Lucky Craft Man

So both my travel rod builds cause you major grief? I better not tell you that I want a travel musky rod then.

I got a real good chuckle over Scott's recount with those ReCoils. I just wanted them, because I thought they would be the best with ice. I didn't know they would send Scott to a very dark place.

Scott (S.H. Fishin' Sticks) has been cranking out rods for me over the past few monthes. I don't know what got into him, but he is putting out incredible rods at a faster rate than a Rod Manufacturing Plant located in a Economically Challenged Country (is that P.C. enough?) I wanted a travel spinning rod to compliment my travel fly rod for throwing jerkbaits and spinners for trout when travelling for work. When I fish for trout, 95% of it is done with my fly rod, but every once in a while, I like to watch those wild browns hunt down and smash a suspending jerkbait worked across the current. Here is Scott's latest creation (which I'm sure he can fill in all the component details). Tennessee Handle (this is my first Tennessee Handle and I'm anxious to see how it fishes). Recoil Guides (if you guys want to really hear Scott come up with some interesting expletives, order a rod with Recoil Guides). He added thread wraps at various distances from the butt of the rod. He added this on my last rod, and I don't think I'll get another rod made without it. Great quick reference to a fishes length when you hold your rod next to him. Thanks Again, Scott for another great custom!

Nice job, Buddy!! That rod looks very nice. It's a shame you had to ruin it with that Nittany Lion logo.

I know this is a bass fishing forum, but I had to show off the incredible work of a fellow Bass Resource member. Scott Hovanec (a.k.a. S.H. Fishin' Sticks) has made well over a dozen rods for me, but I will say, this rod maybe the most well thought out and thoroughly planned rod of them all. I wanted to have Scott design me the ultimate fly rod that handles a myriad of techniques for Trout and I think he nailed it. Sage One 10' 5wt. Blank Custom Grip contoured to my hand and grip position preference Added Fighting butt to improve overall balance of outfit Hand lathed Acrylic Reel Seat with double locking nut reel hardware Kigan XLA hook keeper that allows for line insert to hold weight while using drop shot rig (yes, fly fisherman use a drop shot style rig as well) and placed up the blank, away from finger placement on the blank Oversized snake guides to help mitigate ice build up Thread measuring marks places at 16", 20", 24", and 30" (hey, one can dream) for quick fish size reference Sage 3850 Full Caged Reel (not apart of the build, but this reel compliments the outfit well) Now I just need to get this sucker on the water. Thanks Again, Scott for an EXCELLENT creation!!!!

I have to admit that I am a gear ***** and I love high end gear. I have quite a few NRX rods along with a dozen+ customs rods. With that being said, this Asquith is above what I even desire. I really have the feel of my NRX's dialed in and like that the Xpeditor service for the NRX rods are at $100 (vs. $250 for the Asquith). The cost of ownership of the Asquith just seems beyond the reasonable realm for me. With that being said, I am always a sucker for a really good drop shot rod and will keep an open mind on that one. ?

Here's the excerpt from the article talking about how the Asquith blank is made... "Loomis, which has been owned by parent company and conventional fishing industry juggernaut Shimano for many years now, built the Asquith using Shimano's "Spiral-X" technology. Spiral-X, a technology that is proprietary to Shimano, is only produced at one factory in Kumamoto, Japan. The Asquith blanks are manufactured in Japan and shipped stateside, where the rest of the rod building process is completed in Loomis' Woodland, Washington facility. Shimano has a lot of fancy words — ones like "InfinityTape" and "Musclecarbon" — that it uses to describe exactly what Spiral-X is and what it does, but here's the gist: Spiral X blanks are built using layers of carbon fibers laid in alternating directions. The result is a three layer structure featuring an inner and outer layer cross-wrapped on opposing axes, with a straight or longitudinal middle layer. According to Loomis, this patented construction process significantly increases rod rigidity and reduces torsional motion (twist) without adding weight. Spiral X also allows for a thin wall blank, which reduces rod ovalization. If you're not familiar with rod ovalization, don't worry, most people aren't. It's a worry of big fish fighters — in the fly world think big steelhead, tarpon, barracuda, false albacore and so on — put simply, rods that feature less ovalization are less likely to break under big loads." As far as the pricing goes for the Asquith fly rod, they start at $1,000.

Yup... http://www.hatchmag.com/articles/g-loomis-back-and-going-big-its-new-asquith-fly-rods/7713573

If I was a betting man, I would guess the new blank will be the Asquith. They rolled this blank out for the fly rods last year and I figured it wouldn't take long for them to use this blank in the bass world. i could be wrong, but seems like it would be the logical progression.

I was. My 872S always has a tube on it.

Good choice. Here's the last fish I caught on my 872S. A 5lb. 9oz. Smallmouth, which the rod handled like a champ. You'll like it.

Well, why I like the extra rod length for swig jigs is because it allows to hop the bait up/over/through what ever I am fishing a little more efficiently. I like a shorter rod for spinnerbaits, because I feel it gives me a little more accuracy in casting tight to docks and along cover.

I own the NRX 822 DSR, 852S JWR, and the 872S JWR. You can drop shot with all of them. I personally like the tip on the 822 DSR and that rod does all my Great Lake Drop Shot fishing. The 852S handles my Silver Buddy and Hair Jig work and the 872S handles the tube duties. However, if you think the 822 DSR's tip is too light, the 852S and the 872S will work with the 872S being just a tad bit heavier in power than the 852S (and when I say a "tad," I mean not much at all)

Spinnerbait Outfit Specs for me: -Fast/Extra Fast Action -Lure Rating 1/4 to 3/4oz. -6'6" to 6'9" in Length -14lb. Fluorocarbon -Reel with 26 IPT Swimjig Outfit Specs for me: -Extra Fast Action -Lure Rating 3/8 to 3/4oz. -7'0" to 7'5" in Length -30 lb. Braid -Reel with at least 30 IPT With that being said, any rod could essentially perform both functions adequately. I'm just giving you my fine tuned standards for each.

G Loomis NRX 916C UBR. You can thank me later.

What a fish!!! The best part of that video was watching that fish swim off strong on the release.

How about Lake Trout? I'd venture to guess there are Lake Trout somewhere in a system you are fishing (I mean there would have to be is there are Splakes). Why not go for 15 species?

Besides Smallmouth Bass, I would say Musky are my next favorite. After that fly fishing for Steelhead and wild trout are next. I like fishing for a lot of other fish, but those other species are a distant 4th.

Thanks for the heads up! I was lucky enough to have picked one up last night before the price hike. What a deal on that reel.

I would reccomend the Pflueger Supreme (the $99 version). The Pflueger President is a good spinning reel as well, but the Supreme has a faster IPT pick up, which I find important when drop shotting.

I do own the 7'5" Deep Flex Crankbait rod. It's such a fun rod to fish with and if you want something that loads deeper down the blank than the CBR line, then the deep flex is the way to go. I wouldn't hesitate on pulling the trigger. You'll enjoy that rod.

Nice!! I would love to see them! I didn't see a "bass only" disclaimer and I have an appreciation for all big fish.

I have the 7'5" version of that Deep Flex rod. Great crankbait rod and even though I am not a fan of moderate rods, I really do like the moderate action of those rods, plus they are just flat our fun to fish. That deep loading down the blank when that nice largemouth inhales your lure is pure fun.

I feel the same as I did a year ago.