flechero

Finally got the picture back from a trip several weeks ago. A camping trip on the Colorado River... saw a few carp nose down, tailing in the grass, feeding like redfish. I stalked this one and he took a #10 bonefish bitter. They were feeding on something in the grass... no clue what, just got luckyon the fly choice. Better to be lucky than good! Used my home made 4 wt. with a 4 lb. test tippet. Took me all the way through the backing and to the spool, I had to jump in the river and give chase to keep from getting spooled. ...lol Sorry for the pic quality, I took a digital pic of the film pic. :-/

A lathe is awesome if you have the space and cash. Many of us use a drill mounted to a board with a hose clamp from a dryer, and then use either a mandrel or a quality drill steel. I even used a 1/2" bolt for a while. ...lol

LBH, That's why I had on my neck gaitor and insulated hat... just for my northern friends!! ...lol OK, and because I have gotten soft, living down here. (born in CT, childhood in Toronto and Chicago- then to Tx.) ;D

Happens all the time to rods that are already damaged, nicked, etc. but it's all brands... It's just that people think "not my rod, it's been babied since it was new, must be a defect" Another reason I hate hook keepers, they promote this minor damage which ends up contributing to a failure. A true defect would have most likely broken on the first hard hookset, or snag. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I won't take sides but I will say this... I've never heard of problems with All Star cust svc., and have had rods warranted in the past. I also know that if I was the cust svc rep and you said loomis this and loomis that I would have probably hung up on you too. ...lol You should lead with kindness... and your post leads me to think you got defensive or sarcastic pretty quick. Seriously, you should take 5 minutes and write a letter stating the facts... All Star is normally a great group of people. How do I know this? I know several of them. Which model was it & how old was the rod?

Avid, Too late for this now but I didn't mean the mossyback was a gimmick... just that the IMX was a better rod at a slightly lower price, as stated by Loomis. Anyway, you have one heck of a sweet rod coming!!

Thanks guys! I couldn't agree more! It sounded like someone did a cannonball out of a tree! It was violent. ...lol

I'm a day or two late to jump in... not sure if you got the help you needed from ReelMech yet or not so I'll put in my $.02 worth... and give you the rundown of what I do. I'm going to assume with 15 rods under your belt, you have done spinning and casting and are comfortable with static testing for guide placement on both. If not let us know. There are a few ways to do this... the Simple Spiral is very popular, it's the one with a single 90 degree transition guide (known as the "bumper") which goes 1/2 way between the butt and #2 guides. To get the Simple Spiral you tape the guides on as you would for a traditional "guides up" rod and static test, adjust, retest, etc. until you are happy with it. Then rotate all the guides except the butt guide and add the bumper at the mid point between butt and #2 guides and you are done. Yup, it's that easy and that's why it's called the Simple Spiral. Most people love it just like that. I don't build a true Simple Spiral as defined by Tom K. (and he actually asked me not to call mine a Simple Spiral since it is a little different) No problem, I like my way better and just refer to it as the OTS. ("other than simple") ...lol Here are the 2 problems (I have had) with a true Simple Spiral and what has happened with every fast action rod I have built when trying it that way. 1. line contact with side load 2. #2 guide not bearing weight To correst those, here is what I do: I increase the distance from the butt guide to the #2 guide, use a lower framed (TLSG or BLAG) #2 guide, and a slightly higher framed bumper guide (TSG or Batson FLG) and the location of the bumper is determined by load applied in testing to confirm no line contact at max drag pressures. Usually an inch or 2 forward of centered and 10 degrees up, or at about 80 degrees. It is more work to do it this way but you get a few advantages, IMO. The line doesn't touch the blank, regardless of conditions or how much pressure you hold. Secondly, the #2 guide actually carries weight when the rod is under full load... this distributes the pressure when it's highest and because it does so, lessens the chance of blank failure. The true Simple Spiral will rarely allow the #2 guide to carry weight on a fast action rod. It creates a gap the distance of the butt guide to the #3 guide without support, which is exactly where it will fail when over stressed. I think that allowing the #2 guide to carry weight is the best way to go and worth all the extra effort. I static test with the guides under tried it both ways and like it better this way. I think it's a better method and the only way to assure that you get the #2 to carry weight. (the original instructions for the Simple Spiral say to only static with guides up I didn't trust that so even when I stayed close to the original I static tested both ways- to verify the finished result. There are several other types of spirals but I haven't tried any of them. I hope you find some value in all that... if nothing else it should get you thinking through the build before starting and give you some things to look at when building. I honestly think that if you build a spiral for yourself, you will like it. Just don't blame me when you have to go and replace all your rods with spirals!! I did. ...lol If any of that is of interest but unclear, feel free to PM me.

sort of a wide rubber band-like material... you can get it from any orthopedic Dr. It is great stuff, used it for rehab on my shoulder then for bow & rod building stuff.

Sorry to hear it. Be sure to determine the cause of failure (if you haven't already) beofre making a new one. Just having a thin grip isn't a good reason in my mind for a failure like you had... I would be more inclined to speculate that it wasn't reamed enough, which left excessive pressure on the thin walled cork. Anyway, you get the point, know the cause and fix that before you risk a second failure. You can turn a new one and split it, to install. If you are very careful and use a new razor blade to cut it (and hold a shallow angle when cutting) I think you'll be able to make a near invisible repair/install. The trick will be in keeping good uniform pressure on it while the epoxy cures. I would use something like a theraband wrap for a "clamp" as it will increase tension with each wrap and you can get it lined up before applying final pressure. (and it won't stick to the epoxy) Don't apply too much epoxy and know you'll have to lightly sand a little epoxy that seeps out of the seams. You may also need to split a winding check for the front, because it will be tough to make a perfect fit on the ream job before you split it. Another thought... I would slide the grip over a wooden dowel when you cut it... giving something to back the cork so you don't get a "blow out" of cork. Good luck! If any of this is more confusing than helpful, feel free to PM for clarification.

100% false!! (ok, in a controled lab environment over a long time we could make it happen just like water cut the grand canyon but not from slippage on the reel) As RW stated, slippage is a concern. The other reason is to take up space and save money.

I like the owner offset wide gaps. #5102/5302 the reason for me is that this particular hook has IMO the perfect blend of qualities from an offset and a straight shank. They hold plastice like an offset but have the point way above the line of the eye, like a straight shank. Look at the pic and see what I mean. Then picture something like a gammy EWG and the line of the eye is about even with the line of the point. Back in the 80's when I went to these owner hooks, I saw an immediate increase in my hookups, without an increase in snags (which I saw with a straight shank). And they are sharp and have a tough point.

Until he starts fishing with baitcast gear and loses the "Low Budget" reputation, I think he's pretty safe! ;D

SneakySnook, Use the 50 for anything you like! It's a tough little reel (except the finish) and will handle just about anything you want to do with it, assuming it's got the line capacity for your purpose. I'm using 3 of them at the moment, none on anything close to finesse. Haven't had one flinch yet.

Mike, While I probably don't fit your definition of average anymore, I would like to respond. A person's budget, rate of success are very often independent of their income. I started out tourney fishing back in the late 80's using berkley rods and buying rebuilt Abu 4600's from a service center. Paid $20-$35 each for them... I still use 4-5 of those reels on a regular basis. With the exception of finesse casting, they work almost as well as my 50MG's and TD-Z's. Does the fact that now I can now afford nicer rods and reels change anything? Yes and no... I can still fish and keep up with most guys while using an old Abu and an All Star classic ($40) or a lightning rod but I do notice that I catch more big fish with better equipment. The reason is simple- lighter and more sensitive rods and reels allow me to feel more subtle bites, which big fish are often guilty of giving. I still caught some big fish back then, just seems like my % went way up with good rods. I bought my first IMX worm rod in 1992... I saved lunch money for almost a month straight. I paid $215 for that 1st Loomis (it was an MBR784C IMX) and I was making $6/hr at the time. Not so coincidently, I immediately started catching more big fish and was catching many more while deep worm and jig fishing. To me the difference was huge and any extra chance of catching a big fish was worth the cost!! So I never looked back, started skipping lunch for the next year and loaded up on IMX rods. I fished those rods until I sold them this year. I guess my point is that you may or may not reap the benefits of the high dollar gear. For some people they fish lots of crankbaits and spinnerbaits and don't get the added advantage of a real sensitive rod. Some people, like me, fish mostly soft plastics and other feel baits so the better rods really add to the number and quality of catches. I also started buying nicer reels this past year... and have no plans to buy any more 4600's. ...lol not because they aren't good or a great value but I am loving the 5.9 oz MG 50. I still keep a handful of inexpensive rods and reels around (under $50 each) I still use them sometimes. There is nothing wrong with sub $50 reels or rods... they just don't offer me the same experience as some others. Rods make a much bigger difference than reels, IMO. Trying to define average and successful in this place will be tough!!

In an effort to keep things factual and respectful, here goes... 1. I have yet to hear of an muslims being shot, beaten, etc. for practicing their faith in the US. The Branch Davidians existed peacefully until the authorities found out about the illegal weapons and under age girls being married off and forced to bear children. 2. The law abiding members of the KKK knew exacly what was going on and backs widespread violence and even terrorist activity (which burning crosses in yards could be considered these days) Just because a percentage of them didn't physically participate, doesn't mean they weren't aware and didn't condone/promote it. What about the rights of the innocent people who were found hanged by the neck from a freakin' tree? You think they would take issue with your position? 3. by undocumented, you mean ILLEGAL?? As in broke our LAWS and crossed the border in the cover of darkness to avoid our border patrol? It's actually easier to cross in a town where you show ID and walk in vs. risking your life being "smuggled" in here by the coyotes. What are they hiding??? The point is that we don't know, some are good people but once they come here illegally, I can only consider them criminals... a title they gave themselves. And by the way... it's still better here under these "horrible conditions" with free education and health care than it is in their OWN COUNTRY. They have bankrupted hospitals and school systems all over the place... and who actually suffers from that? People in areas with high concentrations of them. I'd rather pay more for goods than have to put my kids in private schools... or how about this, my local ER is so backed up with illegals that unless you arrive by medivac helicopter or ambulance, you have a 6-8 hour avg. wait. I can drive to Dallas or Austin and see one of my old Dr's faster than I can get to my own ER for treatment... that is absurd and in my opinion, unacceptable. 4. If you think you are being wire tapped when calling cust service at Loomis, you are mistaken. domestic to domestic wire taps still fall under the old laws. Please go read the patriot act before spreading more confusion, you are only throwing gas on the fire. Yes, on occasion someone's rights might get violated.... but that beats a bunch of lives being lost. The "faulty intellegence" you mention came from sources all over the world and from all political parties... calling it lies and deception by our President is ludacris. The same bipartisan group you are so fond of for declaring the war unwinable is the exact same type of group that voted to give the President the green light to go there in the first place. So pick one side and stay there... arguing with a moving target isn't "intelligent discussion." Do you not understand that if we cut and run now we will be in much worse shape very shortly? I don't like us losing soldiers either but I can also tell you that living down the street from Ft. Hood, the soldiers and families believe in what they are doing and don't want to cut and run either. Remember that "we the people" were behind the President when this started. How about we take the "handcuffs" off of our soldiers and let them win a few battles. If people are shooting at the from a mosque, blow it up. They will quit hiding in places like that once a few of them are destroyed. Schools and hospitals also. Remember it is war and all the PC crap is just that... it's war and people die, but trying to win a war without hurting or offending anyone is crazy and will only prove to be the losing strategy. If we offend someone, I'm sorry but too bad- were in a war. And yes, in wars there is collateral damage... that's just part of war and another reason to pound the crap out of the enemy from the start and not to let up and let it drag out. Sorry for the extended rant... I have to get to work.

I really believe that every G. Loomis customer is a happy customer. (at least every IMX & GLX customer!) With no warranty at all, they would still be worth the price, IMO.

Thanks guys! A fun weekend for sure, but came home with wind burn. ...lol Details.... buzzbait, 3' of water with a "hydrilla like" grass matt on a main lake point, as soon as the blade cleared the matt she blew it up like a stick of TNT! (and just for you, Alpster- 5C70HF exotic burl split grip, no forgrip, trimmed seat and Fuji Ti SiC, spiral wrapped. not my usual topwater rod- my "buzzbait rod" was in my little brother's hands!) KU, Any one of my other brothers, for sure but with the youngest brother we aren't competitive like that... he's 14 years younger so it's a different dymamic.

You must be tying it wrong, or just wasting line... you can tie it with a short tag. You need a 3-4 inch tag on any knot so you can cinch it down properly. If you are worried about 3-4 inches each time, than I can't help you with anything other than a suggestion to use less expensive line or use it on rods dedicated to singe techniques.

Grumpy, I have 2 of the C5's, both the 4600 size. I like them a lot, have fished them for a little over a year. I wouldn't recommend them for throwing real light lures but for general purpose reels they are nice. As far as C3 vs C5, not sure if I would recommend one over the other.... my only complaint is that when setting hook (I palm the reel) I always increase the magnetic setting... the slide is on the side.

I was able to fish with my little brother this weekend, we fought the wind, cold and rain. (actually only fished Saturday) Anyway, it's a power plant lake so the fish didn't mind the cold or the cold front that just came through and we caught all of our fish on buzzbaits... my only regret was that my brother didn't catch the big fish of the day. Sorry for the pic quality, we took a disposable since the weather was bad. It went 7-1 on the digital scale.

I also like this one... it's a 7' Heavy but has a pretty delicate tip so you can cast some of the lighter frogs. I played with the factory rod and now have the blank on order.

Reelmech will probably do it for you give him a call or email. Years ago (before I knew Reelmech) I used Southwestern Parts & Service in Dallas. (used to live near them) Anyway, I had a few reels that I swapped gears on. 4600's. It was not expensive at all, back then I paid something like $10-$15 for it.

Same model, one version for finesse and one "standard". The difference in weight is probably just the spool. ?

According to Loomis it's in between the IMX and GL3 but priced above the IMX... I see it only as a marketing niche' for people with a bunch of IMX and GLX wanting to try something new. For my money, I'll stick with IMX... better and cheaper- straight from the source. ( Loomis)

If you want a good swimbait set up at a very reasonable price get the Okuma rod and either a Revo S or a Cardiff reel. The Revo has the drag and gears of a tank and cost a mere $99. And it also holds enough line that you can use 20-25 lb test. Been testing one out for a couple months now and am really impressed. I'll say this much, I like it better than my TD-Z BBS. (and it's only 1/4 the price!)