Nine Miler

DVT, I am flattered. You took my amateurish post and professionalized it.

I will be down there on Wed. night, I have all Thursday and Saturday free. Friday I am obligated. I don't know the first thing about saltwater fishing, snook. Tarpon eat mullet right? I thought the tarpon came in the spring though... Do you fish for mullet? That can't be right...

From what I have seen, there are very few perfectly straight 1st quality blanks. Rod builders generally have two schools of thought. Some build on the spine on the rod regardless of where the straightest axis may be. Others argue that the blank will stressed and bent on many different axes for bass fishing so the spine has little relevance. These guys build on the straightest axis with the belly down (tip high, butt high, center low) as the guides will tend to weigh down the skinny tip end of the blank a bit and help straighten out the appearance of the bend. I don't build rods, but the evidence says to me that the spine probably is irrelevant for bass fishing, and the bend should have absolutely no negative impact on performance as long as it is very slight. Most rods have it, don't sweat it.

Thanks for the clarification. Makes sense.

Congrats, and sorry I'm late to this party.

Yes the 6-17 is a heavy rod, but sort of on the lighter side. What I mean is it will have a more moderate taper than a 7 power rod. If you look at the 5-1610 and 6-1610 you will get what I'm saying. Both are MH rods, but have a different power rating. Bowfish, the taper has nothing to do with heavy, medium heavy or light. To characterize the 6-17 as lighter than the 7 power rod because the taper is less aggressive on the 6 is incorrect. If you meant to imply something else entirely, I am sorry. What I gather is one of a few things... Either you are claiming (1) the 6 power rod is not as powerful as the other rod, irrespective of the action (maybe you just misstated?) (2) The 6 power rod has a more moderate taper than the 7 power rod, making it less appealing for jigs, or (3) some combination of the two. Please remember there are many rods that have a very fast (aggressively tapered from butt to tip) taper and are quite light (or not very powerful) and the converse is also true. There are a ton of rods that are quite powerful, but have a slow, or less aggressive taper from butt to tip, like are used offshore for tuna and other pelagic species.

Mike, first I am going to respond to your first question. The model number does not necessarily indicate an x-fast rod, although it seems the majority of the JM series rods are denoted as such, so it is a fair guess that the rod fits that action profile. Action and Power are terms that can sometimes be hard to understand when discussed in relation to stiffness, speed etc. Action describes the taper of the blank, and should not be considered synonymous with the "stiffness" or power of the blank. There are, for example extremely stiff Tuna and other big game rods that are slow. There can also be ultra light rigs that are fast, or extra fast. The determining factor for how slow or fast the rod is depends on how abruptly the rod tapers from butt to tip. People also confuse taper with damping, and understandably so, as we typically use terms like slow or fast to describe action, and they are correct. It is a mistake to talk about action meaning speed in terms of damping, or how fast the tip recovers when deflected, despite the fact that fast rods tend to recover quicker than slow rods. The only good way that I know of to check the taper, or action of the rod is to load the rod near its capacity and check to see where the rod flexes. If approximately 1/3 of the rod bends it is a fast action, any more of the rod flexing indicates a more moderate action. ***When loading the rod to check the action, the rod should not be flexed deeper than 90 degrees, any more and you are risking failure of the blank.*** I put some resources up on how to find out for sure, here... http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1286250370 Now, the easy part. I would use this as an all around set-up, probably spooled with the 12# copoly of your choice. This would be good for soft plastics, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, rattle-traps, there really isn't anything you couldn't do a really nice job with on this rod, except maybe crankbaits.

Yep, that

We use seemingly heavy braid on baitcasting set-ups because the important factor is the line diameter, not the pound test rating. Braid is much easier to manage in diameters equivalent to the average 12 to 17 pound monos (at least 0.014" or so.) I don't measure with tiny calipers, I just take their word for it. Translated to braid, this may be 40 or 65 lb. test. The same is true for spinning reels, it is just noticeable on casting reels because the test rating seems so high. Most use somewhere in the neighborhood or 20 lb. braid on their 2500 size spinning reels because it is about the same diameter as most 6 lb. monos.

Bassinator, I have no idea about Falcon's ratings for power and action ratings. In fact there is no standard in the entire industry. This is precisely why I provided the Common Sense System links. Using that method you can make objective comparisons between rods from different manufacturers.

Raul, that is funny. It reminds me of a gift I got once. I was a professional golfer for a while, and played on tour in Canada, so yes, at a very high level. One Christmas, my in-laws got me the perfect gift in their eyes. And God bless 'em. It was a belt type device that was desinged to carry a ball or two, some tees, assorted other goods, and a thingy to count strokes. This, to a professional golfer, is what "the Pocket Fisherman" is to KVD, but I digress. Perhaps you could provide some blank specifications and suggest the custom builder of your choice. That way she could pick the colors and designs she fancies without compromising the quality.

It sounds like you already have your mind made up, and that is fine. Fishing is all about what is best for YOU. I gave some advice based on the specifics of the rods and techniques, but there are always different variables for everyone, take those into account and fine tune the recommendations to fit your needs. Good luck!

Raul, you should let her pick a few rods and reels for you, after you have picked a few for yourself of course...now to figure out who to give the bill to...

What is the difference between a purse and a handbag?

Depends on the cover. For open water, or slow rolling over rocks, it should be fine. If there is grass, cabbage or other veg, you may have a hard time ripping it though with that slower rod. You may find it will hit weeds and just hang, you may not have the backbone in that rod to snap the tip and rip it through, freeing it from the vegetation. You can make almost anything work, just ask this guy. http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSlgBYsGGX7lI63eo2qF7hWjT7x1nRz2JDWISD94ndUpPpymUY&t=1&usg=__wbbFiLOGOkRSW3MGpabN9R24tsg

Oh, I misinterpreted your question. My fault. I do not know if your stuff used to be good or not. Sorry about that.

I don't know if it is me or all men. I can have ten pair of shoes. I still want to wear my favorite ones as much as possible. I can have ten hats. I still want to wear my favorite one as much as possible. I can have ten pairs of jeans. I still want to wear my favorite ones as much as possible. I can have ten different kinds of beer. I still want to drink my favorite one as much as possible. You get the idea. I guess my conclusion is that most women have many favorites. Wait...maybe they don't have any favorites. Or maybe they are just fickle. Does anybody really know about women? It seems I do not.

I assume you talk about casting rather than spinning... Based only on the rod specs and looking at all options in the Bucoo lineup, as I have not fished them, in a perfect world, you would get three rods, in my opinion. For cranking I would go with the "Gulf Cranker" BCC-4-176 Here is why: 7'6" IMO longer is better, and a wider lure weight range than the 7' model. 1/4-3/4 oz. instead of 1/4-1/2 oz. For Jigs and worms, also C-Rigs a good compromise would be the "Pitchin Stick" BCC-6-1610 6'10" 1/4 oz. to 3/4 oz. For Spinnerbaits, BCC-5-166, the website does not give a cool name for this, but it is your basic, 6'6" 1/4 to 3/4 oz. stick. ***You can absolutely get away with using either of the last two rods for just about anything. I think the longer rod is preferable in most cases. If you are getting two, I would go with the first two I mentioned, and give the "Pitchin Stick" double triple or quadruple duty and throw trebles on the "Gulf Cranker."*** Also note Falcon seems to mislabel power as action, and neglects to label the action at all. This is a whole 'nother discussion, (not exclusive to Falcon) and one of a lot of controversy especially among guys who build rods. I would assume since they have labeled the intended technique, that the actions would be appropriate for each technique they are stated to cover. Here is a ton of info about action and power that is an interesting read. http://www.common-cents.info/part1.pdf'>http://www.common-cents.info/part1.pdf Here are more resources... http://www.common-cents.info/

I would watch this video, then use it to throw spinnerbaits within the rod's rating, probably like 1/4 oz. to 1/2 or 5/8 oz. should be fine. http://www.***.com/Sworming_Hornet_Fish_Head_Spin/descpage-SHFHS.html First, replace that line, grab some 12 pound something...I like Trilene XL in green. Then google "arbor knot." Spool up keeping some tension on the line and go fishing.

Calcutta, Powell? I'm swimmin' for sure. Did you mark the spot on your GPS so you can grab the goggles, underwater flash light and fins and get after it?

Okay guys, I'll be in Miami 10/13---10/17. Where are they? Cough it up. ;D I'm serious.

I'd offer this year, but it is getting COLD out there.

Sling Blade Flutter or Swarming Hornet with a Swim Senko.

Fixed ;D ;D But seriously, everybody around here knows about "the mile roads" and "the dumping grounds" if you fish here, you know where they are.

Come up near the end of May in '11. I'll take you out. Small boat, but fits two just fine.