Oldbritguy

Broke the tip off one of my favourite casting rods yesterday. Not sure how, justd sitting in the bottom of the boat, but the last six inches or so broke off. I built this rod about three years ago and like it a lot. I am thinking of trying top find a small diameter piece of graphite or fibreglass about 1/16 inch diamater or less, to fit tight inside the original pieces. Is this feasible? Is there anything else out there that I can try? I'd really like to save this rod if I can. Any advice welcome. Thanks

How close is too close? I was sitting in my boat, moored to my private dock in front of my house, and this glitzy tourrnament bass boat glides to within about twenty feet and starts throwing lures right at the boat, and around the dock. Some casts landed within inches of the boat. Then they came right up to the dock - less than a rods length away, and started casting right along my dock, inches away from the framework. I got the distinct feeling this was pure intimidation and would like to have been able to ask them to back off. But, being a bass fisherman myself, I let it go. Although I was quite p*ss*d off at them coming so close. I just wondered if there are any rules of conduct (written or unwritten) etc. for this kind of situation. What would you have done, legal or illegal?

Nine bass at the same time on a Rapala, seriously? Come on. . .

Early yesterday (Sunday) morning; a large sunken island directly out in front of my house. Made a nice, quiet 'no-splash' pitch with my 5 inch Bomber Long-A into a narrow channel between heavy cattails. Within one second a large boil, and big splashes. Playing the fish toward my little rowboat, it seemed to want to go in different directions. Until I saw it clearly (the early morning sun blinded me at first). It was actually TWO fish together one the one lure, plus there were about 5 - 6 other good-sized bass swirling closely around them - an incredible sight! I landed the fish(s) safely. One was 2.42 lbs, the other slightly smaller. The larger bass had taken the tail hook, the smaller was hooked by the front hook. Both fairly hooked. I've fished hard all my life ( I'm 75) in England and Wales; and later in Canada, the N/E USA and Florida, but NEVER have I ever hooked two fish one one lure! Could this be an ***??? How many others may have had this unusual experience??? Let's hear it guys. . .

It was the opening day of our Ontario bass season, last Saturday. I was anchored in my little aluminum flatbottom jonboat, quietly trying to finesse some visible clearwater largemouth by pitching plastic craws into the weeds on my favourite spot, just 300 yards from my dock. A glittering 250+HP 'tournament-style' bass boat roars out of nowhere, two well-decorated guys plus large dog on board, plus array of about a dozen or more rods, etc etc. drops to a halt about 50 yards from me, zooms in closer using electric motor, and starts slinging large spinnerbaits crashing into the water within a few feet of where I'm fishing. My visible bass quickly become invisible. . . Not being used to this kind of intimidating situation, I quietly pull up my anchor and row away, wondering if this is what serious bass fisherman consider normal behaviour. If so, I can understand the antagonism of many of my local friends against tournament fishing in general, and tournament fisherrmen in particular. . . My question is: are there any 'unwritten' rules regarding how close one should approach other fishing boats. Is there any code of behaviour among serious bass fishermen regarding consideration for other people already using the same piece of water? Or is it a simple case of " big powerful well-equipped bassboat with 'professional-looking' equipment and occupants, takes precedence over scruffy little aluminum jonboat with 9.9 HP and oars, manned by old man in straw hat trying to finesse fish in the weeds". I was pretty disgusted by the whole scenario. Went back to my house and watched them through binoculars. Didn't see them catch a thing for half an hour, when they took off screaming away down the bay, as fast as they arrived. Incidentally, went back out again later and had five nice bass, plus two small pike from the same general area. (Bass returned, pike kept). Any comments, you 'serious bassbusters'? Do you feel you have more rights to the water and the fish than us "amateurs"? How would YOU handle this kind of situation if it happened to you, ( presuming you were also 75 years old and just trying to enjoy a quiet morning's bass fishing. . . ?)

No need. Was there today. They dont have a great selection of all the available Live Pointers (maybe 5 - 6 ) , but did buy five of what they had. I usually re-paint them up myself anyway with magic markers. Bit pricey though at CDN$26 apiece. Could probably order them from Cabelas at US$19.95 plus about $15 shipping. But then I have to drive down to Niagara Falls to pick them up. Not worth the trouble. . . Thanks for all input. Can't wait to get down to the lake this weekend. Our local pike just LOVE those lures. . .

H M M M , I guess you mean the Vaughan Mills store?. Was up there a while ago and didn't see any? But I'll make another trip next week. Thanks (I'm in Oakville, where you?)

I bought a few LuckyCraft Live Pointer lures from BPS down in Florida a while ago. Unfortunately, our local Northern Pike up here in Ontario rip them up pretty badly in short order. Anybody know where I can buy some of these lures in Canada?

The real question I was trying to ask here is: Is the metal rotor supposed to move forward when the button is pushed, or not? In the Abumatic 275 it moves forward, exposing the spool. With this 475 the rotor does not move forward when the button is pushed. Is this supposed to be way this reel operates, or not? Anybody have the answer???

Just thought I'd post the sequel to this scenario. My local reel guy put everything back together again - minus the @#$%^&*@ twitchin' bar (Cost twenty bucks) but - reel now works fine, and actually casts quite nicely with 30# braid. So, for a 7.3:1 retreive reel I guess it was not such a disaster after all. . . But I'm still sursprized BPS would sell such a potential disaster. . .

Just re-spooled my Abumatic 475 spincast reel with 30# braid. Line does not flow freely through the centre hole. Seems to stick every few inches? Checking the 'pushing' action I notice the metal rotor does not move forward when the casting button is pushed. Only the black plastic centre piece in front of the rotor actually moves forward. The fixed rotor seems to partially block the line coming off the spool. Checking my Abumatic 275 shows the rotor and black plastic centre piece moving forward as a locked unit! And the 275 casts O.K. with braided line? Any of you reel service guys know if the 475 rotor should move forward like the 275? Is the real problem because I'm using braid on a spincast? If so, why does the smaller 275 seem to cast so much smoother, with no snags every few inches? I took the reel to my local service guy and he tells me its O.K. and that the problem is trying to use braid on a spincast? Any of you reel guys out there familiar with these two reels and can give me some advice here?

Sounds good. Maybe I'll try the boiling water technique. Somehow I thought water boiled at 212 Fahr, but at 75 my memory is certainly not what it was, and it was never that good either . . . Thanks anyway. . .

A few years ago I built a really nice 6' casting rod using a graphite blank epoxied into one of those old-style solid plastic cranked handles, with the screw clamp to hold the reel. Handle just broke across the screw hole. I was left holding the handle and the reel. No rod! Luckily there was no fish on the other end, just a chunk of weed. So I was able to retreive the rod. I'd really like to save this rod, as I love the way it casts. I have another old cranked handle I can use, it's aluminum and better quality. Buy how to get the epoxied blank out of the broken handle first? Is there any way to soften epoxy, or should I try to grind the broken plastic handle down to suitable size to fit the one I want to use? Any ideas very welcome. . .

Yes, that's what the Shimano guy suggested. "Use mono tied directly to the spool, then tie the braid to the mono". And, as you point out; the expensive braid goes much further. Why is everyong else so much smarter than me?

I missed three good strikes last weekend, due ( I thought) to the drag on my old Citica slipping badly. Hardly any drag at all - happened very suddenly, very puzzling??? Quick trip to my trusty local Shimano repair guy. Seemed to be working O.K. in his store? Left it for a checkover. Phone call a few hours later: " The drag is working fine. Whoever spooled this braided line on your reel did not tie it properly to the spool. Its slipping. Braid will do that, you have to be more carefull when you respool with braid" So, lesson learned: Make sure you tie a good tight knot to the spool. Being new to braid I just tied a simple overhand knot, and 'voila!' - 75 yards of premium Samurai braid just simply slid around the spool. No wonder I lose so many fish. . . :-[

Come on, LAO. Do you think we're all as rich as you?

You're right. I am definitely NOT James Bond. . .

Well, yes I guess you do have a point here. But I was somewhat aggressive myself when I wrote to him after receiving the reel. So maybe I'm partly to blame, too. Anyway, I think I'll just leave it as it is for now. The reel is casting beautifully and I really love the way it handles. Now I wondering if I should also get a CORE 51? (At 76 next birthday I think I'm allowed to indulge myself a little. . .)

In every pic I've seen of Cronarchs in EBay ads, the reel body looks like it's metallic green. Must be the reflections or the photo lighting? I never saw a real live Cronarch to compare? So somehow I assumed the latest model Cronarchs were green. Not that the colour means a %^&*, the reel casts and retrieves beautifully. I have no 'fashion tastes' in reels, just function. . .

O.K. guys, here's the final story: Before taking any further action with this matter, I thought I'd get an opinion on this reel from my local reel service technician - who also happens to be the official Shimano repair guy for Eastern Canada. Within minutes he had the reel apart and removed pieces of old mono line twisted around the spool somehow, causing the sppol to lock up solid and also preventing the drag from operating correctly! He said he thought the old line had been in there for a while? Not sure why the seller didn't notice that? Anyway, bottom line; I re-spooled the reel with my favourite braid (Daiwa Samurai) and made several hundred casts ( forehand, backhand, overhead, pitching, etc. ) across my backyard pool without a single backlash or overrun - pretty good for me! This reel is really nice to use, and so light. . . I have emailed the seller apologizing for my initial over-reaction, but still feel his aggressive response and negative comments about my limited intelligence ( true as that may yet be?) was a bit out of order and somewhat innappropriate. (Especially since he knew I was a first-time EBay buyer.) Anyway, bottom line is: I did get the reel I've been looking for , for several months. And despite the aggravations, I'm really looking forward to using it once the bass season opens. As for future purchases on EBay, well I'll have to think a bit harder about that. . . Meanwhile, thanks for all the advice, support, etc. etc. You guys are a great bunch to be around. I'm lucky to be part of this forum. . .

Got a nasty and aggressive response from the seller, telling me the reel was in perfect condition when he sent it, etc,. etc. , and that I am an idiot who "doesn't have a clue" and does not know how to use a baitcaster reel ( actually more than 30 years experience, in fact). Also that I am a 'scam artist' who's trying to rip HIM off, etc. And that I should sent the reel back (at my expense) and it "better be the same reel that I sent you" etc . etc. Jesus, did I really deserve all this? Is this what buying on EBay is all a about. Insults and aggravation from professional scammers? Never again. . .

My first experience of buying a reel through EBAY. What a disaster! For a few months have been looking for a quality used Chronarch 51MG on Ebay. Some guy on this forum advised there was one listed on EBay. Checked the listing, emailed the seller with a question. The item was sold, but the seller emailed me afterwards directly and advised he had another one in same condition if I was interested. Well I was, and accecpted his price of $180 shipped. (Also tried to sell me two for $350 if interested?. I was not!) Well, I received the reel today, and it is not the same as he described. Its an older 51 MG, silver colour, not green. And what's more, it is totally non-functional! Spool does not revolve at all, either to cast or to retreive -locked solid, wont turn at all. Also there's no tension at all on the drag. But the handles seem very sticky when trying to rotate them. No idea what's wrong with this reel, but I dread to think what it may cost me to have it put into working order? Any ideas, your reel techies? I sent a quick email to the seller advising the problems and proposing that I get an estimate from the local Shimano repair depot for fixing the problems, and maybe credit my PayPal account for the repair costs?. No reponse yet. Any ideas on what I might do here. I'd like to keep the reel if possible to avoid re-shipping problems. But at what cost, who knows? Any advice very welcome.

For years I've been using an old 14' Monark jonboat for shallow-water fishing in our local bays on Lake ONtario. Looking to upgrade to a 15 or 16 foot alum hull with side seating and a decent livewell. Dont need a performance bass boat, just a simple runabout fishing boat that has shallow draft and is easy to pull up on shore. What's out there these days?

For years I've been building my own rods, so I'm a bit out of the picture with what's on the market nowadays. But recently I've had the urge to maybe get myself a top-quality casting rod, just for the hell of it. From my building experience I find the rods I cast best with are about 6 - 6 1/2 feet, with a fairly moderate soft action, not too stiff in the tip. I have several nice Shimano reels that I like to use; Curado D101; Older? Curado 201; Older? Citica 201 and a forthcoming Cronarch MG51 that I just bought on EBay. I throw mostly 4-5 inch floating crankbaits (Bomber Long A's, Rapalas, etc.) for the local bass and pike, and occasional plastic craws into the weeds. I'm starting to use braided lines (Daiwa and Suffix) this season. I'm not into tournaments or any of that big-time stuff. Just a crude farmer who enjoys fishing out from my place a few times a week. But I do enjoy the whole baitcasting process, and the great feel of a nicely-balanced outfit. Question: What rods are out there that I should look at, assuming cost is not the "most important"? factor ? What can I expect to get for what cost, and just what practical difference does the extra cost make. Love to hear what you guys have to say. . . .?

Yes, I have tried the 30# and 50# Invisbraid and have removed it from two of my reels. I find it tends to stick together when wet, and causes frequent backlashes, despite carfefull thumbing. For whgat its worth, Oldbritguy