S Hovanec

It'll be a few days for pics. I have some rods to put finish on that need delivered this weekend.

What he said. Buying rods off the shelf is such a crap shoot. So many people handle it that have no clue about rod care. I've seen kids having sword fights with rods at Gander before. You know those rods had to break the instant they were loaded in any manor.

Tip or running guide?

If my primary waters weren't the great lakes, I'd probably consider something other than the multi species rigs I favor now. Erie or the Lower Niagara is really no place for a bass boat.

This was years before the Eternity blanks existed. St. Croix 4c69MLXF

Some pics from a long time ago. Fly backing tied from the tip to a nail in my bench and adjusted with a slip knot to different degrees of flex. More backing from the spool shaft through the guides and a 1/2oz weight tied on to hold some tension. Guides are held in place with vinyl tubing sliced in to thin bands. Wow, I wish my bench was still that clutter-free!

Sorry about leading everyone on that big tangent. Back to the original topic. If I were in the market for a bass boat, this would be it. Sadly though, bassboats aren't my thing. With the wife and 3 dogs, we prefer to be IN a boat rather than ON a boat. 2075 Tyee is getting a hard look from us.

Lund Mr Pike 17. The 18 is rated 150. According to the coast guard formula, my boat can handle a 175. It's all about marketing. If my boat was rated at what it could handle, they would never sell any 17' Pro Vs for $12k+ more than what I paid for mine. Dwight said it before, the Mr Pike is the poor man's Pro V.

It's much more of a direct route than going to a bumper guide that stands off the blank at 90°. Not saying its for everyone, but it works. Take one of your bumper spiral rods and skip the bumper sometime. You'll see its not as crazy as you're making it out to be. Take a blank that has a diameter of 0.5" at the point of where a bumper would be located. By not using a bumper, the line deviates 0.25" around a round surface at a shallow angle. Add the bumper. Now it has to travel through a guide that's at a greater distance from the centerline of the blank, creating an angle point in the line path. If I get a chance, I'll snap a couple pics illustrating the line path.

Rated for 140. Boat is 1285 dry. Motor is 475 dry. 32 gallons of gas and 4 batteries. Don't know about a prop problem. Lake Erie can just be a ***** sometimes.

My 135 sips gas too, but I would have had a 150 on it in a heartbeat if it was rated.It's not about the speed, its having the extra to power through a wave when needed. I've been knocked off plane by a wave on a few occasions. I wasn't running at high speed, but didn't have enough to stay on top, even when I hit it at full throttle.

I would bet they're shopping price as opposed to what they need to run the boat effectively.

Exactly. You never hear anyone saying "man, I have too much motor on this boat, I wish I would have got the smaller one". You can always back out of the throttle, but once your WFO, there's no more. I wish all the time I had the extra 5 hp my boat is rated for, but pickins are pretty slim in the 140hp category and I went with the biggest (135) in a brand I was confident with.

It's a lot less radical change than the simple spiral. Under load, it's even less dramatic.

Watch using the alcohol. A lot of the cork fillers are alcohol soluble. It will do a good job of removing if not careful.

Simple green and magic eraser, followed by a coat of u40 cork seal.

My favorite roboworms are the FX sculpins in Ayu, baby bass and natural shad.

I did not. I feel epoxy is too soft and Permagloss would melt the paint right off a St. Croix. I'm sure over time, dirty line will scratch the paint.

My last 4 or 5 rods, I have eliminated the bumper guide and gone straight from 0° to 180°. NO ill effects were seen.

Not the same thing. Microwave. Micro.

PA is one of those states! Guys have been doing it for years running 18hp motors when the limit was 10. Then they raised it to 20. People kept getting bigger motors and changing stickers. The officers got wise and started checking serial numbers. My Lund, with the 20 kicker, topped out at 8mph and threw a 3' wake of destruction behind me.

I still prefer the Fuji K frames though. They just seem/feel/look like a better guide. The Amtak guides require more work to get the feet prepped for wrapping. The Fujis are cleaner in that aspect.

IMO, yes, its insufficient. I've seen a couple with 20s and 25s on them. They just plow along throwing a 2'+ high wake behind it. Not enough power to get on plane. The older Lund Rebels were really good with smaller motors. I believe Carolina Skiff do well with small motors too.

Actually, only you can answer that. What is the rods intended use? Will it be used in waters where you will pick up algae, feathers, cottonwood, dogwood? Will you fish it in icing conditions. If you answered yes to any of that, you should steer away from a 'micro' guide rod. While they have their time and place and really shine in many applications, they aren't the one size fits all solution that the rod manufacturers would like you to believe. This dead horse has been beaten many times on here.

Yep. Your request is for something not made by them. I believe they do make a 6'10" M/XF tho. This is where you make a decision. go with the 4C68MF and extend it 2" or the 4C71MF and trim it 3". I actually would prefer extending it rather than trimming. Or a Rainshadow ETEC68M extended 2".