I know that we are not suppossed to post things other than rod building. but i would like to give credit to the rod building techniques of bill stevens and lance at swampland tackle with the mirco guides. the 8 foot crocker rods, 963 and 964 with the 3.5 micro guides all on top; i used today in the 10th annual hooked on youth fishing tournament hosted by oink inc. in rockport texas. we took 4th overall and 1st in heavy trout with a 30 inch 7 1/2 lb. with 130 teams so that should tell you something about these rods. (bill i noticed that castaway has them in academy stores as of yesterday). thanks bill and lance and swampland tackle.

Alan Beck

Just send them a cut of your winnings and they'll be happy.

Seriously, they're very helpful to all who ask.

.........

Alan - Congrats on your tourney. Thanks for the real world report. What is a Crocker? I have a 964 and a 965 in the shop waiting to be built. Curious -how many 3.5s are you ending up with on top? I'm probably going to use Alconite 4J or Batson 3.5 since I have them. I mocked one up earlier and I think I was ending up with 11 guides with some minor touch at 1/3rd deflection using Bobby's method.

FWIW - I have a 7 footer now with ten 3's on top. I handed it to my buddy while out Saturday morning. He kept it all morning and landed many fish. I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a call for two builds. They sell themselves once in the hands of the customer.

chuck
iam using 10/ 3.5 alconites ,a croaker is asmall live bait we use down here that makes a croaking noise that dives trout crazy if you need any other info let me know ill try to help you

Alan - Are you using braid to get a good hookset on those long casts? If so, what size. Just curious since I missed a few fish that hit at the end of very long casts with 12# co-poly.

Chuck Alan has Alconite 4.0s and LSG 3.5s and the 4538 Fuji split tops - He uses Spyderwire on all his stuff down to 10#. The croaker in the bays and marshes down here is the natural enemy of the speckled trout - the croaker is on the prowl to kill and feed on small trout - specs whack a croaker hard on the first pass to kill and normally come back quick to consume them with flared gills and swallow the croaker head first at full speed. A guide like Alan knows full well that the big sow trout prefer fresh, live fish croakers or pogeys to any other bait. Getting hooked up with a mad sow speckled trout does not require finesse tactics nor supposedly low visibility line for this reaction type strike.

Alan the only thing we have not talked about is hooks - Owner Ultra Point short shank live bait or treble?

More guides and split top sent out today!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2009 02:00PM by Bill Stevens.

What kind of distance you getting and how much weight? 1 oz at 40yds? 1/2 oz at 50yds? Casting or spinning?

Just wondering.

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Alex he builds all casting - he is on the water and I will let him answer your distance question exactly - I suspect he will compare to other conventional rods using the same rigs under the same conditions. My answer is - he stands in the water in Tejas and can work Louisiana and Mexican waters! }>

Bill - I get ya... but if he's standing in the right water - that's a one foot cast. ;)

I'd just like to see some numbers from everyone when they start saying how far they can cast.

A surf rodder can get 100 yards, I've heard of 150 yards. But that's 3oz on a 12'+ rod and full body cast technique. Weight, length, etc all make a difference.

I doubt you're going to cast a bandit 300 crankbait 150 yards from the bow of a bass boat. A 3 oz finger mullet - might be able to get that thing way on out there - but it's a lot more more weight.

Numbers would be good to keep it all relative.

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I am throwing a torpedo shaped 0.435 oz lure with no trailers ~145 feet with 30 pound Power Pro on a MG 50 with the 964. Trap 3/4 oz ~ 158 (964) and the DD 22 is limited on the 965 to my guts and the placement of the knot on the spool. Added incentives - no wind knots, morre durable rod, lighter wt, more "sensitive" rod, i.e. a better rod - side by side in the same boat with the same conditions the rods will throw furthur than a conventional are they are practical in all aspects.

The distance measued is a huge variable and is subject to lure wt, lure drag in the air, line, reel, angler skill - claims like the ones I am making will certainly be argued and questioned and I would not assume that others would get identical results. The best way is to build one and test them side by side - when this is done many will take the option of using the rod set up with the micro rods. These things have more going for them than advertising claims and orange paint! The real proof is in the puddin!

Alex you are So Correct any casting numbers are realative when provided as benchmarks to others !

I choose to keep the claims of specific distance off the table and have protos for use by fishermen for comparative purposes.

I did not tell Alan how far one of the things cast a lure - I knew he would not belieive me if I told him to start with!

I sent him a finished rod on my nickle to try. Check out Bobby's web site and look at his trial offer as well. Unusual business? Not if you know the rods perform and stand on their own - and trust the people you choose to do business with!