flechero

A testament to good parenting! Have a great trip, I'll add you two to my morning list! Be safe, Keith

Isn't it just hand-eye coordination and strength that makes the ball fly further? Sarcastic, yes, but just trying draw the analogy. The difference? I can work out for a while and still get the fences with the old bat but your hands aren't going to get more sensitive with age. You can get safe base hits everytime with an old dead bat, just as you can catch fish on a $30 combo. But as you know there is a difference in bats, there is a difference in rods, when fishing "feel" baits like worms, jigs, etc.. The better rods will telegraph the subtle bites (which are usually bigger fish) and if you have any sensitivity in your hands- result in more big fish and probably a few more fish overall. Yes there are exceptions to that rule, but I find them to be few. When I bought my first Loomis IMX (about 15 years ago) I instantly started catching more big fish on the same plasics, in the same spots I had always fished... the difference was that I now felt the subtle bites that I had been missing. These light bights were in addition to what I had been feeling so I actually did start catching more fish. If you fish moving baits all the time like spinnerbaits and crankbaits, there isn't much need for the nicer rod. **** A good rod won't make a bad fisherman good or a good fisherman great... but it will give you opportunities to catch fish that you never felt before. The decision lies in whether or not you can justify the expense, NOT if there is a difference in rods.

Welcome! One great thing about Central TX is that you can fish ANY kind of water you like! Anything from gin clear highland lakes to swamps. Based on the rivers you listed, it looks like you are a little south of me. Lots of water (although most lakes and rivers are still flooded around here) I'm not much of a river guy but you can catch Guadelupe bass down there, they are awesome little fish! (as well as many other species) To your north, all my local lakes have largemouth, smallmouth and spots in them. Like RW said, bass are bass... the lakes may be different but they still eat shad, craws, and other baitfish or panfish. When I made the move to Central Texas, my adjustment was to the clear waters and fishing deeper in the summer, not the fish. Once the initial intimidation wears off you'll find that the biggest difference is probably small. ...lol We do tear up the local bass on the *** 3.5" beaver craws... used to use "sweet beavers" but *** is cheaper and I actually like them better (even if the price was the same)

If you are really planning to spend up to $250- There is only 1 reel I would even consider... The Chronarch 50/51 MG. I have a handfullof them and have also had Curado D's and some of the TD's on your list... for my money, I'll stick with the 50MG.

I welcome anything he can do to help... I was measuring load time in minutes last night, not seconds. I got more timed out messages than threads. I would litterally click a thread and then tab to a different site for a few minutes until it loaded or timed out, then repeat. It's much better this morning- I hope it's a fix, instead of just low traffic!

Blade, we've been round and round on this once before... and I am still waiting for some of the answers to questions asked back then. You may not have done anything wrong, but you were so defensive last time we never figured it out. It doesn't matter though- you said you were done with All Star and that is fine. But you really shouldn't bash all star everytime a thread mentions them. Like I mentioned in my last post But you probably didn't read the whole post. edited to add: no need to rehash it. the old thread is still right here.

Welcome to the dark side! ..lol

RW, Nice fish... wish you had a pic!

The only way to know for sure is if you get a new model. I bought some of what All Star claimed to be "Original stock" from pre purchase, last summer. From what I saw, it would unlikely that any old ones are left at this point but as far as built rods go, I have no idea how many they had and if they are through with all of them... I bet they are into all new now but no way to verify. All of this assumes (as I was told) that they did not repaint any blanks. The word from A.S. employees was that all the blanks Andy was buying were the "originals" because they were not going to try and repaint them. dodgeguy's blank info is correct. The current blanks are on same mandrels wrapped with the same cloth, tacked up by the same guys, cooked in the same kilns, and sanded out on the same machines and even painted with the same paint machine... just with a slightly different paint color as the old blanks. I think that if All Star employees can't tell a difference, no one here can. If there is a problem, I'll lean towards one of the builders not prepping guide feet or something, not the blanks. The FEW problems talked about here have all had suspicious circumstances surrounding them, IMO.

The BS alarm is sounding, again.

Avid, RW is a gentleman, that's for sure! I was fortunate enough to share a boat with him at Fork. He'll blow the froth of a few with you too. ...lol Good review on the reel, have you considered a Revo for that rod? I think you would find that it's as capable as the Calcutta but lighter and has much more drag capacity, is easy palming and well, a lot less expensive. No offense to the Calcutta, which is a great reel, and proven over and over. I just think the Revo, if given a true and honest head to head comparison, would win the preference of most fisherman in need of a stout reel with monster drag. IMO it's got all the good features of a round reel but is LP and fits easily in the palm. I'm not trying to hijack the thread, just wondering if you had considered this option.

True, the #6 and #8 are only rated 0.1 lb difference in break strength, however the difference in diameter makes the #6 a much better behaved and quieter line. If you are looking to chang brands or just try something different, I have 2 other suggestions. Spiderwire xxx mono in the green box is really soft and manageable but not as heavily overrated as most lines so buy it by diameter (or go up by one # rating) The other is Suffix elite (red package) is a great line... it is strong, pretty abrasion resisitant and very manageable. (I like the suffix better than the spiderwire.)

The Baby Bass are very good baits. They are a smaller profile so you'll also catch "regular" fish, as RW points out. I enjoy using them, I think the strikes are way better on these than say a spinnerbait or crankbait- they hit it like they mean it. ...lol And if you happent to be in an area with hybrids... hang on, they smack it like a truck!! As if they are getting even for something ;D You won't need to set the hook with a big hybrid, you are more likely to lose the rod than he is to not set the hook on himself. ...lol

Got it, thanks for taking the time to "step by step" it out for me.

not yet :-[ I'm technically challenged- do I copy the link then highlight my word and then hit the insert hyperlink? Sorry guys, feeling like an idiot here. I guess I need it in lay terms. LBH would you mind giving a quick basic tutorial?

I was actually just making sure that some of the new guys didn't mistake it for actually reconditioning or "elective" modifications. ...lol I did think the language was obvious to anyone who knew rods. All clear and cool.

Really, you don't think he is misrepresenting anything? I think there is a very different definition of "repaired" and "reconditioned" about like the difference in a classic car going through a frame off restoration vs. a new paint job and some body work done after a wreck. ...lol I don't consider any rod to be excellent in condition once it's been shut in a car door. This rod has been repaired at best, not modified- modified would be something like cork re sanded or shaped, etc. Plus it says "Factory Installed Tip Guide." This is apparently how they subsidise the warranty program. Why not KISTLER as the seller ID since they are "factory reconditioned." Seriously, if the Ebay title was something HONEST like: Broken Kistler rods or warranty returns I don't think we would be having this discussion. So here is the net/net: you are either buying a rod that was truly defective and had a new tip slapped on it, or you are buying a rod that was abused, broken and returned.... who really wants either of thos rods??? I sure as heck wouldn't. Also remember that any deduction in a blanks length slows the action and increases the power... so depending on how much rod is missing, you might be getting a very different rod than advertised. For the money they are getting, I would MUCH RATHER buy a new All Star than a broken Kistler. Sorry for the rant... it's just that honesty is such a simple concept...

Most of what we call mono is a nylon line. Yo-Zuri Hybrid is a nylon core, bonded with fluorocarbon, which gives is more abrasion resistance and lower visibility in the water. The flouro will also make it seem just a little stiffer. It's good line but be forewarned that if you get a kink in it (like you get in a backlash) there will be a significant weak spot and you'll need to cut out that portion of line. I still use Hybrid for some applications but my "normal" line is XT and I also like Suffix (Siege and Elite)

Really, what can you recondition on a rod??? At best you can clean and refill the cork and replace a tip top or guide. This is pure speculation but I'd have to guess these are either warranty returns that had the above done or they might even be rods that didn't pass QC on the build. Or just glue on a tip top where it broke. :-/ Now that I followed the link, I see... Why not be honest? So what I think I "see" are broken rods from a seemingly dishonest seller... I'd avoid these like the plague.

Mike, Why don't you visit a store south of the red river... folks are a little more friendly down here. ...lol Actually the truth is that my local walmarts hunting and fishing dept.'s employees ask all the time... even if they don't know squat about hunting or fishing. ...lol

GMAN, Along the lines of RW's suggestion, why not look into having something like a P843 or P844 GLX custom built, you can get everything you want and nothing you don't!

I would take the word of a guide who makes his living on the water over 2 counter clerks at a retailer. No offense to anyone who works retail- I know there are some good ones out there but if you don't know them personally then it's a crap shoot at best. My own experience (which is dated) with braid was bad... my catch and bites went way down from the minute I switched. I didn't try using leaders though. If I ever try it again, I will use a leader, no question about it.

There was a thread a while back on this very subject. It had 3 or 4 good options... Ok, a search revealed it: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1176760932/12#12

Steve, Glad you like it! It was a fun rod to build since you spec'd it out almost exactly how I would have- it was like building a rod for myself!! (but then I had to put your name on it :-/ ...lol ) I couldn't ask for a better compliment, thanks! Reelmech, Steve picked a good blank (an All Star BAT806) plus he gave me the latitude to slightly change the length of the grip, I added about 3/4" to the original plan. As you know, using the exotic burl also helps out. It's still a few grams heavy at the tip, but feels neutral if you palm the reel. I had the reel when I built the rod so it was easy to check balance as I fit the grip/seat. It's spiral wrapped (modified "simple spiral") with Alconites and black thread with #246 (dark blue) NCP trim bands.

The flooding is pretty amazing, there is so much extra water there. 33.5' high this morning. It looks like the water won't go over the spillway. As of this morning, it's on the spillway but the gates are letting out more than the river is carrying in. At this point, I was hoping to see it go over. I was out on Belton Sat. morning also. The buzzbait bite was hot (all smallmouth) for the first hour and then it shut off like a light switch! I fear it's going to be several months before we get near normal water levels and then to see the damage of what's been under all this time.