then coat with True-Oil. I have a rod I built for myself with a similar grip, made from regular and burl cork rings. I dyed it red. Took about seven or eight coats to get enough color to it. Again finished with True-Oil. I've had it out a couple of times. No stained hands, but I haven't had it out in the rain. Be interesting to see what happens in truly wet conditions. Burl rings take the color a lot better than regular cork. I'll put up some pics of the red grip when I get the tiger wrap replaced. It blushed badly. I need to strip and re-wrap it. Be a while before I get it done. I'm working on two rods that need to be shipped out asap.

I second the recommendation for MicroWave guides on spinning rods. Buy a set, and get a couple of spare running guides. Place the stripper guide, transition guide, and first running guide using the dimensions provided with the set. Place the rest of the running guides by static testing. This would be s great way to get your feet wet building spinning rods.

Daiwa still makes them, but only for the Australian market. I had one, and I really liked it, until I broke it. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat. I don't think they ever sold the components for that system. If you could get the parts, you would have to cut a slot in the rod blank to accept the first guide. I'd be willing to bet a paycheck that the rod would then break the first time it was flexed. I'd also be willing to bet that the slot is formed during the blank making process, and not cut out later.

Oh no you dont.

Nice work, Lee. Me like.

I'm not a bourbon afficiando. Prefer cognac or scotch for my sipping pleasure. I keep a bottle of Gentleman Jack around for those times when an old fashioned is on the menu, and that was about it for bourbon. I discovered Berheim Wheat whiskey a few years back. You bourbon guys should give that a try. Sam's Club had it on sale one time, for twenty bucks, which prompted me to try it. I've had a bottle in the cabinet ever since. Not easy to find, but well worth the effort.

Found this pic to complete my introduction for those of you I haven't met. I assume you all recognize Glenn, Roadwarrior in his ubiqutous hat and Long Mike. I'm the other one.

here are the same pieces with two thin coats of Tru Oil.

here's rear grip and butt I made dyed brown, and sanded smooth.

Very nice Lee. Wish I had that much space. And the natural light. I just got an LED fixture to go over my lathe. Looks like a two tube fluorescent but is all LEDs. I may get two more to go over the power wrapper.

If she gives you any grief at work, tell her you bought a cat to replace her. Whisper to her the next day that you strangled the cat.

I am very sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you.