Lucky Craft Man

On a serious note, if you want "The Best," get a NRX rod (best blank on the market) and have it stripped down and rebuilt be a custom rodmaker to get it balanced along with everything else you would want. If I had unlimited funds, that is exactly what I would do.

How about the Archangel? I have no idea how good this rod it, but its the most expensive one I can think of off hand (I assume this is an excercise in finding the most expensive rod there is and not nessarily the one that performs the best)

To me, you are leaving out the best part (i.e., The Blank). If there was a blank of equal performance, then all mine would be custom (built by the man above my post), but since there isn't, I suffer with all the parts of the NRX I don't like (e.g., split grip, tip heavy, etc).

Scott makes more than just rods. These are works of art and I never cared about a reel matching a rod, but after Scott made a few rods for me, it's an insult to the rod to not have it complimented by the reel. With the fly rods he has made (and will make) me, I even try to have the line color match as best I can.

Alright Smartypants, I do love my Rod Wraps, but, as Scott has mentioned, I have not (and will not) wrap my Sage Custom out of respect of Scott's insane talent and workmanship. Putting Rod Wrap on one of his ornate grips is like putting a veil on the Mona Lisa. You just can't cover up art like that and if the grip on this 11 wt is anything like that Sage or the handle in this thread, that will become the second rod I will own wothout a wrap.

Hell Yeah!!! If the grip looked anything like that, I would definitly not wrap it. That would be the Greatest Rod Ever!

That is just simply incredible!!!

Pflueger Supreme in 30 or 35. Every spinning rod I own has on one of these.

As others have said, I was really disappointed with the NRX 822s SYR (I just didn't find this any more sensitive than my GLX Shakeyhead Rod). However, with how unimpressed I was with the SYR, I was extremely impressed with the NRX 822s DSR. With that being said, all I have ever used my NRX 822s DSR is drop shotting and I have used weights from 1/8oz up to 3/4oz. With the tip on this rod, it easily fishes those lightweights and with the strong butt section of this rod, the 3/4oz. maybe pushing it, but you can still use it. With the question you posed (as far using it for drop shotting, shakeyhead, and lightweight tubes), I would seriously consider the NRX 852s JWR. If I can only bring one spinning rod with me that can cover a lot of techniques, it would be this one. For as much as I love the DSR, I just don't think that tip is stout enough for shakeyheads and tubes (even though I do think it has enough backbone for those techniques). Now if you add a second NRX to the line-up, get the DSR and just have it dedicated to drop shot as your 852s JWR could handle the shakeyhead, tube, senko, light T-Rig, soft jerkbait, etc. duties. Good luck in your search and in the end, any NRX will be the right choice (except maybe the 822s SYR).

Show the picture of that jerkbait rod with the reel. Just an overall great looking combo. Nice Work!!!

I am a fanatic with having my cork handles wrapped. I have tried XPS handle wrap and Mountain Bike handle grip tape. Neither I found very satifactory. I have used tennis raquet overgrip, which works well, but they only come in short runs and there is only enough to cover a short grip, like a fly rod grip (and I would suspect that there would be enough for a pistol grip). However, if you have longer handles to cover, I would highly recommend Rod Wrap. Great product and I have it on every one of my rod handles (besides the few of the shorter ones that I experimented with tennis raquet overgrip). Below is a picture on my G Loomis SBR 661 (the closest rod I own to having a pistol grip) with Rod Wrap...

Now this is what I want on the 11 wt. you are making me! I love how the guide foot shows through. Do you have any green threads that become transparent like that?

HAHA...I love the post of the ultrasound image of the ****** (and notice the two ovaries to the right). I have three little girls and I know that ultrasound image all too well. Congratulations! Little Girls are truly the best!!!

To be honest, every rod & reel combo I have for each technique would be my "dream" combo for that technique, because if it wasn't, it would be traded in or sold.

Well, here's the good news. There is only going up after using Berkley Vanish. Anything will be an improvement.

I used to use all fluoro when drop shotting shollow situations like you mentioned. Even though fluoro does transmit a slack line bite the best, I find myself just using 10lb. braid with a fluoro leader (which is my deep water drop shot set-up). Braid on spinning gear is just so much more manageable and for those bites I might miss because I didn't feel thay slack line "tick" I feel I make up for by having my line in the water more and not fighting the excessive memory that seems to come with fluoro as the day progresses.

Wow, that rod looks Great! Scott is on a roll. If those goofy fools at RodGeeks would offer that 11wt. blank, I bet Scott would have that rod done for me by the end of this month with how motivated he has been on busting out these builds. I have never seen him so focused!

There are other things I like about Winn grips besides the tacky grip they give. I like the contour and the rounded end of the grip. I also like the very slight "give" they have to them. Plus, even though I wrap them, I just couldn't put on a cheap handle on that NRX.

Haha...Well, let's just hope the Smallmouth think so and Scott nails a 7 pounder!

Alright Scott, how is this?

Haha...don't worry, I plan on making that post, but I have yet to be home (still driving around).

I finally had a chance to pick up the NRX rods Scott modified for me. All I can say is INCREDIBLE! They really look and feel great. I am just so happy to finally have a NRX jerbait and tube/silver buddy rod (God knows waiting for G Loomis to release them would take forever). Thanks again, Scott!! Great work (once again)!

I have that exact rod that I use for spinnerbaits and topwater. It truly maybe the best spinnerbait rod out there (I like it even better than G Loomis's technique specific spinnerbait rods for spinnerbaits). As far as line goes, I like fluorocarbon for spinnerbaits, but fluoro sucks for topwater. I also tried braid and I just didn't like it with this rod. Therefore, I settled on Yo-Zuri Hybrid. It works great for both Spinnerbaits and Topwater and meshes well with that rod.

What color is that 11wt. I want? Metallic light green or dark green? Whichever that color is would be my favorite.

From what Scott (SHFishinSticks) told me, they can two-tone paint your blank (front half to the tip one color and back to the butt section another color). How sweet would a half brown - half orange Browns rod look?