.ghoti.

So, they are difficult to prep, too steep, won't stay put, hard to reposition, too short, won't lay flat, no ceramic rings; I get it. They are a problem. But, how do you like they way they look?

Normal? Are you kidding? I think we're all bozos on this buss.

I like the wave cork too. I ordered, and have been using both kinds. I am also interested to hear your problems with Recoils. I've used them on several casting rods, but have not wrapped any on a spinning rod. I have an Avid spinning rod I dropped. Cracked two inserts, and was thinking of trying Recoils to replace all the guides. Super looking rod, Scott. As usual for you.

Here's an uplocking Aero seat, using a Fuji KDPS hood on the back end covering all the threads. Very comfy. The finger cut-out in the front cork piece is nice too.

They make a very full line of blanks, at a variety of price ranges. Check here: http://www.anglersworkshop.com/Batson_2 Ive built several rods on their blank. Two Eternity, two Revelation, and several Immortals. Great blanks make great rods.

For that beautiful reel, there's only one choice. Go custom. Contact Mike at DVT, and let him build you a stick worthy of the reel.

Kudos to you for taking the high road. I always try to keep one thing in mind when confronted by morons. Never try to argue with a moron. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

I only use 4lb Invizx on a spinning reel. I have some 5.3lb Seaguar finesse Fluoro reserved for an upcoming trout trip.

Awesome kid, great story.

NICE pic, Rich.

I used to. Sold them, or gave them away. Somebody is getting some good use out of some stuff I had just hangin out in the garage. If somebody needs to borrow a rod and reel from me, they get a pretty good one.

Pressing the thumb bar with a load applied is a good way to trash a gear set. If you are comfortable servicing your own reels, take it apart now. Stop using it until you do.

Really? You'd rather see drunks on the road?

Mason, contact Mike at Delaware Valley Tackle. You wont regret it.

Here you go. http://www.tackleworks.org/

I'll say it again. I don't know, and neither do you, or anybody else.

Can't answer your question, but that Mirage drive is cool as cool gets. Me want one.

I think we need to be reminded, from time to time, that like it or not, fishing is a blood sport. Even practicing catch and release, we all kill a few fish every year. For those who practice catch and eat, that's their right to do so, as long as they observe local regulations. If you catch a fish off a spawning bed, you have disrupted the spawning cycle for that fish. Does that cause irreparable harm? I don't know, and neither do you. There have been studies conducted to determine the answer to that question. And, what are such studies? The short answer is, statistics. Anybody who understands statistics knows you can make a data set prove whatever it is you wish to prove. I am a Six Sigma blackbelt. And, after completing that training, I firmly believe that Mark Twain hit the nail squarely on the head, when he said, "there are lies, damned lies, and statistics". Trout fishermen have this manta: a trout is too precious to only be caught once. Now that catch and release has achieved the status of a sacred commandment, bass fishermen have become as goofy as trout fishermen. A fishery is a complex ecosystem. One which is in a state of constant change. Do we affect the system when we fish? Of course. But is it truly significant? Good question. Living creatures have the ability to adapt the rapidly changing conditions, despite the claims of those who seem always ready to shout doom and gloom. Examples? Hydrilla, snakeheads, gobies, zebra mussels, etc, etc, etc,,,,,,,,. Any of these things destroy the fisheries they "infected"? Mother Nature must have been a Marine. She can always improvise, adapt, overcome.

4lb test Invizx

I have two JDM Certates, both with mag sealed bearings. Neither gets used a lot, and haven't yet required service. When they do, the bearings will get the seals removed, and will be cleaned and lubed as I always do. I'm ambivalent about this concept.Is it n actual benefit? Could very well be, long term. But, my options are to send it to Japan for servicing(not gonna happen), or service it myself, and defeat the mag seal. So, if there is any long term benefit, I'm not gonna see it.

It takes two pairs of pliers. Place the first pair where the hooks are close together. The second grabs each hook individually. Bend out a little bit, one at a time.

Recently got some of these. Yes, they sent me some to review. And before anybody starts pizza get and moaning about us mods talking up our sponsor's products, allow me to say this. If I get something I like, I will talk about it. If I don't like it, you wont here about from me. I don't like to bad mouth anybody, or their products. What I'm going to do is give my opinions. Opinions are based on experiences. We don't all have the same experiences, so our opinions are necessarily different. The fact that a particular bait doesn't work for me, doesn't always mean the bait is junk. It's much more likely I don't know how to fish it, or it's the wrong time of year, or wrong body of water for that particular bait. Lots of reasons to have no success with any bait. I also believe in sharing. Just last week I sent out four packages to different Bass Resource members, containing an assortment of baits I received from various sponsors. If they send me multiples of anything, I'm going to send some to somebody, with the caveat that they write a review as well. This time I picked four guys who posted in the military service thread about their service. Got a twofer out of that. I get to say thank you for,your service, and the sponsor gets their product distributed further, and maybe gets a good review. Everybody wins. So, about the frog. I like frogs. Who doesn't. Top water Bass fishing is just about as much fun as you can have with your pants on. And frog fishing is my favorite way to fish on top. So, for me, there aren't really any bad frogs. Just some are better, in one way or another. I didn't catch any fish on the frog. Didn't expect to. It's still winter here in Illinois and the water is cold and murky. I just wanted to get out, away from the rod building bench, and take a little break. I threw some finesse stuff for while, with no succes, and while looking for something else to throw came across one of the baits Pradco sent me; a Booyah Pad Crasher frog. No weight was given on the package. My scale said 0.52oz. There's a small, flat weight in the back end. I'd guess it's around 1/8oz. Maybe a hair more. I didn't take it out to weigh it. I did try to knock it out. I slung it into a chunk rock bank several times, trying to knock the weight out, and did not manage to dislodge it. Not saying it couldn't be done, but I didn't manage it. Plus one for,the Pad Crasher. The bottom of the front features a nice ramp from the middle of the bottom to the hook. This makes it very easy to "walk the frog". Plus two. Even easier if you trim the legs a bit. The fine rubber strand legs are about 3.5" long. Nice movement in the water at rest, but long enough to slightly hinder walking the bait. The nice ramped bottom makes it easy to walk, and should make it easy to slide up on a lily pad. Plus three. The frog will take on water. Almost all will. It's easy to squeeze out. But you won't have to do that as often with this frog. It has an extra hole, higher up in the back that allows water to drain. A nice little addition, somebody should have thought of sooner. Plus four. I made maybe fifty casts, and the Pad Crasher landed upright every time. Not all frogs will do that. Plus five. Now the minus. The hooks. It has the standard dual frog hook. This is a stout hook. I could not bend it by hand, and I'm not a puny little geek. I'm a big, strong one. It took two pairs of pliers to bend the hooks points out a little bit. Like almost all frogs, the hooks are bent in slightly. Designed to make the bait more weedless. In my opinion, this means it's designed to make it more fishless. Bending the hooks out will increase your hookup percentage. A lot. It comes in a smaller size. I don't have any of those. Yet. Available in a dozen colors on TW, for $6.69. That's at the lower end of the price range for frogs. Another plus. I have a 3700 box full of frogs. About 80% of them are Ish's Phat frogs. I wont be throwing any of those away, but I will be making room in that box for more Pad Crashers.

I have actually caught brown trout with a baby Bass color super fluke. What goes around comes around.

Ive built a couple of rods with Winn grips. The one I built for myself has wrinkled in a fairly short time. Not liking that much. There is a lot to like about them. Very comfortable, good grip when wet, really nice in cold weather, very light weight. I recently spoke to some golfers who use them, and they all said the same thing. Great grips, but they need regular replacement. Granted, golfers grip their clubs much harder than we grip our rods. But, if the golfers have to replace grip every other year, and in some cases every year, how long are they going to last on a fishing rod? I have stopped using them until,that question is answered.

Don't think you will find many who would recommend using guides without some type in ceramic insert. Ive never used those guides, and will not. I'm not the only one who would say that.