vtbassin

I usually drag and pause. I drag with a sweeping motion and I try to remember that the 7'6" rod is moving a lot of line with that motion. So I typically drag slowly. Reel up the slack and drag again. I typically do not pause for long. I use the c-rig to cover a lot of water. 8-)

I do about the same as K-Mac. The sweeping hookset is one fast motion and keep reeling. Sometimes I will set the hook a second time if I think the sweep did not hit the fish very hard. Did I say sweep fast!!! I use a 7'6" MH flippin stick for c-rigs. The long rod is needed to take up slack between the swivel and hook on the sweep set. keep at it! once you get the feel for it will be easy ;D

Over 3 pounds is a good fish over 5 is a big fish ;D I kind of like RoLo's idea of catching more big fish due to what you think is a big fish : Sooo from now on I think over 2.5 is big and I think my big fish catch rate is going up 8-)

30 minutes to 1 hour gets me to some good fishing with the boat ;D A creek with some nice smallies in the kayak is 5 minutes ;D

I do not agree I have people in my boat form time to time that need help. I tell them everything I can think of to get them catching fish. I have also been with others that have showed me different tacticts many times. On the other hand I have fished with some that work to try and catch more fish no matter what Boat positioning is what comes to mind as a way a couple fine gents tryed to keep the upper hand I do not fish with them more than once 8-) This board is a good example of people telling it all. I have seen some detailed explanations here ;D All you have to do is ask

;D Sounds to me like you are ready ;D Just do it! ;D I built my first 3 rods this past winter/spring. They are not perfect but I think they are great 8-) I do not think you will regret it or have too hard a time. You already have tried out some of the skills modifying. I also do not think you can go wrong with the SCIII. Just pick out the blank to fit your needs, power/action. Look for sales at the web stores. There are a lot of places that sell SCIIIs. I got a good deal on the ones I purchased.

backyard casting ;D have fun and embarrass the kids ;D

I finally finished this spinning rod. It is a St Croix 6' 3" MXF . This balanced very nicely. I feels good in my hand. I need to get out and fish it!!

;D Great rework job!! ;D

;D Flechero, That looks great! ;D I like the balance system. It looks so much better than the weighted slip on end cap I have on my pitching rod. It looks like you are joining ReelMech in the art work world.

;DLooking good ReelMech!! ;D This rod making is worse than the tackle monkey!!! Now I am thinking about another spinning rod with a Tennessee handle ;D I haven't even finished the ones I have going now. :

ReelMech and Flechero are way more experienced than me at this and their advise to me has been good!! ;D I took a slightly different path when putting together my first few rods. I am sure one of the parts places can and will measure for you. I did not feel comfortable with that and one thing I did was to get my blank first. That way I could make measurements myself. I measured a lot of different possible setups/reelseat locations/handle lengths ..... : Once I finally decided how my handle was going to be built and where my reel seat was going I new the exact diameters and I ordered the rest of the components. This is not fast. And I am not ever going to make money at this pace. but I don't plan to go into business and taking my time does not bother me. ;D This may cost you a little more in shipping charges if you purchase everything from one place. Although in my case I bought the blanks at one place and components at another so shipping was shipping. I am very happy with the way my rods are turning out. Thanks again ReelMech and Flechero! And no they are not all finished yet : I am not slow, just casual. ;D ;D

Hi Mo_Tick, I am not an expert but from the sound of "it really shattered" I would think no it can not be fixed :'(. I have done a couple of tip tops in the past that were an inch or 2 shorter to get by for a while and even then they are not the same pole any more. Time to let the tackle monkey loose and shop for a new pole ;D Have fun with that! ;D

I agree ReelMech is always very helpful!! ;D ;D Thanks again ReelMech! ;D It is great that he is willing to share his knowlege with a rookie rod builder like me! ;D

I guess I'll have to go fishing more to try all of the techniques!! ;D ;D That is a great idea ;D ;D Go fishing more! ;D I would reccomend not trying to learn all the techniques at the same time. Pick 1 or 2 and work on them then expand from there. 8-)

Thanks ReelMech. I have some denatured alcohol but was a little leary of using it. I use it to clean up epoxy (I always seem to get epoxy in places I did not want it ) as I am putting things together. I will give it a try this weekend.

ReelMech, I have almost finished this spinning handle. I wrapped the reel seat with tape to keep it epoxy free when I glued it together. Now I have a thin line of tape stuck (epoxied) to the cork on the front and rear of the reel seat . You can just see the thin blue line in the picture. It looks worse here. I am thinking of cutting it off with a razor blade but thought I would ask you if you have a better idea :-/ I guess I should have taken the tape off before the epoxy set up but as we all know hind sight is 20/20 Any tips?? Thanks George

Don't give up on the frogs or rat type baits. Fish them over the thickest part of the weeds. Try different retrieves. Use heavy line or braid. Nothing better than a hog smashing through the thick stuff to grab a frog ;D Try to stay calm enough to wait until you feel the fish on the other end. ;D It is not always as easy as it sounds :

I started kayak fishing last year. ;D It is great ;D There are a lot of nce fish in creeks and small ponds and with a kayak you can quietly get to them. I had trouble with my hookset at first. It is a different kind of movement when you are sitting that low to the water. But once you figure it out it becomes second nature. I switched to 15/6 braid and that helps too. My wife has a yak too and she loves it. Be careful in the spring the water is still very cold. At least it is here in VT. Tight lines

My wife and I got kayaks last year. They are great ;D ;D We fish/paddle on small ponds and rivers. We are recreational paddlers NO WHITE WATER Fast moving water up to class 1 is OK. I still go on Champlain in the boat but the kayaks get a lot of the fishing time. ;D

You can make reamers from the pieces of blank some epoxy and some grit. They will help fitting the new cork when you build your rod.

I do both. I have a couple of buddies that will stay in the boat as long as I do. I also have a friend who is an occasional fisherman and he has the best time when I get him onto some bass. I love the look on his face when he sets the hook into a big fish. Sometimes I just need to get out of the house and typically I will go alone at the last minute. 8-) I have also had a couple of people want to go out fishing and then show up at the house empty handed. I will usually dig out a couple of ugly sticks for them and go out for a while. They are not the all day 1/2 the night type

The bass don't care if it has a flat side. I have used a bunch of hand pours that are flat on one side and they catch bass ;D I think you will need to go to some type of injection mold to get two sided baits.

WooHoo! ;D ;D sounds like you are about to go into mass production

The simple spiral set-up recommends setting up the rod just like a guides on top then rotating all but the last guide and putting the bumper 1/2 way between the last guide and the first 180 guide. Your rod is already set up with guides on top so in theory all you need to do is rotate the guides and add the bumper. I have not tried this : I agree with Flechero Do a static test before wrapping and finishing to be sure you get a good load distribution. I changed a BPS rod to a spiral wrap but I replaced all the guides and respaced them. The rod blank actually cleaned up fairly well. Not quite the same as the simple spiral but what the heck now it is a custom rebuilt. ;D ;D If it blows up it won't be the end of the world 8-)