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Current Page: 6 of 21
Results 151 - 180 of 611
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
I have not been to all the Expos but have been to a few. This year with All Around Fishing, HFF, & Hatteras Jack I would say there was more product in the hall than at any Expo I have ever been to and that includes when Mudhole has been there. I know there were more blank mfgs there than ever before. and a couple of them were new and up and coming in the industry. Thrasher, Point Blank, Rodge
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Tom - BTW, Ernie had 113 people in the room for his seminar. I know. I counted. You had about 50. Just ribbing a bit!
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Product amount and availability was the best I think I have ever seen. Way too much to see in a single day. Ernie Horvath's seminar on modern guide systems was as good an explanation as I have ever heard and Tom's seminar on rod ergonomics is going to get a lot rod builders rethinking everything they are doing with handles and grips. I have not been to all the Expos over the years but very glad I
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Kevin Fiant Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Here's a picture (hopefully) of what I'm talking > about. Looking at picture thinking combination of > poor guide prep, bands too tight, small guides, > and fat fingers. Look like if I'm going to get > into this might need to invest in better tool to > prep guides (Don't tell my wife...). Goin
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Hard to say what their angle is. They are in the tackle business and should know what the purpose of a spiral wrap is and if so then they would know how stupid it is to do this on a spinning rod. And if they do know it and are just trying to sell rods based on the idea that fishermen will not know how stupid it is then they are obviously willing to make a buck off anybody. But I would bet you tha
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Easier to get a different sized butt cap of some type than completely change reel seat size.
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Hanneman was a pretty sharp cookie and I think he mentioned some years back that the US Mint had changed the way they report coin weights. Something about rounding up fractional grams. So any post 2009 pennies were reported at 3 grams but were still only 2.6 or whatever. Cannot remember, might be worth a search in the archives here.
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
158. Who Knew?
Got the new issue today. Who knew that Rich Forhan was on top of saltwater rods? Glad to see it. Can I expect anything from him on surf rods???
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
I poke fun sometimes but try never to get nasty or personal. But I do wonder about who gives advice and what their credentials are. YouTube is a good example. There are some really good YT instructional videos and there are some awful ones to. You should ask "what is this person's credentials in this field?" So when I see somebody lecturing Tom on how to gain market share or "make
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
We don't do steelhead drifting down here but we do drift for other species. It is my feeling that casting outfits offer certain advantages when drift fishing. I feel that you have better control of line-out and adjustments as you need them. And when needed line counter casting reels offer something you cannot get with a spinning set up. These are just my thoughts based on what we do in the SE. Y
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Hang in there Tom- maybe one day with enough effort you can make an impact on the custom rod building craft...
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
The book is also French from what I can tell although it is written in English. I guess if you consider the materials used at that time probably the then new fiberglass, hanging that much weight to that distance would not be likely to harm those type rods.
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Just kidding of course and I did take two minutes to read the demographic article you linked to. Very interesting and does make a huge amount of sense. Maybe you do know what you are doing after all!
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Face it Tom- if you want to ever have a successful publishing business or be able to put on a large rod building event you better listen to these wise folks!
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Chris Catignani Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Alex Weissman Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Norm, > > Is the address the URL or ? When I click on > the > > blue (www.rodbuilding.com) my picture comes up. > > > What I want to do is insert it in a new post. > > Alex
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
What's sad about it is that this is probably the way some companies actually rate their rods! Heck they cannot even get their terms right......... power is not action and action is not power. But I have seen some do this.
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Years ago when I registered for the photo page I never got a validation e-mail. Turns out it was in my spam folder. I responded to it and that got me in. Ten to One some people are not responding to the validation e-mail. It is probably in their spam or junk mail folder. Not a whole lot else I can see to go wrong.
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
David Baylor Wrote: > > And just to head off any comments .... my above > use of the word "slack" fits my definition of what > slack means in the situations I am speaking of. > Which, it just so happens, fits the dictionaries > definition > > Slack /slak/ adjective 1. not taut > or held tightly in position; loose: "a slack &
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
That's a good blank. You didn't say how you were going to be fishing it but I think you will probably be fishing from a boat. Go the online library here and do this--- Now with a 5000 series reel you might find you cannot easily use the NGC but that's okay. You might have to allow your tiptop to be the choke guide or if you plan to use braid you can choke down quicker. But I think you will be
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
A 16 is about as large as you would ever need to go for any fly rod including blue water fly rods.
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
I use a lot of epoxies but most of the time just use Flex Coat. No heat, no fuss and no bubbles. Levels great. I do not understand all these supposed issues that people are having with the epoxies they use. I don't have these issues with any of them.
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Aleks Maslov Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Mike, > > True. However, also note, that the point is to > make clear that a blanks recovery does not mean > greater vibrational sensitivity - and this test > can be done within a range of a single > manufacturers blanks (for example, The Spin Jig > Family or the Mag Bass Family, or th
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Some of the best fly rods I have built have been on spinning blanks. The action fo the rod has nothing to do with being able to load the rod. It is the power of the rod that you are working with when loading the rod. You hear people say that fast action rods are hard to load. This is NOT true. They just do not have the proper weight line on the rod. Most of my spinning blank fly rod builds have b
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
The bulk of the world's major domestic rod blank mfgs will be at the Expo. I know that many major rod manufacturers attend just to get a scoop on something they can incorporate in their upcoming rod models for the future. Seems like the Expo would be the best place to do it and out in front of all the major players instead of in somebody's lab where it can be claimed that that one or two companie
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Drew Longnecker Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Mike, > I heard it was a "Used Car Salesman". Could be > wrong. Nope. Dale was an insurance salesman.
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Kendall Cikanek Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Michael Danek Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > TNF may or may not play a role in > > sensitivity. Logic would say it does since > > premium blanks test higher than low mod blanks. > > > And what is the reason for premium blanks? &
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Michael Tarr Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Choke guides on a casting rod are commonly > referred to as butt guides or even stripper > guides… not uncommon to see. Not uncommon but incorrect. Line is stripped from a fly rod thus the 1st guide beyond the reel is a stripping guide. The 1st guide on a casting or spinning rod is called a butt guide.
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Reel spool and line type are the key. With braid I would try a tall #20 butt guide on the 2500 and 3000. For mono a tall #25 for them. At least a tall #25 on the 4000 and I think you may find you get better line flow with a #30. You can reduce down quickly from there.
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Michael Tarr Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The choke guides are spaced as normal 19-21” > from reel then the running guides are spaced to > prevent the line from falling below the blank > under load. Get 10 micros and space them 3” > apart then move as needed during the static load > test. May need more or less depending on results.
Forum: rodboard
1 year ago
Mike Ballard
Michael Ward Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So this far we have recommendations for size 20 > stripper, a size 12 stripper and a size 8 stripper > - anyone want to go for a 6 stripper - lol > > Would help to know the reel in question (and > confirm if we’re talking spinning or > casting)…. Casting rods don't have stripping guid
Forum: rodboard
Current Page: 6 of 21

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