Alpster

I have a CR722C with a Shimano 50mg and agree with Avid, it's the little bait rod of choice. JMHO Ronnie

I have had two replaced in the last 5 months. One GLX and one IMX. I am a happy G-Loomis customer also. Ronnie

Hey Jim, I was being sarcastic about hating Cabella's. It was another vain attempt at humor. In fact I love the big chain sporting goods stores, heck I've never seen a sporting goods store I didn't like. Grown man's Toys R Us. LOL I'm not sure why it's colder at 50, but I am convinced it's true. Ronnie

Muddy, As much as I hate Cabella's, and all the stuff they sell, I will do it for the CAST kids. Post the date & time as soon as you can so I can make plans. It will be great to meet some more board guys. Unless the date is impossible, I'm in. It's only 130 miles, if it's not too cold I'll ride the motorcycle. LOL Ronnie

I still have the 30 year old shimano Bantam Mag 10X that I fished with when I couldn't afford to pay attention. LOL. If successful fishing means catching fish, then that old reel and the several rods it occupied over the years, all together cost less than $100. That reel has caught more fish for me than several thousand $ worth of rods & reels I have bought since then. I don't catch any more or bigger fish than I did 30 years ago. My PB was caught in 1982. The difference is the journey. For the guys who dream of fishing with G-Loomis and Megabass rods and high end Shimano & Diawa reels, I say "keep on keeping on". Work hard, keep your nose clean and excell at everything you do. If you are catching a pile of fish on a 30 year old Bantam Mag on a Lightning rod, God bless you, "keep on keeping on". Fishing is a fun game, a sport, a past time. Make it what you will. Have as much fun with it as you can. Some guys have so much fun, they spend obscene amounts of money. Other have so much fun, they carefully budget every penny to enjoy it. Fish however you fish, and spend whatever you spend, but don't ever let money, or lack of it, spoil your fishing. JMHE Ronnie

Hey muddy, If you don't tell RW I will confess that I have a Trion on my 12wt Flyrod. Ronnie (closet pflueger owner)

At there's right pardner, an iffn the whole posse shows up, you jest might hafta git up on that Phlueger and git out of town by sundown. I kin see it now, reel showdown at the BR corral. It ain't gonna be purdy. Ronnie (official member of the Shimano posse)

I recently built a Flippin stick on a 7 1/2' IMX FS904 blank. I plan to do some froggin with this rod also. Ronnie

I like to cast them weightless w/4/0 Gammy on top of cover, lilly pads, logs, etc. and let them fall gently off the edge. I seem to get bit more on darker colors. Watermelon flake & june bug have been my top producing colors, but if your having a tough bite, don't hesitate to throw a white or green one. Ronnie

Chronarch 50mg is my finesse reel. You can find em pretty cheap on ebay. Solid reel and handles light baits very well. Get a used one and send it to ReelMech and it becomes like new. JMHO Ronnie

Thanks RM, for the kind words. It barely cracked freezing degrees here today with about a 30 mph wind. An excellent day for rod building. I've got muddy_man's rod on the lathe for a final coat of finish. I will try to get a few pics up when it's done. Ronnie

FishTank, I have a TE200DC and if I could afford it, I would have another one. I think they are amazing and I have fished many, many hours with mine. I can cast a LC pointer a mile and winch the boat onto the trailer with it (very strong). Because of the 5:1 gearing, it's stricly a cranking reel for me, in my opinion, it's no gimmick. Although expensive, the new calais has it and I think you will see more and more models with this technology in the future. Shimano's just got to figure out how to make it more affordable. You can't have mine. Ronnie

Well, being an official deputy of the Shimano Posse, I believe I can speak for the sherrif. STELLA! - I have one and it's an amazing reel. Ronnie

Well said fishbear. I would like to add - The inability for people to take responsibility for their own actions and be accoutable for who they are is poision to this society. As long as it's always someone elses fault, ambulance chasing lawyers, the ACLU and the media you described so well will flourish. I think it was H.D. Thorough that said "all it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing" or something to that effect. Ronnie

WELCOME TO THE BOARD! Ronnie

Thanks Ronnie, I am going to come up with some creative ways to fish this rod. The trickworm is a great idea. I also want to try the little bitty rapala fs they are like 1/6 oz or something. I am looking forward to playing with it. Be sure to post some pics of the Shikari along the way. Tight wraps. Ronnie

It's a 2/3 wt all glass (a real old timer) It's whippy as all getout, but is strong as a horse. I agree that it should murder stocker trout. I am anxious to try it live lineing with tiny shiners for crappie also. I have one more fly rod I promised to get done for a friend and a surf rod for another friend, and then 3-spiral wraps for me and I hope to have a little time to break em in for the Fork trip. It helps me to have something 'in the works' to get through the northern winter. Ronnie

I have a dedicated "pitching only stick" 5'6" Lamiglas MH. I use it mainly under docks and shore lines with overhanging branches. However in standing timber and submerged cover I am very comfortable pitching with my 7' 6" flippin stick. I'm over 6' tall and I like long rods. JME Ronnie

Haven't fished it yet, the glue is just barely dry. I will get it out sometime this week, if it gets above 40 degrees. LOL I'm anxious to try it, it's something I have been thinking about for a while. Ronnie

My family on both sides are from San Angelo, (central west Texas). Myself & my 4 brothers and sisters were all born there. My family moved to Louisiana when I was a baby. Louisiana really was the 'Sportsman's Paradise' back in those days. I still have a few aunts, uncles and cousins in the area. One of the cool things about Texas is, you can drive 1000 miles in one direction and never leave the state. So it's quite a long way from Lake Fork. But after living literally all over the country, I still consider Texas my home state. Ronnie

I am proud I was born in Texas. Ronnie

I walk out into the yard and just pick out sticks, the mail box, car tire, corner of the shed, etc. and try to get as close as I can with as gental a landing as possible. I sometimes put a paper plate or hubcap under a chair or lay a bucket on it's side to mimic pitching under a dock, etc. Hey, you do what you can to get through the winter. JMHO Ronnie

There is nothing like a long 7 1/2' flippin stick. I have a home made Loomis IMX FS904 and it's the only way to fly as far as I'm concerned. Ronnie

I am an amature rod builder, if I told you how many rods & blanks I have you wouldn't believe it. So, with Raul, I will take the fifth. Rods catch fish. That's all I have to say about that. Ronnie

I am hopelessly right handed and I have caught a lot of fish with a spinning reel that I crank with my left hand and a a baitcaster cranking with my right hand. Never once have I been confused or felt awkward. In 40+ years of fishing with both, my mind has never had to think about it. It's as natural as riding a bicycle. Don't think too hard about this, just do what's comfortable for you. JMHO Ronnie