Steven, Given that they all broke in roughly the same place, could there be something in the way they were transported, such as strapped to a boat deck with tips hanging off of the end of the boat deck, or laying in the bed of a truck with tips resting on an object? I recall seeing somebody posting that he had a bass fisherman with mysterious rod breakage habits that was related to strappin
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Luis, It really depends on the fisherman and the environment. Personally, I like something with a lure rating of around 1/4 to 5/8oz with a fast to extra fast action. This is very suitable to the size of spinnerbaits and worm weights that I normally use, as well as the waters I fish. A more typical recommendation would be a mag bass type blank say, 783 or 843, with a 1/4 to 3/4oz lure wei
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Luis, You don't need to do anything, since you put the finish on last night. If anything, scuff it with a scotchbrite pad (do not wipe down with anything after scuffing) and apply the new finish. Make sure the blank is LEVELbefore applying the finish and apply a light coat of finish, this will prevent the bumps from forming. Joe
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Bill, I have a grip like that on one of my factory rods. You could say that some of the big boys have been on to the foam core grips for a while. Not that long ago, you would have had to beat a bass fisherman with a club and odds are he still wouldn't touch a foam grip, but I think times are changing in that market as well. It is amazing what a little marketing jargon and a high price tag
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Marty, The RX8+ blanks live at the bottom of the Spey blank page on their website.
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I happen to have an old Batson catalog, so here goes M Guides: Ring Size Height 16 42.75mm 12 32.08mm 10 25.75mm 8 22.35mm 7 17.75mm 6 15.00mm 5 12.38mm 4 10.00mm VS Ring Size Height 25 39.00mm 20
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The secret decoder ring for Fuji guides. Joe
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James, Saltwater folks tend to spiral away from the reel handle on reels without a levelwind, as that brings the line over the blank from the left, which is the thumb they use to guide the line. Bass anglers tend to spiral towards the reel handle, because when we lay them on the deck, we lay them with the handles up, and this keeps the transition guides from facing into the deck. In real
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James, Check the Rainshadow RX7 ISB822,5 or ISB802.75, you can get them from Midwest, Custom Tackle, Netcraft, or one of the many other sponsors. They may be just what you are looking for. St. Croix has similar blanks in SCIII graphite, and probably SCII graphite, but I'm not sure. Edit: I think Spin Jig blanks are a little faster than fast, but not quite extra-fast, but you may want to
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I'll add one more thing. Something I do with all of my tape, when I use a piece, I fold the end of the tag end on the roll over onto itself. This makes for a tag to grab, and prevents fumbling to get the roll started. I start with a strip of tape that has the end folded over about 1/8", just enough to get a hold on. I then cut a strip of tape from the roll that is long enough to put
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Jon, Just about anybody on the left can help you. Bob at Custom Tackle is great to deal with, as is Bill at Midwest. Both are builders, and very knowledgeable. They were very helpful in getting me what I needed when I started out. Many of the places also stock numerous things that may not be on their web site, so it never hurts to call if there is something specific you are looking for.
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Bill, When he calms down and can get a laugh out of it, explain that the finish is a modification to help control the nth generation carbon nanotube fishing line that his grand children will be using. You were only trying to get a leg up on the competition and place the guide on the rod by mistake. The plan was to prototype a pico guide with an opening of only a few microns. Joe
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Try Craig DeFronzo. www.micromunchtackle.com
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Joseph, I have put my micro rods to the test this season. I spent a lot more time on the river than normal this year, and I do have silt buildup on the guide frames, and a little on the inside of some rings, but not in the areas where the line contacts the ring most. I have not noticed the buildup to cause noticeable problems on the water. If I can get some good pics, I'll post them, but d
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Tim, The Batson tapered graphite tubing works very well for this sort of thing, although a bit pricey in comparison to the foam grips. For the lightest possible, forget the Batson bushings and arbors and make some Gardner style bushings. Here is a link to my gallery that shows the grip and bushings before and after completion. Joe
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Thanks Emory. Much appreciated. Joe
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Emory, I like your definition of sensitivity, and attempted to describe it in somewhat general terms. Perhaps, I got a little too general. I agree that sensitivity as you define it is quantifiable. How would you define sensitivity explicitly? Would you mind sharing more about the way that you quantify sesitivity? I understand that you use a strain meter attached to an oscilloscope and m
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Perhaps, we should use two terms for what is being referred to as sensitivity in this thread. 1. Sensitivity-The amount of signal (vibrations) from the environment of the bait/lure that the angler feels via vibrations in the rod. The tick or thunk that one typically describes as a take when bass fishing will be more pronounced with a sensitive rod when compared to one that is less sensitive.
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Ray, 1. I don't have much to add to the above. Sensitivity = vibrations transfered to my hand, my brain interprets the vibrations and tells my arms to set the hook. 2. Line tension is very important to sensitivity, as well as type of line. In order for a transverse wave (vibration that moves the rod tip up and down) to travel along the line, there must be tension in the line. This tens
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Custom Tackle doesn't have them on the web site. You can order them by phone. Most likely Bob will answer. If I'm not mistaken, Steve Gardner has a couple of pics of them on the photo page. I'm not sure wether the Batson micros are from the Forecast or ALPS line, perhaps somebody else will shed some light on that. Joe
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Bobby, Thanks, great info. Joe
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Edit: I thought some more, and didn't like my logic.
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Micheal, A couple of my factory rods' finish will cloud up when faced with rain (the finish doesn't appear to have any flaws, but it still allows moisture in). I believe the culprit is moisture finding a way under your finish. If the haze goes away after a day or so, the problem is moisture getting under your finish. To get rid of the problem rewrap those guides. Joe
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Ben, I think you are asking an awful lot of one rod. A rod that will handle 1/16oz (~2g) thru 1oz (~28g), with a baitcaster is a tough deal, if you plan on casting the lures. Granted you said that you will be using large plastics. In my opinion, you are probably looking for 2 different rods. I have both the Batson RX8+ 822.5 and 823 built up as casting rods. The 823 would probably work we
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Micheal Danek, I have no intentions of offending you, but a couple of your comments confuse me. Your arguments for the 'reasons' of 'why' the blank should be built up as a spinning blank are exactly the reasons I chose to start building rods. I could not find rods on the shelf that had the appropriate action and power to throw the majority of lures that I typically use. I am much more com
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Mike, The blank doesn't know what components you put on it. With regards to the handle, if you build it up as a casting rod, you may want to go to a 9.5" or 10" handle. The St. Croix specs for the spinning configuration are probably for putting the reel seat in an uplocking position. If you lose the foregrip, and leave a similar size section of blank exposed, then you won't affe
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Roger, One of my newbie tips, since I still am one myself is to leave the tags until you have put on the trim wraps and aligned the guides. After you are satisfied trim all of your tags. Carefully close the gaps. Then use a rounded instrument, I use the shaft of my exacto knife, to flatten the threads a bit. This usually helps with the lump you get where the tag tucks under the wrap. As
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I have been using the Batson exposed blank reel seat. I use a rubber o ring (snug fitting) stuck just inside the reel seat. Then I apply the decal and thread wrap just in front of the seat. The first few threads get tucked in the gap between the ring and the blank, the way Steve describes doing a thread wrap in front of one of his bushings. When I apply the epoxy to the wrap, it climbs up the
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I just measured the tube on a few of my small tip tops (4mm ring). The tubes were all 1/2". Joe
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I have no idea if it would have enough contrast, but I might try metallic blue or purple and silver underneath with the hot pink on top. Joe
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