.ghoti.

If they listed actions, line weight and lure weight ratings they might get some consideration from me. Without that data, I am simply not interested.

I need to get a pic of my brothers collection of antique tackle. It is impressive. Don't know how many old baitcasters he has, but th fill up a large glass door display case. Has to be at least 100 of them. And hundreds of ancient lures, dozens of cane fly rods, a bunch of nets and other accessories. I'll post pics next time I go see him.

The only thing antique around my place is me.

A lesson learned while driving. Never take a laxative at the begining of a road trip.

I'd say, that after all those years, he decided it was about time he had a little "kitty".

Sean Connery Cate Blanchett

I'll base my answer on the number of times I've watched any particular movie. It's a toss-up between the Godfather and Tombstone.

Raider my friend, you have obviously fallen victim to the old Chinese curse; "may you live in interesting times".

I'd be willing to bet a paycheck that a lot more fish have been caught on a ugly stick than on a GLX.

A rod of that length, power and action is, by conventional wisdom, a fairly application specific tool. But, since you have it, why be conventional? Try it for other purposes. You might like it. You won't know until you give it a shot. Some suggestions? big spinnerbaits, c-rig, small swimbaits, swim jigs, frogs and toads, I have several rods with decals listing the intended applications. I call those "fishing for dummies" stickers, and ignore them. Another point to consider is, that particular moderate action rod could well be a moderate-fast action, in which case you may have a lot more versatile stick. There is no standard and every rod maker's version of moderate action is a bit different.

A permanent magnet can loose it's magnetism if subjected to a strong outside magnetic force, a strong electrical field, or, in some cases a very high temperature. A temperature well beyond what the rest of the reel can withstand. A typical permanent magnet can loose about 1% over a ten year period. I think you have little to worry about.

Very nice looking rod, gents. Kent, I'll be interested in your impression of those guides, after you get a few miles on them.

Wind knots are caused by the line coming off the spool faster than it's going through the first guide. Add a little line twist, and a wind knot is inevitable. I've heard a lot of people say they used braid on a spinning reel because it doesn't twist. It twists. The twist in braid does not cause as many problems as it does with mono or flouro. All line will twist when spooled on a spinning reel. It will twist when cranked on the spool, and untwist when casting. I perfectly functioning roller will mitigate some of the problem by keeping the twist/untwist cycle more even, but you will still get some. I've also heard a lot of folks say to close the bail by hand to prevent line twist. That simply is not true. Closing the bail by hand will prevent loops from forming on the spool, but does nothing to prevent twist. My experiences with braid suggest that lighter pound test, smaller diameter braid will produce more wind knots. You could go up one size and see if that helps. It may. Another culprit may be the first guide on the rod. Measure the inside diameter of the first guide and compare that to the outside diameter of the spool. If the ID of first guide measures less than half the OD of the spool, you've found a large part of the problem.

One piece of wisdom I've always kept in mind is a quote from a well known rod builder. He said, "I would never trust a bass rod to be able to lift it's rated weight". One the many reasons I will not use braid.

Once you hit the $200 threshold, they're all pretty good.

Thanks. I will definitely keep you in mind when it's time for a new stick. I hear nothing but good things about you and your operation.

During this year's RoadTrip, at the Saturday night banquet, we had a raffle to raise money for the Tackle The Storm Foundation. In addition to some baits, jigheads, line and hat, I won this rod. Agter the trip I had very little time to fish, so my review is a little late in coming. Took a three day trip to Trophy Country, during which I decided to only use three rods which were all new to me. I actually had four in the boat each day. I took two Tatula casting rods, The Pinnacle, and my old standby Daiwa L&T rod. The Pinnacle was fitted with a Zillion, spooled with 14lb test Trilene XL. The rod is rated for 12-25lb line, 1/4 - 1oz lure weight, and has a moderate fast action rating at medium heavy power. First impressions: it's very light for a rod of this length and power. The blank is perfectly straight, the guides are aligned perfectly, the wraps and epoxy work are flawless, and everything is fitted together as well as I've ever seen on a production rod. Think St Croix build quality, aand you'll be thinking the correct way. This is a $170 rod, right in the St Croix Avid range. The build quailty and sensitivity are in the LTB range. First impression? Very impressive. I have a variety of rods. Setyr, three Tactical and three Response series; St Croix, three Avids, three LTB's and one Extreme; Daiwa, two Steez, two Tatulas and a L&T. Also, a Dobyns Champion, a Fenwick Elite Tech, and an Airrus Tradition. Pinnacle is now on my radar when looking at additional rods. But, how does it fish? Very nicely, thank you very much. I wanted to test the limits of this stick, just to see what it cpoiuld and could be used for. I started with a 5/16oz Evo Shaky2 jighead and Rage Tail lobster; a bait in the 3/8oz total weight range, on the low end of the rating. Casting and pitching were both easy. The mod-fast action is a plus for both delivery methods. To further test the range, I tied on a 1/8oz jighead, with a rick worm. This is a bit less than 1/4oz total weight. I also tried an unweighted Houdini Shad on a 4/0 light wire EWG hook. These two baits are really outside of this rod's range. It did OK, and would do in a pinch. The lower stated lure weight is a bit of wishful thinking, in my opinion. The rod was good with 3/8oz, but much less than that, and you would want a different stick. Digging through my day bag to find something on the upper end of the weight range, I discovered a couple of Badonk-a-donks. I don't remember putting these in the bag, but there they were, so I tied one on. This is a large, spook type bait weighing 1oz. I made a couple of easy casts, thinking that this would really be too heavy, but it was not at all. I than made several "let it all hang out" casts. The rod handled the 1oz weight like it was built for it. I did not tie on anything heavier, but I think you could easily cast up to 1.5oz baits with no problems. I did not catch any fish on this trip that would test the power of this rod, but it's there. Two pound fish didn't get past the mod-fast tip section. I did break the 14lb test line using the rod, so you could horse a good fish out of some pretty heavy veggies if the need arose. For a rod in this price range, sensitivity is excellent. On a later trip I compared it side by side with my LTB 7' MH-XF, and the Pinnacle seems to be at least the equal to the LTB. I also tried spinnerbaits and crankbaits. This is a really nice rod for a DD22 or a big spinnerbait. All in all, a very versatile stick. Very good for deep cranks and big spinnerbaits; excellent for plastics and jigs; a fine two-handed caster, and excellent at pitching. For you guys who fish tournaments from the back of the boat, this would be good choice becasue it can handle several tasks. I only have two minor complaints, and these are problems I have with several rods, not just with this one. One; the threads in front of the reel seat. If you're going to go with a no foregrip design, trim back the lockdown threads. They serve no purpose, and get to be very uncomfortable after a long day on the water. Either put a small foregrip on there, or cut down the threads. Two; the hook keeper. If you're going to put a hook keeper in front of the reel seat, do not use an open type. I have several rods built like this, and the line will get hung up in the hook keeper. I like the open type hook keepers for their versatitly, but put the damned thing behind the reel seat; in the split section. This is a split-grip rod, so there is a perfect location for the keeper. OK, pissin and moanin over. I gave my ultimate conclusion ealier. Pinnacle is now on my radar. The next time I'm looking for a new rod, this line will be one I'll be lookng at.

Much ado about nothing.

Duck dropping six pounders.

I have four Alphas, four Zillions, six Fuegos, and two TD-Zs. I think I can say all are must haves, because I have them. LOL You can still buy a ZIllion, but it looks like it's days are numbered. The rest are out of production, and have been for a while. I don't really "need" any more reels, but the SS SV is on my radar. I may not be able to resist much longer.

I do not want to know what Long Mike may, or may not be, putting up his ally.

We were on a trip to far northern Miinesota, about 60 miles out from Grand Marais, into the Superior National Forest. Out fishing one evening, when I had a heart attack. We about as far from the lodge as we could get on that lake. It felt like somebody had driven a stake into the middle of my chest and then set it on fire. My wife was with me. She said I passed out twice, but I don't remember that. They say, in a situation like this, that minutes count. Here's how the minutes added up. 30 minute boat ride back to the lodge. Two hour wait for the only ambulance in the area. 90 minute ambulance ride to a clinic the size of my house. They gave me a $3000 shot that saved my life, and shot me full of morphine. Two hours at the clinic waiting for a helicopter. More morphine. Lots of morphine. Two hour helicopter ride to Duluth, completely stoned on morphine. Got to Duluth about 2:00 am. the Doctor showed up about 5. Into surgery, got two stents, and survived the experience. Now, to add insult to injury, when all was said and done, my insurance company left me with $18,000 worth of unpaid bills. I'm still fishing.

I'm 62. My "don't give a rip" switch got locked on at about age 50. Funny stuff speed craw. If somebody doesn't like it, tell "em to go shoot in their hat. I actually have a picture of that somewhere. A knuckle dragging laborer really torqued me off one fine day, so I filled up his hard hat. Several people got pictures of that. If I could find one, I'd post it.

Check out this...... http://www.japantackle.com/Daiwa/Megabass_Zonda68Hedgehog.htm

a glass of good red wine does it for me