Alpster

After 10-12 years with a couple of those rods and over 15 for one, my answer is nope, they are not bent or deformed in any discernable way. They are beautiful rods and I want to display them, I don't have any ceilings high enough to display 9'+ rods vertically. All these rods fish like the day I bought or built them. Ronnie

I agree 100%. If constructed properly, the loss in sensitivity, if any, is imperceptable with a two piece rod blank. I just bought a new 10' Lamiglas surf blank. Two pieces, and I can't wait to build it. Ronnie

Heat the metal of the rod tip (not the rod blank) with a match or lighter. Apply steady pressure puling. When the old epoxy gets warm enough it will come right off. Carefull not to overheat. A blowdryer can work well too. Sand the left over glue off with fine sandpaper. Get a tip repair kit from WalMart. It will have everything you need to glue on a new tip. Ronnie

With my luck, the drag is set too tight.

If it is a tip, they are very easy to replace, but if it's a running guide it will have to be re-wrapped. Ronnie

The fist one is a wall rack for some fly rods. It's just a couple of coat racks turned sideways. This one took a little more doing but it works great and I love it. It has casters under it to roll it around. Ronnie

X2 Ronnie

According to "Forbes", less than one in five GM cars are Made in USA. The vast majotity are made overseas (mostly China). Sorry! http://www.forbes.co...general-motors/ Ronnie

I also use my dropshot rod for shakey head presentations. It's a Loomis DSR820S GLX 6'8". Ronnie

X2

I think he's saying it will handle it, but you will lose even more capacity with heavier line. We got into a school of hybrid stripers in my lake one night a couple of years ago. I caught 12+ hybrids over 10lbs with a Chronarch 50Mg with 12lb line and it still amazes me looking back how easily it handled those fish. They fight hard! Ronnie

I Rheuatoid arthritis and have been giving myself injections in the belly for years. In the last 18 months I have had both knees replaced and I used the same drug (Lovenox) after both surgeries. It's really no big deal and you will find that it's nearly painless. Needles today are very sharp and really don't hurt very much. I will always direct the needle parralel to the skin and then angle it down just a few degrees so the shot is just under the skin. inject the medicine slowly. You will do great, don't let your worry make it harder than it is. I wish I could do it for you. Hope this helps. Ronnie

I could be mistaken on this, but I think this is what the "other species" forum is about. Ronnie

Except for braid on a couple of rigs, I use YZ Ultra Soft on all of my reels, BC and spinning. It performs flawlessly. Line conditioner will help ANY line because it lubricates the line which makes it slide through the guides with less friction. It will also reduce backlash for the same (less friction) reason. Your milage may vary. JMHO Ronnie

The whole idea of the bag is to protect the gear. It is stored inside a closed compartment when under way. Maybe a picture will make it clearer. http://www.divers-supply.com/-P19164.aspx?afid=12&utm_source=nextag&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=nextag&utm_content=WB-X Ronnie

I think we make way too much about how hard it is to use a baitcasting reel. Many fishermen are intimidated into sticking with spinning reels their whole life and miss some of the best fishing to be had for fear of the dreaded backlash. I have shown a lot of people how to use a baitcaster and the worst of them had it mastered in a few minutes or hours at most. It really isn't that hard. With a minimum of hand eye coordination and a tiny bit of determination, I believe anyone who can proficiently operate a spinning reel can use a baitcaster. Yep, there is a learning curve, but it is not great big one. JMHO Ronnie

The flouro boys willl hang me from the nearest tree, but my answer to your question is NO. Flouro is more trouble than it's worth. You will find many threads on the boards about memory, knots, abrasion, break offs. There are just too many awesome lines out there (including braid) that perform flawlessly to put up with the hassles of flourocabon. I have caught fish on red, blue, green, yellow, orange, brown and black line and I'm not sure fish care what your line looks like. Invisibility is highly overated. JMHO Ronnie

My phone, wallet, keys, camera all go in a "MinnKota" floating, waterproof bag stored below deck.. I only retrieve the camera for a nice fish. Everything else is safe & dry when I get back to the dock. I don't answer the phone, I only carry it in case I get stuck. Ronnie

It's a struggle for me to fish real slow also, but like others posted above, it will get you bit if you have the patience. I will some times eat a snack or even a sandwich to bide my time. Ronnie

I don't use regular YZ at all. Ultra Soft works on every reel I own. About 20 at last count. I use braid on my flippin stick and surf rod/reel (Straidic 6000). Ronnie.

I guess it's all about expectations. My review of Shimano reels has less to do with casting distance than with overall performance and durability, however my Shimano reels do cast noticeably further than my ABUs & Quantum. To each his own. Ronnie

I put individual spinnerbaits in small ziplock bags (2"X 2") and just throw them in a Plano 3700 box with no dividers. They are easy to get at and don't get tangled. I hate the odd sized "spinnerbait boxes" they are nearly impossible to carry efficiently. JMHO Ronnie

I use my Loomis 7'6" flippin stick for frog fishing. It will cast a mile and is strong enough to retrieve a stump if needed. No need for a "frog" rod. Ronnie

Not at all. I have used most every line you can think of and YZ US behaves as well as any IMHO. Crazy strong and never had a knot fail. I really like not keeping track of many different line types and no longer buying line that never gets used. Now I buy Ultra Soft in 1 pound spools. 10 & 12 lb for BC and 6 lb for spinning (some 50lb Power Pro for slop). Change line often and use KVD line conditioner and I just don't sweat about line anymore. Makes my fishing more fun. Ronnie

Don't know about the G-series, but as a general point, I have owned dozens of Shimano reels over 45+ years and have never regreted any of them. From 30+year old "Bantam"s to a TE-DC & Stella and everything in between including old curados, calais(s), calcuttas and chronarchs. They have ALL exceeded my expectations both in performance and durability. I am a Hardcore fan of their reels. Ronnie