Jrob78

I went with Evers, C. Lane, Coulter, Faircloth and Crochet. Hopefully it will work out, I'm not feeling too confident though.

I would personally avoid the braid. I know some guys use it with swimbaits but I don't believe it to be a good choice. Check out the newest Shimano round reels, the 300 Calcutta D and 14/15 Conquest, they are much smaller than previous versions and palm well. The Conquest is one sweet reel and not too expensive if you buy from Japan.

I like the Buckeye J-Will heads.

You can fish them either way. I prefer to use a jighead with the bigger Keitechs but cover definitely dictates that. I don't know what kind of rod you're using but I generally use a 7'3" MHF for fishing the larger Keitechs.

Well........what size baits are you using? How much weight are you using? Jighead or swimbait hook? Are you having trouble with what you're using now or do you just like asking questions?

Just in case you didn't know, this (") is the sign for inches. 7'3"

I follow all the Dallas pro teams. That is one cool thing about living in the same city your whole life. You go through all the ups and downs of your teams with everyone else in the city. There are a few other teams I like and will pull for as long as it doesn't effect a home team. I watch a little college football but have no allegiances.

Is the rod 10' long?

I used to get into the big amphitheater here in Dallas for free, anytime I wanted and with however many people I wanted. I've seen a ton of big shows, too many to list. My favorite show was actually somewhere else, Tarrant County Convention Center, to be exact. I saw Pantera play in about 1995, it was by far the rowdiest, craziest show I've ever been to and the band fed off of it. I saw them a few times after that but it never lived up to the first time.

I'm a hand wrapper too. I've never used a motor but I always thought a motor would be more handy for applying finish than actually wrapping guides. But, i'm sure it's great for both once you get used to it. I wrap with the butt to the left and left to right.

I found 15 lb to be unmanageable. I switched to 15 lb Pline CX and had much better results.

Pick a color.

WFN, fishing about 23 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I agree

You could throw a 3 oz swimbait with that rod, doesn't make it a good idea or very efficient. Lure ratings aren't literal.

Gotcha, it makes sense now.

Medium, MH, H etc. are powers not "weights."

I have a MHF in the LE line and it's definitely a step up from other MH's, power wise, which I really like. I love the MH for a general purpose t-rig and light jig rod. The Rage rods on St. Croix's website are a very good deal, if you can get past the handle, reel seat and guides that is. I had one delivered yesterday.

I have the 7'2" MHR and like it a lot. It has the right mix of power and action to be a very versatile rod for me.

Thanks. For $89 it's worth a shot.

Got my rod today, (7'11" HMF). My first impression is somewhat favorable. The guides are straight and the blank is straight. The wraps are decent and the finish is clean. I don't like the guides but I plan to put them to the test. I want to see for myself how they hold up. My biggest problem with the rod is the amount of threads left in front of the reel. Other than that, the rod seems pretty light for it's length and power, the blank is crisp and the balance is surprisingly good with a Curado 200E, about an inch in front of the reel seat. Oh, it also came with some stickers and a nice fitted hat.

Saying guys are using rods custom built "to their specs" and "prototypes for testing purposes" are two completely different things. It would serve no purpose for the company to give anglers custom equipment that the general public will never get. Prototypes are completely different and that does happen but it's for products that will eventually be off the shelf.

I've got a 7'11" HMF on order. I assume it's been shipped by now, St. Croix hasn't sent me tracking info yet though. This will be my only rod that doesn't have ceramic guide inserts. I figured it was worth a shot for $89.

ESPN has one too, they just may not have it up yet. I did it last year and they keep track of everything. $10-$15 is good for me for this one.

I'm definitely in on that too.