.dsaavedra.

my guess is because just about everybody knows what a circuit board is and just about nobody knows what G-10/FR-4 is. but its always good to rant

in a Bassin' magazine a while back, there was a tip in the back (reader submitted tip section) that had this exact thing in it, they cut 4 tentacles in the back of a shakey head worm. same principle, different bait.

THATS WHAT IM TALKIN ABOUT!!! i had a tough time deciding between the DT4 or the tennessee shad footloose. footloose in tn. shad is a super close 2nd for me, but the DT4 in pearl grey shiner is more versatile, i could crank it like a wake bait if i tried hard enough, and i could probably get it to go 5 or 6 feet if i tried hard enough. so i put the DT4 before the footloose, but i love em both ;D

wow that looks great MyKeyBe, i like it better than mine...honest. i really like the tapers on your grips. i couldnt really get the taper i wanted. what did you do with the blank section between grips? also, did you remove the foregrip too?

-ebby-, if you are willing to put down $20 bones on a quality bait, you might want to consider the Jackall Giron: http://www.***.com/descpageSWMJACKALL-JG.html# it LOOKS very nice, i have never used one, so i cant say from experience, but i can say that if i could suck it up and pay $20 for a lure, this would definitley be one of my top choices. things i like about it are that its a hard swimbait (wont get destroyed after a couple fish) and it only weights 3/4oz...no need for a new rod!

...i wear my suuuuunglasses at night... HAH! im not the only one with a giant fish pillow, nuclearpigeon has one too

I CAN TELL YOU FROM EXPERIENCE: the kickin slab SUCKS!!!!!!! it is truly a bad bait. i thought they looked very cool and for $3, eh why not. well it was $4 wasted. its a very bad bait. it falls WAY too fast, and it has virtually no action what so ever. the only way i could get some wobble out of it was when i was burning it it, and when i was reeling that fast, i couldnt keep it in the strike zone long enough. and the "joints" in the plastic are worthless. all they do is take away from the baits durability. the plastic is so stiff that it does not wiggle back and forth at the joints as advertised. and you mentioned that the Mattlures bluegill was too heavy? well the storm kickin slab is 1 1/8 oz. that is only 5/8oz lighter than the mattlures bluegill. they are both heavy baits, but the mattlures is worth it from what i hear! good swimbaits dont come cheap <---words to live by :

wow who dug this thread up? anway, without a doubt my favorite crankbait would be Rapala DT-4 Pearl Grey Shiner.

that last one would be FANTASTIC if it had a faint black lateral line to make it look like a baby bass. but none the less they are all great cranks! hope to see pics of em hangin' out of some bass' mouths soon!

when you catch that many fish it doesnt matter how big they are!!! way to go, wish i could have been there with you :

what youre asking for is any rod with a M or MH power and a M (moderate/medium, depends on the company as to which term they use) or MF (medium fast) action. you can find rods with those specs. in virtually any quality rod manufacture.

dude sweeeeeet fish! beautiful picture too. lets get some measurements on that fish!

my PB:

I have used an Acetone wash to remove some epoxies and paints on older blanks, it's NOT recommended for blanks today, the strongest I use today is denatured alcohol. You might have to live with it, or you will have to take the sanding pads in different grits to remove the work you have already done. You might also try heat on the plastic paint you used. Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!! ;D Branuss is right! reelmechanic to the rescue! i will probably take your suggestion and live with it. its not really that bad. its probably not worth my trouble to try again from scratch, knowing me i'd mess something else up in the process :-/ :

shut up but yeah its very much personal preference and if your willing to pay more for a split grip (most split grip rods cost more). i personally love the way they look, they look more modern to me.

wow those are pretty fish. i'd love to get into aquariums, but its just too big of an undertaking for me!

lol that was a pretty good one. i remember seeing that on TV quite a bit about a year or so ago.

i cant remember what theyre called, maroons maybe? but they are a coconut cookie w/ chocolate on the top. by far the best girlscout cookie!

CAUSE IT LOOKS BAD***!!!!! lol but seriously, it reduces the weight of the rod (not by much though). like Tin said, its mainly personal preference, there really is no benefit, but i think most people like it because it looks attractive (at least thats why i like a split grip). however, rods without a foregrip, not only do they reduce a minute amount of weight, but they allow your fingers of your left hand to be in contact with the blank when u palm the reel, and that gives you more sensativity.

VERY well said mattm!

i have found bitsy bugs to be crap. they always skimp out on the skirts. most of my bitsy bugs have hardly any strands on them, maybe like 20 strands TOPS. my favorite jig would definitley be terminators pro's top secret jig. this is one very nice jig. everything about it is good, full skirts, great colors, strong hook, rattles, trailer keeper, recessed eye, its a great jig.

Nope the key to removing the epoxy is HEAT. You heat the area slightly with a hair dryer (it softens the epoxy) and then using the dull edge of a razor you carefully scrap the epoxy off. Once the old epoxy has been scraped then you can use a ultra fine sanding pad to finish up the area. You never use any solvents stronger than denatured alcohol on a rod blank.vicdotcom, I didn't. I first read everything I could to actually learn the processes involved with prepping the blank then, prepping the grip, and then the guides and so on, learning the differences in actions and backbones, about spline etc.. Then I purchased a rod kit and built a rod. You don't learn that re-modifying a rod....IMPO the re-modifying of and existing factory rack rod is nothing more than keeping idle hands busy. thank you so much for that information david! i would have never thought to use heat. so now i have another question for you, i want to clean off all my work (polyurethane, paint) and get back to the epoxy so i can use heat to get it off....how can i do this?

would rubbing alcohol work? dont think i have any denatured alcohol.

i saw the post "cali bass in tn" on the main forum and i thought "oh boy i hope paul started this thread" when i opened up the outings section i was excited to see this was your thread! those are some sweet fish paul. hope you can meet up with them again in about 3 years!

you dont have enough posts to post a link. here is the video he is reffering to: