I know I could have caught them on your rods but it is a great feeling to catch my biggest fish on a rod I made. Total satisfaction...yeaaaahhhh

[www.rodbuilding.org]
[www.rodbuilding.org]
[www.rodbuilding.org]

[www.rodbuilding.org]
[www.rodbuilding.org]
[www.rodbuilding.org]

The rod
[www.rodbuilding.org]

Let's fish,
Chris

Oh, nice job by the way!!

Paul

Chris,

Nice job on the fish and the rod. Is the butt on the rod one of Pac Bay's aluminium/ rubber ones. They look nice on the rod if it is.

Cheers

Jason

That is a nice fish, however if you look closely I believe it's a blue. It's got a small mouth and a sharp anal fin. Somewhere in the monterey bay?

Rod building is addicting but until a person has caught the first NICE fish there
can be some hope of a cure. All hope is now lost Chris! Better find a good theropist
and forget ANY denial. To late to turn back now.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

Chris , You got into a good hobby . Keep up the nice work.

Kevin,
THAT'S WHAT I KEEP TELLING EVERYBODY! sorry, I don't mean to yell but everyone keeps talking me out of it. I am in Humboldt Bay.

Raymond,
My theropist encourages this addiction.

Let's fish,
Chris

That is a very nice fish. Good thing the taste makes up for their looks!

Rod looks good too. Very clean looking split grip you did.

Nice fish. From shore or boat?

That's a huge blue or black rockfish. I can't decide if it is a blue or black. Looks like a black,,,, except that the anal fin is not rounded. Even though that is the key differentiator in telling them apart, it looks so much more like a black than a blue in every other respect. Perhaps BIG blues vary a bit from the poster children?

The difference between a blue and a black's mouth is almost the exact same difference between a large and small mouth bass. The mouth is not extending past the eye. It's a blue. Go here for identification. [www.dfg.ca.gov] Either way pretty good from shore.

This one is a bit odd. Everything about it looks like a black to me..... straight head, mouth extends past mid orbit. shape, and rounder pectoral fin and soft dorsal rays. But that straight anal fin sure looks like a blue.
There is another slight possibility.... a dusky. I think it is a slightly atypical black, but grant it could be a very atypical blue.

Jason,
Sorry I didn't answer your question in my last post. That is a Pac Bay butt. They look good and the rubber can take the abuse from the rocks.

Dave,
I caught the fish from a jetti.

Let's fish,
Chris

When you cook the cabezone and the blue you will notice a huge difference in the texture of the meat. The texture of a black will be a lot closer to the texture of the cabezone.

Thank for the reasons You are building rods, I thought it was a court order type of situation, either that or jail time, but you know how fleetwood mac rumors get started.
Thanks for finally clearing that up. Great job had to run off on a tangent that presented itself, just had to.

: ) You sound like a very experienced and soulfull guy Karp so I'm sure you already know better than everyone who starts building their own. Thank you for your support in my humble begining of the craft, maybe someday I will be able to sit with you at that table with the Gods (if they can forgive for all the time in jail I've spent).

If you find a job you like, you will never work a day in your life (or something like that).

So Mr. Karp,
Why are you still building rods? Do you still feel the same about it as when you began?



Let's fish,
Chris

I feel better, what I came to realize is that I ddin't know squat when I started, but the old gentleman who taught me, had a hard time mixing a 50/50 ratio for thread epoxy (counting drops was recommended way back then) and his idea of a remedy was to add more hardner, when there was too muich already. He bridged the ferrule with the same size guide and the line didn't touch the 1st tip section guide till the blank was flexed deeply. One of the 1st things I had to do is find a way to measure a 50/50 mix by volume using a scale. So it has been a never ending learning process right from the get go with other ppl work. Each rod I build is better than the last, and ponly now do I not wish to own ever rod I have ever built and had a hard time letting go. only becuse I know so much more and can make the new rods I produce much more custom that I started out doing. I try to customise every component in some fashion if not to just add a matching highlight color to perpetuate a theme. I am no God compared to many others on this site, they know far more, my little signature quote means I have tasted what customs rods can be and won't go back to production rods, not that I am a god who builds them as well as other here do. I build a functional rod and let that shape the outcome. I produce a function yet aoppealing lable area instead of the arty god like weaves and butt wraps that is well beyond what I can do or feel is functionally necessary, save boosting ego and confidance by this sort of look.. I live way up north in the freshwater and you look to be a fishing salt, big difference in equipment. So I'd doubt we'd be fishing anytime soon. Just had to chime in with a potential highly absurd reason why you might have started rod building, but we are all prisoners of a sort. Questions are a burden to others, Answers are a prison for oneself. I think I saw once

I too young, I'm confused. I don't know what your saying. Your first reply sounded offensive so I replied defensive. I like everything you said in your second reply, but I don't know what to make of this "Just had to chime in with a potential highly absurd reason why you might have started rod building, but we are all prisoners of a sort." I think your saying my original post was dumb or something.



Let's fish,
Chris

your overthinking it Chris, I am a comedian at heart just waiting a straight man to set me up so I can deliver a punch line. I can't resist a good set up....everyone already answered the posted question, I look for something funny and go off on a wacky tangent, Never heard of anyone being forced to do something in lew of a prison sentance? just never rod building, your the 1st., thanks to my wierd and wacky sense of humor, things get to bland and predictable here, were asked the same questions over and over. You should have seen my post on Serf Rods and why we still in this day and age have a stratified class system even in rod building, Do a search on serf rods, longer than 90 day

Chris its not as funny if you have to drag out the chalk board and diagram the joke

but it is true answers are a prison for oneself, and we all keep asking questions, saw that in a late 60's TV show

"overthinking it", I never thought about it that way. I'll think about it.

Let's fish,
Chris

yes you have to look at it objectivly, the trouble is jokes have a subjective brunt to bear lets say, and you never get quite the same reaction from the person who bears the brunt of the joke, its basic human nature. Alot is said about a person, with regard to their maturity if as the old saying goes "They can take a joke", trouble is I can disguise one , being as obscure as they can be that its hard to recognize especailly by the brunt bearer. Like the rethink, but isn't thought what formulated your original take on it? There is such a notion, that there can be, too much of and otherwise good thing.