Bubba_Bruiser

I do the same thing you did. If it is sort of bulky, I will do a solid pass to secure the wrap, then after 2 thin coats, I will do a wrap with trim and inlay bands up to where I terminated it.

Nothing wrong with that. Nice rod.

I was just there around New Year's and all I can say is this. If I would of had a pole, I would have been fishing until someone told me otherwise because I didn't see any signs that deterred against it around the hotel. We were staying at the All Star Movie Resort. I figured since I had paid to stay on the grounds, I had access since there were "No Fishing" signs posted. But then again, I have been wrong before.

Super clean work. Looks good and I like those MHX843s.

Sweet lookin' rod. I like the matching handle on the reel! I have a NFC rod built by Tigerodz and it is awesome to say the least. Give us a fish whoopin' update and how it handled.

I am finishing up a John Deere colored rod on this same blank and of course ran in to the same problem using the yellow thread (Fishhawk Nylon). I couldn't find a bright enough yellow in the PW selection. I under wrapped with a metallic silver and was pleased with it. But I think next time I use on of these blanks, I am going to section off and try to use one of the metallic sharpies for painting instead of under wrapping. Has anyone tried this yet?

I use a Flexcoat 6 RPM drying motor. I have watched people apply on hi-speed turners and it does seem to help. But for now I apply by hand turning and use tape and then burnish it where it doesn't run back under.

I used Gudebrod NCP White, but it turned it peach and the back chrome on the guides shined like a diamond. I packed and burnished pretty hard too. Maybe I burnished too much and flattened it out. But I might try painting the area and the guide feet if I do it again with the heavy contrast.

What rod finish is preferred by the rod builders here? I have tried Flex-Coat, Pro Kote, and Threadmaster. Flex-Coat is good, tuff for me to get all the bubbles out though. I don't like the Pro Kote because it stays tacky too long and gets me to start worrying. But I think I found a thumbs up with the Threadmaster. It releases bubbles pretty well and has a pretty good spread time for me. But I just thought I would ask.

For a $20 dollar blank. I think it's a pretty nice rod. The guy I built it for, loved it. It came as a M-F blank, but I wouldn't be scared to call it a MH-F. I also built this one off of the green CRB blank. And also had to double wrap everything for it too.

Yeah, you know you're not a fair weather friend when you build a rod after something hahahaha.

I finished up this rod on a CRB orange blank for TN Vols them. You wanna talk some wrapping time, whew. I had to double wrap and coat everything to keep it from bleeding though. Any hints to solve that problem? Bright orange and white are tough to mix. But I like the way it turned out. I hate I didn't get a picture of the tiger wrap and the fish in front of the foregrip. I am going to have to track the guy down and take some of it.

That bees my head, thank you ;D Guides epoxied - Check

Approximately #25. I think the pic was doctored

And the NC Rod (LSU Theme)

These are 2 rods I just got through working on. They are pretty simple builds. One is a Forecast IM6 7' MH-F and the other is a Netcraft IM6 6' MH-F. The NC is an LSU themed rod. The FC is pretty basic with the exception on the gold eyes in the guides. I ran into a few uh-ohs here and there, but I am just getting started out building. But I try to learn from the mistakes and push on to get better.

The man is flat out at an expert at what he does. I know it is off subject, but he kept talking at the Classic about how Kriet kept running up short a bad luck throughout the season and always coming up short. And the announcer dead eyed him and said, you wanna know his bad luck, you look at it in the mirror every morning, or something like that. The man is just a relentless machine on the water though. I wish I had a quarter of his know how and drive.

Tim Knox Tigerods info@tigerodz.com 205-577-0149 His rods are built on Gary Loomis' North Fork blanks and truly exceptional. He is very personable and will build whatever you are looking for.

I am new to rod building myself. But a guy gave me a tip and I tried it. I mix the epoxy in a cup, but before I get started, I form a bowl with tin foil. After I mix the epoxy up, I pour it on the foil and just run my lighter under it and it eliminates the bubbles. I have some of the spray in my cart though for my next mudhole order though for just grins and giggles.

I tend to follow the guidelines set by the biologists for the lake. Most of our lakes in south MS have a 14 or 16-20 or 22" slot. I feel they set these numbers for a reason of balance and change them appropiately through surveys. I do not keep a 22+ without the intent to mount, but I keep all the under slots and give them to the bank fishermen or other people around the house.

Nice haul man and congrats on the PB. Pig fo sho!

As a matter of fact, I have an alcohol lamp in the shopping cart at mudhole.com right now. I am just looking around and picking up a few things. Thanks for the tip DVT, I will try a light grit on my next one. I have several old CastAway rods that are starting to show cracking and would like to change them out too. So maybe some of this will sink and help. At least I have it in black and white to refer too. WI Heat - yeah it was there abouts...I didn't submit her because the #15er she hit got lodged in her mouth sideways and I just didn't feel right about it. I named her Spottie.

I lost a CastAway rod and a Citica reel in the drink and had a sucessful retrieve...2 months later when I saw my lizard in a small patch of grass floating around in the lake. And I lost about $75 dollars worth of spinners and buzzbaits floating the creek one day.

Thanks bowtech. I will try that when I strip the other one. Another question though. When I removed the guides from the old rod, I had to sand the remaining epoxy off with 220 grit. It left a hazing of course from scuffing the surface. This made me put pretty long wraps on the new, smaller guides to cover the scuffed area. After breaking the tip, I was scared to put a lighter on the epoxy to try to get it off and I also tried acetone and denatured alcohol. Is a heat gun, like for paint removal a better solution for removing old epoxy? Or what is a recommendation for this?

Hey fellas. I just started getting in to rod building scene and was wondering who else does it in here? I see that dick and Fletchero have several post and many fine rods under their belt. I have recently rebuilt an old Lightning rod to just start practicing before I step up to my worm rod on a St. Croix II blank. I figured I would rather mess up a $25 rod than a $75 blank. Plus I learned that it doesn't take much to burn the tip off with a lighter while trying to remove the old tip, so now I am waiting on another tip to match the guides. But like I said this was a practice run. I am going to practice on another lightning rod I have before trying a start to finish job. Maybe I will have some pictures to post before long of a finished product. But I just wanted to see who all is building on here so I can put you on speed dial hahahaha. 8-) Any tips for removing a tip guide without doing what I did the first time? My only conclusion is to keep the lighter more foward on the tip and apply a little pressure after heating until the glue gets hot enough to melt.