The rod finish didn't even coat most of the underwrap ! The finish just moved around in a marbling fashion like the thread was contaminated with silicon or somthing ! It's a brand new spool of red. Just used a spool of blu with no problems Whats happening here ?
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A friend of mine has asked me to build him a rod for fishing for giant bluefin here in the northeast. I have built rods for him in the past the latest was a stand-up 130lb rod which he is happy with. Looking for any info on blanks that are intended for giant bluefin rods, reels will be 130lb class reels. Rod is meant to be used in swivel rod holders. I have seen rods called "Chatham Sp
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How heavy have you fished them or how are they holding up? I was going to use them on a rod that fishes 25lb - 30lb line. Its normal for me to push the limits of a guide and usually with good results. Now that I have them in my hands, they feel really lite or fragile I should say. I did Email American Tackle, but had not recieved a response. Any Info would help. Thanks, -JOHN
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I bought some to fit to a RCLB70ML to chase yellowtail with and holding them in my hand I am thinking they may be a bit 'light' for a rod that may end up with 20lb of drag torn over it. Then I look at my 16-25lb factory rod that has single foot guides on it and think it may be ok... I've only built L and UL rods before so super heavy is a new 'sport' for me. Any thoughts?
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Hey Everyone, I guess this question is to Tom Kirkman. Tom, have you ever thought about having a “Rod Build-Off”? You know like the Biker Build-Offs that were real popular on TV. I think it would be cool to see the results from all the “masters” on this board. It could be set that a particular rod/blank be chosen to build. It would be a challenge to even the pros because say a surf rod
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I received this from Kistler Rods custom service just a few minutes ago. .......... No Sir they are not filled with helium , that is the series name and they got that name by how light they are . They are very light weight and extremely sensitive . If you have any other questions feel free to email me at any time , Thank you and have a great weekend . KISTLER CUSTOM FISHING RODS RY
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I was to a fishing seminar last evening, and the speaker showed off a $300. + 7" spinning rod that weighed 3oz. and was filled with helium to make it lighter. Anyone ever hear of such a rod? I don't see helium making the rod lighter , bouyant maybe, but I don't think lighter. any comments? Thankx,
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I don't feel comfortable enough at this point to really sell my rods, but looking toward the future, how did you guys come about building a customer base and finding rod building/repair work? I'm sure a lot is referral, but what suggestions do you have for getting your name and rods out there for people to buy and come to you for repairs?
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I have been looking at a few of the rod expos and conclaves around and they seem to be a bit different than other trade shows I am used to. Most rod shows seem to be manufacturers selling to rod builders . Are there any trade shows where you guys get together and sell and promote your rods to collectors? Most of the custom knife shows, custom gun shows, engraving shows, pipe shows, etc.
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Earlier I mentioned that the next issue or two of RodMaker was going to feature the neatest self-contained rod building work station that I've ever seen. I got so many emails asking me for photos, plans, etc., that I think what we'll do is produce a series of articles (2, perhaps 3 installments) on how to build your own. Depending on what you have and what you need to acquire, you could build th
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Wandering around my local Gander Mountain fishing department this weekend I noticed that many and even most factory rods are all beginning to conform to configurations that seem to be straight out of the custom rod builder's world. Is it my imagination or is Rich Forhan's handprint on nearly every factory rod made these days?
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I'm building a four-piece fly rod for a charity raffle-any ideas how best to display it without just laying it on a table? Thanks for any thoughts.
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If you search "custom fishing rod" on @#$%& you'll get about 4 or 5 pages of results. They all seem to be nicely built ,good quality fishing rods but are they really "custom"? If you buy a pre-made rod that you had no input into the design is it any different than just going to the local tacklemart and picking one off the shelf? What's you definition of "custom"
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He tells you how tough flocked grips are. My latest Fluke rod went through 2 weeks of torture,First a head boat trip,The following day we bailed a few hundred fluke in a tournament,Slimed up the grips real good and left them in the boat to return the next day to fish again.That didnt happen so they sat a week in the cabin,then today back to the head boat for some squid slime,blue fish
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I have been out of town for a couple of days, I get back to hear that another Small Dream Reamer has come back with a problem. Now that is 5 out of the 1071 small Dream Reamers sold. We acknowledge there is a problem and we are in the process of trying to bring that number down even lower. First of all we will be changing the instructions of the DREAM REAMER. We will also be modifying the Grit in
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Has anyone had a chance to use these guides yet (available from Jann's NetCraft) to determine their durability? I've seen them on factory built rods in the stores and they seem super light. Or have you seen the factory rods with them show up with grooved rings or other wear problems? They've got some sort of metal "ring" and no ceramic insert. Any feedback from users would be apprec
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Well, sorry for the confusion and problems. The file is a Publisher 2003 file for those that have it. I guess I did not realize the software was so limited in its backward compatibility. I assume this allows MS to sell more software. I put it up in Publisher so you could modify it to insert your own name and business name. I assumed that most of you would not want to advertise for Black Do
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Hi Gents, I just got back into this just recently. I have an older Calstar 20-50 lbs bait caster boat rod...or at least thats what I THOUGHT I had, and what the rod label says it is....but I found a little surprise when striping it down for a refinish job to change the theme and wrapped guide colors. There is no identifying label under the EVA foam ? I have had it about 3 years now and when I
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Two more companies have contacted me about attending and displaying at the 2008 International Custom Rod Building Exposition. Both are European firms so the International flavor of the event continues to grow. This would bring us to an early commitment of 48 vendors, a steady increase over the 40 we had last year. Contracts will go out next week so by the end of this month, I'll have a pre
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Just to let anyone who cares know i fished the rainshadow live bait rod RX6 GRAPHITE AND E GLASS BLEND and loved it!! I have built two of them for customers and loved the feel of them. Now i decided to build one for myself and man is that rod cool. It's a live bait rod and the first 8 inchs or so is glass and just about like boron. You can bend it like crazy and it sends every little twitch of t
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With people having problems with their finish I wonder if anyone has take a factory tour and see how it's done ? Curious as to how the factory handles Flex coat . Bill
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These are being discontinued by St Croix and I would like to know if anyone knows of a good blank that is in the same price range same action I build alot of Cobia and King rods on them. Thanks Dale
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Each year, in an effort to continue tweaking the marketing and advertising efforts for the big rod building expo, we count up the registrations and then tally the blocks where folks told us where they heard about the show. This year, after removing all duplicates, we were left with 1879 registrations, of which there was an even 1580 from folks who said they were rod builders. Working with just t
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Hi, I am wanting to build a couple split grip bumper wrap casting rods. I am seeking a blank with a optimum casting weight of a quarter ounce with a high end of three eighths ounce, 6-8lb. line. I am mostly seeking casting distance yet with decent power for a good hook set. I want to use the rods to cast lip-less crank-baits, spinner-baits and maybe spoons. I would like to stay in the St. Croix l
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I have a Pac Bay Wrapper with the standard chuck. The chuck lost one of the self centering fingers. These and the all black approx. 1 1/4" X 3/8" pieces with a thin piece of metal and a rubber pad. So I called pac bay and they said I need to order the whole chuck, which I already did and have. However, I still have a chuck that I would like to use for drying or whatever missing a fing
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Bill Bartlett brought this up in another thread, and it was mentioned to me several times over the weekend. I think about other shows and Art Exhibits which I have attended where tehy give out ribbon's or prizes to the best of a particular category, and wonder if that would be something to look into for next year's event? This doesn't have to be strictly artistic rods...I saw 3 rods from 2 bu
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Bill, What "specials" are the bayou boys thinking on this year in N.C.? Sanding blocks? Flock? Clyde's gator gumbo?
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Hello all, Here's another "head start" for you on sale items. This time it's Super Seekers at an extra discount. We have more than will fit in our racks and we need space for incoming product! These prices are just for you and will not be available from outside this link for at least another week. Bookmark this link --> [] as it's the ONLY way to get to this "Pre-Sale
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I bought a flippin stick made by Bass Pro Shops to the specifications of Bassmaster. The rod is a beast and there are many things about it that I like. It has a retractable butt section with a large (larger than any other flippin stick I've got) diameter and very fast taper. Also the butt section is shorter than any other flippin stick I've got which I really like. I contacted BPS asking about
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I keep reading the following in a lot of post, (Level the blank so that the centerline of the blank is level.), and wondered how the rest of you level the center line or what you use to level the center line. What do you do if your table is not level to start with?
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