flechero

Nope, you didn't miss anything. I haven't posted any pics because I don't have a way (that I know how to do) to reduce the file size of my pics so they can be posted here. The one pic of me, rod and fish was emailed to me, already small enough to post here. I'd like to post a pic of the rods... just need to figure out how! ...lol

I actually think the opposite. IMO, Fork was SO overpopulated that the virus will be the reason we will soon (next 2-3yrs) have an explosion of big fish. The big fish that are still there have less competition for food and won't have to travel as much. And from what I'm hearing, the #'s are down right now but avg quality is up. Sounds like a good trend to me.

Point well taken. After your post about the trebles being the cause of most snags... that just seemed like the way to go. I think the ad said they made a 25# or 30# lure saver, also. I'm just looking for the best odds of both landing big fish and saving $15 - $40 baits. ...lol

One of my good friends had one. It worked well most of the time but what he found out in the heat of a Tx summer it get hot in there and the fish have trouble surviving. He later "decked" over it and insulated around the sides and it worked fine after that.

Roger, if that's true, wouldn't a heavier lure saver be better than no treble hook? I looked at them but figure on getting the 20lb ones... I'll lose drag long before they let go but I can still pull the hook off a snag if I have to.

Probably caught it in front of the gypsy camp! LC is a great area, not nearly the pressure as the bigger name areas out there. The real reason we fished it though was my boss's house was in the back of LC and he used to leave the boat in the water, tied to a tree for us... with a note in a ziplock bag on the seat with where to go and what was working... he almost always pre-fished for us the day before. Ahh... the good ol' days! ...lol

It's looking good so far! I hope your customer doesn't see this thread, he may want to cancel the order and build his own rod! ;D Just kidding around!

If you can tolerate the mid summer heat, Central Tx is a great area. I live about an hour north of Austin. Belton Lake has LM, SM, spotted bass, whites, hybrid striped, crappie, catfish and panfish. Within an hour or hour and a half drive you can also have rainbow trout, Stripers, walleye, landlocked redfish (2 different places) and tilapia. You won't have a chance at a record trout or walleye, but the numbers are good in all the listed species. (I can't speak from experience with walleye, I've not fished for them here, just know others that have) With the diversity of shallow and deep lakes and power plant lakes, you can fish spawn from December through early May if you want. You'll also have a good variety of lake types, from deep clear rocky bluff lakes, to shallow stumpy hydrilla and weed filled dark water lakes or anything in between... take your pick. You'll have Austin just south, Dallas/Ft.Wworth area is 2 hours north, Fork is 2 1/2 hours, the coast (Gulf of Mexico) is only a few hours away. I ended up here purely by luck. And I don't think you'll ever get me to leave! I only wish we had musky... but I need a reason to go north once in a while! ;D If you are a hunter, there are tons of opportunities for almost anything you want to hunt. But if big Smallmouth are your favorite, you'll need to look at Roadwarrior's post again. Our SM don't get as big.

Sweet! What are you going to use for sealing/finishing it? Did you heat or moisture mold the wood first or just bend it into place? I can't wait to see her finished out, good work!

Nope... well you could keep notes each time out. I tried to log it the first year (for service requirements) but after that it was too much of a pain. I've had her 13 years, she tells me when she needs to see the mechanic.

That is true but also possible is that the turtles found the 24 before a person did, and had a big dinner.

One thing people keep overlooking is that even though Ca. is the favorite to produce the next WR, doesn't mean it will happen. I'll concede that it is the most likely place... but until it happens, there is just as good a chance in Mexico, Japan or Texas. Roger, don't take any of this personally, those of us in Texas wish our lakes were full of trout... it sure would make picking out swimbaits easier! ;D

I don't think it's too high, depending on where you live and where you keep the boat. I actually got a reduced rate when I told them I had a boat storage rented. (12x30 garage style with security gate and on site manager) I pay $225/yr. on a 94' champion with a 175. I have $200K liability, medical ($50K per incident) and a $500 deductible. Oh, and I also have theft of contents... electronics, rods, tackle, etc. I currently use State Farm. And go with a higher deductible, that alone will reduce the rates a good bit. They don't worry about claims with every little minor thing. Shop around...

Reelmech, How do you like the flexcoat arbors? I thought about getting some... but I still have about 60 cork rings that are not suited for a "visible" location, that's what I use for all my arbors and shims. Someday I'll run out though. ...lol Do you use the flexcoat bits with the round 1/4" pilot for boring? In the pics, you can see the German brown trim rings, but the difference is more subtle than I thought. Andy's Laguna is about like a honey colored stain on Ash or Oak... not nearly as light as natural cork. I would guess (by the color) that they use U-40 or Smooth On as the binding agent in the cork. One day, I will ask him about that. I'm amazed all the time at how many things I used in making longbows and recurves, are also used in rodbuilding. You should take this post when it's finished and just expand the text a little... you'll give Tom K. a run for his money on the book! All in good fun! Keep up the good work! -keith

I FOUND NEW INFORMATION, YEEEEA. CALL 1-877-525-4698. They said there was an article in a magazine called Fishing Game that stated that people found bass floating that weighed over 20+ lbs. They said to look back from 95 to 98. They didn't know which one it was so I thought you would have better luck in finding it. Looks like you can't count TEXAS out just yet!!! Looks like Texas is also within ounces too!!!!!!!!!!!!! BigTex, Thanks for taking the time and finding that info for us. Could it have been "Fish & Game" as in Texas Fish & Game Magazine? I don't know the other. I didn't like the implication that I was just "speculating" as one poster accused. -keith

Where? Once you cut out all the advertising, photos and junk, there are about 4 pages of articles left to cover the entire country... yup, they sure got it all, in detail. You know I missed the obituary page in the last issue, I heard that a few fish fell victim to a fillet knife and another to a boat prop, can you give me any details? ...lol There is a lot of stuff that doesn't make bassmaster, If that is your barometer on the fishing world, I don't even know what to say. Dead fish don't pay for advertising space, and honestly aren't that interesting. I kind of though the mount was credible... I guess the story behind it could be false but that isn't something I care about... I'm certainly not going to waste my time trying to prove or disprove. If someone found a 23lb bass dead and floating, I would think "what a shame no one caught it" and nothing more. Even if Mike's guide friend can sustantiate this, it sounds like you would need video of the retrieval and weighing just to consider it might be possible.

I heard that you had high class clientelle! ...lol ;D Also, I emailed you on another matter.

Well said, I have my brakes completely off. (as loose as they will go) I will say this though, I have much better control with 1/4oz then 1/2oz, I can get all the distance I need/want out of even 1/8 (of course, with the trailer it's a 1/4 anyway but you get the idea) I'm much more smooth and quiet with the lighter stuff. I hate to say that the rod has anything to do with it but it really can. Many people think a big heavy flippin stick is a perfect pitchin' rod... I used one for years but I became 10 times better at pitchin' when I got a different rod for it. I still use very heavy backboned rods, but prefer something with a lighter tip and also have gone down to 6'6"-6'10' (Loomis mbr785 and an All Star 8 power). The shorter rod helped more than the lighter tip but the 2 together have increased my accuracy, range and stealth. The shorter rod will also allow you to keep the rod at a more verticle angle, helping accuracy and quiet presentation. Practice will help, on the water practice will help a lot more.

A replica of one of them is on the wall at Barlow's in Richardson, the others were the talk of the marinas. (I don't know if they were in the papers or not since I didn't get the paper out there) I have never looked for a link, sorry.

Well, neither are long range techniques... and flippin is supposed to be very close. Pitchin' can be done at some distance but will seem close compared to other casting. All it is, is an underhand cast that stays close to the water in flight, allowing you to thumb the spool to "set" it in the water quietly. If your technique is good, than maybe your expectations are too high. Some of us have been pitchin' for 20 years or more and don't get proficient at long distance. If you can pitch accurately and quietly to say... 40 or 50 feet, you probably can outpitch most people. I can use the same motion and "pitch" well beyond that... maybe 100 feet or so - but since at those distances I can't do so accurately or real quietly, I consider it underhanded casting, not pitchin'. Practice will help if you take the time to. If you have a boat, go to a lake that has boat houses or docks and practice there... you will soon realize that if you are accurate and can "set" the bait down quietly, you don't need much distance at all. Edited at ask: What do you think is a subpar distance?

Mike, they have found 4 bass (that I know of) floating dead at fork that were over 20lbs when they were weighed. I'll be the first to agree that fork isn't what it used to be but there also have been a number of sharelunker entries this year from other lakes. And why does everyone think that the sharelunker program is producing "Superbass"? It works no differently (for general stocking purposes) than a big female and strong male bass meeting on a bed in any lake. They are not cloning or altering any genetics. They just make sure that the fish spawns and the young are safe until they are released. If what you guys are saying was true, every hot chick would have supermodels for kids. And we all know that aint the case. I think there are several different lakes in Texas that hold fish of world record size... but landing them in the timber will be pure luck. If you want to get right down to it, I bet Mexico has a better shot than anywhere else... but the number of people chasing giants is tiny in comparison to Tx, Ca and Japan.

This isn't my kind of debate but I'm surprised no one has mentioned the lake and watershed system. I know from just fishing some of the Tx lakes, that a fishery can be severly impacted by a number of factors over time... river flows impacted by dams, aquatic plant growth, water levels, silt brought in by rivers, and the list goes on. There could have been a population of 20lb fish there back then... and you guys have said very few people were interested in that or even fished for them. I though it funny when some refer to it as the "so called" or "alleged" record. The fact is that it IS the record, even if the scales were wrong, it was accepted and documented, by the standards of that time. Crying about it now won't change anything. There are lots of records in lots sports that have stood the test of time... should we assume that any of them not documented on film are bogus?

Add a recirc aerator to your livewell system if you don't have one. (and run it in addition to your regular fresh water draw pump) Here in TX, we face the same issues... I added a recirc kit to my livewell and have not lost a fish in the 5 years its been installed. One other thing to note is that livewell pumps and aerator heads need to be checked periodically... heads will clog and many times you won't know it because you hear the pump cycling on and off.

You post pretty detailed accounts, and if anyone gets confused, you always take time to answer the questions. (something I sure appreciate) Is that your new rod, or is it for a customer?

ReelMech, Everytime you post pics, I'm amazed at how clean and organized your workspace is! I have to compliment you on that, I know it takes real discipline to keep on it... I will clean and organize maybe every few days or so, at best. You barely have cork dust on the bench as you are working! Your shop vac must be good and strong. ....lol I am feeling pretty good about my own process after "day 1" of yours. Although I glue and turn the cork on a 1/2" mandrel. The one glaring difference is the seat placement based on balance. Do you determine the seat location by where it all balances? I have determined where I want the seat first and then make adjustments to achieve the desired balance point, since I like different length handles for different types of rods and techniques. So far, I have only had to make very minor adjustments. Thanks for taking the time to detail your process, I know that many people here (me included) will learn a great deal from this thread! I hope that I don't whip you too bad by asking questions along the way... by understanding your thought and building process, it will help me to look at ways to improve my own. Thanks again, Keith