Bass Junke

Why?

So I have just about completed this rod. I have the two guides closest to the tip to wrap and a hook keeper. I used the dental bands and so far have been pretty sweet. The dental bands I bought were 3/16 and are totally useless in any other capacity but holding tiny guides on a blank. I went down to 4mm guides and was able to wrap enough of the foot then cut the band and everything stays put. Let me just say that 4mm guides are insanely small. Did some measuring for the reel seat and some of the trim pieces. That turned out really good, almost seemed like I knew what I was doing. That Fuji reel seat is awesome. A couple of photos below. Came out nice, I'm happy. Guide wraps are still sort of pedestrian, too many loose ends. All in all, not bad for a couple of cardboard boxes and a book.

All in one offline maps. Is a nice phone app that that simulates a GPS you would use for hiking. It has Google maps, USGS maps, Bing maps, and more. You can save way points and even download map sections for use in no so friendly dead zones. This is all for free still. There looks to be a bunch of nice GPS apps for your phone, this was the only free one I could find most others are pretty expensive as far as apps go. Most were all 10 dollars plus. I never tried to put a waypoint on a part of the map that had water on it. Can't imagine it would matter.

I fish at least 3 times a week. I tend to leave soft plastic on my hooks. I have a Zoom horny toad on a the same hook since last year. That was kind of an experiment, those things say super salty. I was skeptical, they don't sink very fast. Well that hook still looks brand new. On the flip side. Z- Man big TRD on a Z-Man mushroom head. Had that rigged up probably for the later half of last year. Those things really are loaded with salt. Combine that with the Z-Man durability, it lasts forever. Well, the shank of the hook was rusted and pitted pretty bad. Like you, I sanded the rust off and cleaned up the pits, and re-painted the head and painted the shank with Testors model paint. The integrity of the hook was in question though. Heck I'm in Mass. and I don't fish a lot of waters with fish that have hook-straightening power, and I hate throwing tackle away, I'll throw it out there. So I rigged it up again with another big TRD caught 2 fish and lost the rig to a snag a couple of days later. Oh well, better than loosing a fish and a rig all at once.

Think everyone is buying up all the tackle, maybe. Supplies are scarce. Anyone try looking for a kayak lately? Good luck.

Yea Mick, I needed the title of the article to specifically say "Two Line Stress Test". I'm a little slow sometimes. Seriously though after reading the whole article I think I am going to at least try to use this method of guide placement. Just ordered a bunch dental elastics, might as well try them first. I was going to try to get my treble hooks under control and I know a lot of guys use these.

Definitely a pileated. I see them all the time. My disc golf buddy is a bird watcher. He gets pretty excited whenever we see one. Like Roger said, so loud and slow. Sound so much different than other woodpeckers.

Thanks Mick. Good stuff. I believe I understand what you are talking about. I think everything would be clearer if I was able to locate that stress test. I went to Anglersresource.net. This is a Fugi sponsored site? I read the static load tutorial, which I believe is basically what you are talking about. Learned a lot. Made me realize the importance of guide placement. The difference between a true custom rod and just following a blueprint. Actually Mick, the more I read what you wrote, what I just read is the test.

Very cool. Kinda like Mick's o ring technique. Probably way easier to cut off though. Come to think of it, I have a roll of very small diameter tubing. Thin walled, very stretchy, that might work. Thanks, I have some options to try.

Been wire tying my own skirts on for a few years. Buy skirts from skirts unlimited and Boss jig heads both from Tackle Warehouse. Recently purchased some Siebert's jig heads after hearing so many people say they are the best. The best part about Siebert's is that they will wire tie the skirts for you. The jig heads are awesome though. Better than the Boss jigs? Yes. The hooks are better, weed guards seem similar. Both companies seem like they have a couple of different fiber weed guards, some are stiffer than others depending which head they are on. Where Siebert's really shines is in the finish. It seems like a better finish, won't really know till I start dragging one around on the bottom of the pond and compare. As far as head colors go Sieberts's has a ridiculous amount of colors to choose from, Boss has like 4. The only thing Boss has is some funky shaped heads. Nothing wrong with Boss heads, caught a bunch of fish on em'. The Siebert's ones are just a little better.

Thanks guys. Thanks Mick. Already pulled the trigger on the order so we are going with what we got. Very excited to do this again. Question for all. Mick, a few months ago someone posted about a first rod build and was commenting on how hard it was to wrap small guides. I had some trouble for sure. The tiny pieces of masking tape were not working so I ended up grabbing the epoxy that was 80% dried up. Basically dry brushed a tiny bit of epoxy on the foot. It seemed to be just enough to secure it but I was able to move them for final adjustment. You mentioned some interesting options I might try. I was wondering has anyone tried rubber cement? Seems like it might have the right properties to work. The other thing I was thinking of trying was a glue stick. General craft glue is usually based on wood glue that needs pours to adhere to. So I don't think it would hold for long.

Thanks. First Get Bit is not having a sale, sometimes we see what we want to see, oh well. I had it my head to build a rod so it is going to happen. Guess I scrapped the REC guides idea. I bought 2- #5 double foot kgides, 2 #4.5, and 5 #4 single foot belly guides. I really want to understand all this so I am going to wait till I get the bank, figure out where my handles will sit, and then measure for a reel seat and trim rings. Can't wait. Thank you. I took your advise on small guides. I did not see k guides smaller than 4 however. Should be fine.

I hope everyone is doing well. Get Bit is having a pretty nice Father's Day sale. I just got the green light from the boss. So I was thinking about a shorter pitching rod. I think I need a little help, tell me how this sounds. Rainshadow Revelation REVC68H-SB REC RSG natural- 2-8's, 2-7's, and 4-6's Don't use a REC tip top, I read that a few times. Recommendations? I would love an exposed reel seat. Is this wise for a second build? How do I pick the size? Grips- Nothing fancy cork split grips SG155A, SG300A Thanks in advance guys.

Still drive a 6 speed manual transmission, never owned an automatic. I learned to cast a baitcaster as a kid but had to learn all over again a few years ago. Minimal to no brakes, all thumb. With me too much brake isn't about distance it's about accuracy, the brakes throw off my accuracy.

I do 90% of the cooking and about 99% of the shopping. It starts with knowing what quality meats and produce look like. I can cook pretty much anything. Though I have baked, I am not really a baker. I think it's funny when someone says they can make pasta. You can boil noodles. Pasta is all in the sauce. Sorry all you gravy guys I am 100% Italian (well 75% Italian 25% Sicilian) and maybe one of the four families called it gravy, not sure. All 4 of my grandparents called it sauce though. I hear it both ways all the time. Hard to say what my specialty would be. I make a pretty amazing breakfast. It does not matter what eggs, pancakes, french toast, crapes. Nasty omelets and the best home fries I ever had. I might be biased but I also am secretly convinced that my home fries are the only reason my friends keep coming on vacation with us. Tonight grilled swordfish, baked flounder, probably grilled zucchini and a pasta salad from this little deli. No I did not catch the fish, but I would imagine it was caught yesterday or today.

I just bought some Lunker City Slug-go's over the winter. Anybody use them? Are they the same? They look like they have a flatter bottom than the original.

I am not very good at searching for specific posts on this site, but MickD posted an article from Rod Builders Magazine. I think that was the source. It was an eye opening article. It should be required reading for anyone that owns a rod that costs more than 50 dollars.

When I first started fishing I did a lot of research on knots because their are many of them. There are tried and true knots, re-named knots, new knots, and knots that won contests. Most research I did agrees that the Palomar knot has the highest break strength. I cannot remember why but it is technically not considered a knot. A Palomar knot, if tied correctly cannot come undone. (I said undone not break), this cannot be said of other knots. I love the Palomar also and use it as much as possible but I am not using a Palomar knot on a spinner bait, that's ridiculous, I will use a Uni. I find the Palomar illogical for certain baits.

I fish 5 and 6" zoom lizards on a Carolina rig, and 4" Yum and Zoom lizards on a drop shot. 2 years ago a 4" lizard on a drop shot caught me a lot of fish.

You can order prescription sun glasses from pretty much all the quality manufacturers. You will pay for them though. All polarized lenses are not created equal. All quality sunglasses are not always polarized. Way back in the 80's Vaurnet glasses were a pretty popular brand, none of their models were polarized. Vaurnet is still in business, not sure if that is still true with them. I like Maui's.

^^^^ This is the video I watched. I was planning on buying a nice paddle. After watching this I planned on buying a really nice paddle. From what I hear, last paddle you will ever buy.

I have the Werner Camano, it is super light and moves water. It is not 350.00$ but it is not cheap. Where are you drawing the line? I thought the way you did last year then I watched a Headwater video about paddles. He made a lot sense. If you don't have peddles or a motor it is your primary mode of propulsion, the nicer it is the less work you are doing. My original paddle was 40 oz, that is heavy. The Camano is 26 oz. it makes a huge difference.

Just saw all the Plano Edge boxes are priced a little lower on Amazon than Tackle Warehouse and BPS. The terminal tackle box is very cheap 34.52. Just purchased a second one. Going to build a terminal box the way I want it.

Want to try a super fluke on a Ned head. I was holding one by the nose with the tail straight up. The tail stands up pretty well. I am a new guy but here is what I'm thinking. If it floats or has a tail rigid enough to not flop over, I am going to try it on a Ned rig. If it's little and really "wiggley", drop shot. That fluke might be the first thing this season to find it's way onto a Ned head.

If you still need a little help. This you tube video made wiring make sense. This was my first time wiring anything. I just used what I learned from this video and applied it to my kayak. Here is what I did