Michigander

How does one "woller"? I looked it up online and didn't quite find an answer I was content with.... ?

My gaps are appearing after I get up the ramp on your red image and get a few turns into the flat plane at the top. Cheating? No, if it's easier and a better end product then you're foolish not to do it. I'm also just building for myself, and maybe a gift rod or two someday. Fun winter hobby but I wouldn't want the stress of doing this for paying customers!

I have been filing the end of the guide foot but I can try filing the top too. I'll pay attention to where my thread is feeding from, wasn't watching that. I'm using size A and am happy with it so far other than this little problem. The guides are on securely, I just want my wraps to look better, lol.

According to the lore, the boomstick was made in Grand Rapids, MI about 45 min from me, and Ash was a student at MSU, about 20 minutes from me. So I picked up on that one. ?

Michigander, that's the official term for a person from Michigan. Seemed accurate given my location. ?

So I'm making good progress with my rod building skills, though I have very poor performance when it comes to ordering components, lol. Just placed my fourth order for parts for the same build. Forgot to order a size of winding check and forgot to order a tip top. Fail. One thing that I would appreciate tips about is guide wrapping. I'm having trouble getting gapless wraps after I get up the ramp on the guide foot. I get up the ramp fine but for the first millimeter or two of the flat top section of the foot I keep getting some small gaps that I can't seem to burnish out. How can I improve this?

Back to land-nav: https://www.armystudyguide.com/content/army_board_study_guide_topics/land_navigation_map_reading/identify-major-minor-terr.shtml

Fishmas shopping and shipping complete. Now to wait.....

Yeah, I definitely try to request them separately, but sometimes you're stuck with a slower tie.

Welcome! Yeah, I have enough lures and baits but most of what I buy is terminal tackle and line. When you find a hook that seems like it is made for your favorite bait, it's magical.

A lot of the stuff says no backorders. I wouldn't wait until Day 25 if there's something you really want.

Good thing I'm not using TW..... ?

Rod dryer got here today, time to start the epoxy!

If you want to get really technical, you could drop this into Photoshop and correct the lens distortion and do pixel measurements using the tape measure as a conversion factor.

Penn Conflict I is amazing. Hard to find now and the Conflict II's were not as good. Battles are also solid and basically the same reel. You pay for the ruggedness with a bit of weight though. I can also second the Sahara. Been abusing mine for several years. Also picked up a Spheros last year and that is going strong as well.

That makes sense. Glad I'm not the one who has to do it! Though we do foster strays, and if we ever get a rod chewer then at least there's this. ?

I got an email on Sunday from TW saying my bank refused payment and my Black Friday order was frozen. Turns out I clicked on an expired card in my account. So had to call yesterday with an active card. Who knows when that will finally process and show up.

Cool idea!

The tail looks like it's around the 39" or 40" inch mark, but I can't tell if the end of the tape measure is lined up with the nose or not so it's kinda irrelevant.

That's definitely an option if I end up with a pink rod/reel!

Agreed, the vise is not necessary but it is nice to have for silicone. I think it is necessary though once rubber, feathers, and hair get mixed in. I certainly need that third hand when using those materials.

Thanks, I didn't want to have to type that out. ? I was reading some studies about bass vision and it seems that they can very much see reds and greens. First ones were done back in 1937 and a few more modern ones have been performed. Interesting reading.

Fine by me. I'm a sci fi fan. Thanks!

Which site is that? I'm also a modeling enthusiast.

That's why he's the most, or at least one of the most successful pros. We won big on both sides of it. He's a machine though. I've watched extended feeds and recordings of him fishing and it's downright mechanical. Most people couldn't fish at that intensity for sustained periods like he does. Wheeler is more approachable in that regard, in my opinion.