JohnF

And then it seems like they drive even faster to get out of it. JF

I don't think you'll regret your choice. I bought it's bigger brother a few years ago when my 25 year old Ariens calved on me. I used it for two winters then gave it to my son last winter as he had a much bigger drive to clear and the damned thing used up too much garage space. I then went out and bought it's baby brother, a better size for my garage and my drive size. One suggestion in case you haven't already thought of it - while it's still squeaky clean get some industrial silicone spray and cover the inside of the bucket and the chute plus the auger and impeller. It helps keep snow from jamming up inside, especially in the chute. Dry snow's no problem, but the wet heavy stuff is a pita. JF

Again, thanks to all for the advice and the offers of guidance. I'll probably take you up on some of that help once I get rolling. It seems to work best for me if I try something once, make all the mistakes, then find out where I went wrong and how to fix it. I just like fiddling I guess. JF

Thanks. I didn't realize it was so close. JF

Looks like my bench when I had 9 or 11 clubs abuilding. Thanks for the tips. I'm marking all this down for this winter when I try it on my own. I'm set up for fly tying too, but I just need to start flyfishing to test the damned things. JF

Doing it myself is what it's about. I'm not as concerned about saving money. There's always more to be made at other things. I just want to know if I can make something equal to what the good manufacturers put together. Sounds from your post like I can, if I use the right components and learn to do it right. That's all I want to know. If I screw it up it's on me. But if I start with no hope then what's the point? I didn't know Loomis had a plant close by. That's interesting. Now I just have to figger out where Mt. Hope is and perhaps go visit them. JF

That might be a consideration if I could picture myself sitting out on the ice for hours waiting for a brain frozen fish to happen by. I spent too many hours freezing at snowmobile races to have warm and fuzzy feelings about ice fishing. I'm willing to try making the rods, but someone else is gonna have to test 'em. JF

I know what yer saying. Sometimes we just have to go it on our own to appreciate what others can do for us. In any case, I'm not looking to build rods as a business. It's just for winter diversion, one more thing I can say I've tried and failed at. JF

Okay. In a backhanded sorta way a few of you have answered my question. It may just be possible to build decent rods at home. I'm not looking to buy custom rods or to put anyone out of their means of livelihood. I'm just asking if there's any hope for a rookie rod builder to come close to what the pro's produce.It's just a hobby thang for me. It sounds like I should take a kick at that particular cat, just fer the helluvit. Thanks. Rest assured I won't be offering a product for sale any time soon, or at all. But once I have something that works I'll let y'all know, only to brag about it of course. JF

Nice to be so busy that you can dump on 2.500 potential customers, give or take a few hundred. Wish I had that kind of clientel. I wonder if they're bright enuf to know they screwed the pooch here. JF

I perhaps should add that I'm not a complete klutz when it comes to tools and detailed work. I've helped build custom motorcycles & hot rods, port-timed two strokes, and maintained race cars, bikes & sleds. I'm fine with that kind of stuff, at least I used to be. Wood on the other hand completely baffles me. JF

I get a kick out of building stuff. When I first took up golf it seemed like a good idea to start building my own sticks. I had a break because my uncle was an experienced builder and showed me where to start. After about a dozen sets for friends and family and me I came to the conclusion that the big companies did a better job than I ever could. I even tried some homebuilts from some pretty competent and respected builders but none measured up to the stuff that Callaway, Taylor Made, Ping, Cleveland et all could knock out. I say that as one who has owned and used all of the aforementioned. It's not like I went out and bought 'em though. My son (the CPGA type) gets high end freebies from those companies each year and when he gets new ones I get the castoffs. I'd appreciate input from anyone who's tried it. A close friend who doesn't actually do a lot of fishing once showed me with great pride a custom built rod with which he'd been gifted by a client. I hadn't the heart to tell him it looked pretty as all get out, but as a fishing rod it would have been better employed holding up the campsite flag, but the case it came in and the nifty autograph were very cool. I may well do this anyway just for the experience, fun and winter diversion but should I expect to produce anything even remotely close to what I can go into my favourite shop and buy for $200? And without giving away any trade secrets has anyone any advice on what to avoid or to try? I promise I'm not looking to put any homebuilders out of business. I have too many careers going on at the moment already and all I really wanna do is retire properly. This is purely for diversion and self satisfaction in the event I actually produce something that works halfway decently. Any thoughts welcomed. JF

You should have seen the Leafs whup the Sens' last nite. They weren't awesome but they looked like a team. They took away a lot of the Sens speed advantage by sticking to them like velcro and for a change the big defensemen actually played defense most of the time. I'm not sure if this tactic worked all by itself or if the Sens were maybe a tad flat anyway but whatever the cause the "best team in hockey at the moment" didn't look so "best". Blake hotdogged a little too much but that's his game. The fun thing was that in doing it he showed the Sens that they weren't the only team with flying feet and good hands. Unfortunately he got so caught up in fancy dancin' them that he forgot to put the puck to the net. McCabe only booted one puck that I can remember. I liked it. The game was fun to watch, at least for a Leafs fan. Even our local boy looked pretty good. Bell punished Ottawa, got to the net like he's supposed to and made some nice plays with one assist. I still say his shot the announcer said missed the net went off Gerber's elbow and was labelled "top left". Even Grapes commented on his game afterwards. Toskala looked great, standing on his head to protect the shutout at the end. Maurice is apparently mixing up his lines looking for better combos and when he gets them sorted out so he can max out the potential of Sundin, Antropov, Blake, Wellwood et al it might just be happier days in the Toronto sports bars. They may not have a Cup contender yet, but they sure weren't shameful last night. JF

Nice. I'm a Canon fan. JF

Thanks to everyone for the input. I'm just trying to avoid making a mistake in my choice for a first baitcaster. The local dealer took the time to show me how to flip tubes with one in the shop. Holding the reel cupped in my right hand felt good. I'm naturally right handed so it stands to reason, at least in my mind, to use my right hand as the control hand for casting. To hook my index finger over the top of the rod in front of the reel would be problematic with a right hand winder. Cranking with my left hand feels good. I do most sports related things lefty - swing a bat, use a hockey stick, and now golf, so it's not like I'm locked into rightiness anyway. All this discussion has solidified my thinking. I'm gonna go lefty on the baitcaster and damn the torpedoes. Thanks again all JF

I watched my bro setting up a guitar once. I had no idea how many things had to be adjusted, straightened, filed or otherwise tweaked. Conversely then, it's easy to see how many ways a guitar can go slightly off. Fret & nut consistency, string breakdown, neck tuning, machine tension, body torsion, heat and humidity, etc. And that's just a basic acoustic. Add in all the pickups and effects electronics and it's compounded. Good acoustic guitars are pretty impressive little constructions. JF

So yer saying it's all those right hand winders who have it wrong? JF

I feel yer pain. It's a pita watching them hit the ice night after night and knowing that they haven't got the horses to pull out a season. They'll manufacture the odd game as long as McCabe doesn't score against them, or cough up the winner, or the defense doesn't transition in time to actually play defense, but up front they just look outclassed most of the time, even when Sundin is on the ice. It's a trying time to be a Leafs fan. At least I'm old enuf to know that eventually they'll get over this love affair with the Ferguson name and ice a team with winning potential. I wasn't that big a fan of John Sr. and I sure haven't seen anything to make me cheer for the kid. JF

Why have so many of the baitcasters got a right hand retrieve? So far I've only used spinning reels and I do that on the left side (although I'm right handed). Yet by far the majority of the baitcasters I look at are right hand retrieve. What's up with that? I was told by a tournament bass guy to hold the reel with my index finger above the rod and in front of the reel, and that feels good to me. But I'm uncomfortable doing that with my left hand on the rod. Have I been given bad advice in re the grip or am I just uncoordinated? JF

Nice pics. What cam are you using? JF

Okay. Slowly I'm getting it. I think it's an age thing. So, from a business perspective you want more subscribers so you can show yer advertisers some numbers? Are all the members here subscribed or are they all just reading it without subscribing? That gets you how many official subscribers if they all sign up?n Advertisers like numbers, free or otherwise. Get some nifty coupons or discounts only available to subscribers (no OFC exceptions). They don't have to be from advertisers. Lots of local businesses would be happy to offer a $10 or 10% discount on a $50-100 minimum retail purchase to get folks in the door. Gets their name out there and promotes discussion here and otherwheres. Look at the recent thread about the CTC coupons that a number of the locals jumped all over. Betcha I could get my local (new) Fishing Store here in Stratford to do something like that. It's just possible that his shop is as good as or better than anything in London or KW and it wouldn't hurt for everyone to find that out. The little guys who are surviving or hope to survive know that they have to be competitive with the big box shops, that good service and superior knowledge isn't enuf to get all the money. And talk to a few high ticket retailers about coupons or discounts for your subscribers. The first time Joe Blow brags that he got $500 knocked off the price of his new trawler just because he'd subscribed to yer mag you'll get new signups instantly, if only to see what else is free. Who knows? Once they check it out they may keep coming back for the content, but at least they'll be checking every issue to see what new great deals they can score. Do you ever do product comparisons? (Of course you have to avoid the advertisers' products, just in case they really suck.)Seems to me that fishermen are no different than anyone else in that department. We want to know which lure is gonna nail the personal best, or at least get the limit day in and day out until all the fishies have learned to shun that one. When some manufacturer puts out a new incredible edible we need to know so we can rush out to buy a bag or whatever. Let's face it. Fishing's about the cheapest sport known to man for buying the latest and best small toys. It can get pricey when you get into boats etc but I can go out on any Friday and buy enough new lures to keep me totally amused for a weekend or three for under $50. They turn my old rod and reel into a new and dangerous weapon in the fight against fish supremacy over man. And you have a captive audience here in Ontario, a fishing heaven. Not everyone wants to pull in nothing but lunkers and we have a wonderful variety of great game fish right here in Ontario, and they require the right kind of gear to catch 'em. Work that to the hilt. make it sound like you're giving away the deepest secrets of man. Of course everyone (stress everyone) has to subscribe to learn these secrets. If I didn't have to go to dinner right now I'd probably share more stupid ideas with you, but nature calls. And I have to pee, anyway. If I have any more really dumb thoughts I'll bore you with them as well. Later JF

My life is a compendium of stupid questions. JF

I'm relatively new here, so I hope this doesn't come off as too stupid, but what is yer E-Mag? When I read that comment I snooped around this site but couldn't identify anything magazinish save for Esox references. I looked in the member business section and all you have is something about snowshoes. Perhaps you need a new advertising manager? If it's sitting right under my nose I'll accept "Stupid" as my username for a month. JF

Could be the next sound for garage bands - bending to the auto tuner. I wonder what the response time really is. JF

Forget Gretzky, they took hockey. JF