flechero

I usually ask anyone that makes more than 4-5 tries to back down, if they want a hand... surprisingly, I rarely get a refusal. I think it must be that I approach them with a straight face.

I did the same thing and when I sent the old one in, they fixed it and sent it back to me. I called and the guy on the phone said, oh well, can you use another? I laughed and said yes, thank you! So now I have a dual pro in the boat and a second one in my boat storage unit, tending a few extra batteries. I would like a 3 bank but if you use the boat with any regularity, the starting battery stays charged. I use a trickle charger on rare occasion in the winter. I wouldn't even consider owning a boat without an onboard charger.

Looks good! I like seeing people take time and do good thread work. I'm often guilty of rushing my personal rods and defaulting to stealth, to save time. The All Star 815 blank is great! I only have one left in my blank stash! I made the mistake of using them up on builds for others... And you are right, we do need some new rod building threads around here. I should be able to start another one next week... I am expecting a tube from fedex.

Forgot to add- Check with your favorite local tackle shop, almost all of them have someone they use locally for repairs.

Under $50 is a tough range to find "good baitcast reels." You best bet is to find a used reel with a bunch of boat rash on it so it will fall into that price range... rashed up, you can get something like a citica, or other nice reel for that price.

Glad to hear you will be more regular now, Mike! At your age, I understand it's now always easy staying regular. ;D All in fun, welcome back!

More than likely the guide was bent pretty good to cause the finish to crack, so I would just replace the guide. For a single guide to be replaced, you are better off having it done by a local person. Rarely will the repair (guide and labor) exceed $15-$20. It you want to learn how, check out the tacklemaking area and start with the "newbies with rod building questions" sticky. But you'll spend more than $20 getting the materials you need to get started in repairs.

I think you are planning it backwards... meaning I think you should spend that reel budget on a rod and the rest on a reel. The rod is by far the most important part of a T-rig set up.... and a T-rig rod should be the most sensitive of all your rods. You easily have the budget for something like a GLX and a very nice reel, which would be a world class set up in anyone's eyes. Have fun shopping!

We use parking lights only, they are actually helpful to you and others. The best piece of advice I have to a new boater is to develop a routine and do not deviate from it. (even if you have help loading/unloading) Doing it the same every time prevents you from forgetting something and also speeds you up.

The Loomis press releases said the mossybacks were between gl3 and IMX. The IMX was also less expensive in many models. (current msrp has the 844 +$35 over the 854) Based on that, I'd go 844 and not look back. But, I've had the benefit of owning several MBR844's over the years, and still have one of them. (custom built) I have not used the bcr854. Probably can't go wrong with the 854 but for a difference of only $35 I would get the IMX.

I was thinking the same thing, with your and my names reversed! Thanks, Carl, I apreciate the compliments!

What RW meant, was that it would be much more costly to repair or custom fit a top ferrule & build a top half than to just replace the rod. (at 5:19 am he was only on his second pot of coffee) ;D

I've never built a rod with the guides up!!

I've always been of the opinion that you should buy the best rod you can afford. The reel has always been secondary since the rod is what you feel. This is even more important if you fish "feel" baits, like plastics, jigs, etc. If you were a spinnerbait guy for example, I might say the reel is as important as the rod... but even then it would just be 50/50 in my book. You actually have very nice reels, going up from that point is going from very good to excellent. If I were in your shoes, I'd keep those reels and buy a GLX, a custom rod. My $0.02

Since you said spinning only, I will take the lightweight combo in this scenario.... here's why. It's very uncommon to see a balanced spinning rig... it's even tough to build a rod that will balance it, unless you add weights to the rod butt. Given that we are all used to fishing with unbalanced spinning rigs, I'll stick with light. It will be light and a little tip heavy, which is what most people actually request.

Hundreds of thousands have carry permits in this country... you rarely ever hear about an incident with a permit holder. But the decision in DC was NOT about permits to carry. The guns will be in homes, at least the legal ones... That's sad but the decision does not affect a police officer, even ones who need additional training. No worries, the criminal already have guns out there, as you point out. The difference now is that when they break into a house, the law abiding homeowner may choose to defend himself and his family from these thugs. Statistically that RARELY happens, even in places that have carry permits. Slomoe, I disagree with your opinion but that's it. I do agree that guns are not for everyone... and even with no gun control, many people would elect not to own one. But the difference is that I believe you and I should have the choice. I believe that each person has the right to CHOOSE what is best for them, instead of the gov't telling us. Not allowing me to own a gun is actually the same as making you own one... which would be wrong.

Great point, Catt. :-? Wow! I'm not even sure where to go with it. Stray bullets don't typically come from law abiding citizens, whether educated or not. I guess they don't teach common sense with marksmanship and gun safety up there, huh? DC has been such a safe place without guns.... ;D Were you able to type that with a straight face?!?!? ;D

Thanks for the replies so far! Although I don't use crankbaits very often, I have an ample supply of shallow to mid range stuff and only need to add the deep divers... I'm wondering also if the Lucky Craft Flat CB D20 really goes that deep or close to it. A little pricey, but they look really good as another option.

You might set 2 opposing brakes on or 3 by using every other one. (keep opposites engaged to keep the spool balanced.) From there, play with the cast control and train your thumb.

Nice! You need to order a 5' med or med-light and build him a rod!

Nice job, Big-O, that is cool.

I've never been much of a deep cranker but I'm making the commitment this summer to give it a serious go. What are your favorite deep divers? Also Bandit 700 series compared to DD-22: I've never seen the 700's in real life so I have no idea if the write ups are accurate... they say it goes 17' on #12 Comparable to the DD-22 but with a little different shape. Anyone able to validate the comparison or suggest a better option? Thanks!

A few things I see people doing that backlash a lot... they usually have too long of a rod, too much line out to start, rod not pointed down, usually swing both arms and usually don't pre-load the rod tip while holding the bait. add an early thumb release to that and you have the ultimate superfecta of backlash. The pitch is simply an underhanded cast. When you cast normally, the rod's tip is loaded from the back cast, since you don't really have one in pitching you start by holding some tension on the bait (which you always hold by the bend of the hook) bait hand should be ahead of reel hand slightly, maybe 1-3 inches. (kind of even when the tip is loaded) The heavy weight that Alpster suggested will help you feel the tip load up and you will see the importance of the tip working.

It was only a few years ago that the Abu round reels with 5.3:1 were considered high speed. My Abu power 4 is labeled a blistering 3.8:1

Robert, What are the plans for the BBS? Anything internal? I hope your BBS is better than mine. My BBS was disappointing, when new and only got a little better after subsequent servicing. (great looking but poor casting and a slippy-jerky drag)