S Hovanec

Back at it again..... making it up as I go!

This is the exact reason I started building my own. Don't use a hack saw. Use a chop saw with a sharp blade. I've hacked off quite a few rods with my chop saw.

That doesn't surprise me at all. The LTBs are notoriously tip heavy. I have a 6'9" MLXF I built myself and the only reason it's not tip heavy is because of the 1.5oz butt cap and 2oz reel seat on it. Overall it's a heavy rod, but it doesn't feel heavy cause of the great balance.

The wife got approved to take off the 23rd. I'll be booking our room tomorrow! Can't wait to get some of that Sexual Chocolate and Bourbon Barrel Aged stout at Foothills! Room booked at the Embassy.

I'm kicking it around. I've attended it once and worked it as a vendor 6 times. Karen (from Bingham) and I have been talking about going to meet up for dinner! The biggest things I miss about going are the people and hanging out with the NERBS at the Foothills Brew Pub. Good times were had.

Haven't been in the shop in almost forever. Winging it on a grip set for a member who is building his own swimbait rod. I have an idea, I just hope I can pull it off. The first attempt failed miserably. I'm almost happy with this so far (and that's saying alot! Lol) I think I need to square up the table on my bandsaw.

That is a good deal. Don't let the 70" beam fool you though. The bottom width is still only 48", and that is where it really matters for stability. It will be a little tippy.

I use Rod Bond and Quik Bond for gluing grips and seats to the blank. I use TiteBond 3 for all of my cork gluing.

No. I only fish soft plastics there.

Grizzly now has a tabletop model with some features of the bigger ones!

Thank you. I guess I always do preach that one can never have too many DS rods! That's where it all started for me with the cork. I had the saw, just never thought of using it for rod building. Then I saw an elliptical inlay someone did, then the cork blocks and strips became available. Now I rarely use the miter saw except to hack the handles off of NRX's! Everything gets cut on the band saw.

Yes, it most likely will. When I build my rods, I file the edges of the foot so there are no square edges. . The entire top of the guide foot is round and tapered to both sides. This seems to have eliminated the epoxy cracking problem on my rods.

Third hand info here, but I've been told by one supplier that their customers that have bought them say they are underpowered for their ratings. I'm on the fence about trying one. I found the perfect DS rod for me, so I guess I'm just looking for something else to do! Lol

The cracks form in the epoxy because the guide foot is more rigid than the blank. When you flex the rod, the guide doesn't flex at the same rate as the blank, so the differential will cause the epoxy to crack.

The bait monkey is nothing. I have the boat monkey breathing down my neck right now.

If this is top notch, I'm the Easter Bunny. I've been told by retailers that this is the rule, rather than the exception. This looks like the same shoddy thread work and finish that appeared on their prior flagship, no reason to improve on it now. I guess I expect more quality out of a supposed high-end stick. Gaps in the wrap and finish not extending from the wrap on to the blank. Also, excessive finish creating a football. Gaps again, unlevel finish and even bare threads on the left side. Even more gaps....

I have a 10 on the bow and a 5 and 7 on the console. I run the 5 as GPS and the 7 as fish finder.

It's not mine and I haven't seen it in person yet, but from the pics, the wraps and finish are absolute crap for a $600 rod.

I used to duct tape the lid from a sour cream container over it. It's kinda redneck, but it works!

Before I started storing in a barn at the fairgrounds, I just kept mine in the yard. I have a custom cover with poles, so snow was not an issue. I would store the motor trimmed down to keep water from collecting in the lower unit and covered the prop to keep critters from crawling in the exhaust. As long as the batteries are charged, there's no reason to remove them. I also removed the drain plug so any water that might get past the cover would drain out.

I may have known someone that knew a graphic designer who made him a new serial number placard with a legit 20hp serial number and placed it on his 25hp so it could be run on the 20hp lakes.

I remember when Andy originally posted that on RBO. I copied and saved it on my computer for just such an emergency as this!

Mine either. Actually, mine likes it when I get new stuff. I get a new SCV with TwinPower, she got my old SCV with Stradic Mg. I am repossessing the Stradic Mg and getting her a new JDM Stradic FK.

And that's why I'll let them on my boat, but I won't use them!