justtrying

hey, some of these replys are pretty good ....sadly, for me, the hardest part right now is trying to work a jerkbait w/arthrithis in my shoulder. some of you "younger" ones will understand later on ronnie

mr t-mike, WHAT A HAWG --- oh yeah, that's a nice fish, too! LOL ..i just couldn't resist, bud. that really is a nice fish you've got there. i've been catching some like that at santee, as well, it's really been good. we need to "swap" a trip. ronnie

i'm not on the boards a lot anymore, so, i don't get into the "i like shimano,,, no, i like daiwa ,,,no, it's gotta be pfleuger, etc., etc.,,," Observations. i have mulltiple shimano calais, metanium xt, chronarchh 50mg, sustain, stradic, & stella, reels. i've had ONE (!) bad bearing on a chronarch 50 mg & really, i'm kinda glad i did. when i changed the bearing in it, i decided to upgrade the bearings in all of my reels. i was fishing earlier this week & absolutely was just amazed at how well they work. ..slick like glass, smooth as silk. now, i keep all my reels cleaned/lubed & keep fresh line on them ....and, believe me, it's worth every moment of time. the absolute pleasure you get while fishing with quality equipment that works as it should. i'm sorry all of you don't have the same results with your equipment, but, as far as i'm concerned, shimano makes the best reel(s) in the world. oh, btw, if i had bought all daiwa reels & had taken the same kind of care with them, i'm sure i'd be singing the praises of daiwa about now. we're all blessed to have the quality equipment we have to pursue our hobby of fishing. hope you catch a "good 'ol big 'un" ronnie

hey bud, thanks, and, YES< you're right... before i read your post, i turned that little darling over the next time i went out to the shop & "VOILA" ...worked like a charm.. i knew i should not have spent so long without just walking away & "rethinking" things, but, it was so simple a matter... anyway, THANK YOU very much for your post. i really appreciate your expertise & just wish that members on this board knew how Many, Many, Dollars worth of info that you've freely shared with us/them. you're a class act. ronnie

david, long time. ... have been fishing "LOTS" so, not much time for anything else. i have a curado 100d that i use for a winch on a flipping rod. it got dirty, so, i decided i'd do a "quick" clean/lube yesterday ...30-45 min (i thought) ...2 hours later & it's not Working! problem --- cleaned, greased, etc., & everything was fine ...til i tried to turn the handle ...wouldn't turn!!! after 2 hrs, i've identified the culprit as the 2394(roller clutch inner tube). just as soon as the two little ends go into place in the key washer, the handle will no longer turn. i can put everything else together & all works fine, but, as soon as i put that part in, it locks the drive shaft so that it no longer turns. i am at wits end, have taken top cover off "many" times, but, no go when the 2394 is inserted. ...any ideas???? ronnie

good idea, good job. ..that really looks nice. i'm building a couple right now that i think i'll try it on.

flech, MAN, those are some nice looking grips! ...makes me remember why i quit posting pics of mine! LOL but, hey, concerning the Beast... i built a 7'9" "almost beast" last year & keep in my boat all the time. right now, i have a frog on it, but it's a great flipping stick. i've got a hi speed reel spooled w/65 lb power pro & i've horsed some pretty big fish from places you wouldn't believe. one thing it will do, however, ..it will let you know just how old you are ...it will wear you OUT! ...but, in today's fishing, it's part of the arsenal. you gotta do so much to catch 'em. fishing behind 1,000 other guys trying to do the same thing, catch the same fish. have fun! ronnie

i keep frogg toggs & a poncho in my boat for emergencies (frogg toggs for keeping dry, poncho for my wife to use as a tent when nature calls! LOL) if bad weather is threathening when i leave, i take my cabelas guidewear (another in total agreement w/RW. ..it is, indeed, the BOMB!) buy the best & you'll only cry once.

i saw an article in one of the bass books lately about rigging tubes that interested me quite a bit. the writer said he t-rigged the tube, but left the tip Inside the tube. ...one of the reasons i don't fish tubes as much as i should is because i can never get it as weedless as i'd like. soooooo, on my last outing, i decided to try leaving the point inside the tube, that way, it's totally weedless ...And, it Worked! i really had doubts, but i caught three before losing one - and, i really didn't get to hit him as i should. he came unglued right beside the boat. i used a tube like that the rest of the afternoon, caught a few more without losing any. i'm still not convinced that it's the way to go, but it sure worked that day. have any of you rigged your tubes that way, or, is that the way everyone does it & i'm just catching on???? LOL ronnie

WOW! absolutely beautiful "Hawgs!" Congratulations

my wife & i were talking this past winter & i said, "you know, i'd like to spend the spring in my boat." ..she said, "well, honey,why don't you do it?" ..we both know that my health will probably not allow me to ever do it again, but, this year, I Have. the last six weeks have mostly been spent in the lake. some observations 1- all the time i've spent building rods, cleaning, lubing, etc., reels, has NOT been in vain. ..i've not had Any downtime because of equipment. (other than one chronarch 50mg that had a bad bearing) 2 - Nobody has good days every day. i've had killer days, one day i caught 23 lbs of fish in less than 15 minutes. my wife called during that time & i told her i didn't have time to talk, i was too busy catching fish. i've also had Bad Days ..even Zero days. i mean fishing in places that i KNEW fish were. they just flat would not bite. i talked w/one guy that day who said he just threw the whole tackle box in & let the fish pick out the lure they wanted. LOL they didn't want anything. 3 - triton makes an absolutely killer bass boat. i've owned & ridden in other kinds, but None of them can match my triton 4 - sufix brand braid Sucks! ..i do have wind knots in my power pro at times, but, it's so much better than sufix til they're not in the same league 5 - i built a 7'9" rod that i didn't know if it would be practical or not, but, Everybody needs one! ..you can put 65lb power pro on that baby & winch a fish out of a grapevine. 6 - i now keep a pop-r tied on a reel at all times. i've caught fish off the base of cyprus trees at 3 in the afternoon. sometimes you may have to cast it two or three times, but, it's a fish catching bait. 7 - lucky craft crankbaits are worth whatever they cost. anyway, that's enough. i'm going to the office this afternoon, will spend the rest of this week at home & the office, but, next week, plan to be back at the lake. in fact, my wife said she would go with me a few days next week. See You There! ronnie ps - alpster, i know it's not lake fork, but, if you'll come fish with me at santee cooper, i Assure you, that skunk will be drowned

first, i want to say i agree 100% w/flech about david. he is indeed, a class act & a "treasure" to this site that many people don't recognize. he is "da man!" now, that being said, ...reelmech, please dis-regard the reason for this post. it seems, errrr, welllll, it appears that the man who serviced my reel (the individual will remain un-named, for he should be ashamed!) ...anyway, errr, ummmm, it seems this well intentioned man, welllll, it seems he "might" have put just a "touch" of grease in the bearing cap ...and, it "may" have just hardened a teeeny tiny little bit. i mean, this guy knew better, but, in a moment of weakness, he thought, "if a little is good, a lot is better." ...but you & "I" know better, don't we? i mean WE, you know, you & ME, we know better, don't we. We, would never do that, would WE? LOL ......Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee david, bud, i screwed up & it came back & grabbed me. i knew better, but, ...what can i say. anyway, thanks for the help & Thanks for being here for us Old Babies. ronnie

hey bud, got a question regarding a chronarch 50mg. fished it two days, worked great, then, all of a sudden, when i tried to cast lure, it would go only about a third as far as usual. ..unscrewed tension nut, no effect. ..took side plate off to ck brakes...left side plate Off, line still would not free spool. pulled spool loose, it free spooled fine, push it back in place, again it tightens. i cast it probably 20-25 times & a few times (when i really "slung" it,) it seemed to loosen up. ..anyway, i was fishing, so, i just used another reel til i could get back home to check it. ...any ideas???? thanks ronnie

JT, yes, they're all old re-runs now. i "tivo'ed" all of them earlier. some are really good. re: swindle & claussen .. it showed the absolute worst side of Gman that could be shown. ..at one point, he actually sat on the back of the back seat, held his rod & pouted like a 3 year old. he complained the entire time, said the next time he would wear a dress because luke & ike weren't "men" ..i mean, really made an ... of himself. ....and, this is the kicker, ...all the time, getting his rear end whipped to the tune of "Luke 5, Gman 0"... i mean Zip, Nada, Zero. he didn't catch one fish. luke caught a limit his first quarter & G was asked what he thought. his reply, "they don't look very big to me. he better catch better".... LOL ..oh, yeah, luke also caught fish from the back while G was running the boat. joe thomas commented that sometimes the contestants "put on" liking or dis-liking one another, but, this one was one time that the two really hated each other. ..it was something ... and, on that note, Gerald Swindle really made himself look Very Bad in his appearance, but, luke claussen & tim horton showed to be two of the nicest guys you would ever want to fish with. ronnie

hey, that looks great! i built a frog rod on the same series blank, only it was 7'9" long. ....didn't think i'd be able to use it, because of weight, but, after using it yesterday, i'm Glad it's as stout as it is! ..those are some good blanks. ronnie

Wow, that is cool.

agree w/alpster, Very Nice Work! ..i know that will be one happy boy. i built one for my grandson a few months back & he still talks about "His" rod (i put his name on it & wrapped it in his favorite color) sadly, tho, it wasn't the quality work of the ones you build, but, hey, Maybe One Day! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee ronnie

in life there are times, then, there are TIMES to do things. the TIME to go fishing in the South East is NOW!!!, esp, in Santee. i had told fluke & a few others that i've planned things so that i could fish most of the month of March. got an early start Monday. went by the office, got a few things straight, then to the lake. was fishing by 11:00 am. 45 minutes later, first fish, 9lb 3oz by berkley scales. fished rest of monday, tuesday & wednesday til 1:00. caught 3 over 5, 2 over 7 & the 9-3. - 7 between 2 & 3. you can literally see the big fish coming into the back water pockets ..and, it's 3 days til Peak! the temp is perfect, will be in the low to mid sixties by weekend, full moon, water is at just right level; it's like the heading, if you're Ever going, NOW is the Time. oh, by the way, i'll be in the office today, but, if i live & nothing happens, you can reach me the month of march by calling 1 800 Yeah, i'm at Santee!

hey guys, need your input. with all the rods i have, i still don't have the spinnerbait rod i want. i've got one 6'6" one that is pretty good, but, i just Want a 7' spinnerbait rod. (hey, any excuse will do when you want to build a rod. LOL) i've looked at the loomis sb blanks, but, they're all 6'6".. what about the 843glx? - fast, 10-17, 1/-3/4 ..or, the st croix 4c70mf? - fast, 10-17, 1/4-5/8 or, maybe you've got a good one in mind? ...what would YOU get? thanks ronnie

borderbasser, let me add my kudos, that is a FINE looking rod! man, i really like it. ...guess who's gonna attempt to copy it. :) now, What exactly did you ask for? LOL ronnie

no, you just stick the syringe back in it until you need it again. ronnie

hey all you new rod builders, hopefully this little tip will keep you from wasting a bottle of epoxy like i did. first of all, i only use Threadmaster to finish my guide wraps, to marbelize, etc... i like it so well until i started buying in 16 oz bottles. i would just lean my bottle at an angle, stick my 3cc syringe into it & draw out as much epoxy/hardner as i needed. then, One Day, i turned an almost full bottle of epoxy over into my lap. picked it up by the bottom & the epoxy was still pouring out. ..grabbed a hand full, then debated putting it in w/remainder of epoxy (contamination) ...in the end, it was a MESSSSSS. thanks to the guys @rb.org, this is how i do it now... i drilled a hole in the top of each of the bottles that is just large enough for the syringe to fit into. when i need product, i just turn the bottle over, draw as much as i need into the syringe, turn the bottle back over & Voila. i've got a perfectly measured amount of product, the syringe can be used indefinitely, & No More Spilled Epoxy!! ronnie

MYSELF!!!!! WOWwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ronnie

i used to lose quite a few crankbaits. then i bought one of these - http://www.mygogetit.com/pages/seeit.htm it is absolutely the best retriever i have ever used ,,shafts slide out easily, quickly, & it works Great. two trips ago, however, i did tie on my favorite buzzbait, trimmed the tag end (i thought) & threw my buzzbait into the water & watched it fall into the deep dark lake! ronnie

that's funny ;D