Tackle Question

[crappie66]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Oct-31-05 AT 03:02PM (EST)[/font][p]Actually I don't know much about Hayakawa, don't know where you are attempting to go with that one.

I did take the time to look up Hayakawa and he does make some interesting points. One quote that stood out:

"I'm going to speak my mind because I have nothing to loose."


But anyways, you wrote about customizing and building your own rods. It sounds like something I might be interested in doing this winter. Where is the best place to get information on how to properly do it, and where is a good source for supplies. Also, how much time and money is generally required to take on such a project.

[Slowretrieve]

And who could resist this? "You guys are saying the same thing. The only reason you're arguing is because you're using different words." -S.I. Hayakawa

I would start a rod-building journey with a trip to Cabelas.com. They have a rod building sub-section of tgheir fishing department that offers complete rod building kits. Tghey are great way to get started. Follow their directions and you will end up with a usable rod. The only thing other than the kit you will need is some sort of machine to turn the pole while you apply Epoxy and while the Epoxy dries. Without a turning mechanism, the glue tends to glob up and can throw the balance of the pole off. The machine (called a rod wrapper if I remember right)can cost as little as $20 for non-electric and go to about $650; Cabelas has an electric wrapper for $69 that works just fine. You should be able to build a fine rod for about $50, plus the cost of the rod wrapper. You can build a St Croix for $75-80. There is a wide range of rod blanks available, but like anything, you probably want to start out with one of their less expensive models to see if you even like the demands of rod building. If it suits you, you can spend hundreds on each rod. The one thing rodbuilding will do is increase your appreciation of fishing rods. After building just one, you will look at all other rods in a different light.
Good luck. If you decide to build one, let me know how it goes.

[crappie66]

Thanks for the information. I actually think I will give it a try in the coming months. Only thing I am concerned about is going to far with making them. I always wanted to make my own beer, so I bought a home brewing kit, within about a month I had about 10 cases of extra beer just sitting in the closet. But then again if the same happens with building a rod I guess it's always a good thing to have extra rods laying around, seeing as though last year I broke at least 5 rods, was fortunate this year though, didn't break any.

[Slowretrieve]

I know what you mean. I usually go through one or two a year myself. It would be hard to get too many rods, as you say. But when you build them, they take time to dry, time to rasp out the and fit the handles and the seats. I would guess if you worked on a rod every day for about two hours, you would complete one in about two weeks. At that pace, you probably would not get too many of them hanging around. But when they are done and you get to try one out, you know it's the best you could do and it sure feels good.

[Chris_Carlyle]

The pike and muskies up in Ontario have eaten them for me several times. I dont carry one with me as I do mostly bass fishing here locally. My 99 fly in trip showed me that a red and white Len Thompson spook will catch just a couple toothy critters!

[Slowretrieve]

I grew up in California and remember most tackle boxes having Daredevils in them. I checked some western sites and they are used out in the West for trout.

[Moose1am]

The best paint remover I have ever used IMHO is that Orange Goop stuff. It's not hard on your skin and it's environmentally friendly. It works too. I was able to take paint off some 100 year old hardware with it. I was working to remodel this builting that was built in the early 1900. We took off all the door's hardare removed years of paint from the metal. This was solid brass fixtures. Door knobs and such. The Orange stuff worked when we let the door knobs sit in the orange stuff overnight.

I have used the older type of paint removers a few times in the past and had to wear gloves and protective eyewhere to prevent that stuff from causing harmful effects to skin and eyes. I hated using that stuff. You get a little drop on your skin and after a few minutes it starts eating away at you.

Clean up with the orange stuff is simple and easy with water.

I enjoy restoring old things. I guess you could call me a packrat. I hate to throw anything away if there is a chance that I can reuse it somehow. The exception to this is things made out of plastic. But anything made out of metal (brass especially) is worth saving.

I wish I had the patience to build my own rods. It sounds like a nice hobby to get into if you have patience. That and tying my own flies would be fun to get into.

I watched my dad collect old plugs along the islands on KY lake and bring them back home and refinish them. He would put new hooks on them and then sand then down to the old balas wood and then reprime and repaint them. I still have a lot of those old plugs in the tackle boxes. We use to collect old plugs off the buck brush along the edges of the Island when the lake was down. In the summer months those buck brush plants were almost completely submerged and a lot of baits were lost in them. But in Oct the water level is down 5 to 10 ft and the lost plugs area all exposed and hanging on the brush like ornaments on a Christmas tree. Easy pickens. We also found a lot of Indiana Arrow Head along the beaches. There are several old army forts in the area where we fished and these were full of old Indiana and Civil War mini balls etc.


Moose1amRegards,