Recurve1

Hi Bulldog - I pulled up your link and the price for US is $161.42. Not gonna quibble over $10 but wondering where you saw it at $152? Thanks

The rods I have on NFC blanks are nice, especially the fly rods. However, the things that bug me are that they are very quick to take your money (credit card is charged almost immediately) but they are slow to ship and slow to respond to email. They sit on your money for weeks or more. Fortunately I have all the rods I need and am unlikely to build any more. No need to order more blanks.

Ahh - the Tundra made in Texas. The Tacoma is made in Mexico https://www.4thgentacoma.com/threads/where-are-toyota-tacomas-made.938/

I heard they were made in Mexico? The Crown Signia is reportedly MIJ. Likely my next vehicle. Some Mazdas still MIJ, those are worth a look too.

I want my car to be made in Japan. Don't care where my fishing reel is made.

I just saw there is also a new Ultegra spinning reel - the FD model. Looks to have most of the features of the current Stradic except has CI4+, cross carbon drag and no AR-C spool as the main differences. https://fish.shimano.com/en-US/product/reels/spinning/frontdrag/a075f00003slwxfqas.html

I Thanks - is it the FM or the FL that you have?

I strictly wade fish rivers and creeks for smallmouth. When I flyfish for them a big difference for me is the amount of fly line outside the reel and on the water, talking about retrieving flies like Clouser minnows and streamers. I end up with a lot of fly line around my legs whereas with a spinning reel the line is on the reel. Then the flyline gets pulled into the current and when I go to make my next cast I need to gather line to shoot it. I have started holding the retrieved line in loops in my line hand which is OK but next year I am going to put a box/basket on my wading belt to hold this line. For reference I'm talking about 40-50 feet of fly line at times. Managing this line is the biggest pain for me flyfishing for bass. If you are on a boat where you can stand then the line will lay at your feet and not so much of an issue.

I only ask because there have been some spotty reports of noises, "geariness", etc. I'm presuming these are the minority but wanted to get a consensus opinion now that the reel has been out a year or so. Planning to order from Japan so no US warranty. Thanks

Thanks - I should say I don't have a boat so would be looking at wade fishing smaller rivers and creeks. Any particular waters/states I should be looking at? NC, SC, Georgia? Thanks

Hi folks, What are the smallmouth fishing opportunities in the SE USA in the winter time? I'd like to spend some time during the winter chasing more active smallmouth. In the NE things have cooled off now so wanted to get into some better smallmouth action and hoping warmer waters there might offer more active fish.

Thank you all for the thoughtful replies. It makes sense that if a client is not catching fish after say 30 - 60 min the guide should try some techniques or areas to see if fish are there, what lure works, is the client the issue or is it the fish/water, etc. hopefully he could do this in a limited amount of time, then when he finds something he can instruct the client with the new information. This makes sense and a limited amount is understandable. BTW the guide my friend is going with charges $300/half day and $500 for whole day walk and wade on public rivers that I already fish (and always catch fish) on. No limited access areas. No meals or transportation provided that I can see. Needless to say I will not be paying for his service, I can use that money for a new rod and reel or waders! Thanks again to all

A friend of mine got a guided fishing trip as a gift, a wading trip for river smallmouth. He wants me to buy a trip so I can go with him. It seems this guide fishes while you are paying him to guide you. He does attend to your needs and does some teaching. Is it common for guides to fish while you are paying them to guide you? I am hesitant to pay a guy hundreds of dollars to fish when he should be teaching me about rigging, reading the currents, fish lies, drift depth and speed, etc. Thanks

Thanks folks, I'm sure one of these will work fine. The bigger hooks are what I need for the 2.75" - 3.5" tubes.

Hi Folks, I'm looking for 1/16 oz tube jig hooks with hooks big enough for 3 and 3.5" tubes. Creeks here are low and clear and 1/8 oz jig heads are getting hung up way too much. Any suggestions for a good tube jig head in 1/16 with a proper hook size would be appreciated. Thanks