Jrob78

All Star still makes short, full cork models. They are exclusive to Academy and cost around $50. http://www.allstarrods.com/asclassic/

I'm not on facebook either, I got an email from them.

Go to their facebook page or check your email.

No problem buddy, glad to help out.

If they show it in stock you should be good to go. I don't have any coupon codes but they probably wouldn't let you use them with the sale anyway. I'm glad you found what you were looking for and saved some money.

That's why I didn't even bother to look at their site. Every time I try to buy something from them they either don't carry it or they don't have it in stock. 25% off is still a great sale though, if you can find something you need.

I got an email, I haven't even gone on the site to look. I can fwd you the email if you want to check it out.

Fluoro for me. I use fluoro for just about everything these days.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. BTD is having a 25% off sale for Easter right now. You might could get TW to match, if BTD carries what you want to buy.

I forgot about the Hammer. It's a great bait too. You have to throw it on a jig head though.

The Keitech's are awesome. If you want a hollow body, the Shadalicious are good. I also really like the Roboworm EZ Shad. You might try the Robo Minnow if you want a 4" bait.

For me, the heavier the bait and/or the deeper it dives, the more moderate I want my rod to be. If the bait is very shallow or light, I can get by with a med fast rod.

Here in the south, kids are generally started out with spin casters, (Zebco 33's and 202's). Baitcasters are the natural transition. Most of the old timer's around here wouldn't even know how to hold spinning gear, let alone fish with it. A lot of that is changing now though.

LC BDS 2

I have the 7'4" "soft swimbait" model. It's a good rod for the money.

X3

They make good baits with fresh designs and new rigging ideas, especially their soft baits.

Me too

I ordered my heads directly from *** and they have Owner Cutting Point hooks.

I just bought 8 *** heads for a trip next week. I'm curious to see if they live up to the hype. I will post back after I've had a chance to use them.

H20 crankbaits are awesome. To me, they are the best house brand crankbaits out there. They just released 3 really cool new baits, the S, M and D. They share the same body with different bill sizes and are different than the previous s,m and d models. They also have some awesome new colors.

Figure out what your budget is and what you want to do with the rod. Do you want a casting or spinning rod? How heavy are the baits you plan to throw? Peruse Mudhole and get an idea of how much grips, guides, thread, reel seats, equipment, finish and epoxy...etc cost. Do you have a wrapper and dryer? Go to rodbuilding.org and read every thing you can that pertains to the basics. When you figure out exactly what you want your rod to do and how much you want to spend, it will be much easier decide what blank to get. Rainshadow and MHX both make relatively inexpensive blanks that are quality. Using a kit for you first build might not be a bad idea just so you can learn how to do it. I'm not a fan of kits for anything other than that though. Picking out your own components is half the fun and what makes the rod truly custom.

My entire hand is on the other, (tip end) of the trigger with my pinky resting against the trigger and the reel in the palm of my hand. I like to be in constant contact with the line, the whole set up balances better and it just feels natural. I couldn't hold the rod by the handle if I wanted to, it feels weird and it kind of looks weird when other people do it.

This is about the 4th "it sucked" report I've heard.

I pretty much only use baitcasters on my kayak. There aren't any reasons to use spinning gear over baitcasters, in my experience.