I got my new Rodmaker copy today and have just thumbed through it. I want to offer kudos to some key people. First to Tom for making a great magazine even better. The new format and cover layout is beautiful. Looks like a million dollars. I haven't seen anything on the local newsstand to compare to it. None of my other fishing magazines look this good. Rodmaker is in a class by itself now. I want to also say something about rod builder Joe Emig. To share the technique of how to make such beautiful reel seats is really going above and beyond the simple idea of sharing. This is the type thing that few of us would figure out on our own. You have given us a real trade secret of your own and I want you know that it's appreciated very much. Beautiful work. My hat is off to you. And to Emory Harry I want to say thanks for the article on the effect of guide weight on fishing rods. We hear about this so much but until your actual measurements and tests nobody could really say how much an underwrap or a double foot guide reduced rod performance. Now we have a real idea of the differences we make when we do these certain things. I'm probably leaving some other authors out as I haven't read it all yet. But all the great info is really appreciated by this old hack.

Great issue. Beautiful magazine. Sharing rod builders. I've never been involved in a hobby where so many people were willing to help others just for the sake of helping.

I fear for my future issues. The way the new issue looks, I'm afraid it may start disappearing before it gets into my mailbox. Maybe it needs to be sent in a plain brown wrapper.

Joe has at least a couple articles in the works for future issues. I think you'll like them just as much as you did the current one on working with polyester resins.

Emory's article should be required reading for any custom builder who really wants to get all he or she can out of a rod blank.

Whoever said there was only so much to write about concerning rod building was way off the mark. A little imagination and creativity keeps the doors open for more techniques and ideas than we'll ever be able to cover in a lifetime.

The cover has a new UV cured coating. It's about 30 microns thick compared to the 3 or 4 on most upscale magazine covers. Doesn't do much as far as the information inside is concerned, but it really does make the magazine "pop" as they say in the printing business. Sure does make all the previous covers look poor by comparison.

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This issue of RodMaker sets a new standard in my estimation. I found every article to be full of helpful and welcome information and Joe Emig's step by step tutorial on acrylic casting is truly outstanding. Take a bow Tom. You certainly keep raising the bar and it shows.
Dave