Banned User

Checking out at NFC they list excise tax - is this common for buying building components or blanks? Seems like such another garbage way for our Gov't to take even more away from us and line their pockets. And that's on top of sales tax

Yeah, I feel like I'm learning the songs of my reel and can sense the conclusion coming well enough - tough in the rain though. Totally changes the sounds and feels. I've always kept the light off as much as possible, but my 4 head lamps don't have red options... I'm going shopping... or maybe painting to keep it cheap. I used to only use spinning gear at night, definitely keeps things simple - especially on drizzly or windy pitch black nights. What I really wanna do is yak at night, but I think my wife would make a stink.

Also, would you do double foot guides all the way up?

Thanks for the insight and input yall. I'm still inclined to feel for myself the difference, plus it would almost entirely eliminate line catching on my tip when I'm not paying attention. I still like the physics behind it, but gotta see first hand. @ALL what guides (type, size, strength etc.) Would you recommend? I'm totally clueless aside from something labeled light duty or medium duty.

For any of you who night fish do you always have a light on? Do lights cause less bites or spook fish? How do you time stopping the lure at entry with a baitcaster? I try to avoid lights and I'm torn between dealing with backlash sometimes or buying gear solely for night fishing.

The more 2 pounders there are in a smaller body of water the smaller the average size of bass will be. There could absolutely be a rogue monster, but private pond owners will monitor size/ population and often cull the 1.5/2 pounders. Keeps the ecosystem balanced to favor a lengthier/speedier growth for the other bass. But hey, I'd be happy to catch a bunch of two pounders at this point in my life haha. I'm gonna start the trophy hunt next year.

Interesting you say to add a guide, I've seen numerous places mention being able to use less guides because the line is being held away from the blank. I like the concept of 0-60-120-180 - seems like a smoother transition. I've also seen people say to off center the first guide to 355° (5° to the opposite of the spiral). How are you measuring your guide spiral angles?

Ah gotcha. Just to make sure I'm visualizing accurately 1st at 0 2nd at 90 3rd and 180 ?

Hmm, I can't find scIV blank for sale that is actually manufactured by croix only that rod geeks one that doesnt have the same build tech as croix. I'll keep looking. The spiral wrap - how many guides until they hit the bottom at 180? I think I'm going to do that for a number of rods to see how it feels for general use.

@J Francho Thanks for the input, the only croix blanks I've seen for sale are scv, except for scIV material on the rodgeeks carbon 4 blank. But I'm new at looking for these things, you have carbon 4 or actual croix built scIV?

I feel like I'm relearning my style anyway - I started using the ned rig a couple years ago and then that was almost all I fished - it always caught fish and sometimes fat ones. I'm trying to go back to a more diverse selection of techniques. All my casters have been fast action until relatively recently- slx m xf last year only used a few times felt really good. Got a Kistler Helium 7 ft heavy medium heavy xf a couple months ago because I liked the slx so much. Again only used a couple times but feels nice (don't think any fish on it yet though). Also just got my first moderate fast in a 7"2 st croix victory mhmf. For swim jigs (which I just started using) it changed my world- love the feel and the fight and made me love swim jigs. So I want some more moderate fast to feel for other lures too - plus I've seen people like for jigs so I'm curious about that too.

Thanks man! I'm looking at a few there... For jigs/worms in cover https://northforkcomposites.com/product/mb-765-1-x-ray-lmx-neo/ and then a couple MB rods 734 and 5 maybe 6.also the shortest casting blanks and spinning blanks I could find - in honor of those who fished before I was alive and caught monsters on little rods.

My buddy wants me to build him a deimbait rod because he grabbed some lures on sale around 1.5 oz give or take a half oz. Again I'm looking at those North Fork Composites blanks on sale right now. Any tips or advice on something like this? Many thanks! But I'm open to presently affordable blanks, or I'll wait til a black Friday sale for the recommended blank if you feel we should go a differentdirection than NFC. Thanks

So the tip is 5.5/64ths of am inch in diameter? Why do we do 64ths of an inch? And thanks ?

Thanks! Looking at blank info what does this mean Butt: .523 Tip: 5.5 Also over obviously heard a lot about NFC blanks, and they're having a solid sale seemingly. Any thoughts on those blanks and prices?

I suppose that might be getting a little bit ahead of myself, have no lathe, mandrel, or a place to set that stuff up or any idea what they are and how to use them. But eventually I will likely try to grab some cork to glue together and drill out myself. What is the absolute cheapest components I can use to practice on? Should I buy some junky zebcos for 10 bucks and take them apart to learn? You know where to find the absolute cheapest blank if I shouldn't deconstruct to rebuild? Aside from Mud hole - any other youtube channels you reccomend?

Thanks again friends, and @MikeKthanks for sharing that class - but I need something through the winter haha. I'm just gonna go for it watching YouTube. I think the dream reamer set makes the most difference between these bundles as @spoonplugger1 Said - the kit looks likebit has less of the the other stuff like thread and less impressive looking thread wrapper and a couple other things but those reamers on drill bits look like a major time and energy saver. I was wondering about creating a grip or modifying a grip to be offset and sit a little higher up than typical- any thoughts on how to go about that?

Thanks for all the input @yall So what exactly makes a mag bass rod mag bass - it appears to be a softerorslower poweroraction than a "typical" (not standard by industry means, but commonly experienced by the users) rod with similar power and action. I've tried finding a clearly explained difference anywhere but haven't found anything.

@MickDaMickDand @spoonplugger1 Thanks for your thoughts and insight. I've been reading since of the things you have said in other threads, thanks for being here to help keep the art alive. @MickDfor the rods I was looking at that were on sale versus the components separately which were on better sale I can actually get the rod I wanted (or pretty close) for about half price or less, with the bonus of customizing a few things. Do either of you 2 have videos? Or @Delaware Valley Tackle?Looking for an apprentice? I usually go way too hard and way too deep when I get into something and I'm already enjoying this rabbit hole. it's a little daunting, and slightly overwhelming, but I thrive in those settings. Do I bother buying a couple cheap rod kits for practice or just go for the gusto (I think I'm going to get 3-4 NFC blanks right away)? Relative to a manufactured rod what can go wrong? Like how sloppy of a job can a newbie do but still have a perfectly fine and fishable rod? What are the absolute mistakes I need to look out for that make the most impact on the build?

Hi all, I think I am going to bite the bullet and start my new addiction (as I'm sure it will be). I want higher end equipment at a more affordable price, and given the sales I have seen on materials vs finished products I think I need to start doing things myself (It seems that I could build rods I could never afford otherwise). I am looking to get a rod building kit that has all the basics to actually build my firsts few rods before I get snobby about guides,grips, and epoxy. NFC is having a sale on blanks and some other components I will probably get (along with some cheapo garbage rod kit bundles to practice on), but I need the tools too. I've seen a few sites with bundles, but I have no idea what I'm looking at or what it all means or if there is something that is missing from a kit that I should know about but don't know enough to know what's not there. Here are some links to kits I've found, and please share others if you think they're worth looking at. https://mudhole.com/products/basic-rod-building-start-up-supply-kit-fsb-2?_pos=2&_sid=ede689cdb&_ss=r https://getbitoutdoors.com/getbit-gbstk-wddr I found like 6 rod building materials websites - is there a quality difference in equipment like dryers and thread and epoxy etc. (aside from materials for the actual rod) What sites are good for learning/advice/tips etc. and what sites are good for buying materials? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Dragged across the coals? When and what!?! I bumped into the Pat Cullen story a couple of years ago and reread the article a number of times, he and the Professor are the kind of fisherman I wish I could be. If only I had known about all this before I was married with kids I might have moved to CA or GA to catch a PB (&J) or at least spent more time alone on the water. Hopefully when the kids are grown enough I can sneak off more and do some late night excursions. I do also wonder what his equipment actually fished like - as we all know one manufacturer's medium is another's medium heavy.

I've never fished with a loomis, passed on a used E6x about half price because of the mixed reviews. But the multi taper technology looks like the real muthafudgin deal. On paper sounds logical, video demo dude tied to a chair to show taper looked legit, but in practical application does it make a difference? It looks like the best thing to hit fishing since reels got cranking handles. On top of that, the mag bass rods (MBR) seem to inherently have that taper by description- so do other companies that tout an MBR actually have a multi tapered blank to produce that taper or am i mistaken? I guess what exactly does MBR fish like to you? Kinda makin me rethink the E6x just so I can feel a loomis. Any insight is appreciated!

I feel you my man, I got a 3 year old and 6 month old and been fishing less than ever, plus moved to a new part of the state so I have no idea what spots are worth fishing and I'm dying for some real fishing time. I'm definitely losin it a little

@BASSRESOURCE I think there's a reason why most (that I've seen) "pros'" YouTube channels do as good or worse than other regular dudes fishin - they don't really offer anything different/not readily available/or actual insights/tips/secrets from years of experience and they don't have the showmanship. One or the other makes the difference - both is a brilliant channel. TOO Many anglers keep their fishing tricks of the trade a secret, and that's why it'll end up a dying art - at least technology can help replace the secrets your keeping. Tacticalbassin got so mega huge because they have both - genuine lure modifications that most people wouldn't just think of and logical explanations for why they choose to do what they do. Plus they have a good relatable presence. Randy Blaukat seems to offer some real experience and underwater (not underground;) tips. But almost every pro I've watched is like "this is how I fish a ______" and then they explain it like the other 50 channels do - no real tips or tricks or secrets of the art. Like someone else said here an old timer willing to really reveal the off the books off label unspoken secrets that those of us who don't have a grandfather or dad who fished will never get access to would be the way to go. Or like a lot of other people said - a regular dude without a questionable motive (sponsorship) for saying certain things, just someone who fishes and can explain it well and keep our attention. I've seen some good channels with great info not get much fanfare because they just don't balance it with anything entertaining enough to keep/hook people. Really enjoyed this thread, oh and almost forgot to mention that those who said something about bass biology and ecology and all that are in the money as well - but again, people well versed in those topics dont tend to have enough charisma to build a following.

Best Hook set I've ever seen: we can all learn something from this!