Jrob78

Nice job Mike! Great looking rod.

I couldn't agree more.

If you're using a "Fluke" it's a Zoom. I like Bass Assassins, Caffeine Shad and Zoom Flukes. I fish them TX rigged on casting gear with 3/0-5/0 hook. As far as Fluke color for stained water, bubble gum, chart. pearl, green pumpkin, golden bream, junebug, black, and then maybe some of the bright whites and silvers would be worth trying.

I actually think I like the PB over the 832. I've only just started using 832 but I've used PB for a couple of years. The main reasons I prefer it over PP are the smoothness, roundness and lack of a coating that flakes off. There's nothing wrong with PP, I used it for years and was happy with it. I just found the PB in higher lb tests to be much smoother and more supple. It doesn't have a coating so it doesn't flake and get all over your fingers and reel and it doesn't take time to break in like PP does. The noise of PP never really bothered me. Like I said though, nothing wrong with PP, just personal preference.

Check out hoorag.com, good prices and cool designs.

You have to be able to fish hard for 7 or 8 days in a row, rain or shine and pay thousands of dollars to do it. You might have driven 1000 miles to get there and you might have to do it 2 or 3 times in a month. You have to find fish after a few days of practice and figure out how to catch them for 4 days in a row, at a lake or river you might have never seen before. You have to be able to stand in front of a crowd and tv cameras and graciously explain why you had a tough day or a tough tournament, knowing you didn't make any money that week. And that is just the fishing part of it, which is only a fraction of your job.

Can it be done? Yes. Can you do it? Depends. Is it worth doing? Probably not.

Got a S Waver 200 in "Warden" in the mail today.

The craw patterns are where the money's at.

Buff

The next spinning rod I build for myself will utilize the KR system. DVT will hook you up though, you'll be happy with whatever you decide to go with.

What does Nate Wellman have to do with glide baits?

Huh?

Pick whatever color you like the best, they're all good and the fish won't care. Mattlures makes some baits that resemble dead or dying trout, the dead stick and dead twitch. I'm not terribly familiar with them but that's where I would look.

All things being equal, rod power doesn't effect sensitivity. Buy the best rod you can afford in whatever power you need. An Ugly Stik isn't going to be as sensitive as a Veritas, in any power.

Those look nice. Powell makes a really good rod.

I recently fished with Tony Clark and had a great time.

He didn't say one word about the pricing and I wasn't bad mouthing your tackle shop.

Bass Pro or online.

Oh I know, spoons are big here in TX, especially on Fork. I just meant I don't throw them much.

I started to bid on one the other day, it was already at $20. It's a cool bait and I would like to have one, not sure when I would use it though.

Your local tackle shop has a tiny fraction of the stock they have and that's just in domestic baits.

I love hard baits They get me good every couple of months, it seems.

I don't like braid for most techniques but the techniques that require braid, really do require braid and nothing else will do. Frogging is definitely one of those techniques.

I would never choose Big Game over CXX. I keep a spool of BG to use as backer but that's all I will use it for.