flechero

My camera blurs it if I try to get to close, maybe that's what happened. How about a shot of the grip and reel seat together, that way it will be far enough away to focus good? I'll let you in on a little secret about cork clamps. You don't really need them. I made one but don't use it. I have only used it twice ever. Next time you are at home depot or any hardware store, just buy a 1/4" bolt or two(or small piece of threaded rod), 2 fender washers and a wingnuts. I can glue up a cork grip in less than 5 minutes, without rushing. (and it comes out tight and square every time) All the cork rings you buy will have a 1/4" hole in them. Apply epoxy, stack them up on the bolt and tighten a single wingnut... doesn't get any easier or faster than that. ...lol I do use pliers though to hold the bolt head, I usually tighten the hack out of it.

ReelMech, That is an incredible job! You marble like no one else! Truly inspirational... Now tell the truth, did you do that by yourself or did the "boss" help?!?!?!? ;D Another reason we look up to you as the master!

Awesome! I love hearing about 1st rods! (and 2nd, 3rd, etc., etc.!!) Yes you can do a butt wrap w/ a hook keeper. If you have the hinge type, just wrap it in and keep going. If it's the U shaped one, you have a few choices... Wrap it in and then butt wrap beyond it (like most factory rods are done with a small gap) or I like the look of a false wrap where you measure the gap in the keeper and pre wrap that area (between the legs) and if you measure correctly, it looks like one continuous wrap with a hook keeper sticking through. Or you can do an accent color or a combo of trim wraps in the gap. You can re-do that one section of thread in a few minutes... I know, it sucks but if you don't (trust me on this one!) you will see it everytime you pick up the rod. ...lol No one else will ever notice it but you will. If you made a long section, you can back it off by about 7 wraps and insert a pull loop again, it will end up only 1-3 wraps shorter depending on the blank diameter at that point. (that's a time saver when I screw up a long wrap. ...lol Most of the skills in rodbuilding are tedious, as opposed to real difficult. Some of the decorative thread work is a killer and takes years to learn correctly and good. A lot of it is just common sense. I just finished wrapping the primary guide wraps on a 2 wt fly rod a few minutes ago... the tip section is 0.046 in diameter (skinnier than a toothpick and flimsy as a blade of grass) My eyes and fingers are a mess from those wraps... talk about tedious. Give us some details... what blank, seat, guides, did you turn your own cork or use a pre-made grip,etc. Keep us posted and ask away if we can help!!

You should send a PM to Buchanon bass rat- he just posted about waco clubs and is currently in your area. Also Flyrod and Rebasser are down that way and may have info on local clubs.

I know of 2 around Waco... Robinson bass club and centex but centex is run by the guy who owns centex marine and the members are dropping fast as he's been lowering payouts in the tourneys. I don't have contact info for but you should be able to call any local tackle shop and find out more. Academy just opened a big store in Waco, they may have info at the fishing counter. If you have no luck, shoot me a pm and I'll make a few calls to see if I can get you contact info.

Looks nice so far! I had it in my mind it was a much darker green, but I like that color.

Ronnie, My thoughts and prayers go out to your daughter and the entire family. The rods can wait, be there for them, they need your strength, support and encouragement in the days and weeks to come. Take care and shoot me a pm off line if there is anything I can do for you. Keith

If you don't mind, can you also take a shot of your slicing jig? I'm freehand cutting them on a drillpress... works most (70% or so) of the time but I'd like more consistant results. Thanks!

Largemouth, smallmouth, hybrids, stripers, any saltwater fish... all are AWESOME on a flyrod!! And much like the book did, your regular waters look different when you are holding a flyrod. Something that has to be experienced, to understand. Thanks for the reviews.

That will be a nice looking grip! Are you cutting your own 1/8" rings? I talked to Andy about them and he can get the material in both 1/8 and 1/16 but I was the only person who had requested them so he hasn't ordered any yet. To date, I have been cutting down 1/2" rings to the smaller sizes. Maybe you'll get good light for a pick once the grip is done, then I can see both.

Thanks guys! Well, the full wells is the most comfortable for me and it also it allows me to hold it in the exact same place every time I pick it up... which helps my consistency. Just wait until next week, I'm working on a 2 wt that also has a full wells on it but I tapered down a transition of the front, into a knurled winding check. I still get my full wells but it doesn't look crazy. ...lol

Nice! Snap a pic for me when you get a chance... I've never seen the green SCV blanks.

I forgot to mention this... I built a 5C70HF (the new brown color) back in the spring. Mine has Laguna grips w/ Burnt accent trims. (split grip, trimmed seat, no foregrip and titanium framed SiC's) I love that rod!!!! And it's paired with a TD-Z BBS... light, stout and sweet- all the way around.

Don't kid yourself, your rods look great! I have to fancy things up in the grip so people don't notice my thread fuzzies!! ;D ;D It's not as bad as I made it sound... all you need is one saw. I've seen them in 8" versions that aren't very expensive. Time is the problem right now... until I get a few jigs built, it's not an option I'd consider for "sale" rods because your time is worth more than you could charge for the decorative value. With a jig, any of mine could have been done in 5 minutes or less, including glue up time. It's all fun and games for me, I have a day job. ...lol

I've been on Rayburn and Toledo Bend on rough days... they get pretty darn bad at times!

It never seems like much until you have to write it all down. ...lol I used a sliding compound miter saw for the cuts. (no jigs yet) I happened to luck into some 1/8" sheet cork burl that almost matches the Laguna perfectly. (it is used for making coasters) Then I went through my saw blades and found one whos kerf was an exact match for the thickness of the cork. You will need some sheet cork for anything that goes all the way through on an angle since the angle makes it longer than a ring is tall. You need a sliding saw so the cut is level... without it, your left with the radius of the blade. You also need to set the depth stop. Pull the saw out and cut back into the material... that way you see if it's on track before hitting the grip. You'll also need to space about 2" or so from the fence since the saw doesn't return all the way past the fence. I just used a 1X2 scrap of wood. Then just cut a piece of sheet cork and epoxy in place. You can really get some neat curves by combining bevel and miter with different depths. Just be sure to glue in as you go since intersecting inlay lines will cause a football of cork to pop out! ...lol And if you cut in half, just use a mandrel as a guide to line it up for re-glueing. I'll give you a suggestion- buy a $2 wooden dowel in 1" dia. and use it to practice on... you might save a lot of money in exotic burl!! I'll admit, I was lucky... only screwed up 2 rings in the experimentation. I had to cut them out and re glue 2 more back in. After it was finished, I found a piece of 1" PVC pipe and used it to experiment some more. Two more things... remember to turn down your cork to almost finished diameter before starting as the designs will shrink (anything on an angle) when you turn it down. MOST IMPOTANTLY... BE CAREFUL!!!!!!!! I have wood worked for many years and don't mind working with my fingers a fraction of an inch from a running saw blade. It only takes a split second to loose a finger or hand. You can use a mandrel in the hole as a holding stick for any shallow cuts. (or for full depth cuts but remember to line up the blade's path and keep the mandrel behind that line) If you think of any details I forgot, or need more detailed info just ask. Good luck! (post pics) and BE CAREFUL If anyone lost a finger I would feel responsible!!!! (not to mention your customers would come hunt me down!!)

I like Champion for rough water, that's the reason I bought mine. I lake tested new boats on windy days for just that reason. I've ridden in most of the brands at one time or another and I always like Champion's ride quality and handling the best. If I was buying a used boat for $8500 or less I would look for the best mantained boat and best running motor more than I'd limit myself to a good rough water reputation. Now if you are on great big water and HAVE to have a boat like that, you may need to be patient to find a good used one in that price range. Good luck in your search!

Never really thought of it... all the boats I've been involved with a re-decking or major mods have been older boats that already leaked. I guess it's possible on a rivited boat but I seriously doubt you'd do it to a welded boat. I would imagine you'd have to be pretty rough on a non-leaker to turn it into a leaker. A little planning and careful demo of the existing infastucture shouldn't cause anything like that to begin. Would you be able to flex it more than running on a rough day into 2'-3' swells? If you are working that hard to remove things, change tactics and use a saw.

Well we finally got a cloudy day (yesterday) and our streak of 100+ degree days ended... so I spent some time in the garage trying a new idea I had. My first idea was the top 2 pieces... nothing specific just some different trim ideas and it could be made as simple or elaborate as you want it to be. Then I decided that I could do better and thought I would make an Ixthus (Christian fish- for anyone not familiar with the term) The inset pic (lower right) is the rest of the Ixthus in the grip next to it... I wanted to try something else that I had never seen in cork before... I still need to perfect the angles and shrink it a little but I am pretty happy with the early results! Obviously they are not finished, just filed down at this point, will need to be sanded and edges rounded out and finished to retain contrast before using them.

Fall begins when the calendar says so... fall fishing for me normally begins arount the 2nd week of October, when the bass start schooling like crazy!! Although this year, I may consider it the end of October... when the smallies start to move up and hunt craws!!

I don't think it would be something I'd use, it's seldom enough that I get to go flyfishing that i have no desire to change over to an UL when I'm there. (but since I'm a tackle addict, I will have a complete extra UL in the truck anyway) ...lol

We are lucky enough to have both in our home lake... when the smallies are active, they will destroy a pack of super flukes in short order!! (we never leave the ramp with less than 2 full packs in white and baby bass) We work them faster than normal with more frequent but shorter pauses. Other than that, we catch about 60/40 LM to SM while t-rig or c-rigging. We have extremely steep banks so we don't have to back off to deeper water to target them. Oddly enough, I have caught a lot of LM on the ika's but not a single smallie yet? I first bought them because they were supposed to be a smallie killer... glad I did though, the better than avg LM seem to like them just fine. ...lol

I think LM bass are just less line shy than say smallmouth or trout. I have no credible research to back this up but I can say without hesitation there have been many times I had no fish and used the same bait in the same place with lighter line and started catching fish... this is the reason I carry a couple spinning rods in the box with lighter line. And to those that say the action is better with light line and that is the difference, I'll give you that it helps when a bait is moving but I'm talking about slow t-rig- dragging a worm on the bottom. I'm also a green line in green water and clear line in clear water guy. No research on that one either... it just seems to make sense and works for me. ...lol

I wondered the same things as I decided what I was going to do. Honestly, I think the #1 reason is tradition. Fly fisherman (most times) are to fishing as traditional bowhunters (using recurves/longbows) are to the hunting world. I see the weight argument but I think it's splitting hairs because on my good flyrods (Orvis T-3) they have a pretty thick finish coat and fairly long wraps on both feet and double foot guides all the way out... I have one short wrap, light finish and one foot... I bet it's a wash or a few grains in my favor. ? I didn't do any planning as far as balance, I never do. I build what I want to the size and dimentions I want... If I need to correct balance, it's done after the fact. I would be really interested to weigh some snakes and 2 wraps with finish against my little #6 guides and a single short wrap... if I had a powder scale or a super accurate scale I would replicate my set up (on a scrap blank) and cut it off to weigh for comparison. I bet it would be very close... withing a couple grains. As for balance, it balances at my middle finger... I can "let go" with everything but my middle finger and it rests level and neutral. Luck of the draw, I guess. Of course, Andy's burl is like 3 times the weight of natural cork so who knows what I would have ended up with for balance... probably way tip heavy. But this is a budget blank and not so light, itself. I knew what to expect with a $25 blank and it will work perfect for how and where it will be fished. I have a few ideas for the saltwater fly rod that is coming this winter I will be pulling out all of the stops I know and have a few add-ins that I'm figuring out still. (it will be built on a very light, premium blank) I did think about that for the 2 wt I am working on... how do you address the need to funnel line down? If I had a 2nd #2 rod section I could use spining guides which would have a choke point at the first guide in section #3. I did have a cool idea for an internal spinning reel seat... making the fly grip in 2 pieces with a counterbored spinning foot groove. I like prototyping new ideas...

That's ambitious!! I wanted to try a weave on one of my early rods but as I read up on it, I realized I probably wasn't ever going to have THAT kind of patience. "Not to complicated" for one of the thread artists is a very different thing than it is for us regular guys. I hope you can find something... if you search on RBO you'll find links to several open and closed wraps and some "basic" weaves of fish, T-Birds, etc. To me even the most basic seems difficult when I try to lay out the thread. :-/ One more thing... the smaller diameter the blank the harder it is to do the weaves and patterns. Good luck with it, and let us know if we can be of any help. (on anything but decorative thread work!) ...lol