Alpster

Yep, Mike's back! Welcome old friend. Ronnie

Catt is right on. Some of the best tasting fish you will eat, but you will waste 1/2 the meat trying to fillet them. It's a little work eating them off the bones, but it's worth it! JMHO Ronnie

+1 - If there is a better rod for the $ than a 844C IMX, I haven't seen it. Ronnie

Awesome Carl, Nothing could thrill me more than hearing that you are tearing them up on that rod. Jigs are deadly and you will get addicted to them pretty quick. I am fishing them on a rig just like yours. Keep on keeping on! Ronnie

It's funny about this question, because when I think about it, I have a lot of very nice fishing gear. I have been collecting it all my life (and that's a long time) LOL. I probably only make one purchase or so a year of anything besides lures and line. Since I already have more accumulated gear than I can fish with, my monthly expenditures are pretty small. I say all that to say, that if you are willing to do it over time, buy stuff in bulk and get good used stuff, it really doesn't cost that much even to fish with high end gear. I have enough line, hooks and hard baits to last at least another year and except for jigs & plastics (I go through a lot of them) I don't spend very much on lures & tackle. It's also funny that everything is relative also. At today's prices, I can choose to fill up the bassbus ($240 worth of regular) or buy a GLX rod blank and build myself a new rod. Ronnie

Carl, I do get the irony of the 'brand names' I have also always gotten a kick out of foreign manufactures model names like "Toyota Tacoma". Sounds like a Japanese Indian. LOL I also consider it an honor when you guys include my name in the same sentence with David & Keith. Those guys are real craftsmen. Ronnie

Carl, China's in the race, weather we like it or not. It's a global market place. Might as well get used to it. I remember when made in Japan was a big joke and now they outsell all American car manufactures in America. Ronnie

All the rods I fish with are spiral wrapped. Only way to fly. Ronnie

Born in Texas, grew up in Louisiana, spent 5 years in GA and now live in New Jersey. 8-) Ronnie

I'm a deputy in the Shimano posse! 8-) Ronnie

I love my short rods for bank fishing and high accuracy casting. I also love my long rods for casting distance and deep water bottom fishing. My rods run the gambit from 5' 6" to 8 feet. They all have their application. Ronnie

Exactly my thought too. Scary to be exact. You got 4 against the Bill of Rights. X2 - That's kind of what I was trying to say. Thanks Catt! Ronnie

Since it was anonymous, I'm going to keep it in my archives and I will share it. The scary, underlying truth in this article is that our government, when it loses it's power of sound reason, resorts to force in the form of legislation or judicial edict to offset it's inability to make reasonable sense. This recent ruling by the Supreme Court is a breath of fresh air in hot box of progressive non-reasoning. JMHO Ronnie

Don't try too hard. Release the spool and let out enough line to hold the bait in your opposite hand. Hold the spool with your thumb. With your thumb still holding the spool so no line can move, swing the bait in a pendulum motion and let it come back and catch the lure (use a 1/2 oz weight without hooks, LOL). Do this until you get a feel for the motion of the weight. Keep it as close to the ground as you can and gently release a little line by easing up on the thumb pressure on the spool. As you practice very short pitches, concentrate on controlling the distance by adjusting your thumb pressure to allow more line to play off the spool. Don't allow the spool to backlash. Maintain all the thumb pressure necessary to avoid backlash and only increase your distance when you are confident that you are in control of the spool. I hope this makes sense. Ronnie

I love Micro's answer. If you ain't been skunked, you don't fish much. Ronnie

Rubi22, First, read this thread............ http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1151590913 Then start over with very short casts with great attention to controlling the spool with your thumb. Start by letting the lure/weight just fall to the floor and stopping the overrun with your thumb. Then try pitching a short distance, again with much attention to controlling the spool with friction from your thumb. Forget about long distance casting until you can control the spool with your thumb. concentrate on short controlled casts. You can master this in less than an hour if you practice properly. Keep at it and practice, practice, practice. Before you know it, you will be a master. Ronnie

That's not very likely, based on his personal belief about heaven. I have nothing against him personally, I have laughed at lot of his jokes, but based on his own words, heaven would seem to be a longshot. http://atheism.about.com/library/quotes/bl_q_GCarlin.htm Ronnie

I am not a pro, but screws are the only way to fly. JMHO Ronnie

Make up your own mind, but I think Robert's got it right....COOL video weather it was staged or not. http://adage.com/garfield/post?article_id=127616 Ronnie

Just like the two rodbuilders above, I have experimented with rod balance. At first I sought to balance the rod at the center of the reel (neutral balance). It feels great holding it in your hand, but actual fishing revealed, to me at least, that a little tip heavy was just right. As ReelMech stated, a little weight forward was needed for control and accuracy. It's kind of like holding a baseball bat backwards, it feels light and swings easy but is very awkward to hit the ball that way. As everyone has stated, it's a preference thing and now you have mine. Ronnie

WELCOME MERCURY MARINE!!!!! rONNIE

Is your reel baitcasting or spinning? Ronnie

Electrical tape should work fine. Your biggest goal is to not let the connections short against one another and the tape will do that. If it will make you feel better, you can get some liquid wiring insulation. It's a plastic goo that you paint on the connections that dries to a rubber coating. You can get it at Home Depot or Lowes. Ronnie

Excellent advise as usual from 'reelmech'. Kirkman's book is a must have if you have never built a rod. Ronnie

Ronnie