Garry2Rs

If you are going as far east as Stoney the easiest way is #401-#115 to the very end at #7...East on #7 to #28 and north from there. Be aware that some GPS units want you to turn off at "The Parkway" in Peterborough and stick handle through city streets to join #28 at Lakefield. This is a complete waste of time!

In another life I often took my kids(then 10-12, now both 40+) to the Grand River with a pail of shiners for Sheephead. As stated, we caught a lot of Channel Cats fishing those live minnows a few feet deep below a bobber...Nowhere near the bottom where dead things might be found. I also owned an older VRO Evinrude and was often advised to disconnect the oil injection...I resisted and left it in stock condition...It ran fine for many years and is probablly still going. Good myths guys...Keep them coming...grin. 2R's

I'm having fun with it... Recently I built an 8ft crank bait rod for Curtis, using chrome frame guides, blue thread and silver accents. One morning I was untangling the pup's leash when a small Bluejay feather fell out of the tree we were standing under...I started to walk away, then though that the colour of the feather matched the thread on the rod. I attached the quill with a couple of turns of silver thread, used colour preserver and a small brush to smooth and anchor the feather in a pleasing shape...Once the CP was dry, a coat of Threadmaster permanently imbedded the feather on the rod. Since then I have successfully inlaid a real baby maple leaf on another rod. Right now I have some birch-bark soaking to limber up. I have a hand full of Buzzard feathers from a road kill. They are too dark to show up very well on a charcoal blank...The birch bark will provide a nice natural (and light) background. A little thread work at both ends and wallah! A totally unique butt wrap. Of coarse if it doesn't work out, I will simply wash it all off with alcohol and do a regular thread winding...grin. 2R's

Bass season starts next weekend for most of us. I thought it might be interesting to talk about some often repeated myths. I guess braid cutting guides has finally been laid to rest now that all the big line companies have braids on the market...grin. Staying with line, many folks have heard that Fluorocarbon line will help them get their crankbaits down deeper...This is also a myth. The idea is based on the fact that fluoro sinks, but when casting the line sinks so slowly that it has no effect on the overall depth the lure reaches. Not even when trolling, according to the guys who wrote the Precision Trolling book. Line diameter is a big factor in reaching greater depths. Eight pound mono will troll 20% deeper than 14 pound and 20 pound will troll 10% shallower than 14 pound mono. If max-depth is your goal, go with a smaller diameter...Braid is an excellent choice, in my opinion, because you retain strength that you would otherwise be giving up. A few people are still letting out 200 and 300 feet of line to get down deeper...Test show that beyond about 150ft. of line almost all lures start coming back up, because of water friction against the line. Most of us own several rods. When buying a new rod we often select one over another because it has a highest IM rating. The assumption being that with a higher IM number it must be better...However, there are two myths at work here...IM6, IM7, IM8, etc. are just product identifiers used by rod manufacturers for marketing purposes and have no other real meaning. It's generally assumed that the IM numbers are a rating of the thread count of the cloth used (Myth) or of the rods modulus...the stiffness of the rod blank (Myth II)...The fact is there are no standards within the rod industry. They can write whatever they want on a rod and they do! Rod blank design is a science and I think you need to be a scientist to understand any real explanation of the words, like modulus, that they use...However, it's generally excepted that the higher the modulus the less material is needed to obtain the same stiffness in a rod. It would then follow that if less material is used, that would mean a thinner tube at the same strength and a lighter rod blank. With that said, caution needs to be used when buying any rod with a rating greater than 42-million modulus. Why? Well because when you begin to study rod blanks there are other ratings like Strain Rate and Hoop Strength. Typically, the higher the modulus the lower the strain rate. Meaning the more brittle the rod becomes. High End Rod Manufacturers like G.Loomis and St. Croix specially engineer their high modulus rods so that they maintain a high strain rate...One major reason why their rods cost more. More importantly, stiffer rods aren't ideal for many baits. Super-sensitivity is great for finesse techniques, but many pro anglers have admitted using their old fiberglass, or more recently, "composite" rods for crank baits, spinner baits and jerk baits. Why? Because the softer action keeps the hooks from pulling out on a jump, or when the fish "misses" a bait and gets foul-hooked when they just swatted the bait or it zigged when they zagged. Let's hear your take on common fishing myths!

I changed the stock hooks on all of my Rattle baits. The stock hooks are quite small because the bait is very narrow. My replacement hooks are Mustad KVD elite triple grips. These hooks are 1X strong and 2X short shank. KVD designed these hooks specifically for the these baits. He then used them to win the Bassmaster's Classic in 2010. By replacing the stock hooks on your rattle type baits you have a much wider gap because you have gone up about two sizes without making the hook any longer. The balance etc. stays the same, but fish can't shake off as easily.

Live Target also finishes these baits in Crayfish patterns. The rattle is said to sound like the crabs armour clicking as they swim. I've caught fish on Red, Silver/Blue, Silver/Black, Chrome, Green, Orange and many so called natural patterns. I had great luck trolling a Baby Bass Rattlin'Rap for Walleye on the lower Grand River. Here are four easy ways to fish lip less cranks 1:Cast and retriever, with the odd jerk. 2:Cast over shallow weeds and allow to settle into the weed tops, then rip out. Best done with a stout rod. 3:Troll. 4:Yo-Yo...Cast and allow to sink to the bottom. Rip upwards and allow to sink back to the bottom...It's best if you pick-up slack as the bait sinks because strikes often come on the fall. One caution...Don't yo-yo or rip too close to the boat because the angle of the rod tip can exceed the breaking point.

Monday is my garbage day. Every week I top up my can with road side trash gathered from in front of my place on Highway #28 between Peterborough and Bancroft. If city people come up here for the natural beauty, clean water, wildlife etc. why do they want to soil and spoil it with Tim Horton and McDonald's trash? The irony is I am 40km from the nearest of these businesses. I call this long distance litter.

Hi Johnny; That sounds like the same one alright. Glad to hear mine wasn't just yellow with age...grin. I also tried the HJ Tennessee Shad for awhile, a Live Target Smelt that has worked well on that lake in the past, the good old HJ Blue and Chrome, and one of my friends had a Gold Husky Jerk on for awhile. However, the Silver-Black Suspending was the one they wanted!

I use braid for most things, but for solid body Frogs/Toads and other top water I have a couple of reels spooled up with 20 mono. It floats high and the stiffness keeps poppers and glide baits from running over the line and fouling the hooks. Flourocarbon is a no-no because it sinks. You can buy a big spool of Berkley Trilene Big Game for a few dollars at CTC.

Before I tried the spiral layout I was skeptical too. Now I know it works, I'm just not sure I like the look of the bumper guide sticking out like a hitchhikers thumb. On the other hand it faces the same way as the crank handle, so never really causes any problems. I am going to build something this week because I'm house bound waiting on a boat part. If I don't get a rod order that I'm hoping for, I will build a chunky 7ft one piece swim-bait rod with a spiral wrap to play around with. My friend Curtis, from this board, recently ordered an 8ft crank-bait rod. He's coming for it early next week. We are planning a couple of days of mid-week Pike fishing. This morning we were talking about that 12 inch Cisco in the Pike stomach. It has got us both thinking about big baits...grin.

Pike opened in my area this past Saturday, May 19th. As usual two couples, all long-time fishing friends stayed over at my place on Friday evening. Saturday they all made camp on an island. I hooked up with them around eleven AM both days and fished with the one couple Saturday and the other on Sunday. Both days we saw lots of Pike. About 20 of our fish were only follows but I managed to land 5 on Saturday. On Sunday I had a short day due to other commitments and only fished three hours but still landed three fish. Of my eight, two were hammer handles, two were thick 32-33 inch fish, one was quite large and heavy and three were mid-size eaters. All my fish were caught from the back of the boat with the same rod and lure. But please, let me tell you the whole story... Last Fall, I purchased four 5 1/2 inch Rapala Husky Jerks on sale @$4.99 a piece on-line, from a store in Phoenix Arizona. To save shipping to Canada I arranged to pick these baits up on my my way through Phoenix, a few weeks later. These baits might have been slow sellers in Arizona, but they looked like great Spring-time-in-Ontario Pike baits to me! Of coarse I had to wait six months to try them out, but it was worth it! As stated, I bought four, a regular HJ Clown, a Tennessee Shad and a Blue/Chrome. The forth bait was labelled as a Suspending, Silver/Black. I'll tell you now that my "Lucky Bait" was this Silver-Black Suspending model HJ-14S. Although it says silver/black on the box, it's not their regular bright chrome finish like on the ever popular blue/chrome model. I think it looks slightly gold...But it's subtle, more like a light over-spray of yellow/gold paint, not the bright bronze/gold-foil of the regular Gold Husky Jerk. It also has a white belly which might have been important...Since the fish I cleaned had a 12 inch Cisco in it's stomach. Strange as this might seem, I suspect that my casting rod had more than a little to do with my success! The rod I used was one that I made especially for Jerk-baits. I built it with a "short" for me, 7 inch handle. Normally I like a handle around 9 inches. I cast two handed and I'm a big guy, so a little longer handle suits me. However, when using these rods for Jerk-baits I sometimes feel I'm fighting the long handle. Using the 7 inch grip I can still get two fingers on for my two-handed cast, but when working with the tip down, it doesn't seem to foul on my forearm like the longer grips do. This rod started life as a two piece 6'6" IM6 Pac-Bay casting blank, rated MH, for 1/4-1oz. baits The blank has a medium action that I think is perfect for Jerk-baits. I'm six feet tall and for me, a 6'6" rod is the perfect length for working Jerk-baits. I know long rods are in style, but so were Afro's and platform shoes...The truth is, for me, longer rods want to hit the water on the down-stroke of my jerk-retrieve. Frankly, I didn't need another rod of this weight/length/action, but I actually started building it as a test bed for some new ideas I had been reading about. For sometime I had been studying the literature on what are called Spiral-Wraps. This is basically a saltwater idea that has the line start on top of a casting rod, like normal, but then spiral from the top of the blank to the bottom of the rod. There are several ways of laying out the guides, but the simplest seem to work just as well as the more complex plans, at least on mid-weight rods. On this "simple lay-out" the first guide is placed more or less in it's normal spot, about 23 inches in front of the reel, on top of the rod, at what we can call the 12 o'clock position. The second guide (AKA the Bumper guide) is mounted at right angles, at what we can call 3 o'clock. The rest of the guides are mounted on the bottom of the blank, at 6 o'clock, just like on a spinning rod. The idea behind this is to eliminate the rotating torque that tries to turn a rod with top mounted guides over in your hand, when you have a heavy fish on. As I said, this started with salt water guys, so it's probably more applicable to their heavy sticks or a big Musky rod than the little Bass wands most of us are using...However some people claim this lay-out also adds casting distance and I wanted to see what all the hub-bub was about. I also used mini guides on this rod. Mini guides are very tiny. They can be as small as the line-tie on your favorite lures. This means that they weigh a fraction of what a normal size set of guides do. It is well know in rod building circles, but seldom mentioned by the angling press, that the accumulated weight of the line guides has a big effect on the action of a finished rod. Just like when casting a heavy lure, the gross weight of the guides softens and slows the action of your rod blank. What mini guides do is to remove this excess weight from the business end of the blank, allowing the rod to function better. Again, some folks claim this results in extra casting distance... I built this rod back in February and for several months I had been casting small cranks down in Arizona. However, nothing I threw or caught really tested these theory's. After this weekend, I can tell you that none of these deviations-from-the-norm hurt my casting in any way. The fact is they probably helped it. I was able to match the cast length of my friends, who were using rods up to a foot longer than mine. I am totally sold on mini guides, and have been, since I built a spinning rod using these tiny guides last Fall. There is no doubt they improve the action of any rod just by reducing the dead weight hanging from it. I can't say that from now on I will build nothing but casting rods with spiral-wraps. Frankly, the look takes a little bit of getting used to. However I will build more rods of this style and will encourage others to try them out. I mentioned that my second guide is at 3 o'clock...I cast and reel right handed. If I was using a left hand cranking reel the second guide would be at 9 o'clock. The idea is to place the "bumper" guide on the same side as the crank handle, allowing the rod to lay flat when you put it on the deck. Garry2R's

This is my latest custom build. It's a six foot-six inch, Medium Heavy, two piece, IM7 casting rod, rated for 1 to 4 ounce baits. It has a handmade split-grip, drop-shot style hook keeper and micro guides. Although 6'6" MH 1-4oz rods are my favourite as all-around casting rods, this one was put together with Carolina rig's and plastic frogs in mind. Garry2R's

There is now about a $150 to $200 hole in Shimano's casting reel line-up. We are now faced with a jump from the $200.00 "new" Chronarch E model (Upgraded Curado) to the $350.00 to $400.00 Core (basically a magnesium version of the "old" Chronarch D model.) Shimano usually wins the "Reel of the Year" honours at the I-Cast show in July. I predict that in July we will see a brand new reel to fill this gap in their line-up. I also predict that it won't be an aluminium reel but instead another chunk of B2 Bomber plastic crap like the CI4 Stradic. Does anyone else remember when we paid extra to get rid of the plastic parts??? Garry2rs

It's that time of year again. Time to respool our reels with fresh line. Here's a handy little vidoe that show us the right way to do the job. Garry2R's

As I understand it, what we have here is a case of rebranding caused by the falling US dollar. The old Chronarch is gone. The new Chronarch is basically a slightly improved Curado, the new Curado is an improved Citica etc.

For the last ten years my go-to Senko rod has been a St.Croix Avid 6'9" ml with a Stradic 1000. I've used it so much that I had to re wrap the guides this winter! I have a 7ft. Walleye series G.Loomis Crankbait rod with a Chronarch and an 6.5 and 7ft Loomis IMX's with Chronarch's as well. These rods are great when I want a little more feel as with spinnerbaits and Carolina rigs etc. This winter I built a new Crappie rod on a Spin-Jig blank that is now the love of my life...grin. Using another Stradic 1000, it is light enough to throw 1/32 jigs, but the butt is strong enough to handle large fish...I have landed some 2 and 4 pound Bass with it no problem. Garry2rs

Rod Terms: Action: Where most of the initial flex in a rod blank takes place. Fast Action rods will flex mostly in the upper 1/3rd of their length. Moderate Action rods in the upper 1/2 of their length. Slow Action rods flex along their entire length. Power: Generally used to describe a rod blank's stiffness or resistance to bending. Speed: Within the confines of rod building it is generally used to define the rate of response and/or recovery of a rod. Modulus With regard to the fibers used to make fishing rods, "Modulus of Elasticity," refers to the relationship between stress and strain. In more simple terms relative to rod building, it usually defines the stiffness to weight ratio of the fibers used to construct the rod blank. Generally speaking, the higher the modulus of the fiber used to make the blank, the lighter the resulting blank can be for any given stiffness. Garry2rs FISHING...Having nothing to do and all day to Git-R-Done

When I was a Muskytier I used the big rods, and baits because Pike were a warm-up to the Musky season. Now-a-days I use 6.5 and 7ft MH bass rods with Husky Jerks most of the time. My factory rods are Loomis GL3 and IMX's with Chronarch's. My home build is a 7ft Crankbait rod with a Calcutta. I use 20# mono and 30 or 40 pound braid. I don't like wire leaders with Husky Jerks, so my line is on the heavy side for safety. I have a friend who catches a lot of pike on a spinning rod, mostly with #5 Mepp's spinners. I don't know what line she uses but I know there is a short wire leader on whatever it is. Pike aren't long runners, so big reels aren't really needed in my opinion. I like the bass gear because it's more fun in the Spring when I do my pike fishing. Although I have a few, I don't often use rods over 7 ft because they won't fit in my rod locker. I bring them out if I intend to throw 6 or 8 inch swimbaits or bucktails etc. For the smaller stuff I don't feel the need of extra length. Unless you fish alone, long rods can be a problem in a boat...8ft of rod, 3ft of arm plus 2ft of leader and bait can reach out and hook your partner if you're not careful! I once had a client snag and break the rod I was holding in front of me with a Sledge...Very scary!!!

How are you guys making out for ice? I understand that some guys are still soft water fishing. WOW! The weather must be quite mild up there. Buck and I have been having a mild winter too. As you might recall daytime highs are usually between 65 and 70F in the winter. It's the overnight low that determinants how long it will take to warm back up the next day. This year in Yuma overnight temperature dipped into the low 40F before Christmas, but since then it has been better. Winter is usually over by Mid-February, so it can only get warmer from here on. The trout stocking program seems to have hit a snag...I don't think any fish were put in during January. Yesterday my neighbour reminded me that we had done pretty well fishing for Small-mouth Bass in the main irrigation canal, about ten years ago. Today I went out for a couple of hours and got two. The first was about 2 pounds and hit a Crappie grub. The water is clear and you are standing on a steep bank looking down onto the water. These canals used to have weeds lining the bottom. At that time I used a spinner and fished like a wet-fly fisherman, casting across and down stream, letting the bait swing with the current, before retrieving. I would then take a couple of steps and cast again. This covered the water but it was slow going. This year there are no weeds...I drove alone the bank looking for cover. When I saw a rock pile I stopped and surveyed the scene. This has become sight fishing and if I looked carefully I was able to see the fish. The first one that I caught I saw leave it's holding spot and drift down stream with the bait before it committed...Pretty cool to watch! The second one was larger, 4 pounds?...It hit a gold Panther Martin spinner. It too followed, as I twitched and shook the spinner, but it wouldn't take it until I let the bait fall back toward the bottom. I have to think the fish wasn't willing to bite anything less than about two feet from the surface... The fish are usually in small schools and quite spooky. Sometimes they must see me or my first cast spooks the whole herd. I know that not all the fish I see are Bass, I recognize some as Carp, and I know there are Tilapia in the canals too. Anyway, I can only seem to catch one fish from a group, then the rest either ignore me or simple move out of the area. Lots of fun!!! Garry2r's

OOPS...I see Dave Mercer already posted this...Sorry.

B.A.S.S. imposes One-Lure Rule for the Bassmaster Classic and Elite Series New rule affects The Alabama Rig By B.A.S.S. Communications Jan 18, 2012 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S., upon the recommendation of its Bassmaster Elite Series Rules Committee, has amended its tournament rules to limit anglers competing in the Bassmaster Classic and Bassmaster Elite Series to the use of a single lure during practice and competition. The rule change, which does not apply to Bassmaster Open, B.A.S.S. Federation Nation, College B.A.S.S. and other events, clarifies the intent of long-standing rules permitting only one rod, one reel and one cast at a time. No longer permitted are double soft jerkbait rigs, drop shot rigs with jigs used as weights, double topwater setups and other multi-lure rigs, such as “umbrella rigs.” The change becomes effective Feb. 1 and includes the upcoming Bassmaster Classic at Shreveport-Bossier City, La., Feb. 24-26. Elite Series Rules Committee members, comprised of 2012 Bassmaster Elite Series qualifiers, seemed most concerned about new multi-lure rigs such as The Alabama Rig, which Bassmaster Elite Series pro Paul Elias used to win an event on Lake Guntersville in October. In the weeks since, tens of thousands of the multi-lure devices have been sold, and they have proved extremely effective in both recreational and competitive fishing. The Alabama Rig and similar setups from other manufacturers consist of a weighted head with five wire leaders trailing behind. Soft plastic swimbaits and similar lures are attached to the leaders, imitating a school of baitfish. Rules Committee members believe the rig eliminates some of the skill that should be required in tournament competition at the highest level. “It doesn’t matter how you work it,” said one of the anglers. “The fish can’t help themselves.” “The Alabama Rig has become enormously popular in recent months, and it has definitely had an impact on the tournaments in which it has been used,” noted Trip Weldon, B.A.S.S. tournament director. “Personally, I have enjoyed catching bass on umbrella rigs and found them to be very effective in some situations. I have witnessed first-hand the excitement this technique has generated in our sport. “However, the Elite Series Rules Committee members unanimously asked to be held to a higher standard,” he added. “We have decided to honor their recommendation.” The rule change follows a precedent of imposing more stringent restrictions in Elite Series and Classic competition than in other B.A.S.S. events. For example, landing nets are prohibited in the Elites and the Classic but not in other circuits. Additional rules specific to the Elites include off-limits periods, no-information restrictions and new limits on boats that can be used in competition. B.A.S.S. officials emphasized that the decision should not be construed as disapproval of multi-lure rigs. “We are as excited as the rest of the country about the new multi-lure rigs,” said Bruce Akin, B.A.S.S. CEO. “We will continue to cover new ways to utilize these tools in Bassmaster Magazine and on Bassmaster.com. Our Classic and Elite tournaments simply have a higher standard for the sake of competition. The rest of us will enjoy learning how to catch more fish with these tools.” A Rules Committee member added, “I don’t have a problem with the use of umbrella rigs or multi-lure rigs to catch bass. If you are out fun fishing, there may be nothing more fun to use. However, our events represent the highest level of professionalism in our sport and I think as participants of these events, we should be held to a higher standard, as well. I like the idea of one rod, one reel, one lure.” -- FISHING...Having nothing to do and all day to Git-R-Done

As some of you might know Gary Loomis is building rods again. He had a non-competition clause with Shimano when he sold them the G.Loomis company back around 2001, but that has expired. His new rods are sold through Temple Fork Outfitters. Most interestingly, to me, they are all labeled IM6!!! Okay, for those of you who are still interested in the topic, I did also did a quick Internet search... from http://www.flyanglersonline.com/cst/cst010801.html IM6 is merely a trade name for Hercules fiber of (not especially high) modulus. Since there are no industry standards that I am aware of, there is no way to compare apples to apples, i.e. the modulus of say IM6 to one manufacturer will not be the same as the modulus of IM6 used by another manufacturer. from Tackle Warehouse @ http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/RodSelection.html IM6, IM7, etc.: These are trade names for particular graphite produced by the Hexcel Corporation. These numbers are not industry standards or an indication of quality, especially since other companies use the designations to refer to graphite not made by Hexcel. At best, they allow you to compare the quality of the material used to build different rods by the same manufacturer. You can be confident that the IM7 rod would use better graphite than the IM6 rod if both are made by the same manufacturer. It's more difficult to say the same about rods from two different companies, since they could be made from material from completely different manufacturers. Modulus: As stated above, modulus refers to the stiffness of the graphite, not the amount of material used or the number of graphite fibers incorporated into the sheets. Buying a rod based solely on the modulus rating is a mistake because other factors must be considered. For instance, you don't want the stiffest rod for light line techniques or cranking. In addition, other qualities must be incorporated in the graphite itself and the rod must be designed correctly to ensure the best performance and durability of the rod. The other components that go into a quality rod can also add significantly to the cost. From Bass Pro Shops @ http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.CFPage?mode=article&objectID=29385 Graphite comes in a variety of different "modulus ratings," which is the measurement that is used to describe the strength of the fibers used in the rod. The higher the modulus rating, the stronger and denser the fibers are that make up the rod. Think of it this way - as the rating goes up, the material involved goes down, allowing for a lighter weight, faster action and more sensitivity - while also maintaining it's core strength. The one downside to all of this is as the rating goes up, the brittleness in the rod increases. (Finding a common ground between features and the "brittle" factor is the key to success.) To put this in an example, Fiberglass has a modulus rating between six and 13-million, while Graphite has a rating between 33 and 60-million. (IM6 blanks have a rating of 33-million, while IM7's are pegged at 42-million.)

This is an interesting read... Ever since the introduction of the first graphite rod by Fenwick in 1974, myths about this mysterious material have been growing and circulating the globe like wildfire. How many times have you been told that the difference between IM6, IM7 and IM8 is the difference in quality standard, or that the higher the modulus, the more graphite was used to produce the rod? With there being so many misconceptions surrounding this material, Gary Loomis – one of the world’s foremost authorities on graphite rod design and founder of the G.Loomis Corp. – agreed to lend his expertise to eliminate these myths. Loomis began by explaining that the identifiers IM6, IM7 and IM8 are the trade numbers used by the Hexcel Corp. to identify their product and is not an industry quality or material standard, although the Hercules Fibers produced by the Hexcel Corp. are the benchmark that most companies use to compare their materials. The confusion is compounded because a number of rod manufacturers use materials produced by companies other than Hexcel and yet identify their rods as being IM6, IM7 and IM8, which by itself means nothing. What an angler needs to understand is how the word “modulus” pertains to graphite rods. Modulus is not a thread count, as many would have you believe. Modulus basically equates to stiffness. The higher the modulus, the stiffer the material is by weight, meaning less material is needed to achieve the same stiffness of lower-modulus materials. This results in a lighter product. “You have to remember, weight is the deterrence to performance,” Loomis said. Stiffness also equates to responsiveness – that is, the rod’s ability to store and release energy. The higher the modulus, the faster and more consistent a rod is able to store and release its energy, which enables an angler to cast farther and more accurately. G-Loomis rodsBut you cannot talk about modulus without including strain rate, or the measured strength of the material. While modulus is reported in millions, strain rate is reported in thousands. An acceptable strain rate for a fishing rod is 680,000 or higher. A graphite rod made from IM6 Hercules Fibers will have a modulus of 36 million and a strain rate of 750,000. With the original materials used for graphite rods, as the modulus rate increased, the strain rate would decrease, resulting in the rods being more acceptable to failures because of brittleness. However, through the advancements of materials, technology and engineering design, companies are able to produce high-modulus, high-strain-rate rods. These new high-tech fishing rods are super-light, responsive, and extremely sensitive and strong. But the misconception of brittleness still plagues them, and the reason for this is because as the modulus gets higher, the less material is needed and therefore used. This means that the wall thickness in the blank, which is basically a hollow tube, is thinner. “Remember what I said before – weight is the deterrence to performance,” Loomis said, and went on to tell a story: “I had a gentleman come in with a fly rod that broke near the handle, and he was asking for a new rod. I examined his broken rod and knew from the break – it was splintered – that his rod broke from abuse. So I asked him how it broke, and the man, being sincere, told me it broke while fighting a fish. I explained that it would be nearly impossible for the rod to break this way. But to be fair, (I told him) if he could break another rod the same way, I would give him three brand-new rods of his choice, but if he couldn’t, that he would pay for the repairs, and the man agreed. “So I took him out in the back by the shipping docks and handed him an identical rod. With the rod in his hands, I grabbed the blank and asked him to apply the same pressure he was using when it broke. The man was applying a great deal of stress on the rod, and it wasn’t breaking. So I asked if he wanted to apply even more pressure, and the man responded that he didn’t think he could, but he insisted that is how his rod broke. “So then I told him, ‘We are going to break this rod, so that it breaks just like yours did.’ I then laid the blank on a rubber mat and I kneeled on it by the handle, and we tried it again but it didn’t break. Then I laid it on the concrete and kneeled on it. Examining the rod, you couldn’t see it was damaged, but this time the rod broke just like his did, and the man simply asked where he needed to pay to get his rod repaired.” The point of this story is that these high-modulus, high-strain-rate, thin-walled rods are extremely strong and are highly unlikely ever to break under normal use. Almost all rods are damaged by other means – an angler accidentally stepping on them, hitting them against a hard surface while casting, or storing them where a toolbox or some other heavy object can slide into them. Then, with the damage done, the rod collapses while under the stress of fighting a fish. So while high-modulus, high-strain-rate rods are not brittle, they do require more care in storage and transport. There is a graphite rod made for every angler and their lifestyle. Composite blends (a mix of graphite and fiberglass) can take a lot of abuse. Intermediate modulus rods (33 million to 42 million) with high strain rates (700,000 or higher) still offer a lot of sensitivity and responsiveness and are quite durable. The high-modulus, high-strain-rate, extremely light rods are usually a rod manufacturer’s high-end product. These rods are the ultimate in responsiveness and sensitivity, and they cost a lot more than the average fishing rod. As with anything that costs this type of money, you would want to take a lot better care of it, including using protective cases to store and transport them around. Hopefully, you now have a much better understanding of graphite as it pertains to fishing rods, and as a result, understand the care you need to employ with their use, storage and transport. Finally, armed with your new found knowledge, you will be able to make a much more informed decision the next time you purchase your next graphite rod.

I got this info in a news letter from American Legacy Tackle today. Prices are in USD. There is free shipping and a $50.00 discount available on orders with an after discount net of $500.00, but you have to ask for it. American Legacy Tackle Link Now Taking Orders On The Shimano TranX EXTREME BAD ASS Low Profile Reel......... You can't hardly go to any credible fishing blog or tackle test web site that isn't all abuzz about this truly "Bad Ass" Low Profile "Big Fish" Reel called the Shimano TranX. If you're a musky fisherman or fish for other big, bad fish such as stripers, wahoo, steelhead, salmon, or any variety of other bad fish and have always wished you could find a more comfortable low profile casting reel then this, my friends, is your reel! These reels are made tough as nails and will out perform many of the "round reels" so common (and at times cumbersome and uncomfortable) today. They are available in 6.6:1 and a 4.6:1 retrieve ratio and weigh in at about 20 oz., so don't think of them as dainty or something you'll use in Uncle Norm's farm pond. These guys are for fish with attitudes. Big fish that don't want to be caught! Shimano TranX reels have a revolutionary design and shape that provides the comfort of low profile with the capacity of a conventional reel. Shimano TranX is offered in high gear (HG) and power gear (PG) models to cover a wide range of applications. Here are the details per Shimano: X-Ship provides an extra smooth retrieve with superior durability; HEG - a larger drive gear and pinion gear increase cranking efficiency; SF - Superfree Bearing supported Pinion Gear eliminates friction with spool shaft for better freespool; E.I. Surface treatment on the spool protects against corrosion from saltwater soaked braided line; S A-RB coating protects bearings from rust in saltwater use; Super Stopper eliminates handle back play; VBS Brake System effectively reacts to spool rotation speed to provide ideal brake force at all times during cast; Dartainium II Drag Washer provides incredibly smooth drag performance with durability; and an Ergonomic Power Handle for better leverage. There are two models: TRX500HG has a 6.6:1 retrieve ratio, 43 in. line retrieve per crank, 25 lb Max Drag, 7 S-ARB Bearings and 1 Roller Bearing, 30/160 - 40/120 - 50/100 mono line capacity, 50/420 - 65/270 - 80/210 Power Pro braid line capacity. Price is $499.99 TRX500PG has a 4.6:1 retrieve ratio, 30 in. line retrieve per crank, 25 lb Max Drag, 7 S-ARB Bearings and 1 Roller Bearing, 30/160 - 40/120 - 50/100 mono line capacity, 50/420 - 65/270 - 80/210 Power Pro braid line capacity. We're guessing you could probably winch you car out of a ditch with this baby! Price is $499.99 Now we do not have these new reels in stock yet, but we have them listed on our web site where you can order them to make sure you get some of the very first reels that arrive which should be early March 2012. Pre-release buzz is that the Shimano TranX will be THE HOT REEL for 2012, so if you really want one of these bad boys order now to make sure you don't have to wait until Fall to get one. Do-It-Now.....please!

Since Dec 1st. I have caught almost a dozen trout on 1/8 and 1/4 Panther-Martens. I have also caught about 8 or 9 LMBass. The bass have been small, nothing over 1.5lbs but on an ultra-light that's a big fish...grin.