.ghoti.

It takes a lot of patience, but a Senko will do the job when nothing else will.

I used to keep records. I made notes during the day, and on the way home. Then entered data into a spreadsheet. Did this for several years, and then decided it was not something I really wanted or needed to do. I'm reminded of the line wrongly attributed to Thoreau: many men fish all their lives without knowing that it's not fish they are after, or something like that. doesn't matter if I misquoted it; Thoreau didn't write it anyway. But, it sums up my attitude about fishing. I'm not really after the fish. They just happen to be a bonus. To better answer your question; design your own spreadsheet, as I did. You can make it to suit yourself, not what somebody else may think you need.

I've always operated on the assumption that it would negatively effect the bite. I have no data to back this opinion, other than the fact that I hate the taste of it myself.

I bought a new laptop last year, with 10, except fro Edge, which is very "buggy", it's been solid. I h ave several friends who've had problems upgrading from 7.. On a new system, it's pretty good.

I don't swear like a sailor. I'm better at it than that. But I do know when, and where, to remove such "color" from my speech. This is one of those places. Why? Funny you should ask. Look up a couple of posts. See the guy named Glenn, in the red and white shirt, white hat, with his thumb jammed down some poor fishes gullet, and the big shirt-eating grin on his face? Yeah, that guy. (sorry, jefe, I couldn't resist) He owns this place. He wants this to a civil place, where anybody can be comfortable participating. It's his bat, his ball, his glove and his ballpark. You wanna play here? Follow his rules. It's that simple for me.

I have Dobyns champion I shortened. It was almost the same. A steel cap around the blank instead of a plug on the inside. I didn't like the rod before and I didn't like it after the modification. My first Dobyns. And my last.

If you're interested, I turned the grip down to slightly larger that the final size. Then cut a shallow groove where the wraps would go. I filled the grooves with epoxy and let it cure for a week. After sanding it all down to the final size, I had three very smooth and fairly hard bases for the seat wraps. Made it a lot easier than wrapping straight on the soft cork. I'm working on a improved version, using large diameter graphite arbors in place of cork rings, placed where the seat wraps go. I'm in the middle of trimming the arbors to length, to get it correct for the length for the wraps. And, trimming to length the sections between the arbors. The Fuji plate seat does not exactly line up with any arrangement of 1/4 and 1/2" cork rings. I'll post some pics, with dimensions, when I get home from a little vacation trip.

I have no idea, and neither does he. LOL

a little experiment for my brother. built on an ancient Fenwick blank. A Fuji plate type seat on a mixed cork grip. Wrapped with D size red Gudebrod thread and finished without CP.

100% Deet is the only thing I've found that will keep them off. I fish a few places where ticks are a problem. Take this seriously. If you've ever known someone who contracted Lime disease, you already know how serious that is. If you don't know how bad that can be, look it up. If it doesn't scare you, you don't the sense god gave a goose.

Outstanding work, once again.

Done. Now, where's my donut?

Simple Green works. Dawn works. The Magic Eraser works. And fine sandpaper is sometimes required for really stained cork. U40 is really good. So is TruOil. Do NOT use steel wool. It will leave tiny fragments behind. Which will rust. That is hard to get rid of.

NO. I believe my reels should be seen and not heard. I have ABEC7 stainless steel bearings from BGF in most of my reels. After some time with them I've come to the conclusion that they are not really worth the cash. The difference between them and a properly cleaned and lube stock bearing is minimal. Of course, if you're one of those who feels like he has to have the best, and I used to be one of those guys, then go for it. You won't hurt anything. You may be able to tell the difference. Only you can determine if it's worth it.

A lot of bass fishermen look down on moderate-fast action rods, believing the propaganda, that they simply have to have the speed of a fast or extra-fast stick. This is not completely the case. The hype says you can set the hook so much faster. Can you really? Think about it. Why is a fast action rod so much faster? When using a mod-fast action rod, your wrist has to move a fraction of an inch farther to get into the more powerful area of the blank, compared to a fast action rod. How long does that take? A few milliseconds? Compare that to typical human reaction times, and you will find it is insignificant. A regular action rod is a much easier rod to cast. Don't believe me? Borrow one and see for yourself. A regular action rod is more versatile. How many people can fish a crankbait on an extra-fast rod? A regular action rod is more sensitive across it's range of flex. Many fast and ex-fast rods will have a "flat spot" in the flex curve. This is a dead spot. You may not feel a bite in that range. And, in an ex-fast rod, you don't to go far to get into that zone. A regular action rod is a lot better handling a big fish on short line. Couple that fact to fact that they cast better and more accurately, and why would you not want a mod-fast pitchin stick? There's a reason so many high end Japanese sticks are regular, or mod-fast, actions.

I should have thought a bit before posting that. I actually have more in chucks than in the lathe.

LOL. Thanks to you, I think I have as much money in chucks as I have in my lathe. And it was money well spent.

that's a lot of calamari, Raul

Some of you guys may be interested in this,,, http://japantackle.com/bargain-cave/ud000010.html Thay also have a 2600C

Any of them. Catchin bass on top is the most fun you can have with yer knickers on.

That would be my plan, Dwight. Ain't gonna fix it, if it ain't broke.

It is all in your mind. If you don't mind, it don't matter. The converse is also true. I've used Trilene XL for years. I use 4, 6 and 8 on my spinning reels, and 8,10,*** on my castings reels. The only exception is when I go trout fishing, I'll spool up a couple of spare reels with 4lb Invisx, because sometimes it makes a difference when fishing for trout in clear water. After reading the many threads about line, I'm amazed that I catch any fish using this line. According to the "wisdom" often dispensed hear, I have many problems. 1. I can't feel any bites because my line is so insensitive. 2. I can't set the hook when I do managed to detect a bite, because my line is so stretchy. 3. in the unlikely event that I do manage to get a hook set, I can't land the fish because my line will break if it comes in contact with anything, because my line is so non-abrasion resistant. And, because my line absorbs water, which makes it even weaker and stretchier. I guess I'm really lucky to catch any fish at all.

Mike, at least some of the bearings are also mag sealed. Not having opened one up yet, I'm not sure which are, and which are not. The docs with the reel are all in Japanese, so I have no idea what they say. After thinking about it, I'll perform my normal complete tear down, clean and lube when I think they need it. Won't be anytime soon. I don't use a spinning reel that often. I'll leave the mag sealed bearings alone, not worry at all about the "sealed" frame, and lube as normal. If and when the bearings fail, I'll simply replace them with bearings I can service. Who knows, they may outlast me. LOL

I'm really up in the air about this mag sealed thing. I'm what gets called a Daiwa fanboy. All of my casting reels are daiwa, except for a lone Abu Record. My two favorite spinning reels are the two Certates. But, I think they stepped on their crank this time, by giving us something we can't maintain ourselves. Do they not realize that those of us who buy higher end gear tend to be those who do our own maintenance? Or, at least, send our reels off to a well respected tech like Mike at DVT? I look at mag sealed pretty much the same way I perceive their TWS system. An added level of complexity, which translates into a higher end price; with little real benefit.

I used steel wool once. I had some very small pieces of steel stuck in the cork, which rusted over the winter. Haven't used steel wool since. Simple Greem works, DNA works, and the Magic Eraser works. None of which will leave behind anything that will rust. Trondak U40 is a fine product. I also like Tru Oil. I use that on all the grips I build, particularly any grips with burl cork.