Chris Catignani

@Buzzbaiter @TnRiver46 Just to put things into some perspective...Tennessee has more shore line than any state besides Texas! Near Winchester you will have Normandy, Woods, Tims Ford. The Duck River (below Normandy) actually has a trout hatchery there...good spot to try some fly fishing. Then further down stream is bass fishing sm,lm,Ky. Winter fishing in the streams will be a little difficult (cold) and Im not real familiar with the wading there....but the lakes are fishable...you just have to fish slow. Smallies and spots are all in the rivers. Any of the TN river lakes are like everyone says...but like everywhere else...you need to put in your time on the water. Just a little north of Winchester you have the Stones river (East and West forks)...smallie central. So...you have a lot of water to explore...as you will see.

Welcome Kirt...that boat sounds like a wonder rig...good luck.

OK...yes there are others and thanks for pointing this out. Innovis, Certegy, CheckSystems, Clarity Services, CoreLogic Teletrack and CoreLogic Credco. From : The balance

OK...so I once worked for a company that was a sub-800 merchant...we basically process lots of cards. We were also involved with the vital record industry (birth, death and marriage documents). I am going to share some of the knowledge I know about both. First: Identity theft. Four pieces of data to never give out...at least as little as possible. Driver license, date of birth, social security...and last but not least, your mother maiden name. If you had just three of the four...you can get the fourth. Once you have all four...you can steal and identity (usually). Drivers license: Never give it out...if someone says they need it...just smudged the numbers. (Smudging is the act of just swapping numbers around) Social security: Again, never give it out...even when they just want the last 4. Smudge this...but use numbers you will remember and keep just using them all the time. Date of Birth: Make up a fake DOB to use whenever anyone asks and just keep using this date. Maiden Name: Again...make up one and keep using it...actually use a completely common name like Rogers or Williams...etc. All someone needs to get your birth certificate is your DOB and your mother's maiden name. Second: Credit Card Protection There are a few things that can help you here...but there is nothing you can do when you give all the correct data to a site...and that site is compromised. 1: Get a new card at least once a year. 2: Smude the CVC number on the back. Say for instance you CVC code is 923. Come up with a safe number you can remember (say for example 20). Scratch off the CVC code and replace it with a label the has your new number (in this case it would be 943). When ever you need that number you look and (in this example) you see 943...then just subtract you safe number (20) to get the original 923. I know this sounds a little complex...but it's not. People who take your card (out of your site) can easily photograph the front and back and go shopping. 3: Lock (freeze) your credit scores with the big three credit bureaus: EquiFax, Experion and TransUnion. This is usually free and if a bank or other needs to pull a score...you just unlock it for a week. There is really a lot more you can do...but doing this above will help alot.

When you see rods you made on Antiques Road Show!

Welcome to the forum.

You found 20 baits along the way? Ah ha...the ol plant a section of chain link fence under water trick.

Your mad because you lost your favorite coach dog pattern "Humpy" (Rebel Humpback).

@cyclops2 If you ever need any rod work done...get em to me and I'll do it for free.

Well...I'm reading a whole lot of information that for the most part is just not how it happens. What the fish do is the mystery of fishing...I find them in the same spots summer/winter at times and then in different spots. But what the water does is science. In the fall the air temps make the surface water colder as it reaches the same temp as the deeper water..the lake turn over begins. (On one of my home lakes this is around 50 degees). The more the top levels cool (water is densist at 39.2) the more it turns over. The water temp is the same throughout the lake. Excert from Clearing Up the Fall Turn Over by Dick Strenberg Full artical can be found here Field and Stream If your lake doesnt freeze over (or have surface temps below 39.2) then you wont have a spring turnover.

Add one more day and stop off at Chichamauga on way to Dale Hollow.

Good as gold.

@TnRiver46 Im could not agree more about the original spring trap with cheese. The only thing I would improve on is to have TWO. You almost always have more than one mouse.

Sounds like you...uh..."Got a grip on it" I see what you mean about the NPS now. Good luck. The handle assembly is (IMO) not necessarily the hardest past...but the most crucial.

I may be mistaken...but the 18 is just the inside diameter of that reel seat. Do you just have one that size and want to use it?...and it needs shimming? As for the rings...they should hold. I've use that reel seat mostly. I will cut down the treaded area sometime. I think the grey fuji arbors and the poly arbor are the same thing basically? On a side note...in cases where a reel seat will need shimming and an arbor would basically be to thin...I will cut a piece of scrap rod to the length of the handle...crush it with pliers and it basically will split in two...and then again till I have 4 pieces...then I use those as shims. It may not be as light as the poly arbors, but pretty close and all graphite. There are those out there that will use masking tape...and I have used it myself. But every handle that I ever had to fix (come loose) had masking tape as arbors. Also...you mentioned about the grey arbor weight. (and you may or may not know this) but you dont use that whole length of the arbor. You just cut like ( 4 ) half inch sections: 1 at top,1 at bottom and two equidistant in between.

A lot of lure companies are using the term smoke to mean a lot of different things... The OG smoke basically starts out with clear plasitsol with just a hint of black added. It will be pretty translucent. This is a smoke Mr. Twister

If you go with a slit grip you would save some weight. 1 cork ring weighs about 1.5 grams (+/-). Burl weighs more...there is a little weight lost on sanding...but gained back with epoxy. Unless for some reason or another you have to grip the rod there on the bottom...I would spilt and save the weight.

@MickD No problem MickD...thanks for clearing that up.

Paint Thinner is also an option...you can buy a 32oz can for about $7...thats about .21 cents an ounce versus U40 brush cleaner at about $1.25 an ounce.

Check with Doc Ski and see if he's up to that. Doc Ski Rods - Home | Facebook

There is not really a "per se" rule of thumb...a lot of people will only cut the blank from the butt...but you can certainly cut from the tip if you want. One thing to consider, especially if you spend a few bucks, you will void the warrenty. I have to agree with @Alex from GA on the short rods...especially if you tend to fish that rod all day...and Im primarily talking spinning. Tough...I also have a shorter BPS Rick Clunn Drop Shot rod that I throw a swim bait with and its a total pleasure to flick that bait with one hand.

@squarehead.paint OK...I just started carving some baits and have a few ready paint...man you totally give me something to shoot for...setting the bar high. Those baits look great.

Acetone will work...just let it soak for about 20 min.