B BUG

I got mine today and you are correct, they look and feel very sweet. I am looking forward to see and feel the end result. Now the blanks seem to be hung up somewhere half way between where they are shipped from and my house. Not really in too much of a hurry, I have at least two months to build these.

They are pricy and I am about to find out weather they are worth it or not. My 16 year old son mentioned that he would like to learn how to build rods so I have a great reason to build yet another rod.

Now that we are near the mid point of winter and my tackle is back in order and ready for Spring, I am wanting to build two spinning rods to replace what was lost this past season. I am looking for any input on the carbon grips that American Tackle has out. Both Good and Bad. As of right now the plan is to build on the X-Ray blank by North Fork or some other high end blank ( will take advice on blanks as well). Looking for input on both building and fishing with these handles. Thanks

Thank you very much. If I had to guess, it was Shawn Collens, for some reason that name rings a bell. Thanks again

Several years ago I had a custom single cavity spinnerbait mold made by someone I found on this site. They were able to take a prototype that I had made and CNCed into life, creating exactly what I wanted. I am now wanting to have this same style made in a heavier weight however, I cannot seem to find the info on who did the work for me. Does anyone know of a place that can take a mold and duplicate it into a different size? Thanks Much

It may be a while however I will let you know exactly how I think it works.

great response, thanks. As I mentioned it would be only balsa that I would be cutting. And yes it does look like an upside down jig saw. It takes the some blades that my everyday jig saw uses, so that would be a plus. As for the price, it is a bit high, however I have little time to create a table to mount a saw to (this would take away from My fishing and building). Thanks for the info and places to check ratings. Les

Hey All, It has been a while since I have been here and I was wondering if anyone has had or used the Rockwell Blade Runner Saw to cut out baits? I have been thinking about a new saw and I saw this in Lowes,and had seen the infomercial on the tube and I am wondering how it is working. It looks slow for some of the things that they cut on the tv, however I normally cut balsa so that is not a problem. Any input would be great. Thanks, Les

Back on the first of December I started looking for a rod balancing system. Per the norm, Mattman came thru with a couple of options. I want to try the Matagi system but am finding it very hard to find someone who sells to the general public. Merrick has them (I think) its just that I am not in the business of rod making and they want a business I.D. and other stuff that I just don't see a need for. MY question is this, does anyone know of a Matagi dealer I can contact. Thanks, Les

Mattman, this looks exactly like what I was looking for. As always Thanks, Les

Hey All I am looking for an adaptor and screw in weights for balancing a rod. I know that fuji has a butt cap that can be put on as an after thought, however I am looking for something more streamline. Fenwick elite tech riggin' stick has exactly what I am after. I know it is out there, does anyone know if it is avaliable? Thanks, Les

Here is something I have been working on for a year now (off and on) it is a fantastic way to connect your homemade baits to your line, the only trouble is it can be a bit tough to work around. What I have done is incorporate a solid ring made by Owner or a couple other private companies, into my nose wire. This solid ring is put into place whenever one puts their nose wire in. I have found the deep diving baits with the lip put in last, is by far the easiest one to work with. The toughest is the "thru wire harness" type lures where the bait is made by using two halves. The thing I like about the solid ring is that there are not any weak spots or places for your line or bait to work out of. Here is a photo of one. I understand that this maybe overkill for bass, however it eases my mind, and I know it will work great for the guys who chase big fish. By the way the one in the photo is a #4. Les

Dutchman thanks, it seems I would have a lot less to think about with pepsi. Brings a whole new meaning to cleaning your pipes. Thanks again, Les

Kc, thanks for the reply. I know that they have some muratic acid laying around so I will give it a try. Thanks again, Les

I have been volunteering my services to the US Fish and Wildlife services for awhile and am currently working on a plumbing job. My problem is that they have some copper pipe(3/4) that has been outside for some time now and has become highly oxadized and very, very hard to clean manualy. I was wondering if one could use something like muric acid to start the cleaning process and then neutrilize it with a baking soda solution prior to emery cloth? If you know of anything that has worked in the past I thank you for passing it on. Les

Hey MT, thanks for the prop-up. For me sometimes the most obvious are the hardest to see. And like you I am now going back to read a How to article to see what else I might be missing. Thanks Les

WOW! That was easy! Can we say novice? Thanks Mattman, I am sure that one hurt to answer, Les

Hello to the rod builders, I have been making baits for sometime now and thought that I might try my hand at making a stick to use them on. The one thing that has me a bit puzzled is in drying. I have seen photos of rod drying equipment, and there is always a support on the ends and sometimes in the middle. My question is how does the finish dry smoothly under the support wheel, and why doesn't the wheel get gummed up? Can someone tell me what I am missing? Thanks a bunch, Les

I might have used the wrong term when I said jon boat! It is a 20 ft. aluminum work boat with a center consal (spelled wrong) and I am thinking it has a 120 four stroke on it. I have seen these protectors in cabela's main catalog for about 100 bucks however I have not talked to anyone or seen one in action. My first thought would be that there might be some cavitation issues if one used the same size prop with the protector as without. Even though coming out of the hole is not critical in timing, I would think that there might be some issue here too. Sometimes the boat may carry close to its capacity for 10 to 20 miles so I don't want any unforseen issues. Les

Kajan, Thanks, this has also been kicked around, however with the aluminum props being trashed I would think that plastic would do likewise, only cheaper. We have also mentioned going to jet drive lower units if and when the lower units go out. Thanks again, Les

Has anyone had any experiance with those rings that go around a prop to keep them from getting dinged up? I work with some people who use a jon boat to move equipment around and they tend to trash props at a high level. Thanks, Les

Hey All, It apperars as though we will be taking a quick trip to the Traverse City, MI area around the middle of June, and I was wondering if it would be worth it to drag my boat about 8 hours north or if I could find enough water to fish from the bank to be worth carring rods with me. My main intrest would be for smallmouth bass and the amount of time I will get to spend fishing would be two to three hours for three mornings, maybe more but I am not sure. Are the Lakes in this area accessable by land? How about Lake Michigan? Any info would be fantastic. Les

Vodkaman I agree however, I have several factors that make the timeframe of anytime sooner almost impossible. First the weather. Right now I am looking at about 3 inches of snow and the temps. are not going to make it go away soon. The other is all about timeing. I have a two year old that keeps me hopping (I am sort of a Mr. Mom) and the only time I get to do any bait work (or this) is when he is taking his nap. The problem is that I can do everything except paint when he is sleeping, because all the other things can be put aside if he upexpectedly wakes up. I don't risk clogging my air brush because when he wakes up it is "SHOW TIME". With that said there is the occasional day when he goes to day care and I do not have something else planned that I might get some baits painted. Hopefully one will come along soon. When it does I will get some baits finished and post them for some feedback. Until then, THANKS AGAIN Les

Thanks again, I will continue working on this bait and based upon the speed of my other projects I should know if it runs or not in the spring. Les

Thanks All I think I will continue on in hopes that it will run right. I always say it takes as much time to build a lure that runs right as it one that does not. Thanks again. Les