mhr650

Today is the last day to get guaranteed entry.

Need a boater for Douglas lake BFL on May 9th mharris@borgwarner.com

Most of the dealers discount during the whole show, and of course saving on shipping blanks can really add up. The real deals are the trash can blanks, these are close out or discontinued blanks that some dealers buy in bulk and you can get some screaming deals, like $5-$15 per blank. Those get picked over pretty quickly on Saturday morning, but you can find some really good blanks mixed in. Some times the only issue is that the blank was painted the wrong color, or the original customer couldn't pay for them after they were made. My strategy was to buy blanks at the show since I could get such great deals, and no shipping, then buy the components as needed for the builds, that way your shopping dollar goes farther at the show. Also with all of the traffic and commotion going on around the booths it can be a pain to make sure you have every little part to build a rod, and counting out dozens or even hundreds of guides can get tedious.

If you look at the blank specs from all the manufacturers, 7'6 flipping stick blanks weigh between about 3.0 and 3.5 oz. A high quality build using the lightest components and much care adds between 1.0 and 1.5 oz. I don't think anyone would want a super light flipping stick, the only real way to reduce the weight of the blank is to use a higher modulus material so you can use a lot less material for the same stiffness. If you built a flipping stick blank using high modulus material with very thin walls it would be light but it would never survive in a heavy duty flipping environment, if you notice neither StCroix nor Glooms offer flipping stick blanks in their lightest series for just this reason. Another thing to think about is that often it is not the weight that makes it uncomfortable but the fact that the rod is tip heavy. By adding a balance kit to the butt end you can make the rod seem lighter even though you are actually adding weight. This is a very personal choice, some people like the balance kits and some hate them, but it gives you another option.

Partner found thanks for looking.

I am looking for a boater to practice with at the Lake Seminole Regional on Tuesday and Wednesday before the event, I will gladly help pay for gas and expenses. Thanks Mike mharris@borgwarner.com (828) 674 -1307

Every rod I build gets a split grip. I find the shape of the grip tapering down behind the reel seat to be more comfortable. Whether the straight grip or split grip is more comfortable is debatable, what is not debatable is the fact that these days high quality cork costs $5.00 + per inch, if you can get it.

Not that I have found. I have 3 Supremes and they all perform flawlessly. With careful shopping they can be had for $85 or less.

I can tell you what NOT to put on your tee shirts. The club that I belong to has a large benefit tournament every year to raise money which provides Christmas presents for a children's group home, a very worthy cause. Last year some of the members donated event tee shirts with the slogan we fish for children. I had to take some pretty good ribbing when I wore it to work one Friday.

It was a Gambler Giggy Stick, the best shaky head worm that I have found yet.

The best value blanks by far are the Rainshadow blanks by Batson. For what you are looking for the RX7 IMB844 or RX6 MB844 would be perfect. MSRP is $55.57 for RX7 and $44.71 for RX6. I have an IFS904 7'6 that I use for carolina rigging and it is an excellent blank.

I just bought an 8030MG to put on a new shaky head rod that I built. In my opinion it is plenty big enough for bass fishing, it is not a little tiny trout reel. The spool is a little smaller than the 8035, but I spooled it up with 15lb/4lb dia Power Pro braided line, it casts like a dream and I didn't have any line issues. It is very, very smooth and has the best bail open/close action of any reel that I have ever picked up. Dicks has them is stock now so if you have one close you can go check them out for yourself. The 7.4oz is legitimate I weighed it. Combined with a light blank (StCroix 3C68MXF) Titan titanium guides, and a very light split grip, I wound up with a beautifully balanced combination that weighs less than 11oz total. I got mine for $85 with no tax and no shipping on EBay

I will be using braid, so I don't expect too many line handling issues. I have been using Symetre 2500 reels and can't get a good feeling how the different sizes of the Supreme compare to it

My question is what size to get? The 8035 seems like the likely choice for bass fishing, but at 160 yards of 6 lb test the 8030 doesn't seem that much smaller. Unfortunately I haven't been able to see the different sizes to judge how much difference there is. I like the thought of a 7.4 oz reel but if it is too small for bass fishing that doesn't do me much good.