Alex Ball

Did you get your warts back? That'd be a difficult moment for me. My warts are super important to my style. Pre rap or nothing at all.

It's the maroon one. Yup. There it is. I love it. That IIc is on almost every single St. Croix I've seen. I'm wondering if it's the same blank.

Dang Skippy. I have multiple offers. I have the same one except it was made in the USA. I even know where now. RebRods in Flippin Ar did a few runs. I have the same one except it was made in the USA. I even know where now. RebRods in Flippin Ar did a few runs. Sorry for the ghosting. I got a job at McDonald's as a shift leader or enforcer. I have since, in 3 weeks, been tagged as the only logical option to be tapped for management. Crazy 2 weeks. I haven't been home in 3 days until now. I'll definitely be upgrading my stuff. Lol. I'm making stupid money.

Thank you @road warrior. You were one of the reasons I became a serious angler. You helped a complete stranger figure this jigsaw puzzle out. Enjoy the sunset brother. You deserve it. Three cheers.

Ya. I'll do that when I wake up. I'm working shift leader on a closing shift. Just got home. Mine is definitely not Chinese. I've heard excellent things about the Nano. I have two others in this series and I could probably get all of them locally. They're everywhere here in North Arkansas. We build em here. Rods I mean. Phenix, BPS, Spro, etc ..You can find some crazy stuff at yard sales here. I picked up a Falcon Cara T7 for $35 a few weeks ago. Insanity. It still had the tag! Yessir. Imma do it when my light is better. I have two of the Quantum Tour Edition series 1 Lamiglas rods. Those are absolutely fantastic. I'm telling you BD, there's a period between 93-99 where they got it perfect on the rods. They just feel different. Boutique? No. That's not right.... Custom. They feel like I made them. They feel like I prefer them to. If it's 99s USA, particularly local to my area, I'm all in. They really built some monsters.

Thanks again for the Cetus recommendation. I love that reel. Anytime other people see it, they ask about it. I finally got what I really wanted out of it: A guy who fishes one of my spots came up to me to say hi and said "Are they biting, Mr. Bond?" That sealed it. Imma do a video in a tux fishing with my Golden Reel. I'm going to write a script. Ya. I'm probably on the road to becoming the fishing version of Dave Chappelle. Sketch comedy. Somebody needs to take the edge off this game. Funny you mentioned jerks. I just bought 20 6sense provoke deep divers for $100. That rod is definitely suited for Jerking. 6'6" and it'll carry the little Raps and the stupid big Wally's. I'm talking myself out of selling this rod aren't I? LoL. It's hard to explain, but the OG tournament stuff like this just feels "right". They understood the assignment.

It's one of the made in USA versions. I figured it was 89-94 based on the shockingly little I found. No Houston tag, so not earlier than 89. That's all I really know. It might end up a personal rod. It's definitely heavy by current standards, but it feels good. It'll throw everything I have that has a treble hook. I like a more moderate rod for football jigs, so check that box. Graphite, not glass. Check. I'm always looking for the "One" Rod. Something I can take on my bank excursions and cover all my bases. This one definitely has a chance. If I change the guides to more modern ones, does that affect the value negatively? I like to do that on pre 08-10 rods because that particular technology took a quantum leap around that time. Definitely a nice rod. My customer base is mostly old school, so this one seems to be a good option for selling. Still..... LoL, I might keep it.

I recently acquired an All Star Classic Graphite GT2 6'6" casting rod. I just opened a table at a flea market and I'm trying to get a date and fair price to put on it. It's pretty close to mint. I'd appreciate any information. I'm having trouble finding info on it.

This made my day.

I just felt the need to say it out loud. This forum definitely has been a major part of my progress in life. I love this site. Absolutely. I myself am on several Reddit groups and I moderate a couple. This is the polar opposite of Reddit. Everyone is on the same team. It's refreshing. I get advice from @WRB quite regular. He also helps me plan my next post in a way. He'll make a suggestion on a topic, I'll post and because he's him, he posts and it snowballs. Quite effective. It's a wonderful group.

Oh I still play games on Xbox. I meant that just doing that and working a high stress job wasn't a good combo. Fishing really helped. I'm a lifetime mmj cardholder. I was one of the first in Arkansas to get that designation because my disability is considered devastating.

To anyone who reads this that willingly gives out real knowledge on here(so everyone pretty much): Thank you. I started fishing because I was a "fixer" in the Fast Food industry during Covid. I'd go to bad joints and help get em off the bottom of the group table. It was particularly hard during this time. Fishing was my escape from madness and indoor isolation. This website was and is my Rosetta Stone. I asked dumb questions and got smart answers. I learned. I did not receive the same hospitality from local anglers where I started. I almost gave up and just went back to vegging out on Xbox. A death sentence for the soul. Then, I found BR. It was accidental. RangerJockey and Bulldog answered my first questions. RJ is someone I consider a friend now. I can count all mine on 4 fingers. Got a Cetus because of Bulldog. Anytime I want to be the star, I bring that gold reel out. It's a conversation piece. I learn everything I know from here and a local guide I'm fortunate to have a friend in. I was in a really bad place when I found BR. I have mental troubles(Autism/PTSD) and socializing is almost unbearable. This website gave me a place to talk. A place to communicate. A place to not be alone. I'm not sure if this has ever been said on here, but this forum group saved me from myself. I know, I sound like a redditor RN. LoL. But for real, thank you all. My Dad and Brother recently told me if fishing is what caused me to get better, then I better keep fishing. It was, but so was this site. I never fit in. Ever. Here I do. There's something for everyone. Even me. Thank you, BR. The life you radically altered for the better was mine. Al.

"Whuboosh!!!" That's my FFS. I'm a banker til I die. I listen for that sound, look for the ripples and cast past it. It has served me well.

Ya. I think they pretty much work everywhere. I live on Bull Shoals. If I'm getting skunked, I throw the senko wacky, no more than 1/8 oz on a weighted wacky. They just catch fish. I've tried every other version, but the senko just works the best.

Definitely using that rule. Almost everything expensive I own is a Swimbait or Glide. I built a rod specifically for that purpose. "Small" Swimbaits. 3/8-2 oz. Thanks. I'm just going to keep what I built the rods for. Much easier to navigate that tackle box. LoL.

Thanks, buddy. I fell into the "you have to know everything" trap because I build specified rods. It was a long road, but I'm pretty much done with the dev phase and I'm set on my specs. Now, I can just go fishing. Thank you. What you said pretty much eliminates 3/4 of my stuff. Heck yeah. Time to enjoy it after all the learning and research.

After having worked in a tackle shop and being an online seller for the last two years, I have amassed way too much stuff. What are the "essentials" I should keep? I have everything. Every kind of bait. I need help with what to keep. My go to's - Crank, Walkers and Poppers, Swimbait, Jig. Is that enough to reliably catch a bass from the bank? Anything else to add? Oh and BTW, The rod building is going great!!! 4 personal rods and two customers builds so far. I'm loving it! Thanks, Al

I really like those rods. I've had quite a few. My favorite KK rod by far. The 1 piece is the exact same rod 13 made at $75. The Defy Black. My only knock on KK a lack of specified CB rods below $100. They could easily do this.

Bigs. I fish big baits on big H power rods. I'm a bank guy. I want 1 4-5lber. I'll gladly take being skunked over being in a dink fest. Big baits, big fish. I'm out there for the combat element of it. Me vs. a dinosaur. Who wins? That's why I do it.

Finesse jig and Head Turner. I'm actually about to sell em. Huge profit. I'm really enjoying my Big Bear rods. Excellent build.

I've only had the pleasure of meeting Jordan one time. That man is a walking dictionary on rods outta that building. If I see him I'll mention it. I just got 2, BRAND NEW, Falcon Cara T7 rods for $100 for both. Couldn't believe it. Excited to finally get one. I definitely put in the work, but you and others helped me understand where to look. I couldn't be any happier.

I'm being a bit generous. I'll say this: I was extremely impressed by how it handles a fish. That counts for a lot to me. Beyond that, I'm giving it that score based on the aggregate of the categories. At $250, anything below a 8.5 is basically a pass for me. This rod fell well below that, and that's why i finished the review by cautioning against it. Outside durability and what id consider an inexperienced building staff(basing that on how the ones at work looked when they hired a whole shift together), I'd say it was a good rod. One final note: I work on and repair rods, so if its fixable, I'm fairly forgiving. Based on your outlook, ya it's probably safe to call it a bust of a rod. I'm glad I waited on reviewing it. I would've hated to give a good review only to backtrack. It's definitely a disappointment and a lesson learned. I work for 1 shop and do independent business with another maker. From now on, I'm buying local or big brand. Builders I trust or Companies with long standing. Safer.

The loose feeling was the components starting to shimmy. A couple guides, reel seet is not locking correctly, etc... should've elaborated there.

It's been odd this last year. They get real long but really thin. It fought good til I stacked the drag. I have probably got 15 pictures of different bass just like that one.

About 22 inches. Good fish to test the JB3.