.ghoti.

May I suggest you get bibs and parka, instead of pants and jacket. No rain will run down the back of your britches wearing bibs and parka. It will run down your britches wearing pants and jacket

Since I started building rods, I have either sold or given away a bunch of my factory rods. i had to look at the rack to see what I had left. Five Daiwa(two Steez, two Tatula, one TD-X). seven St Croix(one LE, three LTB, three Avid). Five Setyr rods. Seems I still like St Croix and Daiwa. Setyr is out of business. My personal builds are on Rainshadow Immortal, St Croix SCV and SCIII, and MHX gen1 HM blanks. I have used several other blanks for customer rods, but those three are what I build for myself.

Very nice to see some of your work again.

A tube. Doesn’t matter what brand. You can catch fish anywhere and any time on a tube

We are sliding off into politics folks. I realize it will be difficult, but let’s not go there, please.

Why did the chicken cross the road? Because he thought the other side held the answer to the age old question, which came first, the chicken or the egg

Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas and Alabama this year. Not as many trips this year. Or last year either. In previous years the list would often include Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

I fish when I can. My fishing schedule is erratic enough it would require a ouija board to tell the fish I’m on the way.

Replacing the reel seat will require removing the guides. I have removed several old seats using a dremel tool with a cutoff disc. Slice down both sides of the seat. Then use a screwdriver to pry the seat apart. Be very careful, cutting as shallow as you can, making multiple passes. You do not want the cut into the blank. I also removed one seat using a teapot. Rotate the seat in the steam whistling from the teapot. Water boils at 212°F. The steam temperature will be less than that(venturi effect). It takes 160-180°F to loosen the epoxy bonding the seat to the blank. It takes more than that harm the resin which holds the blank together. I tried this after having a conversation about epoxy at a seminar. Tried if first on a broken rod. When that worked I tried on one of mine I wanted to rebuild. It took longer than cutting the seat off with a dremel, but I deemed it less likely to damage the blank.

cgolf, building your own rods will not be cost effective. If you are thinking to save money building your own rods, please think again. In some cases, you may come close, and in others you will not. However, there is a certain satisfaction to be had catching fish on a rod you’ve built yourself. And, you can build something you can not buy. You can make it to suit you. Want a longer or shorter hanlde?. No problem. Need a fatter grip? No problem. Want a particular rod length? Buy a blank a little longer and trim a few inches off the butt end. See where this is going? You can build exactly what you want. As far as initial costs go, you do not need to spend much at all. I built my first rods using a setup I built from scrap wood left over from a remodel project. In reality, that setup cost me nothing but some time. And it worked well enough to convince me that rod building is something I truly enjoy. I have since spent some money. A nice power wrapper, wood lathe with all the chucks mandrels and accessories required, compound miter saw, benchtop band saw, home made dust collection system, whole house hepa filter for dust, etc, etc, etc,,, The shop monkey is every bit as needy as the bait monkey.

A ZMan tube, 4/0 EWG hook and no weight is as good a topwater bait you can get for throwing into heavy vegetation.

Rig the tube on a keel weighted hook. Get the right combination of tube size, hook weight and line diameter, and you can make the tube walk the dog underwater.

Line?

It’s not just the rod. The rod, reel line and lure have to all work together.

I use Invizx, Abrazx, and Finesse Fluoro. I like then all for different applications. I don’t use any other brand.

As a mod, I have received several reels from our sponsors over the years. I try them out for a while, and then pass them on to somebody who needs one. Mostly kids, but have now decided to send them along with the rods I build for our ongoing Warrior Project. The only exception is the Helios. I’m keeping that little jewel.

I would contact Mudhole. I’ve never had to deal with them on a warranty issue, but their reputation on warranty issues is stellar.

Opinions

The list comes out every year. Every year the List is soundly ridiculed here. Life goes on.

How in the world did a picture of me get stuck in with that article?

Not all that long ago, I would have given a different answer to this question. I rarely fish alone. I have a regular group of old friends i fish with. A few new friends have become part of the circle. We all travel to get together. The older I get, the more precious these trips become. For me, fishing is secondary to seeing old friends. Fishing is the excuse for the gathering. Catching some fish is the icing on the cake. I am not as fanatic about fishing as I once was. It’s all about the get together, getting out on the water, relaxing and taking what the day gives me. If I miss a bite, lose a fish, or get skunked, it ain’t the end of the world. And, I really don’t like fishing with anybody who gets all bent out of shape by any of those things. Life is too short. “Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after,” Thoreau got that right.

That is how to introduce yourself!!!! Welcome aboard.

I keep two. Swim Senko and Rage Swimmer. Jighead, keel weighted hook, bare hook, T-rigged; there is no wrong way to fish them.

Seaguar Rippin Mono. Used it on three reels last year. Got it on all of em this year. Strong, tough, ties a good knot and handles nicely. My new fav mono line.

Got a box full of Norman N cranks the other day, and had to smile. A blast from the past for me, but maybe not for some of you. I have a bunch of crankbaits. I have no idea how may, or even how many hundred I have. I sorted them out a few years back. I've been on a fruitless quest to trim down my tackle for a long time. I have a magnum size Cabelas bag devoted to cranks. Depending on which boxes I load into it, I can get up to 13 3700 size boxes in the main compartment, one in the back and three 3600 boxes in in sides and front. That's a lot of cranks. After sorting, I came up with over thirty boxes full of different cranks, basically sorted by running depth. So, then I could choose which boxes to load for each differnent trip, making decisions based on where and time of year. The bag, spare boxes, and sacks full of cranks still in their original packaging have been in a tote, in the garage, ever since the day long sorting process. Been fishing plastics almost exclusively, with the occasional spinnerbait and jerkbait. I had decided that this year would feature a return to crankbait fishing, a decision triggered by a new rod I built which turned out to be a just about perfect crank rod. So, more sorting, because I did not want to lug around that huge Cabelas bag, and I received a nice set of Plano bags, one of which holds four 3600 boxes. I thought to myself, self, that should be enough for a three day trip. so, what did I end up with in the new bag? A box of DD22s, a box of spooks and poppers, a box of jerkbaits, and a box of Ns. I had to chuckle when I opened the package I received and found a bunch of new Ns. I made room for them in the newly loaded bag. And I am looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with cranks this year. I've been a fan of the Ns since I read an interveiw with Rick Clunn, in which he stated the deep little N and deep Baby N were his go to crankbaits. I thought, if they're good enough for him, they are certainly good enough for me. My first trip using them was a very good trip. The Deep Little N tore em up that trip, and have continued to produce for me year after year. The Deep Baby N has been a particular favorite of mine. Included in the package were Tiny Ns, and Middle Ns, neither of which I have previously used. I had to do a quick search of an online tackle store, just to see what cranks are out there, and what the going prices are. i have not shopped for cranks for a long time. A roigh estimate suggests crankbait prices average about $10. Current price for the Ns is $6.49. No idea what kind of hooks are on these, but I can tell you they are sticky sharp. I have'nt read anywhere lately somebody saying they tore em up on a Deep Little N. Wonder why that is? They are still in production, which suggests people are still buying them. Have they fallen out of favor? Has all the chatter about the $20+, highly detailed cranks eclipsed their fame as excellent fish catchers? Don't know. I know there was a time when all the Ns and Os and As and Bs, and some others I've likely forgotten, were all lumped together and call by the rather disparaging name "alphabet plugs". Maybe that turned off some folks. I'm looking forward to trying out the new version of the olds favs. And here's a thought for ya. Instead of buying four Megabass, or Jackall, or Luckycraft baits; why don't you shop on the other end of the price range, buy a box of Ns, and go catch a bunch of fish.