bulldog1935

I don't want to see what he's weighting the line with...

different reels, but you couldn't pry my Avail handles, etc. JapanTackle also sells Avail, and may save you 10% or so over Hedgehog.

Tackle tinkering is always great. Also functional reel pimp I got lucky. An e-friend just offered me a desirable fly reel for my time in exchange for spending his money and dressing up 5 of his spinning reels.

Paul, at some point, you may want to establish standards for yourself because, all too soon, space in your collection is the coveted item. Mine was never buy an item others would not line up to buy from me, with a couple other caveats. Then your time and labor is also rewarded - - here's that 1918 Douglas patent freespool + anti-reverse - winding backwards, the yoke lifts the pinion gear from both the spool and main gear - note there's a clutch in the main shaft collar and the delicate casting-brake spring, which this reel has in place of a clicker You've definitely done the right thing making contacts on ORCA, and already reaped some benefits, both knowledge base and gracious gestures (at least partly driven by making space). Neither your nor I probably have a goal of winning a display medal at a national meet, but all of those guys have long passed an acumen of buying and selling well. For those who may want to know the kind of things to look for, probably the best example I can throw up is the Pflueger Summit. My '51 Ward's catalog that Paul quoted on this page shows the postwar version, model 1993L, and you see a lot of those out there sold as "engraved Pflueger" Here's the one you can potentially make a profit - this is the prewar version, c. 1928. Rather than nickel-plated brass, it's nickel-silver, has all the patent marks, and is engraved - note the details on the end plates. It's also the amber handle knobs that give it away. Eric, the place you might want to begin is NFLCC https://nflcc.org/upcoming-shows/ ORCA is kind of a spin-off of the larger organization, and with a membership overlap that makes them almost a subset of NFLCC. For the fly reels, you'll find more history and interest on fiberglassflyrodders and classicflyrodforum.

cats whisker tied on Tiemco hook. I filmed an episode of KT Diaries with Kevin Townsend, True Texas Bass - it was on our endemic hill country limestone creek bass. In that episode, he made a day trip to the state hatchery, saw big alligator gar in their ponds, and broke out his fly rod to sight-fish gar to 150-lbs - it's kind cool to watch. KT likes his clausers for catching absolutely everything, I like my cats whiskers for exactly the same.

Gar are a hoot to sight-fish on a fly rod. They make astounding charges to grab a lure 8 or 10' away, then they make astounding aerials in the fight. (30" longnose gar)

@roadwarrior and @Columbia Craw I think the real point is the technology and manufacturing trickle down. If you look at entry level reels now compared to 30 years ago, they've made great strides and, especially in just the past 10 years, with explosion of computer design and manufacturing. Baitcasters are still a very simple mechanism - even their braking systems. Spinning reels are still the most complicated fishing reel mechanism, but they've really worked out the bugs with computer design. What you can't change is the cost of the materials of construction, the labor and investment to work them, and it's the performance and detail labor of those better materials that affect the cost of higher-end reels. Thirty years ago, we caught a lot of fish, 100 years ago, they caught a lot of fish. But 100 years ago, or even 50 years ago, it was unheard of for anyone except the wealthy or charter Captains to have a gang of rods and reels.

bet you're not paddling 8 miles Stevo always eats cold pizza and beer for breakfast. something else about kayaking - you have to get out the boat occasionally - makes it a good time to eat.

My best deliveries from Asian Portal, Japan Tackle, Hedgehog and Plat have each been about 40-50 hours. Fed-Ex flies nonstop now from Shennin-Shi to Memphis. DHL sometimes holds for a day in either Tokyo or Cincinnati - but not always. Plat can be slower getting off the mark, because they normally schedule their outgoing shipping around their incoming parts from Daiwa and Shimano, but if you happen to order on a Friday or Monday, you're in the mix. I paid $150 for my Stradic C1000S from Asian Portal about a year ago - that was when EMS Express Post could get it here in 4 days. A month before that, a C2000SHG (FL1000) for $160.

Kokatat dry pants and a good Gortex top shell do it for me.

On the flats prefer baitcaster most of the time, because of instant retrieve. Prefer the spinning tackle in the dark and especially before the coffee takes because you don't have to keep up as much with your lure landing, and am generally fishing topwaters then. With XUL, spinning is kind of a no-brainer for distance and countdown (in spite of strides in BFS).

In the case of Shimano, $200 reels come from a line in Malaysia, and I'm betting a $400 reel is made in Japan. I know in the case of Japan-made spinning reels, technicians at the bench match parts to improve smoothness and reduce inertia. The extra effort should also reduce wear in the long run. Asian Portal - $320 against a weak JPY

hey, this is fun (riding out a wall cloud squall with drift sock deployed at stern)

with so many friends on this thread, I tend to keep my mouth zipped. I can best explain it with an anecdote. I bought my daughter a Werner paddle (Shuna, carbon bent-shaft) when she outgrew her kid paddle - about 12. Right away, she would cross the flat upwind before the grown men. By the time she was 15, I couldn't keep up with her any more. I was using the top-line A/T - it was a Harmony product, seemed right with a Wilderness boat. I bought myself the Werner Camano carbon bent-shaft, and got my edge back - I left her behind on the new paddle maiden crossing on Boerne City Lake. There's a reason Werner's blade design is patented - it both enters and leaves the water more efficiently. The difference will be felt in your joints at the end of the day. IMO, the best buy in kayak paddles are the glass-blade Werner's. I propel my 16' Tarpon with the glass-blade Corryvecken, the largest-blade-area paddle made. I can keep up with my friends in Hobies and Mirage drive, except when they want to stretch their legs out. The straight-carbon-shaft glass blade Werner is only one-ounce difference from my all-carbon bent-shaft Camano. In my racy little Kestrel, my friends with Hobie Mirage drive can't keep up with me and the Werner Camano touring paddle. The Corryvecken badly oversteers the Kestrel, and makes it tougher to keep your balance. What you gain with bent shaft is automatically placing your hands in the position for most efficient paddling. If you know where, you can do the same thing on your straight-shaft paddle with indexed-position grips. I made these grips by rolling on thin closed cell foam with 3M 77 spray contact cement and covering with X-shrink tube.

For me, the strongest coffee taste with the lowest acid is Sumatra. There's a local coffee roaster, who also supplies local restaurants, or packaged Java Bean Joe's or Magnum Exotics. In Alaska, it's Koladi Bros coffee. I have many friends who buy green beans from Sweet Maria's and roast fresh at home. When I fish with my buddy Whit, he brings the coffee, and I make the breakfast tacos.

My buddy Lou bought his wife Susie the 7'6" Major Craft Crosstage XUL, and sometimes she lets him fish it. She flipped fishing my 12-y-o Takamiya 7'6" XUL, and Lou went straight in to his computer and ordered the Major Craft with matching specs. My NS Black Hole came from ebay vendor Autter drop shipped from Seoul - I know Maguro Pro Shop in Croatia handle the brand in Europe (worldwide tackle on ebay). UL rockfish rods are also big in UK, and there are vendors for several different brands.

Major Craft is a good brand. Also check NS Black Hole from Korea. Here is their spec chart for Dark Horse Rockfish model - I have the 802L, and it's a workhorse for UL, and priced at entry level. What you gain with the longer UL rockfish rods is the ability to cast UL to great distance, cast a wide lure weight range, and to handle bigger fish - they're intended for shore fishing (rather than vertical jigging from a boat). The 832L matches your spec, and though just slightly heavier (still very light in hand), the performance compares to the high grade Yamaga Blanks rods. wading a shoal and casting across a deeper cut here's a pretty good video of the spendy Yamaga blanks 83 at work - at about 7 minutes, he catches two fish with shoulders, a sea perch and a sea bass, and if you watch for fish broaching, you can see how far out he's casting and fishing. You can also see why they call them rockfish rods - fishing from the rocks and reaching out to deeper fish. I fish both rods I mentioned on this thread. Fishing tandem rigs, both rods have landed doubles, including mix of seatrout, redfish and snook. While I take the NS Black Hole rod out on my kayak, would never do that with the expensive Yamaga Blanks rod. I fish these with Shimano Stradic 1000, 2000, and Vanquish 2000, also Tica Libra SL 1500

Beach Cliff pickled herring steaks in Louisiana Hot Sauce. When you crack open the tin, pour the oil on the water - it draws fish.

Here's my 16'er on bed extender. I took magnetic tow lights ($12 at Harbor Freight) and eventually made them permanent on the bed extender. With the addition of a bicycle taillight on the kayak stern, this is legal for night driving. I keep my boat on saw horses in the garage, and it's really easy to back up and slide it on and off. Also makes it easy to work on rigging.

Hi Fred, Here's a seat option that will work with your kayak and still keep your CG low. this is made by Surf to Summit, and there are some knockoffs on ebay. We cover distance and like our go-fast boats in the salt. The best plan for rod holders and all future sundries (electronics) is to install a rail system. I've been fishing a T160 on the flats 12 years now - the track system was what sold me on it - the ability to rearrange my rod holders and other gear has been a boon.

I just went through spool shimming exercise over the last couple of days - honking big new surf reel, though. Matching with an 11' H Tsunami Air Waves, for throwing 2-oz spider weights on a bait rig. See how the initial wind trial doesn't go to the bottom of the spool? If I kept going, it would bulge and stack up at the front end of the spool, and wouldn't quite fill. Your new Vanford is much easier to shim than this surf reel - Tica Samira, who also make this same reel as the Surf Pro for Daiwa. (Heck of a buy for 1/3rd the price of the Daiwa - I don't mind shimming.) I had to remove the fiber-composite washer from its detente in the spindle, 2 spool BB and spacer, and click-spring to install my shims. Great result with 315 yds 35-lb X-braid The reel also has a cool drag feature. The center knob attaches the spool and sets the max drag. The outer drag adjustment will back off from there and instantly return to your max set point. It works like a lever drag. Save those Shimano spool shims - they will be solid gold for you. I've swapped braided lines on two of my Stradics, and both needed shimming the second time to get good braid lay. Yours will simply pop into place after you remove the spool. You should have two thickness shims, two of each - call them shim and half-shim. I had to use 1-1/2 on both of my high-use Stradics to spool them the 2nd time (each). A new Vanford will be properly shimmed from the factory. But they will compress with use, and you'll need them later.

The only UL rod that can cover that range is a long Japanese Rockfish - over 8' You could build your own from a 4- or 5-wt fly rod blank.

I use an Allbright knot, but double uni-knot will work fine for that joint. You will probably never see it again, if you have 150 yds braid over the top. You won't be casting 150 yards, and if you're paying that much drag on Moby Smallmouth, the knot will glide. The problem with all-braid, the capacity of that reel is almost 500 yds of 30-lb braid. I'll do an example calculation for you here: Let's say you're going for 150 yds 20-lb Sufix 832 for your working line - that's 0.23 mm diameter. Your total reel capacity is 200 m (220 yds), 20-lb 0.45 mm mono. If your backing is 20-lb, 0.45 mm diameter, you need about 170 yds backing plus 150 yds 20-lb braid working line to fill the spool. That 320 yds total of 20-lb mono + 20-lb. braid makes a lot more sense than 465 yds 30-lb braid, and will definitely cast farther. If you want to go all mono, the reel holds 280 yds of 17-lb, but won't cast as far. Fred, keep us posted...

A 9' rod with that big spool should cast very far. Every 20% increase in the speed of the lure leaving your rod doubles your cast distance. The reason to fish a longer rod is to get that extra cast speed/distance. I fish a 9' ML inshore when I need to reach extra distance (casting across cuts). The reel will hold 280-yds of 17-lb mono or 220 yds 20-lb. I think your best bet would be to spool it about 80-90% of the way with 20-lb. mono for backing, then finish it off with 20-lb braid. That would fish well with the MH rod, definitely get you a long cast. Here's a very good line calculator for stacking lines of different diameter: https://www.pattayafishing.net/advanced-fishing-reel-line-capacity-estimator/ (I use this calculator all the time and it's pretty accurate) Start with the capacity of your reel in yards and line diameter. Put in the yds and diameter of the backing, then the diameter of the braid, and it will tell you how much braid you need to finish filling the spool. (or fix the braid amount and calculate the backing length, etc.) Make sure you load your backing line under tension - I run mine through a phone book with a weight on top, can tie my knot without releasing tension on the backing, and finish loading my working line under tension. Just offering a positive outcome with what you have. Maybe later you could swap in a lighter reel with less line capacity.

me, too of course it's an unrelated company and always with excellent customer service. They hunted down my Crowder rod from another vendor and drop-shipped it in April when no one else could get anything.