flechero

Maybe he had the heart attack when he leaned over to lip his 10 pounder. Sort of defines a lifetime warranty, huh? ...lol LBH- If the question ever comes up, the Turkey Run warranty does expire with the angler.

Great job!

The Revo S, is low profile, good line capacity and monster drag system. (no need for the SX or STX when casting big heavy stuff) The TDZ-Big Bait Special is low profile reel with good line capacity, but high dollar. I use a revo s now, I have a TDZ-BBS but didn't like it as much as the revo.

Before you warranty it or spend time/money on a return, clean the reel foot (top and bottom) and the underside of the reel seat hood. (Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol) I've seen a number of them "creak" badly when fighting a fish from just being dirty.

Yes sir, certainly has been my experience over the past 20 years.

advantage- storage. Disadvantages: weight, balance, minor sensitivity loss... and the biggest disadvantage is that they almost all break prematurely if they are used as a +T handled rod. When collapsed, the inner edge of the butt section rubs the outer edge of the tip section and makes a perfect ring... which wears with time and that's where every one of my factory rods have broken. I put a small protective wrap on the customs to eliminate that. But since a new rod is cheaper than a boat with an 8' locker- I don't mind the +T handles. ...lol

I buy bulk spools. The savings is huge. As much as I change line, it would cost a fortune to buy in fillers only. It's a good idea to keep any bulk spool at home, in climate controlled conditions. The old expression "store in a cool dry place" applies well to line.

The pipes are unique. And I'm sure the structure provides shade and other attributes. It is also now over deeper water and next to a "drop off" that it made. All good things for hungry fish. Often times something that is "different" will be the key. Also, just because you are catching them there doesn't mean that many of the fish aren't still using the various grasses.

What I would give..... I would have gotten a replica of that one

Matt, Your old stomping grounds are good smallie waters. Belton and Stillhouse produce large numbers of smallies and a good number of "nice" ones. Our lake records are in the middle 6 lb range (Belton 6.43 lbs and Stillhouse 6.75 lbs.) but we catch a surprising percentage of SM in the 3-4 lb range. FWIW, I do consider a 5 lb smallie to be a trophy fish for this area and all of Texas for that matter. -Keith

What about the namesake?? I would have guessed you to be throwing the Lunker Lure. careful or we'll have LBH change your name!!

or wholesale. ...lol

True, and I can make molds with $5 worth of plaster and a popsicle stick. Doesn't mean my baits would even be worth the plastic they are poured with. You are a magician with soft plastic, I might screw up a straight tail worm. ...lol Not everyone can turn cork, wrap and work with finish... even if they follow charts instead of designing their own rod. Having said that, I think anyone can build or at least assemble a rod.... how it looks and fishes is a result of what you are willing to put into it and how handy/artful you are. You can make almost all the tools you need/want to use. If you have money to spend, you can buy them as well. Cardboard boxes and phonebooks aren't sexy but you can make a 1st class rod with them if you take your time. Same for grips... I still use a homemade drill lathe for all my grip work. I have less than $20 and an old drill in the set up but it works as precisely as a high dollar lathe. Components are not that expensive.... even at retail, you can build any rod you can buy for the same or less $ but you can always ( I guess this depends on your skill) build something nicer. If you just want another rod, buy one, there is a learning curve for quality. If you are interested in something more, better or different, take the plunge. But remember that this is a time consuming hobby- great when the weather sucks but when the fish are biting, it takes FOREVER to make a rod. ...lol

Measure the front of the seat location and convert the decimal to MM. 1" = 25.4mm or you can google a convertion calculator: http://www.convertunits.com/from/inches/to/mm (the back of the seat will be bigger and on occasion that difference will be enough to leave the front of the seat loose. I always measure to the front of the seat and then go one size smaller. You want to fit the taper as well as the size for optimum fit and feel. (actually I stock all the sizes so I use the closest one that must be reamed to fit, but you get the point.) If you are unsure of you measuring, you can use a scrap of wood and drill it out until you get almost perfect fit and use the drill bit diameter to determine the measurement.

Sorry, we went off on flyfishing. But Z-Y would make a good leader/tippet!

I wouldn't buy or eliminate a rod based on those concerns. The faster the action is, the more tip speed must be created by the caster, since the working section of the rod is smaller... here is the equalizer though... a slow action rod can only be thrust so hard by the caster before it's overloaded and casting is affected in a negative way. So it will vary by fisherman but my own casting distances are greater with a fast action. Bottom line, an experienced caster can make similar distances with either action in bass weight rods (of equal power) with average lures.

There is nothing wrong with graphite, in fact, with the exception of very deep divers with heavy resistance, I much prefer graphite crankbait rods over glass. The big difference in the two is physical weight- the glass is much heavier. Look to find a graphite rod in mod-fast or moderate action and it will act much like a glass rod only lighter and more sensitive. You can use a fast action but the two thing you want to remember is to loosen your drag extra and use it as a cushion and be sure to use mono as it will also give you a little extra cushion.

Any rod will bend in what appears to be a slower action when they are overloaded... actions are typically measured at 1/3 deflection at 90 degrees. Give me an old tire and I can show you a "slow" looking IMX, GLX, SCV, SCIV, etc.

Actually, I think my dad's uncle may be partly responsible for the construction of some of those lakes. O.H. Ivie is named after him... I do very well on our lakes using an 8 wt. with 250 grain striper line to fish a brown and orange clouser-ish creation on rockpiles down to 15 ft. Works year round, but with the weeds starting to die they're starting to group up. Should be able to start pulling 10-20+ good fish off each of the "hot" spots any day now. There's nothing like a strip-set hook set and then lifting that long rod against a bronze football. My best on the fly rod so far is a 20"-er. I am definitely making sure that rod is in the boat this weekend. Ivie is a great place for LM bass, I don't think there are smallies there. Is your striper line a full sink line? So far I've limited to a sink tip and some sinking heads. We can flyfish year round for both LM and SM. I love this area! Sorry Johnnydell for the semi hijack.

I don't know if I have time for another hobby but I'd read along with interest. The detailed stuff you posted a while back was great, so if it's up to your own standards, I bet a LOT of people would follow along. I bet you could make in article format and get it added to the articles area of the site and link to it in the thread. I'm not sure how you do that but a PM to Glenn or any of the mods should provide a quick answer.

Maybe you can put the computer skills to use working for a company in the fishing or outdoor industry?? That way you still make good $$$ but are surrounded by what you enjoy. I bet if you were the local IT guy for for a BPS or Cabela's store or smaller local retailer (just for example) you might be able to enjoy your craft a little more. Same goes for all companies making rods/reels/tackle/boats/etc. Worth a look, I would think. Good luck.

I do quite a bit of smallie fishing with the fly rod, it's actually my favorite way and with cooler temps approaching, the smallies wil be shallow for the next 2 months!! We are lucky, there is a small area of 7 or 8 lakes in Central Tx that have smallies. (must be more beer spilled here ...lol) Other than that only a couple of canyon type lakes in Texas have them. They don't get as big here, most of the lake records are about 6 1/2 - 6 3/4 lbs.

seems like i saw a tackltour review some time recently....

Nice smallie! Glad you guys are getting out. I still haven't been out in a long time. Looking to get out this weekend though. (finally a weekend in town!) Looks like "one fish bank" in the background. Which would put you guys near Temple Lake Park- right about here (by the sportsman's club cove), except your pics are facing 180 degrees the other way from my pic :

very cool, all you need now is a bone and a permit on the fly!!!!