gr8outdoorz

My wife has a 2014 crosstrek xv that we have taken on fishing trips...great ride to it. The longest one piece rod I have gotten in there was a 7' inshore rod. I tried putting a 7'6" rod in it but with everything we were carrying and the 2 of us it was a little bit too long. If you were riding by yourself and have the back seat laid down you may be able to fit a 7'6" rod in there but it would be close.

You should take him somewhere close to try him out. Both my dogs bark at every animal and person they can at home. When we take them camping they rarely bark. Only 2 times I have had them bark. When someone walked into our camp and when a stray cat came too close to camp one night. I don't know but it's like they know it's not their territory so they react different than at home. Only way to know is to test him. Good luck!

A resident trout stamp is $22 in TN. You must have a valid fishing license then have a Trout Stamp added on.

Congrats flyfisher!! Thats awesome news!!

I have not thrown the 262, but I do have the I-slide 185. The glide on the retrieve with the reel is the action you are looking for. You will get many followers with it. The key, I have found, to getting some of the followers to bite is this: When gliding it with the follower behind it, make a fast turn & hard stop of the handle. This will throw slack in the line & make the i-slide turn about 270° around. Once it has stopped the turn, as soon as you start to reel it again, it will complete the 360° turn. This is where some of those followers will strike so be ready! When you have a follower that will not strike it, mark that spot on your graph then come back a little later & throw a Senko or other plastic to where you spotted it coming from. You can bag a few more by doing this. Hope this helps!

Puuuuurdy!!...but the handle is on the wrong side?

Congrats A-Jay!! Now you just need to move down south so you can enjoy it more than 3 months out of the year?

I would not do that here in Memphis! We have had 3 road rage shootings in the last month. Unfortunately, people around here are quick to pull a gun.

Scott, That acrylic looks sweet!!

Heat up your glue stick and rub the melted glue on the blank instead of in the tube. Slide the tip top over the glue & clean off excess. You can put a dab of finish over the junction if you want added adherence.

Thanks ghoti! Yea I knew it was a risk, but If I was going to build one then I wanted it to be one I like. I did practice the white on white wraps on a broken white rod I had at home. I didn't start the build until I was comfortable enough with how they looked.

Man I don't even want to know how many tries it took to figure that process out! Hahaha! Great work ghoti!

That makes a lot of sense. I think I have decided to do her a split TN grip. Since it will be a 1 piece spinning rod, I am going to turn it straight. Do you recommend placing the rings over burl cork, regular, or does it really matter? I have read that they wont work loose over burl like they do regular cork.

Sharp looking work ghoti!! That looks awesome! I have to ask how you adhere the feathers to the wraps for applying finish?

Scott, I have a question about Tennessee grips. Do you shape the grip in 2 halves and glue them together after you put in the slip rings or do you not flare up the ends and just slip them on once you have turned the grip? The more I look at those, the more I am leaning towards doing her grip that way. Thanks, Carlton

Yea Im a fan of them also. I am trying to decide between the Aero & doing a split grip Tennessee handle for my wife's spinning build...choices...choices. Hahahaha!

Scott, Funny that you mention the Rodgeeks neon pink. That's the one I picked out for her (C270MLF). The pic in my head of how it will look goes like this: Neon Pink blank, Purple wraps with Silver Metallic trim bands, Microwave guides, Purple dimpled aluminum winding checks, Purple reel seat hood, & Aero reel seat with a cork grip & butt cap I will design & turn. Thanks buzzed bait! I am very happy with the way it turned out...first rod or not!

Thanks Mike! I did practice the wrapping & finish on a broken white rod I have at home. Once I felt comfortable with the way it looked, i did the wrapping on the build. I knew it was risky, but as you know from the rod you built me, I like the wraps to be the same color as the blank and I like white rods. The next build will be easier on the wraps. My wife wants a pink bass rod with purple wraps...so guess what I get to build now! Her rod will have a little more 'bling'...cuz she likes 'bling'! Hahahaha!

Thanks Scott! I did sand the guide feet down some, but not enough. I painted the guide feet white (with model paint) to help hide them under the wraps. When I went to wrap them, I noticed that I didn't get them tapered enough, especially with the paint on top. I did find that I was able to get the wraps tight going up the feet by varying the tension on the thread as I went over the foot. I'll make sure to grind them down more on my next build. That should make the wrapping easier.

Finished up my first rod build last night. I ordered an inexpensive spinning rod kit for my 'learning curve' build. Even though this would be one of my rods I learn my process on, I still wanted it to be one that I wanted to fish. I didn't like the reel seat that came with the kit so I ordered a more comfortable one. I have also wanted to try Microwave guides for a while now so...you guessed it...had to change the guides out too. Blank - Batson RX6 SP842 (white) Reel seat - Fuji VSSM 17 Guides - Microwave (Airwave) Thread - Pro Wrap A (white) Winding checks - Black rubber (Aluminum one in front of reel seat). I also got to play with my new wood lathe. I ordered some 'overstock' cork rings from Mudhole to practice turning grips...A 'mini half wells' grip I made for my homemade cork reemer.

Great work Scott! As always...?

About to start building my first rod (spinning). I ordered a cheap kit from getbit outdoors as my learning curve. I fully understand reaming the cork grip to fit the blank. My question is how do you guys bore out the butt cap to slide on the butt of the blank? Do you drill it bigger? Or do you ream it like the grip? I'm sure I will have more questions throughout this build! Thanks guys! Carlton Edit: Just realized the burl cork end cap separated from the butt cap so I can ream it just like the grip! Hahaha! Pardon my stupidity!

Papajoe, I have been seeing them on boards for 175 - 210 depending on condition. I saw one for 140 once but someone snatched it up before I could. IMO 100 is a STEAL!!

"Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy"

I have a couple I use in stained water. Nishiki pointer & a bright lime Vision 110. Those are the ones I have had luck with when visibility is low.