Alpster

Looks great! I have long used painted bullets. Good job. Ronnie

Welcome aboard Mike! And thanks for your support of kids and fishing. Ronnie

The majority of all the bass I've ever caught were hooked on a 7 1/2" Culprit (black shad) texas rigged. My go to bait. The fish have ranged from 4 & 5 lbs to so small I don't know how he got the hook in his mouth. The top big bass lure for me has always been a Jig & eel. JMHE Ronnie

Dipped in the bayou an ugly as a nutria rat. "Laissez les bons temps rouler!" (Let the good times roll). Ronnie

Hey Mike, I also grew up in south Louisiana. Spent most of my life in the New Orleans area and Buras (Plaquimine parish). The collapsed oil economy in the late 80s forced me and most everyone I knew out of La. - My roux looks kind of like hershey's chocalote syrup (like you put on your ice cream). I get paid several times a year to travel and feed 300 - 400 touring bikers gumbo & jambalya at rallies. I can furnish references if need be. You should give it a try before you head out to the Burger King. Ronnie

I would avoid trying to remove the reel seat if I could. It's doable but to heat the epoxy enough to loosen it, you risk damage to the blank. I would make the butt wrap and get an idea of what it looks like. If you like the look then apply the finish and go with it. If it looks like crap, then I would go with fletchero's advice and carefully split the cork. I finished a fly rod yesterday and had it looking just right. When I pulled it out of the dryer I got my big thumb on the ferrule wrap and fixed it pretty good. Don't you just love do overs. Ronnie

KU, It's not on your list, but it's worth a look. http://products.gloomis.com/gl/products/alltackle/detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441768907&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302032711&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181201&bmUID=1166060011059 Ronnie

This might work for you. I just built a thread wrap and finished it to dress the back of the reel seat. You don't have to take anything apart to do this. I had installed a rubber hosel and wrapped up to it, but you could do the same with the winding check. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j42/alpster/rod%20building/noodle%20rod/fly002.jpg Just an idea that would be easy to do. There are more pics of this rod at this thread. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1165365814 Ronnie

Can I get a AMEN from the choir? You da man Avid. Ronnie

Actually, after reading a bazillion posts on the subject, I think I'm the one who is out of the "norm" because I believe that pork out performs plastic and fish will hold onto it longer. Maybe I'm just hard headed, but I love pork, on the table or on the jig, it's the other white meat. JMHO Ronnie

I have two 50mgs also and I use one on a pitching stick with 17 lb mono. You can't go wrong heavy or light, they will serve you well. JMHO Ronnie

If you have a lot of then and want to try a cheap fix. Get a big bottle ou unscented baby oil and add some anise (on the spice rack at the grocery store). Mix it up and stick your worms with the mixture in a zip lock bag. I don't know if it will fix them if they are already dried out, but I know that good worms will stay soft forever in the oil. JMHE Ronnie

You mean we have to wear some kind of shoes??? Man, you weren't kidding about the formal suff. It will be OK, I'm sure I can borrow some. Ronnie

False about the braid eating reel spools, but I have heard that some Bass Pro salesmen are not wrapped too tight and sometimes need a mono backhand. Ronnie

I was planning to make Gumbo. Should I PM Avid? Ronnie

That's what I'm talkin about! CONGRATULATIONS!! Ronnie

It just keeps getting better. Thanks for joining us Doug. Really looking forward to your expertise. It's a real honor to have you have you here. Ronnie

Yea, I probably won't be able to resist it. After Christmes I will examine my monetary predicament and see if I can fit it in. I have 36" wide laser plotter in my office and can print maps at any scale as long as the software is agreeable. We'll see. Ronnie

Common sense dictates the "golden rule" - "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". If it rocks your boat to have another boater plow water, then don't do it them. In Louisiana when I was a kid, we had to fight the water skiers in narrow chanels when fishing. Some folks are just oblivious. Ronnie

Hey Jim, Guide size is a function of the length of the rod and the type of fishing you will do. For light to med. heavy freshwater, I would suggest a Fugi Concept set similar to these... http://shop.mudhole.com/YSG-Concept-Spinning-Guides?sc=2&category=173 at least you will have an idea about sizes. If you follow Tom Kirkman's directions for concept spacing I think you will be very happy with your guide spacing. Link to that article... http://www.rodbuilding.org/library/newguide.html I hope this is helpfull to you. Ronnie

I'd love to be in the Bass Wagon when Muddy is giving Alpster directions. It might sound a little like this. "Take the blue road up a little ways and turn down." :-? Not to worry gents. The BassMobile has a Garmin 2820 on the dash. I am more worried about Muddy falling in love with that sexy voice that tells you where to turn. BTW when your looking at the contour maps of Lake fork, I make contour maps for a living. I am a Land Surveyor and although most of my work is residential construction I have done a couple of lakes here in NJ and some ocean & bay topography. I have a particular fondness for maps (good ones that is). Ronnie

Hard - Rapala, LC. Topwater - Rapala, LC. Buzzbaits - Terminator & Strike King Plastics - Culprit, GCBY & Zoom Jigs - Arkie Ronnie

Here's my list.... Guitar - Hendrix, Steve Howe (Yes), Al Dimeola, Paco DeLucia, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Leo Kottke, Jeff Beck, George Benson, Alvin Lee (Ten Years After), Andrea' Segovoia, Eric Clapton, Hutson Brock. Sorry Muddy, I grew up a guitarist, the others don't count. LOL ;D ;D ;D Ronnie

Grumpy, I think ABU makes a great reliable reel. I have 3 now and have had several more over the years. They really are work horse reels and few can say anything bad about them. I haven't fished with the C5, but I haven't fished with an ABU reel that did not work as I expected. You can't go wrong with them. JMHO Ronnie

Flechero, Nice fish, good job! However, we need details man. What did you catch it on and what were the conditions. We are trying to get an education here for heaven's sake. Ronnie