Ever since the first day I logged on (at the recommendation of Mark H- THANKS!) I have been VERY impressed with this board. HOW impressed I have been has grown in stages...

1. I was impressed at the friendly, honest dialouge.
2. I was impressed by how CIVIL everyone was/is.
(NOT common on the internet anymore)
3. I was impressed with the TIME people would put in to help others.
4. I was impressed at the INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE that is possessed on this board! No matter how technical the question, someone here knows the answer!

In my opinion, Tom Kirkman and everyone on this board deserve a standing ovation and some kind of award! "Best of the Best" is how I would describe this board.

Now, by sheer luck, I happened to be the 10,000th poster. I have won great prizes, which I am going to put to use!

Just so you know, I didn't even know about the prizes, but was only posting about a problem I had. Not only did I find the solution to my problem, but I also won awesome prizes from CUSTOM RODBUILDER'S SUPPLIES and RICHARD'S ROD AND REEL!

I am thrilled! Today, before I even knew about the contest, I was going to post a query about what people's favorite trout rod blanks are and why. Now, to WIN components that are probably nicer than ANY I could afford? All I can say is WOW!

RODBUILDING.ORG IS THE BEST, bar none. I am very proud to be here, and to recommend others here.

TH

HEAR HEAR BRO I AGREE ALL THE WAY ....john t burford aka Tightline Rod's

Hey Tony I agree 100%, this site the best and congratulations. Very helpful tons of great people to new builders like myself. Marcel

Well Tony,
Ofcourse you'd think it was the best since you won all those goodies...LOL You lucky dog :)

Have fun building and fishing,
Steve

I'm a lucky dog and a HAPPY one, too! If it weren't in bad taste, I would dance around the room singing about being a winner and the great prizes. But as an adult, such displays of happy emotion are not acceptable. So I'm being very careful to be silent as I dance around the room singing about all the stuff I won. :)

But I've felt this way about this board since day one. No where like it on the net.

TH

THILL - I'm wondering if you are gonna try and cast those Bass Assassins with the fly rod? And please, only post pics of Bass, and not your ceremonial silent dance around your living room, OK?

Congrats, BIlly

LOL!

Actually, I HAVE thrown small BA's and baby sluggos with my fly rod, and they are VERY effective. Almost like cheating, though, and some fly guys get really put out when I mention it! What's the difference between rubber and epoxy? And if you think about it, a Clouser is really nothing more than a little jig, right?

But I will keep the video clips of me doing the big-butt-boogie on my personal machine, and won't inflict it on anyone else!
:)

TH

Tony,
These Venom plastic baits you'll get (probably skip shads) I think will do the job with the stripers, but you might get more 'effective' casting with your other rods,and not the fly rod with these.

Save the big stiper boogie when you do the hookset with your hand crafted custom rod! I forgot to mention also, the reqirement of you getting the 'secret' baits is that pictures of Dancing Bass be sent back to me to prove their effectiveness on stripers. haha

Rich
Richard's Rod & Reel
www.rodreel.com

(807) 486-0514
Mon. to Fri. 9 to 5 CST

:)

Richard,

I would love to field test some of those Skip Shads! And I will post pictures of both the rod I build with those guides and the first fish I catch on it! Hopefully, I will get it done soon while the big fish are around!

Here is a picture of a fish I caught on 1/26/02 with a rod I built, a lure I invented and a jig I poured: [www.purespeed.com]

My personal webpage is: [www.purespeed.com]

Sorry it needs so much work. I will post the pictures as the work progresses.

Would it be okay to get those guides in a spinning configuration? 25, 16, 10 hi-frame, 8 med frame, and (3) #7 low frames? That is the setup I have had the most success with.

I'll try to give you a call on Monday.

TH

Tony,

You are right about this board, it is great. My rod building skills have dramatically improved as a result of lurking here and subscribing to certain magazines (and ordering lots of back issues).

See you on the water.

Mike