flechero

mine either... Trilene XT for 90+% of my fishing. Been using it faithfully since the 1980's. It's not for everyone, but it fits me well.

Pretty much every day. For real dressy occasions it's a Colt Pony Pocketlite or Kel-tec, in a pocket holster-but for 90% of my everyday carry it's one of these carried IWB... Kimber Ultra CDP II Taurus 651 Titanium

5BL, I was only pressing it so you didn't feel like selling all those cranking rods & reels... you could single handedly flood the flea market section!! It was that or an IMX fire sale and keep the glass sticks. ;D ;D

But a PM is so much work, you can't expect people to... I better quit, I get taken seriously for a lot of not so serious stuff. ...lol We had a number of people on the Fork trip last year flake out the same way. It is rude at the least.

This is a fairly new thing and NOT what made him the best. You're probably right though, if Ike and KVD could cast worth a darn, they'd probably win more often and might eventually become top pro's like Clunn. ...lol

I agree with you in principal... but even when you are careful, it can happen once in a while... we all have been cut off before. What do you think... Ban him??? ;D

Rick may be that good but I bet Ike and KVD have a little different set of rods- actions and powers. But I do like RC.

That sucks... but you must have had a nick or cut in the line. #17 XT takes more pressure to break than the Med power rod you were using. edited to add: Glad you are serious about line, you just got unlucky. as for the rod, I don't know the one you are looking at, but I'd say you need something heavier if you are fishing places that require #17 XT Good luck!

Well, since you can't ID the "road" from the pic... it could be the road, P.O. driveway or the driveway to another property all together. So actually you can't prove the direction or if it was a morning or late afternoon photo. Who knows, it could be a pic from that evening after they were home. The fish could have been on ice throughout the day. Too many unknowns to prove or disprove anything, IMO.

If I was holding Fish Chris' recent 17 lb. bass, would it not still be a 17 pounder, just because I was holding it? Would he still not be the one who caught it, just because he was behind the camera? I realize it's not "ideal" but there is no actual evidence to say Perry's fish was anything but legit, is there? I have no doubt that if GP had any idea that this would be such a huge debate later, he would have done a few things differently. If for no other reason than his reputation.

The 50 MG's are nice, light reels. They handle very well and cast great. I own 6 of them at the moment. I think they are well worth the money but I value the weight factor higher than a lot of people. You will have to make up your own mind but know this... you can sell it quickly, and recoup most of your money, if you don't like it. For what it's worth I bought 4 of them off ebay stores and paid under $210 delivered to my door.

Sorry, I can't give you much info... I don't have any experience with Flex coat. I've been using Threadmaster since I started building rods (which coincidently was the time it came out on the market.) It's as close to foolproof as you can get... not to mention it is super easy to work with and has all the qualities I want in a finish. ReelMech uses and has used Flexcoat for years (exclusively, I think) and likes it a lot.

Looks like a Batson reel seat w/ green woven insert. And is it a Matrix blank? Hard to tell in a pic, but it looks like it's spiralled so I'd guess not but not sure if glare or pic is decieving. Rod Looks good though.

The 844 has a pretty delicate tip and will cast senkos just fine. I use my 844 as a fluke and senko rod almost exclusively. The obvious exception could be "depending on your reel."

Kent, You are one of the most stereotyped guys here. ...lol Owning one Abu, among "umpteen" Shimanos really doesn't change much... even if he ends up really likeing the Revo. Variety is the spice of life! ...lol

Either could be a good choice... I think you should rig both with a c-rig and fish them side by side for a couple fish and you will have no question which is better for you. I've never fished Loomis and St. Croix side by side and been undecided... they feel pretty different.

You might consider a finer grit. I use scotch bright or 600 grit paper on finish that needs repair/recoat, if it's out of the "recoat" window. If you are not cutting anything (like fuzzies) try just scuffing with a scotch bright pad. The only thing I use 220 for is shaping cork and "trueing" reel seat necks, after cutting them down. (but I still finish them off with 400 and 600) I use a fine needle file to cut fuzzies, it's a cleaner cut that doesn't gouge the finish. Literally and lightly touch a moving file to the fuzzy and it is cut cleanly off with a minimum of disruption to the rest of the finish. You'll get less fuzzies as you practice.. and you'll get better at seeing them before you apply finish... so you'll have to deal with them less and less.

I wouldn't risk ruining them. I may be the exception but removing epoxy or finish isn't something I have seen good results with. If they were my rods, I would probably just sand out a thread's depth and wrap over the name, then add a light coat of finish to permanently cover it up. Truely removing it may be impossible w/o looking like crap. On a different note, if you had rods custom made, they will never sell for what they are worth to you... so unless you are in a bad way financially, I would keep them. You'll probably end up wanting them later.

Hey Tin- nano technology got you down? ;D ;D just kidding! You'll be ready to go again about May or June when the garden starts sprouting up. ...lol

Thread work takes some getting used to... you can ruin hours worth of work in the blink of an eye if you aren't careful. I applaud your effort in practicing... it will pay off in spades down the road!! here are a couple nuggets to get started with... -Reaming cork grips can be humbling if you hold the cork in the same place.... you need to rotate your grip with every pass of the reamer or else you'll end up with an off-center hole and a grip that's not lined up at the reel seat. -30 seconds with a needle file can save you lots of time and hassle when wrapping guides... the feet need to have a nice smooth but not sharp transition. -scotchbright pads are worth every penny and "water-break free surfaces" are not a catch phrase. -less finish will level better. -hot melt glue is a better product in northern climates. ...lol -a minor imperfection in thread becomes a major imperfection after finish is applied... the finish has a magnifying glass effect. Most likely you will be the only one to ever notice, but it seems to get bigger each time you do.

They have several stores in TX. All of the ones I have been in are very well stocked and the prices are great. I shop at Sportsman's regularly. Service and prices beat BPS/Cabela's/Academy/etc. hands down. It's my favorite store for fishing gear.

Boett, Just curious, what features are you looking for that you don't think you can get in a factory rod? Just FYI, the labor cost is usually about $100 for a basic custom... anything extra or pretty is priced a la carte on top of that.

10-7 Fork 10-2 HAWL (3rd lake) 10-8 HAWL 11-2 HAWL

I think Tiger will be the best golfer of all time but he still has some records to break to get there. Until then, he's not the best ever, even if he's a shoe in to make it there later. Tiger's most impressive attribute, IMO, is his MENTAL game, not the physical game.

P_Rock, I see it now, I thought your post implied that was what we were doing. (I read it, just misunderstood)