Tim S.

Alphas SVTW/Tatula 80/Saltist 80 BF TW/Gekkabijin Air TW. All are on the same frame and they disappear in your hand. Very lightweight and the gear dimensions are the same as the Zillion SV TW, so they have a ton of torque, even at 8.6 gear ratio.

I removed the hook keeper from a couple of Phenix UMBX rods. Gary is exactly right regarding removal. If you need someone close by for removal and/or epoxy work, shoot me a text. I know a guy about an hour from you. He did a new keeper and threadwrap/epoxy on both of my rods and they turned out very nice and the cost was very reasonable.

Those wraps look great, Gary! Very tight and flat. I think you've got the whole "building a custom rod" thing. Let me know about that ul blank we discussed, as soon as you get by there to put hands on them.

I have and like the Compre 6-10 mh. Mine are the full-cork models before the split grips and stupid reel seats. I like them a lot, though I hardly use one of them.

It fishes larger jerkbaits like a Vision 110 just fine and it loads well with a fish on. But it is a little stiffer than I prefer for lighter, smaller treble hook baits-except squarebills around hard cover and 1/2 oz. rat-l-traps. It works great for a 3/8 spinnerbait/chatterbait. I'm actually looking for the 6-10 ML for lighter baits like a #11 Rapala floater.

I have the 6-10 MH and the 6-10 M. They are extremely nice rods and among the lightest I have ever fished. As light as any comparable Steez rod, but with way more sensitivity. Mine will be with me for a long, long time.

MajorCraft for me, too. There are many varieties. For under $200 including shipping from Japan, you can get quite a few really nice rods. Here's the place to look, and the search is already done for you. http://global.rakuten.com/en/search/?tl=201899&k=majorcraft+bfs&l-id=search_regular

I love the finished product. Glad it's done...I was getting itchy with the teaser pics you sent me during the build.

x2. Steve has built a couple rods for me and has done modifications on several others. He does good work. PM me for his cell #.

Same here. I have a Volkey BFS 6-8 light and it is a fun little rod. I landed a 5# hyrid(wiper) this afternoon on it and it was a blast. If you're looking for a BFS rod for single-hook baits(moving or bottom-contact), then look no further. On a budget, the JDM Daiwa Blazon rods are nice, also.

Send an email. They are just starting the lead molds section up and looking for active input into what people are looking for. There's a good chance that you can have something made that fits your needs without paying custom mold prices.

I have a T3 MX with a DIY Air spool in it. On a Majorcraft Volkey 682L BFS rod and 15/4 Spiderwire Invisibraid spooled on, I can cast a # 5 shallow Shad Rap a solid 25-30 yds. I get down to the last few layers of line left on the spool on a good cast and it's a blast when a 4 lb. freight train whacks that crank. Just for grins and giggles, I tied on a 1/16 oz. crappie jig and was able to cast a fishable distance with pretty good accuracy. But at that weight, I prefer a spinning set-up for a little more distance.

A nice Calais 100A would be sweet for jerkbaits. The gear ratio is perfect and you can't beat the quality of that series. And that's coming from a Daiwa guy.

Even cheaper here(free shipping on small stuff) and they are great to deal with. http://jpangler.com/index.php/catalogsearch/result/?q=alphas Any of these 3 will fit any Alphas, Sol or MB Zonda.

Stay away from that guy, he's a shyster. He lists rods built on powers/lengths/actions that Shikari never manufactured.

I know a guy......lots of Shikari blanks stashed away.......crazy-low prices......gotta buy in bulk, though.....

I have one in the 7.6:1 mounted on a Falcon Cara T7 Headturner and I love it for pitching jigs. It is hands-down the nicest reel I have ever used at it's price point and about as nice a reel as I have ever used, period. That's saying something, considering that my other reels are Steez, SS SV and Alphas reels.

Keep in mind that TT reviewed the rod and stated that all the rods fish lighter than their ratings. So the 7-3 rod you're looking at will likely fit the lure weights you listed very nicely. All the MC rods I own are JDM models, but I have handled a couple of the Nanoace spinning rods. While they are nice, I would personally wait til the Corzza is introduced here(a current JDM rod series that will be released here soon). They have cork grips and much nicer guides. They also have that typical JDM beauty and style that the Nanoace lacks.

I got the BB2 Pro for Christmas and threw an S-Waver 200 swimbait on it with no problems. The retrieve is effortless, even with the higher 6.4:1 ratio. And, like you, I am also using it for big chatterbaits and swim jigs. I'm a Daiwa guy, but I like this reel very much. And it can be had for around $170, which is substantially cheaper than the Calcutta. So, you can actually afford another swimbait or 2 with the $ you save.

They are good rods, but nothing extra-special. I would look elsewhere in that price range....and I absolutely LOVE Batson blanks.

Tackle Warehouse has them in stock right now. They used the OG Zillion frame to make this "new" reel, minus the clicky cast control cap. The spool is the same size as the Steez SV spool, though, so no swapping it into an old Zillion.;( On the upside, any of the Steez and TD-Z spools should drop right in.

Try BaitJunkys for soft plastic molds, as well as a new series of lead molds.

That was Merrick Tackle that had the contract with them as the exclusive US distributor. They were once a great company to deal with, but when Mudhole bought them, they basically killed the entire business off. Look at Batson's website for components. They have lots of stuff that doesn't get listed by their distributors. GetBit carries their stuff and can source anything on Batson's site.

Now that's funny right there! If you don't think that's funny, then you can just get out of here.

There's a lot of things I'm not allowed to do, like carry at work, at the mall, in the bank.....but that never stopped me.