S Hovanec

Metallic light green.

My 2 favorites are the metallic light green and the metallic silver. My new tube rod is going to be a C473MHXS in metallic silver

I could make her a nice jerkbait model!

I give my buddys a hard time about their high-end gear but I'm fishing with custom SCVs. I especially like to pick on the guys that modify NRX's!!

If you're upgrading from 40 to 50, I'd say save your money and upgrade to a 24v 80# in a few years.

Boring the cork rings. Split Tennessee grip in the clamps.

I don't think its the guides. It seems like a proper layout. Nothing excessive, and even if there were an extra or two, I doubt it would throw it out this much as they are Recoils. The fact that it is an inshore rod with a 2500 reel may have some play in it. It was probably meant to have a 4000 or bigger, but it just felt bad even without a reel. You know, that first impression you get when you grab a rod for the first time and immediately say NO, and put it right back on the rack and walk on.....that's what it felt like to me.

It was a pretty easy install, but I did more to it than just the grip. I trimmed some length off of the butt and that's also a new reel seat.

Just installed one on a NRX for someone. Been using them on various rods since 2011.

Oh, the lengths people go through to get their perfect rod. Some may find these pictures disturbing. Others, like myself, find great satisfaction in seeing a $500+ rod cut to pieces! The first project was sorta tame, but morphed into more than intended. It started out as a foregrip trim on a 923S MR. I can understand why. The thing was 4" long and you couldn't put your finger on the blank without dislocating it. After some finessing with a pair of pliers and finish work with sandpaper, it was a much more comfortable length This rod was quite tip heavy. In order to get it concentric in the lathe, I had to remove the jerry-rigged balancing system that was installed. These weights also added unneeded length to the already excessively long rear grip. I discussed this with the customer and he said to "do whatever I had to" I like when people tell me that! This was what I removed. This is what I re-installed. I know it's more than I took out, but it had to be to achieve the same balance point with the shorter rear grip. He also dislikes split grips and fills the gap with pipe insulation and wraps over with Rod Wrap. I installed some rod-appropriate materials to fill the gap and he can now wrap it and it won't be squishy. One final finishing touch. A thread wrap to clean up the area where the foregrip was removed. Didn't have matching Blue Dunn NCP so I used black. Black goes with everything! Project #2 was a repeat of one preformed on a GLX about 2 years ago. This one started out as a 843C MBR Someone has a date with a miter saw. OFF WITH HIS BUTT!! Naked and humiliated. The OEM reelseats are ungodly uncomfortable, and it had to be removed anyway, because the seat location was changing. Over the butt reelseat replacements aren't the easiest, but it can be done. Slide on the reelseat, ream an arbor to fit a blank of similar dimensions, split the arbor, glue in place and wrap with thread to hold it. Once the arbor is set, slide the new seat in place. This is a 17mm Fuji Comfort Touch. They were discontinued years ago, but I still have a couple stashed. New Winn full grip in place Butt cap installed. Finish wrap in front of the winding check and it's better than when it came in!

Since I'm waiting for epoxy to cure on a couple other handles, I figured I might as well do something on one of my rods. This is the first time using my new 16 piece checkerboard jig. It works just as nice as the 12 piece. Wish I would have invented zip-ties!! They are almost better than duct tape! And I'm back to waiting for glue to dry!

Back to work! Trimming the reel seat to fit a Shimano Aldebaran. Boring the reel seat. unfinished grips Grips with Tru-Oil applied. Everything glued up on the blank.

Oh, there is way more to it than that. This is just the Abus from one guy. I fixed 8 or so last year for other people. Funny thing, of the thousand or so Alconite, SiC, and even the lowly aluminum oxides I've wrapped, I've NEVER had to replace a single one. I'd be willing to bet, just from the repairs of Pure Fishing rods alone over the last few years, I was able to pay for my Alps power wrapper.

I'll let the picture speak. This is a batch of repairs one guy brought in. Note how many Abu rods are there. All of these Abu rods, minus the Villain, have been in for repairs before. They have a serious guide issue that needs addressed. I don't know what rod at that price point is for you, but I know where my money wouldn't be going. And some will come along and say they should have been turned in and replaced under warranty. Maybe they should have, but I ask, why not just put good guides, or at least, better guides on in the first place? In stead of charging $10 or $20 or whatever for warranty, why not put $5 of that up front and put guides on that won't keep breaking? At this rate, in another year or 2, these rods will have a full set of Alconites! Sorry about that tangent/rant. I just hate when companies put crappy components on rods.

I'm waiting for some Duos to come in.

ahh.....slowly sinking prop bait cast long distances and retrieved slow and steady.

pretty much same as a DS rod! that way if I don't like spybaiting, it's not a wasted build! You can never have too many DS rods!!

I even sold my tube rod 2 years ago because I never used it anymore. Sometimes I rely on the DS too much though! That's why there will be a spybait rod, a light jerkbait rod and 2 new tube rods added this season (hopefully), along with another new DS rod. Giving one of the old ones to the wife!

I have a minimum of 3 dropshot rods rigged at all times with various hook sizes for different baits.

Mine holds 32. Most running I've ever done on Tournament day was 75 miles round trip. I used 13 gallons that day.

Prefer rubberized cork

Yea. What DVT said. Croix's MH is a stout stick. There is actually room for another power between their M and MH. Same can be said between their ML and M in the XF actions.

I'm a St Croix freak, but not a fan of the Mojo. I'll just bite my tongue on the Veritas so this thread doesn't get locked. IMO, look elsewhere.

I could see printing a master for soft baits and casting a mold from it. Pretty neat and quite affordable!

And if they still offered blanks, I'd be willing to try a NRX. One would think though, for what they cost, they would feel better in hand without further modification!