thunderblack

Those look awesome Mark. Great job!

I have been down this road after purchasing several rods new and used with this issue. Best I can tell is the guide might have been bumped or even touched slightly and the epoxy just slightly pulls from the blank. Sometimes its very minor and water cant get in but sometimes water can get in a it turns the area white/milky color. If its going to bug you and you have OCD like me just swap it otherwise use sally nails on it and just a dab. I have ordered new NRX rods that looked liked the shimano you purchased. Its pretty normal to see with used rods from what I've seen.

Guys....I know this been mentioned hundreds of times but I'll say it one more time.....buy Shimano

When you walk into Fedex here is vey apparent that the employees hate their life. One lady would not take a rod with a Shimano shipping label because it wasn't an original and it was printed. Couldn't send in an NRX for this and I would have to wait to have a label snail mailed from Shimano. I have had packages completely lost they never even contact you about. I avoid them completely for 100 reasons. None are perfect but man insurance is a must.

I've had bad experiences with all three but Fedex takes the cake for bad customer service is my experiences. Most breaks goes to USPS but I insure those packages in full every time. USPS will also randomly just lose a packaged for 3 weeks and oh there is is.....no tracking to where it went. Ship PVC when you can.

Been fishing for years and lures in my opinion are not trendy. In fact I am going to hit the lake today.....bringing my spiders, turtle, bat, duck, shutter step and hollow body sunfish lures with me.

3000!

topwater, med-large jerkbaits, fluke, worm, jig, lipless crank, plastics - cool find!

Yes, they are a great bait. They don't cast all that far but a good bait for rivers, streams, and lakes around here. Have a buddy that only fishes the chrome w/ green ones with great success.

I think its a Cabela's brand swimbait they sold a few yrs back. Maybe 3-5 yrs ago.

Different strokes. I'd pay that difference everyday for the 16' GLX over a champ. Not knocking your 703 by any means but such a big fan of GLX spinners.

I fish Yo Zuri 3DB in salt and fresh. Hooks are good, doesn't cast the farthest but great action. It digs down a little deeper than some which is nice too. I agree with the pointer being a good bait. I have found that fishing a Duo, pointer, and vision side by side the MB cast farther with less effort. I fish it in open water and have never broken a lip....knock on wood.

I fish visions, duo, X-rap, twitch stick, shadow rap, pointer, and more and through the years the one that has been the most consistent is the silver XR10 X-Rap. You can throw it anywhere and it will get bit. With that boring choice being said the Vision is my most used.

It soon will be a moderate action. Try to catch less fish on it.

I missed that when I read this. I'm not a big fan of glass either and this rod is really nice so its not your typical glass rod but my bad for not seeing that.

Hi there, I would go after the 7' glass expride. Great for lipless and squarebills.

I fish jerkbaits year-round with great success. Always jerkbait time!

Any of these would work for jerkbaits. If the MH is pretty powerful just adjust your drag. I'd be throwing that 6-9 the majority of the time for this technique. 6'9" medium/fast, spinning (Dobyns Sierra) 7' medium-heavy/fast, casting (Abu Garcia Silver Max) 7' medium-heavy/fast MBR, casting (G. Loomix IMX)

Hey TBAG, I would say I am a shimano fan boy and I have fished expride, BLX, GLX, and adrena and a few others. Not to throw another in the mix but if you want a comfortable handle and good quality rod check out the Daiwa tatula too. Impressive rod for the $ and the handle is a great design. Expride is an impressive rod too. Daiwa handle is better in my opinion.

My thoughts for the top 6 suggestions in this order. NRX 872S / Steez AGS ML/M 7'-6" GLX - enjoy mine over destroyer Megabass Destroyer brigand or new P5 (have not fished P5) Poison Adrena - not nrx sensitive but nice rod - too short for your liking at 6'-11" St. Croix Legend elite Kistler Zbone is nice too if you don't care about warranty not knocking Dobyns but wasn't impressed with a couple mid level rods I have handled but another good option for longer spinners if you like full cork

without a doubt 7' M F

Addermine is not your typical XF. This is one of the most versatile sticks I have ever fished. Its not a Loomis XF at all. More of a fast spinner. You'll love it!

killer reel. For the price you won't find better. Smooth and reliable. The silver looks great on all rods too which is also a plus.

I fish jerkbaits almost exclusively. Just the way I like to fish. A floater I put in topwater category at least in my head. Almost every jerkbait I have in the 3"-5" length is a suspending model. You can modify them with hook changes, added weight, changing line ect but I want a bait that goes down 4-10 ft and sits on the pause. From trout, bass, to saltwater you need to start fishing them. Once you start fishing them you'll learn about retrieves, different baits, what works and what doesn't. Some guys don't fish these and they don't know what they are missing.

Appreciate the response. Posted a couple of the avid tip that I wanted to make sure was factory installed like this. The thread seems lighter than other guides too but rod is the correct length. From what I can tell it's never been broken or repaired.