flechero

ReelMech, That is one supremely organized work area!!!! I salute you!! My current work area is a combo of a half of a garage that shares space with a woodshop, storage, home workbench and a few others... bottom line is it looks like a tornado hit it, on a good day! I have shop plans (the wife said I could build it last year) but I decided that we would pay off all our debt before I built the shop. And the good lord willing, we'll be debt free and start pouring concrete in May. (keep your fingers crossed for me!) I will be saving your pictures as inspiration into how organized I should be... I'm classic right brained, lots of ideas and low organization. I would like to change the organization part of the stereotype. Thanks for the glimpse into the shop!

Haven't tried yet, I had work and a funeral today. And I have out of town guests until Sunday... it will be Sunday night or Monday before I get a chance to try.

Awesome info! Thanks!!

Thanks for the answers! I realize that it only takes 212 degrees to boil water (maybe 225 for a good rolling boil) but that is still a lot hotter than my rod boxes ever get... have you ever heard of blank damage or weakening from it? I wouldn't even hesitate to try it but this is a nice St. Croix blank. If I do this, I'll be going to a split grip so I assume the blank will be ugly where the epoxy was... do you know where I can find an atricle on how to do the marled epoxy? That seems like a great way to hide what I did and look like it was intended. I guess the alternative would be to try some sort of diamond wrap or something. Thanks again!!

Thanks ReelMech! I struggle with colors. ...lol I was just going to use all black and or gray but then I decided that since I was putting so much effort into them, at least I could add some charactor. I wondered about that matte blanks because they had that powdery look almost like they sanded and didn't finish it in any way but it might just be really dirty since it wasn't packed and shipped in a bag. I'll give it a good wipe down with a lint free rag and some alcohol. I did some work with Any Dear's exotic burl cork the other night... that stuff is great to work with and looks sweet, too! It is really heavy compared to regular cork, I can see why you guys use split grips with burl... the rod would be way tip light if you used a whole grip of burl. One more question, is it possible to get a reel seat and cork off once it is (epoxied) installed? I use a premade grip on that spinning rod and now wish I had used the exotic burl. :'(

I have a few All Star blanks, that are unfinished. They don't have a "normal" matte look to them, Do I need to finish them or can I build them w/o finish? Can you guys that have some experience wrapping in colors other than black give me a few suggestions of good looking thread color combos? I nave no eye or imagination for colors... what thread combinations have you used in the past that looked good? I have a few matte black blanks and a few of those all stars which are matte but look to be a super dark washed out blue... (almost a light black but you can see it's blue ) The one I need the most help on is a St. Croix SCV... in sunlight it is a glossy brownish with some maybe green, brown and yellow sparkle. Hard to describe but if you have built or seen them you'd remember the color. It stands out. I could be beautiful or horrible, depending on the colors put with it and I don't want her to be a goat! On a telescopic handle flipping rod how far back do I need to wrap the joint with thread? Is it like a standard ferrule where I'd wrap about an inch? Will a single layer of A thread suffice there? Thanks a million for the help!! -Keith

I have to disagree - but on terminology... You heard bout more big fish in the old days, no doubt, BUT what is defined as a big fish in the old days has evolved. There are more fish in the 8 or 9 plus range coming out these days than ever in the past. My parents generation talked of days filled with "big" fish but none of their photo albums look like mine. The difference between them and I... they considered a 4lb fish big and I don't even snap a picture unless it's over 5lbs (and I remember the camera) But to the original topic... While it is true that a few of the lakes and resorvoirs are declining, I believe that the fishing is still great in most, but the fish relate to different things. Almost anyone can catch fish in cover... that is what built the reputations of these places. As a body of water ages and cover begins to disappear, the fish are forced to adapt to what is left... structure! What seperates the good anglers from the great... the ability to fish structure. I considered myself a great angler (put me in cover and I still do) but since I moved and my new home lakes are "old" resorvoirs and having to learn how to fish subtle elements of stucture, I now consider myself as a newbie once again. I have had flashes of brilliance, finding a suble break line and figuring out the fish, that tell me the lakes are still great, they are just GROSSLY misunderstood. This change has been a great learning experience for me... I miss fishing freshly flooded water but I am a much better angler than I ever was before. Now that I am beginning to understand the intracacies of structure, I use that to become even more productive on big fish in "younger" lakes. I had a year of humbling experiences but I was the best thing that could have ever happened to my fishing... as those experiences will greatly enhance every future year I fish.

Yep, sounds like the people in the poll needed to think about the difference between median and mean...

Avid, The easy answer is: If it puts a damper on your fishing experience, I would just skip his dock. We are after all, out there to have a good time and enjoy the day. My guess is that he would have called the police if you were actually in the wrong. The long and conveluded cover your butt answer is: I would do 5 min worth of research before making a huge fuss... there are very defined distinctions in some states regarding public, private, navigable and other waterways. (the real estate background coming out here, but I don't know Florida law or practices) In some waters, platted property lines do extend into and along the bottom of the water body... and if you are floating over said property you could actually be trespassing. I would go to your county's tax appraisal district web page and type in his address, (most areas are now on line) depending on how it is set up, some show a scanned recorded plat along with field notes as to the legal description... if it says to high water mark, shoreline or other similar you are good... if it gives a solid depth measurement you'd need to verify on the ground. It is all a matter of public record, anyone can access the info, free and legally. General thoughts... Although I have never owned property on public water, we have had several lake houses on private water and also have always fished docks in public water. My experience is that the people with docks in public water are generally more protective of the water and fish immediately surrounding it. Maybe because they see so much more activity on public waters... and I'd bet they have more troubles too, like: theft, hooks in boat interiors, etc. In all the years we had a lake house, I only had one problem with another fisherman his errant pitch landed a jig hook in driver's seat of my boat and once the hook burried in the fabric, be began trying to PULL it free... I ran out and asked him to stop tearing my seat... I suggested he get out of his boat and gently unhook his jig. He did, and except for a small tear in my seat, all is well.

I found this while catching up on my reading... it was on like page 84 of the fishing tackle page. That's what happens when you are home sick and have all day to pass!! ...lol I think the credit goes to earthworm77, he was in that post several times: "...Put it this way, a gallon of plastic can pour between 500 and 700 baits..."

Never seen a business like that... I've towed a lot of people in over the years and been towed in once myself. We just stop to help out of courtesy. If there aren't other boats/fisherman out to help, and you have a cell phone you can call a game warden, or sherrif's dept or fire dept, all have boats and will assist when needed. Just be sure you carry a suitable tow rope in your boat, it's a lot easier to flag down a passer by than to describe your location to a dispatcher. As far as a business, I bet the insurance requirements would be high and you'd probably need a different boat to get insured for towing... Your best bet is to make a few friends out there and all exchange numbers in case one of you is ever stranded. That is what we do, if there are no other boats out to flag down, get the cell phone out and call a friend to come get you.

A band saw will probably be more versitle and durable for a shop tool. But you will likely get more out of an oscilating spindle sander or belt sander where you can free hand your shapes and round your corners/edges for a crank bait. The biggest difference in a band saw is that you will have to make a few more relief cuts for the blade.

I agree 99%... the only difference is your kids WILL have a role model, your job as a good and involved parent is to give them reasons to pick you. I like your fire today, Avid!!

Without a doubt, if I were building commercially I would rethink it. To your point even a Ti framed guide is still a very thin, frail object when stepped on. That makes perfect sense. I must be more careful than most when loading and unloading rods... that started many years ago when I had to save $ for 4-5 months to get enough to buy an IMX... and they didn't have the $50 "no questions asked" warranties back then. Funny thing is that I have been this way for so long that I don't look at it as careful anymore, just normal. Thanks again for your patience, and thoughtful answers to ALLLLLLLLLLLLL of my questions!!

Sounds like you need to employ the services of a repo man!! ...lol My planned give aways... one fishes with me about twice a week, the other is a brother, who fishes almost as much as I do. If they sit, I will repo them! I've heard lots of people talk about the cost of replacing guides as a factor in purchase price... I don't get it. In the last 15 years, I have had 2 guides lose an insert and one shouldn't count because I didn't do it. (and the cost of the new guide and labor was $15 to fix it) Is it really that common for people to treat rods rough enough that they regularly break stuff? That baffles me. Even when I was fishing tourneys I had a little respect for a $200-$300 rod. Here is my thought... the price difference in an Alconite and a Ti framed Sic, ranges from $4-$7 per guide on most casting guide sizes. So even if you break one or two guides every year, it's a small difference in my mind. Plus, the Ti frames Sic guides are advertised as "3 times stronger" so even if they were only twice as strong, it might reduce the number of repairs, right? What am I missing?

Hookem, If you decide it makes sense for you to buy something, I may be able to help you out. I have a 15' w/ 9.9 merc that will be for sale in about a week. See my post in the flea market section: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1135834956 If you decide it is something you might like, I live in Belton, just about an hour north of you. -keith Both boat and trailer have current plate/stickers & registration. Another thought, when you go to college, I bet you can find a place to keep it in the town you will be in. I had several friends who after the first semester found a place to keep them. Some of the apartments will let you park small boat in the back of the lot. All you'll need is a motor lock (which I think I still have for that boat) and small length of chain and a padlock to keep it from getting stolen. Your gear will be inside your house/apt so there really isn't any reason to worry about leaving the boat parked.

"...my youngest was born in florida BUT she had a gallon zip lock bag of Texas soil under her when she was delivered. So she IS a Texas girl. " Classic, I love it!!

Yes, it will also give a little... and unless you are tip toeing around, you will have a little flexing here and there. I would also put a small "leg" in the corners because you don't want to rely soley on screws in a gunnel that wasn't originally designed to support a deck. Sounds like a fun project, or at least one that when finished will be enjoyed! Are you just from Tx or do you still live here?

Do you know how easy that would be to make? The drain on my livewell is a simple cable operated valve... you would just have 2 knobs, one for livewell and one for plug. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised no one does that.

I figured some of the newer designs would be the likely culprits. I'm not up on the newer boats since I haven't felt the desire to get back into boat payments yet! ...lol There are still 2 other options for anyone who is likely to forget the plug... I don't endorse or use either of them but know people who use one or the other and have no complaints. 1. Leave the plug in... only after a trip, pull it on the ramp, while putting on straps and transom saver, then re plug. (this assumes you have a dry storage or garage. 2. They make a plug with the ball, it's a one way valve. Closes when you launch and if any water gets in it opens once the boat is out of the water.

ReelMech, I placed an order with Andy Dear today, got a bunch of his exotic burl and a few more blanks. ...lol I couldn't resist. I had one specific blank in mind when I called him and ended up getting 5. He bought a bunch of the blank stock from AllStar since they are no longer going to sell blanks to the public, needless to say he's got them priced to move fast. Now I'll have blanks and cork on hand, when I get the urge, just order some guides and a reel seat. I don't expect to get bored at all in the next few months! Do you use alconites at all? I am just thinking about a less expensive, good guide to use on these AllStar blanks. I have 2 of them set aside in my head for gifts once they are built (assuming I can make em pretty!) I want them to be high quality but don't want to break the bank on give aways.

What kind of boat do you have? I haven't seen a bass boat yet that you couldn't do it from the topside... you may have to get your head wet but you'll reach it. (I'm sure there are some, maybe the new stuff with the extended transom sides?) If you are short, you may need your partner to hold your legs to keep you from falling in. Most boats now a days have 3 or 4 drain holes back there for livewells, coolers, etc.... you need to know which is which, from topside in case you ever have to do this. If you really can't get to it, just get your boat on plane and head back to the ramp, as you are on plane, water will be flowing OUT of the boat through the plug hole. All the old timers at Fork used to preach if you hit a stump and knocked a hole in the boat, get to a boat lane , pull the plug and get it up on plane... it gets (most of the time) the hole out of the water and your hull will be draining on the way back to the ramp. Of course that is if you don't get hung on the stump!! Thankfully I never had to test the theory, my old boss DID though and he made it back by doing just that.

JB, I would suggest (if someone didn't already) you place some sort of structural support about center of the width, use a wall underneath and then you'll also have seprate strorage compartments. If you have enough width, you might use 2 supports, making 3 compartments. Also, I would mock up a wall around the perimeter of your new deck area to be sure you have the support needed... just epoxying or glassing to the existing walls will likely fail. Be sure to finish the wood you use, even treated wood. I actually prefer non treated wood due to weight and stiffnes but you have to know what you are doing finish wise to ensure water doesn't penetrate. (that inclues screw holes and everything) With treated wood, be sure to lightly sand areas that will get epoxy. And when you are done with the project, go over all wood with a quality finish, inside and out. You can use fiberglass epoxy (home depot or lowes) as a finish, it's very tough, water tight and will outlast any paint or urathane... just paint it on, but mix in small batches, you get about 8 - 9 minutes working time after mixing. (buy cheap brushes, because about 9 minutes and 5 seconds later, the epoxy will harden almost instantly!) There are better ways to do it but they are expensive and really time consuming. As for lids, if you are going to carpet the new deck or recarpet the whole deck, I would get a few of the prefabed aluminum lids, the are strong can be carpeted and easy to install locks in. The plastic ones from BPS and Cabela's are convenient but not lockable, and when you install locks on them, they are still easy to break with a regular screwdriver. I'm not sure but I don't think they are made to be stood and walked on.

I will go slow, I'd rather take the extra time to do it all right the first time around than rush for the sake of finishing a rod. Besides, I have lots of (good) rods to use until I can get a few of "mine" made.

It's way past my bedtime.... I was thinking an old crank telephone and a trolling motor battery. ;D