Mike B Fishin

It does make one wonder though that how much they mark up their rods to cover the $50 no questions asked warranty. They are giving me the exact rod brand new for $50 when it retails for $225.

I have an old Kistler 6'9" Graphite Plus Medium Action (129.00) and a Gloomis IMX MBR 782C (230.00). The Kistler is more sensetive better balanced and lighter weight (even though it is 3" longer). I like the IMX but it is the most over priced rod on the market. I can not feel any difference in the IMX and a Wally World 50.00 Berkley Bionix. I also have a Gloomis GLX BCR 802. It list for 345.00 or so. It is over priced, but that is one amazing rod. With Power Pro you can feel every strand of a jig skirt. It will toss an 1/8th oz jig or a 3/4 oz Super Spook and feels perfect for either lure. The recoil guides are cool too.

Academy has some 50.00 Allstar and Cast A Way rods. The 6'5" salt water wade or the 6'6" med. light rods are good for topwater. Cast a Way also has some good 6'6 and 6'2 rods designed for saltwater wade fishing with top waters. All of these are good for 1/4 jitter bugs, all pop Rs, and Super Spook Jr. The salt water rods have a softer tip action. I like this action for walk-the-dog type lures. I am using a Stick'em 6'5" saltwater wader for topwaters. It has about the same action as the Gloomis MBR 782C, but a little softer tip. They are made somewhere south of Houston, TX. They are about 60.00 but the postage is 15.00.

HOPE THIS HELPS,

They work good on schollies and bank runners. You can also do ok wiht big bream and Crappie. I keep some of these for the kids to use off the dock and I always keep a few in my boat for those days when nothing else works.

It depends on the "Hatch". I try the topwater first, just because I like topwater action best. Saturday they were hitting minows in the shallow. Nothing worked except a 3" Silver/Charcoal Fluke for the agressive fish and I had to whittle it down to a slimmer body and about 2 1/2" length when the action slowed. I like the soft plastic baits. I can tie on a 5/0 EWG and quickly switch from a frog, fluke / bass assassin, grub, beever, worm, etc with ease. Yea, I am lazy and do not like to tie knots.

I caught a 5" baby bass on a 3 1/2" Super Spook today- my PB was a 13.8 on a 5" trick worm-so anything is possible. I live on a 30 acre lake stocked with bass. I spend a lot of time on this lake trying to determine what " Hatch to Match". I have the best luck with lures about 10% larger than the "Hatch".

Any Color as long as it is Red Shad.

The best knot I have used is the Albright Special. If the leader is .017 or smaller (17 to 20 # floro) the knot will pass through the guides without a problem. If the braid is smaller than 20/6 you will need to double the braid to keep it from cutting through the leader. If you have trouble with the knot, coat it with super glue. Florocarbon has memory so cut the leader the length from the reel to the rod tip, or from the rod tip to the hook keeper. I use the floro leader with all baits in clear water, with all spinner baits to keep the soft braid away from the blades, and with any treble hook baits if the braid tangles in the hooks.

I removed the treble, but had to add a small split shot to the hook hanger to get the balance. Once you figure out which split shot to use, add a little super glue to the hanger and crip it on.

That is great to hear. I feel better about the money Santa spent on the IMX and GLX. So Loomis won't deny warranty if I cut 2" off the rear grip of the IMX? Thanks for a reply.

Like Flechero, I don't like the lure on a hook keeper hitting the rod. I use the Kistler hook keeper with plastics because it is "ready to go". I like the rubber rings, you slip over the rod, for spinner baits. The smaller rubber ring will not last long, but you can stick the hook point in the thick ring. I take the lures off after fishing and tie the line off on the hook keeper.

I use red or blue holographic rod wrapping thread. Three wraps, knot, and leave the tag ends 2 or 3 " long. I put three of these so I get 6 threads in with the skirt. If you have trouble getting the knots tight, just rub the thread with bees wax or candle wax.

Yard sale cedar chest an axe and a little time. Or you can pay a lot at Rockler http://www.rockler.com/CategoryView.cfm?Cat_ID=1458

Alright, this is just a wild idea from a "mister fix-it". Cut a straight seciton of titanium wire from a spinner bait, grind the wire down to fit inside each end at the break and epoxy the "internal splint" in place. Then rewrap with a guide foot over the break. The titanium wire will flex without bending or breaking. A friend of mine broke 3" off the tip of a fiberglass fly rod back in 1973. He just glued it back to gether with Super Glue and it lasted for years. It was industrial Cyanoacrylates that we used at the Sunbeam factory. I guess there is not much pressure put on a fly rod tip section? Maybe there is not too much preasure 10" from the tip of your rod. I used a section of graphite golf club shaft as an "internal splint" on a rod that broke near the butt. you can get a broken golf shaft from a repair shop for free. I cut the butt cap off, inserted the golf shaft, marked the length where it bottomed out inside the rod, cut it to fit 2" on either side of the break applied epoxy and used the rest of the shaft to push the splint in place. Then epoxied the front rod section in place. A little sanding, a thread wrap over the break and it looks good as new. It may have changed the balance a little, but not much. Sorry, I got long winded. I would try the titanuim splint before I trashed the blank.