.ghoti.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. should say if you ain't broke, buy more fishing tackle.

My local lake has one great rule. NO JETSKIS

Thanks for the info. I havent used that particular piece. Always used the KDPS hood

Fuji hoods will not work on Alps MVT or Textouch casting seats. Fuji has the alignment notch on the bottom, Alps has two on the sides. My Point Blank is the 702MF. An all Fuji build; blank, seat, guides and thread. Have had very little time to fish this year; with workload and weather conspiring against me, but I have used the rod a couple of days, and it is one of my favs. I will be building more; for myself, if not for anybody else. Rods I've built on Eternity and Immortal blanks are also among my favs, and I will continue building on those.

For the same reason people follow a fire truck. They can't help themselves.

Flamers don't last long around here. We don't like that kind of behavior. Some wit may say Holy Resurrection Batman, but that's about as bad as it will get.

Have fun experimenting. I just finished a Point Blank build. It will not be the last one.

Cosmetic. I wear "em as earrings

Nice to see you back, Keith. Looks like young Jack is a chip off the old block.

Alps has a variety of hoods for their seats. Check out their new catalog.

Fuji KDPS hood, fits most fuji seats, and can be trimmed shorter. http://www.anglersworkshop.com/Fuji-Spinning-Seats/Fuji-Traditional-Metal-Hood_2 drill out Some cork rings, or eva, or wood, or.... 13/16" That same hood also fits on a 16 size Aero spinning seat.

Just had that myself last month. Got to break in my new all Fuji build. Point Blank, Fuji PTS reel seat, Alconite guides and Fuji thread. Very nice.

Casting practice. I pick a target; leaf, stick, whatever, and try to hit it. Pick a different target every cast. Change rod every few casts. Keep score. It will keep your interest up.

Just heard from Rahlow. he's been home since Tuesday, and in his words "doing well but weak as dish water".

https://sdfish.com/forums/t/new-2018-daiwa-shimano-killing-it.166043/

I have a rod like that. Had it for years, and have caught a lot of fish on it. I never noticed any performance problems; either casting, retrieving or fighting fish. In fact, the only problem with the rod was it bugged the snot out of me. It now resides in my rod rack, and will remain there until I have time to strip it and re-wrap it smaller lighter guides. Which will be lined up!

Feels fairly soft to me, but since my experience with braid is quite a few years in the past, I have no basis for comparison.

Hitenausa.com Met these extremely nice guys at the ICRBE this year and got a couple of samples of their rod wrapping thread. I finally got around to trying it, and liked it enough I ordered a 17 spool pack of all their current colors. I got it two days after placing the order. They sent me a sample spool of one of their fishing lines; a 12 strand braid called Pureline. Not being a braid user, I was not aware that anybody made a braid with more than eight strands. I did use a few brands of braid before giving up on it, but it has been a while since I used any. This Pureline is the tightest wound, smoothest and slickest braid I've ever felt. I may have to try this. They make several versions of braid, including one called Silky; which is a 16 strand braid. I can't imagine how smooth that must be. You braid users may want to check this out.

yes

Yum Houdini Shad

I have been on a quest to reduce the amount of tackle I carry around. This has not been what you would call an unqualified success. I've tried and discarded several ideas over the last few years. I may have a solution. Plano, a new forum sponsor, just sent me three of their new Weekender series bags. A 3500, which holds three 3500 size utility boxes, a 3600 which holds three 3600 size utility boxes and a 3700, which holds, wait for it.......three 3700 size boxes. They came with two boxes each. And a shoulder strap. The small one is now my walk the bank bag. One box has terminal tackle, the other has a few cranks and jerkbaits, and the rest of the space has a tube a Megastrike and a few bags of plastics. Clip on the strap, throw it over my shoulder, and I'm ready to go. Got enough stuff to walk the bank at my favorite local ponds. The 3600 bag is my new kayak bag. I have three boxes in it. Terminal tackle and jigs in one, cranks, jerks and spinnerbaits in the second, and topwaters and frogs in the third. Front and side pouches have a selection of plastics. I can place it behind my seat, or between my feet. It is just the right size for the yak attack. The largest box has not been filled yet. I'm going to try it out next time I head south to fish with Kent and Rick. I've been using a BPS boat bag for these kind of trips, and it is not optimal. The boat bags are good for all kinds of storage, but not so good for organization. The large Weekender, with three 3700 boxes, a front pouch and two side pouches will hold enough tackle for me for just about any day trip I will be involved in. If you're one of those guys who wants to lug around every bait you own, these new bags are not for you. If you're looking for an affordable way to carry around "just enough" stuff, these might be what you're looking for. One more thing. No danged zippers. These bags have straps and buckles. Pull the top flap over, secure the buckles, and nothing is gonna fall out. A lot easier to open than zippered bag too!

Sam, what a nice idea. After some thought, why don't we just PM him. He won't be doing anything at all for several weeks. One of my best friends went through this a few years back, and for the first eight weeks his world was the bedroom, bathroom, recliner, and the hallway connecting them all he did was rest, and walk the hallway.

Update. Surgery was Friday, triple bypass, no heart damage. He may be going home today. Thanks to all the good thoughts.

I think there is no single correct answer to this question. Consider this... Do you have a favorite rod? I'm sure you do. What do like about it? Length? Weight? Power? Taper? Etc,etc,etc, Would you like it a little better if the handle were longer? Or shorter? would you like it better if the grips were a bit larger in diameter? How about a different reel seat? Would you like it more if it had smaller guides? I assure you you would. Smaller guides remove weight where it counts most, making the rod more responsive. Spiral wrapping the guide train will often result in one less guide; sometimes two. Depends on the taper. Fewer guides, less weight, better response. See where I'm going with this? You can specify precisely what you need. And I haven't touched on the bling factor if that blows your skirts. Does this represent value to you? If so, contact Mike at DVT, and get started. Be warned, it's hard to stop.

I use casting most, spin some, and fly occasionally. No blasting. Crappie cops tend to frown on explosive fishing techniques