First ride in the Big Tuna

Finally went fishing in our new kayak today.

First time ever fishing in a kayak and I must say it was quite fun.  Didn't catch any fish, but it was great learning how to deal functions of a large kayak and figure out what we wanted to fish with and then rig up the rods.  We went to Inks lake and the weather was perfect.  The post-frontal wind wasn't too bad and over all it was a very enjoyable trip.  The only thing that would have made it better would have been to catch some fish!

We tried a variety of topwater lures, bass assassins, and other spinner baits, but nothing seemed to stir the hearts of the bass today.  Even saw a large bass do a full body jump out of the water within 30ft of the boat.   I think my problem is that my freshwater lure collection is getting a little slim these days.  Other than my lures for saltwater, my freshwater collection needs a complete revamping.

Oh well...  we mainly went out to get used to the boat since we'll be taking it to the coast next month.  Hopefully we'll do better down there with the redfish!

UPDATE 11/27:   We had a blast on the Big Tuna on the coast last week.  It did way better than I imagined in the waves and such.  We didn't take it into the surf or anything but we did get into some choppy water on Aransas bay and it didn't hardly even bounce.  I'm debating on if I want to try it in the surf now!   One trip out on Copano bay, we saw dolphins within 100ft of the kayak.  Quite the thrill!

Regarding rod length and kayak fishing:  We found that me sitting in the back it was nice to have a longer rod (8'6") but my wife sitting in the front had a 7ft rod.  This kept us from interfering with each other too much.  The longer rod let me cast over her head without worry about snagging her - which I doubt she would have appreciated.

Tights lines,

Mike
HCFR

Fishing rods for the common man - Used rod rebuilding

I have the rebuild bug again. 

I am collecting old and broken fishing rods of all sorts to strip down and rebuild from scratch.  For most rod builders this may seem like a fool's errand, but for me it's a way to encourage folks with smaller incomes to purchase a custom built rod for less.

So how much is less?  Well, it depends on the quality of the rebuild.  Some older rods have exceptional blanks, but the workmanship to put the rod together is lacking.   For some, the reel seats aren't mounted well, the cork may disintegrate quickly, or it may be that the guides are simply not on the spine.  Older rods often have guides missing or the tip top may be broken off.   Any of these things will cause many fisherman to dump the rod for "better" options at their local Walmart. Most fisherman don't realize that having that rod rebuilt could turn it into a much better rod than anything they could find at Wally World.  And generally rebuilding a rod costs less than $30 in parts which means I can add $40-60 in labor and still make a few bucks without making people break the bank.

Many fiberglass rods from the 70's and 80's had wonderful actions.  In fact my all time favorite ultralight rod is a fiberglass rod.  Most people dove into the graphite revolution and so graphite has become a very popular product.  But if glass were such a horrible option, why do the best rod companies still make fiberglass rods?   Because there are some fisherman who say that graphite doesn't have the exact properties they are looking for in a rod. Fiberglass just has a slightly different feel from graphite.  In many ways even the fastest action fiberglass rods still have a softness about them that makes graphite seem harsh and unforgiving.

And so, I offer rebuilt fiberglass rods.  I look for all kinds of rods.  I'll even rebuild the old "slow action" rods that most people hate now.  However, what most people don't realize is that fast action rods are not all they are cracked up to be.  Fly fisherman often prefer a slow action rod because that slow action allows them to fight a fish with light line.  What many bass fisherman don't know is that this holds true for spinning and casting as well.  If you want to fish 4# line for largemouth bass, you can - with a 9ft spinning rod with a slow action.  That slow action helps absorb the stress that would normally be present on a rod with a stiffer action and stress which normally breaks the line because the rod can't bend to "point" at the fish.  When the rod bends over like that and fish bucks around, the rod absorbs the tension and keeps constant pressure on the fish which tires them out quicker.  But I digress...

None the less, rebuilt graphite rods are an excellent opportunity for someone to get a high performing rod for under $100 that they can pass on to their grandchildren.  I get all excited when I find an IM6 or IM7 graphite rod with broken guides or dog chewed cork.  I know that I can rebuilt the rod back to premium condition and most likely sell it to someone who can't afford to spend $250 on a premium rod.

On top of that, when good ol' boy Billy Bob brings me his "old" graphite rod to rebuild thinking it will be a good patch job and comes back to find what appears to be a brand new rod, there's nothing that makes me happier than to see the look on his face.  Yeeehaaaaaw!

So I love making the "common" among us happy.  I like helping people find joy in the little things in life and if that means rebuilding your precious rod from grandpappy... 

Bring it on!

Mike
Hill Country Fishing Rods

G. Loomis - poor construction??

You could have knocked me over with a feather.

There I was standing in Cabela's in Buda Texas where I had purposely hunted down the most expensive G. Loomis rod I could find on the rack so I could check it out.  As many fisherman know, there are "store bought rods" and then there are "custom rods".  I had come to Cabelas to see if the most expensive rods they sold were just "store bought" or if they attained to the "custom" category.  Imagine my surprise when I took that expensive casting rod, bent it in line with the guides and it nearly popped out of my hands!  The guides weren't aligned on the spine!

What is this thing called a "spine", you ask?  It is something that exists in all rods from the old metal rods to the finest Sage and Winston rods.  The spine or spline is something that occurs naturally in any straight piece of material no matter what it is.  If you take a long, round, flexible, straight object and bend it in an arc, and then roll it in your fingers, you will feel the rod change it's flexibility.  Simply put - one side of the rod is more flexible than the other. On most rods there is a main spine and a sub spine though some rods only have one. Very few and generally the cheapest rods will have almost no spine.

How a rod builder arranges the guides on the spine will depend on the type of rod he is building.  Generally a custom rod builder will consult with his client to determine the exact arrangement for the guides.  Is the fisherman a streams and river fisherman?  Does he fish on the coast? If so, does he do Inshore, surf, or beyond?  Does the fisherman focus on accuracy in casting into brush or does he need more backbone for into-the-wind casting and a better fish fighting experience?  All of these things play into the decision the rod builder makes when placing the guides on the spine.

What happens if the guides are not centered correctly on the spine?  These days it's not as critical as it used to be.  Back when rods were still highly experimental and fiberglass was in its infancy, the centering of the guides on the spine was hyper-critical as a misplacement could result in a broken rod.   Now days with even light rods exhibiting the strength of an old world surf rod, you can pretty much throw the guides on any side of the rod and the rod will usually survive just fine... note the "usually" part.   When guides are placed on the side of the spine on a casting rod, the guides, the reel seat, and tip are all attempting to "slide" around to the bottom of the spine.

This "rod twist" isn't particularly noticeable with a normal sized fish that are no where near the rod's capacity.  But invariably, we will look at the line weight of the rod and go out and buy line that is at the maximum or even a little over the rod rating and go fishing off the channel in Port A.  That mackeral that hits your bait/lure at 20 knots isn't going to do your big casting rod any favors.  It's going to make you work so hard that you will wish you had spent a little more time in the gym.  With a custom built rod, this scenario would still be a win-win situation.  You have a fish that you can fight to the max and most likely make the most of your 30lb test line and 30lb rated rod.  

Not so with that "on the side" casting rod you picked up at the big "A"!  When that big one hits your bait, at the very least you will be fighting the rod as much as the fish and let me tell you, there's no amount of weight lifting you can do that will help you hang on to a rod where from the reel to the tip top, the rod wants to turn on it's side. It's entirely possible that your tip top will twist off the rod, your guides will rip themselves out of position and your blank snap at the tip. 

So back to that "G. Loomis" casting rod....  Why in the world would you spend $250-$500 on a rod where the guides are placed on the side of the spine???  I would rather take my chances on a $75 Shakespeare where I know it's "weak" than to spend half a 'G on a so-called high quality rod!

When I was a kid and learning how to build fishing rods from "Junior" Herron, I learned the simple concept of a spline (as he called it) and how to make sure you maximized the potential of the rod.  How is it that these rod manufactors ask you to spend exhorbinate amounts of hard earned cash on a rod that isn't designed much better than your $10 "Tournament Choice" rod?!   If they can't get the spine right, how do I know they got the reel seet glued to the rod properly?  I can't tell you how many rods I've torn down only to find the reel seat glued to the cork only and not even glued to the rod!

For $500 I can build a rod that will outclass and outperform most of the big name rods.  So far as I'm aware, the only rods you can find on the market that are worth the money paid for them cost much closer to a full G.  And they are probably worth it.  Unlike these $250 "store bought" garbage sporting the name of one of the fathers of modern fishing rods. 

If I was Gary Loomis, I'd be insulted.

My rant for the day,  :-)

Mike

It's rod building time!

The fall is upon us again.  The cool weather, a few rainy days, and plenty of dark hours to build rods!



We've been away all summer dealing with life in the fast lane.  Wishing we could be spending way more time on the coast or on a lake somewhere.  But now we're back and prepping for the next big trip to the coast.  Looks like it will be the weekend before Thanksgiving.  The big update on this is that we acquired a Jackson "Big Tuna" Kayak about a month ago.  Would you believe we haven't had a chance to get out and use it yet??  Between the rain and our day jobs, we haven't had a chance to go to the lake yet.  Hopefully this next weekend will change that!

Since this is our first kayak, we are researching rod building ideas and methods for building fishing rods that best match kayak fishing. We've seen some information that indicates shorter rods are better and we've seen information that says longer rods are better.   Since our kayak is a tandem kayak, we are thinking shorter is better so we aren't as likely to snag each other.  But then again, longer rods will put the bait, lure, etc further away from the person behind.   We are thinking that maybe the front person can use long or short and the back person will use a shorter rod.  The cool thing about our kayak is that the seats can be turned around, though we aren't sure about turning them around when we are out on the water...  hah

HCFR main bench when first getting started.

We are looking for your ideas on this!  We would like to hear from you and see what you think about fishing from a kayak - both solo and tandem.  Have you done it? What do you use? Casting, spinning, or fly rod? Ours has a stand up area so fly fishing is a possibility.





And finally, what are your favorite kayaking spots here in Texas?   Of course we don't expect you to reveal your exact favorite fishing hole, but in general terms. ;)

Enjoy!

Mike and Sarah
HCFR

Novembers's late update

Praise God it's raining in Texas!

We have had very consistent rains here for a past few weeks. This has helped the reseviours somewhat if nothing more in that people are not using water to keep things alive. We are still behind but it's looking better at this point. The hope is that the lakes that were about to go dry, won't. I know some people think that it's exciting to be able to catch fish so easy in the low reseviours, but most don't realize that when the rains come back and the "tank" is full, the fish to water ratio will be so low I'll be surprised if it recovers in a year. In fact it may take 5 years for the fish to come back to pre-2008 levels.

We went down to the coast at the end of November. Had a very enjoyable time, but caught only a few fish. Seems that the wind and redtide was affecting the fishing. Since I am a greenhorn when it comes to coastal fishing, I thought I was doing terrible. But I talked to some local fisherman and most of them said that they were having trouble finding the fish and the ones they did catch were real small. Made me feel better about my only Redfish keeper.

We are planning another trip here at the end of December and so far the weather looks like it will be quite agreeable. Now that we are a little wiser, we hope this to be a much more eventful trip regarding our fishing endeavors.

The rod business has been slow to come on due to starting at the end of the year. We are extra busy with life right now and it makes it much more difficult to get anything done. However we have made some progress in a couple different areas:

Mike was able to dump our first webhost without cost when he found out that their customer service was horrible. Thankfully he hadn't done much of anything at that needed to be saved so the move to our new host was pretty simple. We looked into hosting our servers at one point due to our IT background but it proved to be too big of a task and would require more maintenance long term. The hillcountryfishingrods.com website is now up and has a temporary page up pointing to this blog.

Sarah has been working hard at getting some of the paperwork done to get the business going. We are now officially a business having received our DBA and tax ID. This is a big step in the right direction and should help us keep our costs down during the start up period. Looks like we will be starting up in force sometime in January.

Tight lines,

Mike and Sarah