Diablos

I have always fished alone then I found a great partner then he got a job far away. Now I fish alone again I am very cynical when it comes to meeting new people so the last place I want to get to know someone is on my boat. I could never fish tourneys in random pairings.

The blank is a MHX 905 blend, not the composite. I made the power wrapper. It was cheaper than buying a pre-built one. Basically it's a 1x8x8' piece of any good straight wood with 3/4" C-channel tracking so the rollers could slide. Then I mounted a motor on some angle iron and attached an aluminum adapter with set screws to a chuck I purchased 3 acrylic ball bearing roller stands.

Really nice handles!! I just built a MHX composite last week for cranking too. It hasn't even been coated yet. One thing I have to learn is how to take better pics of rods.

Lowe makes a nice budget fish n ski. http://www.loweboats.com/fish-and-ski/fs165/

President seems to be a solid choice. Some under the radar reels that are pretty good Lew's Tourney Speed Spin $79 Okuma Trio30S $75

I have Progressive and pay $160/year for a boat/motor/trailer $7500 value and $1500 in tackle. I'm not sure of the exact splits but it's decent coverage with towing.

If you're handy with wrapping, I would remove the whole guide and rewrap then apply finish to your liking.

A good rod builder should be able to take the information you supply and fill in the blanks with appropriate suggestions. Generally, a 16mm seat will be the smallest rod builders will use but the actual size of the seat will vary from company to company. If you are trying to keep the rod lightweight consider using a split seat such as a Pac Bay Minima or a Fuji SK2 type of seat. I am now a big fan of using Fuji's "lowrider" micro stripper guides BLCAG

It seems Walmarts in more popular bass fishing areas have better quality equipment. In the northeast(Mass), the best bass rod they sell may be a $29 Ugly Stik

I towed my 16ft 1400lb boat/motor/trailer/gear for 2 years with a 210hp Forester 4cyl. I installed all new brake pads before I started to tow with it and never had a problem stopping or accelerating. It was rated up to 2400lbs. I live just a few miles from Fishing Rhino right on the ocean. I'm sure he has seen some great sights of people launching heavy saltwater boats with under powered vehicles.

I'm also really likin those decals. Regular MHX decals are hit or miss in terms of print quality. I would really like to know how you're doin them also.

I have built saltwater rods for almost 20 years but this was 2nd bass rod build ever. I've had people ask me for bass rods but since I didn't start bass fishing till 2007 I didn't want to build them for people without the knowledge of how they work. So I fished factory rods for a couple of years to understand what makes certain rods so specific. I would like to build for people but I can not compete with warranties offered by factories. The thought of rebuilding a North Fork Composite after someone lifts a 3lb bass out of water doesn't sit well with me.

welcome!! I'm from SE Mass also(New Bedford). I've been saltwater fishing for 20 years but took up bass fishing in 2007 and still learning.

I use the Lucky Crafty flat mini sr. They dive about 2ft.

shallow cranks

My biggest top water fish this year was on a buzzbait that got hit while it was sinking because I was fixing a backlash.

I just finished my 2nd rod build. The next 7-8 rods I make will all be for my boat with matching colors. I have plans to make 5 baitcasters and 2 spinning all using MHX blanks. My next build will be a 6'6" MHX with Fuji micro "lowrider" stripper guides and will have a full eva/composite rear grip as opposed to split. I am going to try different grip and guide setups on all my rods. The cranking rod I am going to build is going to be on a MHX white blend blank and will be using American Tackle full titanium guides.

Did you check yourself for zebra mussels? A similar thing happened to me in 07. I was backing down the boat and I forgot to attach my rope to the trailer and saw my boat drifting away in the mirror. I run out of the car to save the boat without putting it in park. I had a split second choice to make on whether to get the boat or stop the truck. I chose to stop the truck even though it was backed down to the point there was 12 inches of water on the back seat. As my boat got about 75ft from the boat ramp another boater pulled up and retrieved my boat.

Thanks for getting your toes in the pic I'm always leery of broken rods but if they fill a specific need in the arsenal then go for it.

Sorry guys I will not be able to attend. I was really looking forward to this. I work at a saltwater fishing tackle shop and got asked to open up Saturday. The usual guy who opens on Saturdays is a high school football coach and his game got moved from Friday to Saturday because of the EEE threat. Working at a fishing tackle shop and actually fishing don't always seem to go together.

My Dick's had quite a few Ragetail products for 50% off and picked a bunch for $3.00

What has been the feedback from the other guys in the tournament? Are you considered a snitch or a 'good guy'? I'm just trying to see the mentality of the others. If you are considered a snitch then I'm guessing cheating might be more common than we hoped for.

The one thing I noticed with these,at least for me, is the fish hit these very hard. I throw similar type soft plastics and get a lot of soft hits but with these every single hit has been Wham!!

I fish 7 rods. 5 baitcasters and 2 spinning rods I use the 2 spins for most weightless and lightweight soft plastic applications. My 5 baitcasters are set up for: swimjig, pitchin/flippin, topwater, crankbait, carolina rig

My wife will only bug me while fishing if we made plans later in the day and I start to run late. She was a little peeved with me when I bought the boat though. We were six months from paying off her school loan and she thought we should pay it first. But my boat had a $750 customer rebate that I couldnt pass up so I bought the boat before the loan was paid. She did tell me that I will never get another present for any holiday and the boat will be my present till I die. LOL I told her I didnt care.