OK, I can;t afford a Sage Bass fly rod, so I want to build myself a similar setup for bass and large brown trout. (like 24 inches and up) Everyone on the Little Red that has said they hooked a very large brown this year on a fly rod has lost them due to not enough rod/tippet. I have found that I can catch large browns on 8 to 10 LB Fluorocarbon line as tippet and if it is tied correctly it can
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Good Luck in whatever you do. My children are the greatest joy I have ever encountered, even greater than fly fishing, congratulations!
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Thanks for saying so, I was about to purchase one for an 8' 3 wt of my own. Do you think the wood one would hold better in that model? Or would you go with another model with a straight insert. The advantage is usually weight but some people prefer the look as well, for me it is strictly for weight. I am trying to get a 2.56 oz rod down to 2.25 to balance better with a 4.3 oz reel, I love the
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[] This one is an REC and can be purchased at Acid Rod or several other sponsors. My favorite by far.
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Thanks Walt, The crank baits usually get down fine, but I usually cast them at an angle from the boat down stream, basically that will mean the faster the current the deeper your plug goes. Teds right, I have always heard that at night was the best time to catch large browns. You could try something that glows and rattles.
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Lelands Trout Magnet is great. Check out this story, I was the boat he turned to look at and one of three witnesses outside of his guide, My buddy had just hooked a nice rainbow on a lil cleo and I immediately afterward caught a 17 inch brown on a SJW. But I have had a lot of success with the trout magnet. . Also I have found that large deep diving crank baits and 3 inch count down rapalas wo
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Here is something you can try on an old blank but you may like it. Instead of CP get some Stiffy by Plaid industries, you can get it at any hobby store and some WMs . It makes GREAT CP, it dries with a matte texture but It holds colors better than any purpose made color preserver I have used. OK, apply two coats with one hour or more in between and then 2-4 thin coats of Perma Gloss and you w
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I would do the trim in grey without CP, the lack CP won't make any difference in the black and the grey will get darker, However if you use a dark grey you will want the CP.
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Sage TXL, Not cheap but you will likely be overly happy with it. I know there are a couple others but can't name them off the top of my head.
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Billy I think they are worried about saving a little EACH on maybe 300 guides. I understand that you obviously have unlimited funds judging from your posts any time someone mentions saving a buck, but some of us don't. Gentlemen..........light your torches!!!
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Reading his response (yes it was only after typing my other response) in a way reiterates what I was saying in his first couple sentences. Criteria, Bamboo rods, and the such. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I prefer low flash, light weight and fast to moderate fast actions depending on the type of fishing. Maybe some of his work is gorgeous, I looked at only 4 pictures and the ones I s
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I kind of agree with Tom about competition. I was jokingly saying that because I did a google search for rod building championships under the title he put on his site and got nothing. I really did not believe he was lying. But exactly what were the competitions rules and criteria? Was it that he could build one very quickly without major flaws, was it the level of detail? There are so many t
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Well, It says right there on his website that he is THE CHAMPEEN. And he will even put YOUR NAME on it, FREE OF CHARGE!!!! OK, I believe he created the championship, entered his 6 year old grandson to compete against him and came out with a tie, so rightfully, he CAN call himself the champion. So can the 6 year old. The grandson lives in another non neighboring state so it can be called &quo
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Johnnys pond is best price, he guarantees it. Shipping is reasonable too.
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I have tried several brands of polyester embroidery thread and madeira is the only one that is consistent. The others are not. My wife does a lot of embroidery work and has tons of polyester thread so I learned the hard way. You can take two colors of the same brand, same line, and one will work great the other one won't. color preserver often gives you the same result as applying finish witho
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I would like to state for the record (because I understand and understood when typing it that the point of view is way out dated) that I am in agreement with the others. My understanding was that you were asking why the older and/or cheaper casting rods traditionally have double foot guides. I would bet that they also had weaker metal frames as well. With the guides available now , I can not s
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I think (uh oh.....) That it is because the double foot guides on a casting rod traditionally push down on the rod and double foot guides on top of a casting rod accomplish two things, 1. they distribute the pressure over a larger surface area as they are on top single foot guides could possibly grind into the rod blank more when fighting a fish causing a weak spot., 2. a single foot guide could
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Doubles are prettier, singles are lighter. I always go function first with my own rods, so of course, I try to trim the fat. I hate butt wraps as well, the fewer and smaller the wraps the better, only on guides, ferrules and hook keepers. My opinion is based on catching bass and 1-8 lb rainbow and brown trout. Never had the opportunity to catch a steel head though. I think a 7 is a good choi
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I have built 13 rods, 5 have had mistakes to fix, 3 of those mistakes required me to tear the whole thing down and start over. After a day or two of kicking and screaming fits, and one even sitting in a corner for 3 months because I was so mad at it I couldn't bear to look at it, I picked them up and started over or fixed the problems and moved carefully on. It happens, I would bet that it stil
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I have a 9' 7wt that I use for bass, it works great. Also for brown trout, I got to use it the first time on browns the other day and landed one that was 23 1/2 inches and 7 3/4 pounds in heavy deep current, glad I had enough rod!
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Yup, Gonna have to woop me up one o'them. YES!!!! New Project!!! I love building and engineering stuff, and I have a tendancy to go a little overboard, my wife gets a little bent usually, but you guys probably understand.
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Off the original subject but in regards to Toms last paragraph, I have never done that, and it was not what I referred to as price shopping. I go to a lot of dealers websites/catalogs and find who has the best advertised price or sales going on what I am looking for with reasonable shipping rates or rates that are in line with what I am ordering.
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I agree Tom, at the very least on buying from vendors that support builders and the craft. Some of those however are not sponsors here, maybe they should be but for their own reasons they choose not to. The vendors that I buy from are mostly small, it is always one of maybe 6 or 7 , and all of them have excellent service to date. Some of them are on the side of this page, a couple are not. As
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I don't have any place I just want to tell everyone about, As I said before it was only that one situation that brought this to mind. I have at times seen people tip toeing around naming vendors on a couple of occasions that I can not even recall well enough to direct you to the thread. And you are right, Tom probably doesn't need any defense, As I said I respect him and the sponsors and the w
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Also If someone says they have found something for a given price on line, (not sale price) Johnny's pond will match that price or beat it if they carry it. So, I am really not trying to undercut or take away from any sponsor and I am not thinking about starting any threads advertising an outside vendor, I just wanted to know really whether I could mention another vendor if someone was looking fo
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It is because I assume there are others, whether I know them or not, (that really isn't an issue with me) that are in the same boat I am. Whose funds are limited but they enjoy building rods. We are having this discussion even though, I know that anyone here can go to either Johnny's pond or Mud Hole and probably get the best deal they will find on most things they need anyway. The question wa
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I definitely wouldn't try to undercut a sponsor over 45 cents. but if I can save 10 dollars on a 25 dollar real seat, I need to know. That being said, I personally would not direct anyone to a business with questionable service regardless of the savings. As I said I respect the sponsors, but I can not afford to always use them, and I have a strange feeling that a few others probably can't eithe
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I have on occasions sent emails, but I just have had taht queston going through my mind for a while and decided to just put it out there.
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Ok, I realize I may be opening a hornets nest but I hope not. I haven't been on the site long so I have to ask, Why does it seem that everyone is quietly discouraged from buying from a vendor other than the site sponsors? Don't get me wrong, I am familiar with most of the names at the side of the page and know that they are all reputable businesses that support our craft and this site. But
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Car Polish is a good short term fix, so is pledge ( gotta be pledge, there is no substitute) but it only lasts a few days, car polish will last longer. However if they say that rod restorer works, it is as cheap as a bottle of car polish.........Probably last way longer.
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