Big Lou

Always in a boat, 7-10 hours, depending on whether we decide to do a little night cat fishing. I only make it out a couple times a month, unfortunately.

I see this is an old thread, but I thought I'd add my recent experience... I had bought reels from Asian Portal one or two at a time several times and never been hit with an import duty. All of those purchases were under about $500, and most were delivered by FedEx (in two days). AP had a 5% sale over a month ago, and I bought three (different) reels, which came to over $800. This time, I received a bill from FedEx for the 6% duty, plus the $10 FedEx charges to pay the duty upfront for you. Not sure if it was a customs officer making a "three-reels" judgment call, or if I crossed a value threshold. Probably the latter. I should have looked it up but was too lazy. I had a $1,000 threshold in my head when I made the purchase. The "judgment call" is new to me, though. Hadn't read it before. Lou

^^This is the way I do it too. Keep the tension and pinch continually as the wraps get longer. There is not much cinching down to do on my best ones. I'm usually tying 15-20lb J-Braid to 8-10lb FC Sniper. Haven't tried the OP's posted method. Looks like the leader he's using is pretty stiff.

Thanks, TB. That's encouraging about MB. I do find their stuff interesting. I agree on the Kistler warranty. I got my one Helium for half price and figured I'd try it, knowing how well thought of that series has been over the years (minus the 2nd gen). At 6'9" MH, I thought it had close quarters/dock pitching, and maybe skipping potential. I think its tip is said to be a little softer.

Thanks, TB. I absolutely agree that I have managed to acquire some very nice rods. I don't imagine I'll ultimately be keeping them all, actually. I just wonder if I decided to spend a day offshore, throwing heavy stuff, would I have enough heavier rods to do it. The Legend Elite 7'4" HF will do fine for any heavier jigs or t-rigs in deep water, and the NRX 895, 873 and 854 will probably be useful for the same kinds of things, just not quite as heavy--maybe up to 3/4 oz. Perhaps the 895 will do 1 oz. I do have a dedicated crank 1st gen Cumara Reaction that I can throw deep cranks with. But, if I'm using that rod for a deep crank, then I'm not left with anything for throwing a 1+ oz. flutter spoon. That's why I was looking at sensitive rods that people describe as having a more moderate action than the jig and worm rods above. Megabass rods often have more of that "JDM" moderate flex thing, and Dobyns Xtasy are also described that way. As I indicated above, my gut instinct is to wait until Megabass comes around to adding $50 and offering a decent warranty. Otherwise, there are several that sound interesting. There's just something off-putting about a company saying, "it can break once, but twice and you're screwed." If the thing legitimately breaks twice, then the company has a problem that they've managed to transfer the cost of to the buyer. Anyway, I'm sure there are others--Phenix, Kistler, etc--who may have non-crankbait rods that are very nice and sensitive, just more moderate than the SC and Loomis. The Xtasy is the only one that immediately comes to mind, and Gary D. has a stellar reputation for customer service. I do have a 10-year-old Dobyns 795 ML SB rated at 1 to 5 oz., but that thing is big and sturdy. I use it for saltwater, when I get the chance. It very much seems overkill, and 7'9" is cumbersome in my situation. An Xtasy 725 seems about right. Lou

Upon thinking hard on this subject, I've had a moment of clarity. I'm going with my original gut instinct, which was to ignore expensive rods made in China that the manufacturer won't stand behind with a decent warranty. If I'm going to look at Chinese-made rods, then I'll consider the Dobyns Xtasy lineup. Otherwise, I may just stick to my old faithfuls--Loomis, St. Croix and Kistler. Maybe I should try a Z-Bone. Lou

The XXX Cover Hacking. Not familiar. I'll look into it. Thanks.

Here is what I've got--some used, some on sale, some ten years old. The ones I've used are all 8-11 years old and have a common use in parens. The ones above--with no application in parens--are new to me and haven't been used yet. I'm sorta wanting to "move up" from some Falcons, though my Cara T7 Weightless Worm and ML small T7 Cara Reaction both have excellent actions for their applications. (I have Curado 50e's on those). Casting NRX 895C JWR NRX 873C CRR NRX 854C JWR NRX 802C JWR 2021 Helium 4 6'9" MH Sparse Cover Legend Elite EC74HF Legend X EC70MF Legend Elite EC60MF GLX BCR803 (w/ Recoils) (T-rigs) IMX MBR783 (Jerkbait) Spinning Legend Tournament LBS610MLXF GLX 842S SJR GLX 803S JWR IMX-Pro 722S SJR Legend Elite ES63MLXF There are some nice rods here, but it's far from an ideal collection of complementing rods, it seems. I guess I'm sorta trying some things and will likely sell a few once I figure things out. I fish with my Dad from an 18' boat that is not a true bass boat--quarters are a little cramped relative to most guys fishing off bass boats. Hence, not a lot of very long rods. I fish on a lake with very few large bass, no reeds or pads, a lot of docks, riprap, interesting bottom structure, and some lay downs and bottom brush. I want to skip docks. I want to pitch to areas around docks and lay downs, throw cranks, jerk baits and square bills big and small, small swimbaits, light T-rigs, topwaters, and frogs--beat the banks. I also want to go offshore, dragging football jigs across 20' points. I want to throw deep cranks, spoons, heavy hair jigs, magnum T-rig worms and larger soft swimbaits. I don't need to punch or flip... [EDITED OUT] ...I'm a little afraid of Megabass, due to their warranty, but the P5's and Orochi XX's intrigue me. If I "need" anything, it seems I might want another rod with heavy, deep water prowess, but not a broomstick. The XX Perfect Pitch seems like a versatile possibility. Not sure on the P5 side, or even the earlier Destroyers. I wouldn't want to go more than 7'6" for space reasons. I also find the P5 "Kameyama Special" strangely intriguing--6'5" stinger tip, MH spinning. It might make sense around docks and be able to do some deep stuff too. Can't find much about it, so maybe it's a dud. What say you Megabass guys--or anyone else who has some thoughts on what to do with this somewhat eclectic collection, driven more by availability than any kind of grand plan. Thanks in advance, Lou

Thanks for the replies everyone. Sorry for the delay getting back. I got busy with work and side-tracked a bit. I've looked at the rod very closely a few times now, and there is no visual evidence to suggest major damage. I agree, it does make me question how it was treated, but I don't have long-term experience with NRX's to know how badly one needs to be hit in order to "crack" the laminate. I also don't own a boat, so I don't know what "rod lockers" look like these days. I've seen pictures that look like individual tubes hold rods in some boats. If one were to place a rod with a weight--such as a Carolina rig--into a tube without a sock and then go boating across the main lake on a Friday afternoon (for example), there would be some damage to the coating eventually. Whether that could damage the blank probably depends on how big the weight is, and how long it gets banged against the rod in the same place. When I look at the areas that have lost their coating, I don't see evidence of blunt force damage to the blank, which I might expect to see. And, I don't see any cracks when I bend the rod. Yes, I would like to catch a 5lb'er or two as a stress test, but I'm more likely to "hook" some rocks and docks before that happens. Lou

Sorry for the delay. Here are some pics. They don't cover everything, but they are representative. Lou

I purchased a used NRX 873C CRR from an online vendor a couple of weeks ago, and I've been trying to decide what to do with it since it arrived. It was rated "Good" by the vendor, and I've come around to the conclusion that I disagree with that rating. "Fair" would have been more accurate, given their system. (The damage wasn't pictured.) So, sending it back is one option. The primary problem is a bunch of delamination due to (presumably) the CR weights banging against it. Either that, or someone just banged it on the boat every time he/she lost a fish. :) The grip is also sticky from the plastic breaking down, but that's secondary. From what I've read, the NRX laminate was a UV coating of some kind, and somewhat thin and soft, which contributes to the rod's qualities. Today, I took an old t-shirt with 91% rubbing alcohol and rubbed the marks until all of the "loose edges" are gone. There aren't any really big marks, just a lot of small-ish ones. Gary Loomis has been quoted as saying the best blanks are uncoated, unpainted, etc. Although it's a bit disappointing to have received a rod in this condition, I can get over the cosmetics as long as there is no need to worry about the rod's structural soundness relating to the laminate missing here and there. The price probably should have been a little lower, but it is a rod that--assuming it's structurally okay--should be great to fish with, and not that easy to come by. Should I be worried about the laminate? The guides, wraps, and cork are all fine, if not a little dirty--less so now. Does anyone know if Loomis can fix this kind of damage, and would it be worth it to have it fixed? If it only has cosmetic implications, then I'm inclined to leave it alone. Thanks, Lou

OP here again...I also want to thank those of you who have offered your thoughts of support. I should have thanked you above. It's nice to know others out there think about this stuff. Lou

I'm the OP, and I certainly didn't mean to start any arguments. I agree that my post does sound like I could be an SPCA troll, or something of the like. I assure everyone that I'm not. I figured I would get responses, but I can't say I was really thinking much about what they would be. There are some extremes here, which I guess is to be expected. I think schplurg sums my ultimate position up above, "I fish because it doesn't bother me enough to stop." Just to respond to a couple of the posts--since they are there--I may have inadvertently implicitly attributed some level of reasoning, or ability to reason, to the fish in my attempt to express the thoughts going through my mind. I certainly understand that the fish was not making decisions based on any expected cost and benefits basis. He wasn't accessing risks. They are instinctive. As for viewing or valuing a fish from the perspective of the value of human life. One doesn't need to view a fish as a human in order to have compassion for the fish--or dog, or cat, or horse, etc. In thinking about why I had this reaction to my incident with the fish today, I believe that my reading and viewing of so many sources of information regarding the pressure bass populations are seeing, seemingly everywhere, has made me feel somewhat paternalistic toward them. They have always made my life better by simply being bass. As I get older, things like that occur to me, and I can't help but feel sorta protective of them, though, as I admitted earlier, I will go back again another day. I do hope that, as responsible anglers, we are ultimately helping the fish, even if "stuff" does happen sometimes. Lou

...and I've felt bad ever since. I was deflecting a small rage tail with a 1/8oz swimbait jig head off of a dock piling when I felt a little bump. I immediately let the bait free fall, and he took it. I set the hook and got him to the boat to see that the hook had penetrated the top of his mouth and gone through his eye. I tried my best to do as little damage as possible, but I don't think there was much I could do. (Afterward, I wondered whether I should have tried to cut the barb off of the hook, but I'm not sure if that would have saved the eye. Maybe.) It was the only fish I caught during 8 hours on the water today, and I immediately wished I hadn't. I keep thinking he was probably a year old, he simply ate the wrong thing--a thing that was meant to fool him into eating it--and he lost an eye for it. He didn't know that he was taking that risk. I'm the one who determined that the risk of possible harm to the fish was acceptable. I love fishing and have been doing it all my life. It's been a long time since this has happened with a bass. I just feel bad. Lou

Thanks, Diggy. Seems there are strong opinions on both sides. Imagine that. The LE is a little heavier than the Dragger at 5oz vs. 4.4oz. I plan to put a Bantam MGL on it, so I'm not too concerned about absolute weight. This setup is going to be my heavy jig, T-rig, C-rig go to--often in deeper water. We do have plenty of catfish--some big channel cats and blues. It's said that the cat fishermen have done a great job preserving the population in Wylie. The bass fishermen, on the other hand, have apparently nailed all of the big bass to their walls. I don't think anyone is eating them--I certainly wouldn't consider it. I spent many evenings helping my Dad filet LMB straight out of the live well after an afternoon on Lake Wateree, SC when I was growing up. We'd deep fry them on the back patio with some homemade hushpuppies and coleslaw. I wish I had those days back. I seem to be talking myself into the LE, don't I? It's probably because I like the two St Croix's I have, and the LE I'm looking at is a good deal.