flechero

Nope, but I placed 3 orders yesterday so I could fish on Friday. You are in no danger of starving.

I was being very sarcastic!

He uses regular, off the shelf reels from BPS, just like you and I buy.

The garage itself isn't the problem if you store them w/o any stress on the blanks... it's the whole garage mentality. Stuff falls/gets knocked over or she pulls in a little too far, etc. And the dirt, spider webs and other crap that gets all over stuff seems to suck the life out of it. If it's an option to keep them inside, I would chose that over the garage every time.

Randall- that might work well for my buddy, thanks. Which model crucial (7'11" hvy or X-hvy) and which Okuma (7"11 hvy or X-hvy would be the better choice for 8" Hudds. I don't have a local retailer to check them out in person and the 8" Hudd seems to be kind of in between the ratings, from what I read. I'm open to other suggestions in the $150 and under range, if any make sense. Thanks again.

I almost always buy bulk spools but not when trying out new stuff. Once I try it out and make a decision, then the bulk spools get ordered. I ordered a couple Izorline and P-Line 300yd spools to try out on next week's trip.

That means you used too much and in too many places! ;D

Think that is tough, you should see the Turkey Run warranty. ;D

First off- I need a suggestion... a friend of mine needs a swimbait rod. This would be the throw 6" and 8" Hudds and a couple other 5"-6") baits. The Okuma rods ($100) are a little out of the price range right now. Any ideas on either something like a saltwater rod or a private label musky rod that might be adequate and in the Sub $75 range? Hopefully closer to $50 if that's possible. Someone here suggested a BPS rod in the past but I haven't found it in the searches yet. BPS options are better as there is possibly a gift card to apply. Any options appreciated (BPS or otherwise) _______________________________________________________ 2nd thing- I am thinking of another swimbait rod (bigger baits) for me. Not enough time to build right now, so I think I'll buy one. -occasional use -mostly for 8" Hudds -budget ~ $150 or less What should I be looking at? Okuma, Shimano? I appreciate the insight.

Great info guys, exactly what I wanted to know! So now, thanks to you guys... I'll be placing my 2nd *** order of the day... just need to add a few things to make $50 for free shipping. ...lol It's becoming an expensive day.

Sure is! Nemesis, I appreciate it, but don't want you to go through the trouble. I can order a couple filler spools to try out. (I would have sent you money for your trouble anyway.) Can you compare it to XT or some other line I might be familiar with? That will tell me enough to know if I want to try it out. Many thanks! Keith

Muddy, Assuming it's a free standing wrap, there would be no damage to the rod blank if you left it. If it's part of some other wrap or in the decorative butt wraps, you'll see some later... As water gets in there (over time) it will rot the thread out and you'll see it turn white as the finish quits sticking and the thread rots. This won't hurt the blank but may create an eyesore. As someone that likes to care for his equipment, I'd bet you want to seal it. You can use any number of things since you are just sealing off the tiny holes that the hook keeper was pulled from. You can use rod finish if you know anyone who has it, a dot of clear epoxy, superglue or clear nail polish. (maybe Elaine wants to get into rod repairs!! ) All you need to do is make sure it's completely dry before sealing. Just keep it in the house for a few days, the dry heat from your furnace should take care of it. (you have hard water these days, right?) Keith

That's big line for 2500 size spools. A few years ago when I bought a TD Fuego, I got the 3000 size since I wanted to use #10/#12. But they used the same size and weight body as the 2500 but with a different diameter spool. My set up is used with sufix #10 and works good. The #12 was just too much for trouble free fishing. I don't know what the current offerings look like, but i do know that you will likely have trouble with #10 or #12 on a 2500 size spool, unless you go with something extremely limp.

I keep the boxes as well. I find that even reels I have no intention of selling, eventually get sold. : If you ever decide to sell them, I find the value only $5-$10 bucks more with boxes and stuff but my reels have always sold the same day 1-2 days. I see reels w/o boxes sit around a while for sale. (unless deeply discounted) If you want to save them, you can put all your reel boxes into a single larger box (or any old moving box) from Christmas and stick it in the attic or garage... that solves your fishing closet space problem and keeps your stuff.

I hate to be the one to tell you this but it's not very practical. You have 2 problems.... risk and money. The labor cost of a re-wrap usually exceeds that of a new build. And there is a risk when cutting off each guide, of damaging the blank (something that won't be visible after the re-wrap) so much as a nick from the razor blade can cause a catastrophic failure later. If that happens, you are out the cost of the re-build plus a custom rod! Beyond that, there are not many people that can clean the blank up well enough that you won't see that it's a re-wrap. I think you would be much better off to save a few more bucks (materials cost) and get another rod made, to your exact specs of today. Call it a late Christmas gift to yourself.

Fishfordollars- I used to live 5 minutes from the Dalrock ramp. Hubbard was home for a couple years when I lived in Rowlett. We'll be in the area Friday and Saturday visiting my folks. It's not a big fish lake but it's basically in the city so it's all kinds of convenient! Enjoy the family and fishing!

you must mean tackle specifically and the open auctions... There are tons of rods, reels, etc. and if you look in some of the ebay stores, all the baits and terminal tackle you find elsewhere, plus the rods and reels. I bet if you found the right ebay stores, you'd find most of your tackle too. JBC outfitters is just one example of many but a good place to start since he's also a member here.

Fishingbuds, My 2 cents worth is this... upgrade to alconites for starters... the cost difference is VERY small. I'm not a fan of the GL2 or 3 blanks. They are fine but IMO way overpriced. I'd build a Batson RX7 over a GL3... the RX7 is about 1/2 the price and about the same performance. The reason I always suggest not building a high $ blank on the first one is not because I think you'll mess up (even thought it's possible) but you will learn so much on the first build that your 2nd, 3rd, 4th are light years ahead of the first one. (and many people "retire" the first one after they build a couple) I still fish my first build at times... and I still laugh EVERY time I pick it up. ;D So that is why I think it's better to build on a lower or mid range blank the first time.

Usually no check for my split grips but I use them in front of the reel seat.

From your picture, you look young.... I would say that if you are not yet ready to get married, stay away from her. Your friend will be there long after your next girlfriend is gone... if your next girlfriend is his sister, it's very possible that when it ends with her it ends with him. I never had a friend worth losing. So I never tried to date any of my friend's sisters.

I agree it's easy for many people but if you had any idea how many people overheat the blanks and ruin the rod tips you would be shocked...

Not so. First off the fuji guides and tips are not the cheap ones. Secondly, knocking out inserts is 99.999% of the time a user error. They offered to fix the rod. I realize it's financially impractical but they still offered to fix it. They also might not want a novice to overheat the tip and ruin the blank... causing a full replacement anyway. If you knock out a tip, spend the $3-$6 to have a new one installed and move on.

Thanks for the info everyone!

yes on interruption. The ferrule makes that spot stiffer but transfers the load to the portion of rod directly behind it so it's not actually a stiffer rod, just a flatter spot in the bend.

Seriously, they are like butter!! Buy a couple closeout eva grips for just this purpose. for $2 or so each, you can quit tearing up your hands.