flechero

If they are for personal use, I wouldn't worry about it. I suspect that your material, lip, lip angle and tail will be different as well as hooks and hardware. I think you could argue that those items constitute over 10%. If not, just make it 10% bigger or smaller than one of their models. ...lol

Russ, You can thin devcon 2 ton epoxy with acetone. It's a finish we use when making traditional bows. It's very easy. [i've also used fiberglass resin with only mediocre results.] For the epoxy finish I use a shot glass with tablespoon marks all the way up one side. You can get the little plastic cups with graduated markings also. Add one TBSP devcon (1/2 TBSP of each part) For the first coat we thin the (already mixed) devcon 1:5 with acetone when working with oily hardwoods and 1:4 when working with "normal woods." Paint it on over and over and over- the acetone will open the pores of the wood just enough to really suck in the devcon. But remember that at 1:5 you aren't getting much epoxy in there so don't be shy, keep painting and the acetone will keep evaporating, depositing small amopunts of epoxy into the pores. This first coat get the epoxy deep into the wood... sort of like pressure treating. After that, I always went to a 1:3 mix for coats 2 and 3 and if a thicker coat or high gloss was desired, I went with a 4th coat at 1:1. You can steel wool it to satin or matte or buff to a high luster. FYI- Devcon is not clear. It tints about like linseed oil or tru oil. Oh yeah, no need to rotate the item since you are "painting" on thin coats... you won't have enough to run. And it's a stronger finish because it's impregnated into the wood as opposed to a surface coat that will chip and or peel with time and wear. Shoot me a PM if you have any questions. Keith

Avid, Regardless of conditions, big fish have to eat. If a "small meal" is well placed, a big fish will eat it. The real key is where you are fishing it. Most of my "big" fish have come on 6" Zoom lizards...

They are a totally different feel (Loomis vs St. Croix) but aside from that, IMX is at least 2 steps "above" the Avids. The IMX has a much more delicate tip, for any give rating, which allows you to cast lighter baits or use a heavier rod in a given application. The MBR784 and MBR844 IMX are rods I've had for over 15 years (several of each) and can't say enough about them. However, the past year or two, my preferences have changed and I now use St. Croix blanks for my t-rig and c-rig. Just a funny change in preference over the years. If you like the feel of the IMX rods, give it a go... I have never met a person that regretted buying an IMX rod. That includes the 15,000+ members here.

Glad to see you back, avid! Hope you have been well.

Bassripper for what it's worth, I built a 3C66MLF up as a spinning rod. It's a great little rod and would probably make a nice match to the Pixy... I use that rod for what you will probably use the pixy for.

Trilene XT and Suffix Elite are all I use in warm weather.

I won't be of much help since the 3 I use are customs but they are built on the following blanks Batson IMU 786 AllStar IGMB 968 AllStar BAT 828 I was using Revos but sold them... temporarily using Abu 4600/5500's.

Sweet, I haven't seen that before! And it's neat to see that even "regular" bass will eat that size trout. I think those stockers were more like 6-8 inches but either way, that's the size of many swimbaits.

I agree, you won't dull near as many hook points or have as many soft plastics torn up. ;D ;D

Almost every tackle shop will replace the tip, if you buy the part... which usually is only a couple dollars. Even "good" tip tops can be had for less than $3 retail. Cheaper to buy the tip and replace it than the gas to BPS unless you live in a select few cities.

Just remember that a traditional hookset doesn't work with circles. You need to just reel in until tight and then give a little pull, nothing sharp. Most of the time, the fish sets itself.

Why not use the same hook in a circle design, they work fine for wacky rigging and you won't gut hook them anymore. Seems like a safer and better method than learning how to (semi-successfully) remove the gut hook. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp;jsessionid=B5BBJXQOO0FMBLAQBBLCCONMCAEFAIWE?id=0046150313207a&type=product&cmCat=froogle&cm_ven=data_feed&cm_cat=froogle&cm_pla=0310507&cm_ite=0046150313207a&_requestid=29659

Most of it depends on your casting style. I tend to like the lighter half of the range with most rods. But i grew up fishing lighter baits in heavy cover so I had to always adjust to casting with heavy rods. That being the case, I probably generate more tip speed than most, which makes the heavier lures feel too heavy on any particular rod. There is no magic to those ratings, they are the opinions of some guys that either designed it or field tested it when new... and each with his own casting style.

I have nothing but good to say about Broxton's... they deliver what is promised. And they have been on time. They actually fixed what another shop (in waco) screwed up.... and had 3 attempts to fix. (long story) I would have started with Broxton's but they just moved to the I-35 location in the last year or so. How did you do at Belton?

mattm, Congrats on the boat!!! Was thast pic taken at Broxton's? If memory serves me correctly, that blue building is right behind Broxton's Marine. (in Temple) Maybe it's just a coincidence. But that would also be a good reason for you to be at Belton today!

I don't check the outings page often so I missed your post until today. Congratulations, what a great fish!! My hat is off to you!!

;D _________________________________________________________ If they would have made the drag adjustable, LOTS of people would buy it.

They put on a great live show!

That's a shame... could have been a cool reel. Not preset drag, permanent- 22lbs of drag mean 2 things... lots of people getting replacement rods under "no fault warranties" and lots of nice fish lost to line breakage.

What you guys are missing is that carping in the UK is way more serious than bass fishing over here. ....I'm just saying

We were at Stillhouse. No "big" fish landed, all were under 5lbs... I did lose one near the boat but didn't get to see the fish as it kept peeling line and heading back into the brush. It was a strong fish, no doubt, but I don't know how big. :-/ mattm, yes, I live in Belton. 3 (experienced deep water) fisherman in the same boat, throwing the exact same lizards at the same brushpiles... different experiences. If it was a sudden feed, they were watching me cast. ...lol

No weight and currently no access to a light enough scale to weigh it for you, sorry.

I would tend to disagree. Plenty of die hard, hard core, tourney guys, etc. fish with custom rods. Fishing hard and just being hard on equipment are 2 very different things.

You were very lucky! Could have killed you if it caught you in the head!