Lucky Craft Man

First, you are not stupid at all. Buy what you like and enjoy it. Forget what anyone else says. I get grief for buying $500 rods and having them modified (even on this forum), but I can care less what others think. Here's the only time I would say someone is stupid for buying the gear they do is if someone was using money they needed to provide for their family. If all your "musts" are taken care of, go wild and buy what you want. Also, the only joke in that shop are those clowns who were putting you down. No need for that. We all share the passion of fishing and that bond alone is all that matters.

Scott, this is total Blasphemy! Who would ever take a factory NRX rod that is very tip heavy with a cruddy split grip and a foregrip that is longer than the rear grip on most rods and have it balanced perfectly with a full rear handle and the foregrip shaved back to a normal length? These modifcations sound like they would make it the greatest rod ever made. What a waste. ;-)

I agree with that. I find all my NRX rods to be tip heavy (hence why I counterweight and modify them). I also agree that I would have Scott build every one of my rods if G Loomis would offer blanks. I just can't part with my G Loomis blanks, so all I am left with is buying factory built rods for Scott to modify.

I actually agree with that. Though, there are a lot of guys who think NRX factory rod are perfect as is, but I am not one of them (hence the need for your services)

Haha...spoken like a man who has never fished a NRX rod before.

Hahaha...what moron would ever have a NRX modified? He must be a total loon. I bet he wraps his rod handles with Rod Wrap as well.

I just love all of Scott's builds. I think he has either built for me or modified for me over 7 rods with a few he is just completing. These new colored rod blanks will only enhance his work and I can't wait for them to release their 11 wt. blanks, because I think their is a metallic green Musky Fly Rod in my future!

I have found a reel with 28 IPT to be ideal for me on how I fish those techniques.

You know, I think the G Loomis E6X 884C SWB maybe worth a look. Even though it is labelled a "swimbait" rod, it has a lure rating 1/2 oz to 2 oz. and is only 7'4" long. I should state that I have yet to hold this rod, but it does meet your requirements.

Congratulations on both fish! I have to say, that 12 pounder is a beast, but I like the picture of the 10 pounder a little more. Something about the wet pants and shoes in that second picture after knowing you got hog slapped by the 12 pounder prior makes that picture a little more memorable.

It's a person preference kind of thing, that's all.

I have tried those and they will do the job. For me, I didn't like how the rubber caps would come off every once in a while and the weights only came in one size, so fine tuning the balalce point was a little tougher (as a side note, when I did use those, I found that using quarters in conjunction with those leads weights helped with the dialling in the right balalcne point process).

It depends. Most of my NRX Baitcasters have Shimano Cores on them (and I just heard the Core was being discontinued, which is a shame. Great Reel!). All my NRX spinning rods (and all my other spinning rods) have a Pflueger Supreme on them (I know these aren't high end reels, but I truly like how they perform independent of cost).

The rod that needed the least amount of counter weight was the 7'7" Umbrella Rig Rod (NRX 916 UBR). I think I used 1.4 ounces on that one. I used around 2.2 ounces of weight (it might have been 2.4 oz. I can't remeber now) on the NRX 895 JWR. The NRX 916 is a full rear handle and the NRX 895 is split grip. What I find the most interesting is that I never had to counterweigh any of my old GLX BCR rods. G Loomis knows how to make a balanced rod, but for some reason didn't see the need to make sure the NRX were.

I just saw this. Easy answer, no $75 rod has the performance of the NRX. As Dwight mentioned, if G Loomis offered a NRX blank, I would be calling Scott and be right there with the idea of the custom track, but there isn't a blank out there that I tried that matches the characteristics of the NRX (and not just in terms of sensitivity and weight, but also recovery, taper, etc.). Long story short, we all have different personal preferences, which is a good thing and is what makes these forums interesting.

Oh, that is a fact right there! Why G Loomis do you no longer offer blanks!?!?

Haha...well, if you don't like that, then you would really hate to see what I having done to a NRX 843 MBR and NRX 923 MR.

Haha...It's funny how well you know me. I should add step 3.5. If I can't correct the rod's shortcomings, the rod gets sold or traded in. And Step 4 is dead on. Using fine tuned equipment is really the most enjoyable thing there is when fishing (besides catching 6+ lb. Smallmouth on said equipment).

A-Jay, you are exactly right. I can care less what the rod looks like. Function is paramount and if the rod doesn't feel or fish exactly how I want, then it's useless to me no matter how nice it looks.

I actually have a whole process of what I do. I'll try to be as concise with the procedure as I can (I actually posted some of this on another forum, so you may have seen it before) Here is obviously what you start out with... I am not a fan of split grips, so the first step for any split grip rod I acquire is to add a filler. I have found pipe insulation works rather well... Then I take Rod Wrap and tightly wrap the whole handle. With the slightly larger diameter pipe insulation, I am able to compress the foam down so it is roughly the same diameter as the cork after being wrapped and this compression increases the density of the foam so it ends up with a solid feel. (Side Note: I have tried a lot of different handle wrapping material such as XPS Pro Wrap, tennis racket overgrip and mountain bike handle warp. I found none of them to be as satisfactory as Rod Wrap). I then put the reel I intend to use with the rod and get out some XPS weights that are used with some Bass Pro rods. Any type of rod balancing weight can be used, but I like all the difference sizes that is offered with the XPS weights, which allows me to really fine tune the balance point. I use a strip of electrical tape to hold on different combinations of weight until I get the exact balance and feel I am looking for. Once I get the amount of weight I want, I secure it the end of the rod with electrical tape and use Rod Wrap to cover it up. This whole process does not alter the rod in any way and if I had to send it in for a warranty claim, I just take off the rear weights that are taped on, remove the Rod Wrap, take off the pipe insulation, and we are back to a factory built rod. To me, there is nothing better than a perfectly balanced rod and this allows to custom counter-weigh every rod within a 1/4" of where I want that point to be. Simple answer - Lake Erie.

I don't find any of the NRX rods to be balanced. I add weight to the end of the butt on every one to get them balance where I like. It's an even better rod (if you can imagine that) when it balance just where you want it.

I love that you guys are doing this. Thanks! PS I am already picking out the model I would choose, just in case I win. Nothing like being prepared.

Haha...That must have been the secret. He knew that fish looked smaller than every fish he has ever caught, which obviously puts it under 5 pounds.

Congrats Dwight!!! I can't wait to hear how it performs on the Great Lake setting.

G Loomis NRX 916 UBR & Shimano Core 100 MgFV with 65lb. Braid.