Andrew_P

I hear negative gearing is most boomer’s trick of choice ?

Not that I saw Hamish. I’m a big fan of the Shimano baitrunner design given they invented it  

@Bretto77 just rod building stuff mate I hung on a few blanks while I was there so got a great idea of how certain blanks will feel built up

6 minutes ago, Angry51 said:

Some dollars there, You can wander around all day in those places can't you? Thanks for the pics Andrew, never get to go to those sort of shows.

I struggle to control myself when all the receptors are pinging from the sights, sounds and possibilities. It’s more like a heightened state - the Red Mist my mates call it

Ok I thought I did better today but looking through my photos I’m not quite sure. Things that interested me were the REALLY big spin reels by Penn and Okuma (seriously hard to lift let alone cast), the new spin reels from majorcraft, a squid blade from TT (looks like the ecogear sx), some micro plastics from Zman and all the rod building bling from Fuji. 

Managed to snag a pass to AFTA for today. Was a big day looking at products and talking to people! Was kinda like being in a YT video with all the familiar faces, big logos and shiny gear. I realised I only took a couple of quick pics of products so I’ll try to do better tomoro!

if you are planning on going to public day tomoro they are expecting lots of people so best get in early. Cannot imagine how crazy it will be in there with all the gear and the public!

On 25/7/2023 at 9:52 PM, Bretto77 said:

Thanks for the disturbing equations. @Andrew_P keep collecting and giving love to the old school stuff because what is marketed now in the big chains is clearly VERY cheaply produced.

Brett - I’m good with the rod side of the equation but I haven’t quite mastered engineering and production of reels yet so am a slave to the market mark up! I’d take a $50 clearance reel any day!

@fonzeno1 location mate?

@Bretto77 it is still safely stored in my rafters. No better (or worse) condition

yeah my 32inch Lee jeans dont fit as well as they used to! must be them not me!

i dont rebuild a lot of rods, only some of the wilson and snyder glas fibreglass jobs that i cant get blanks for. i see a wide range in build quality even in these - but most are between 30 and 50 years old. so i cannot comment on the quality of newer rods.

give me a new blank any day!

my capacity to build is limited (story of my life) so if someone asks me for a bream or flatty stick i send them to their local fishing store and say spend between 100 and 150 and you will get a rod that will work and costs less than my parts (let alone labour!).it might not last as long as one of my builds but they dont have to wait for it or spend ~$300 for a custom build. my niche is bay and offshore rods made with quality blanks and components. these builds arent cheap (even with ss guides not titanium) but i know that their handles wont come unstuck, bindings wont crack and they get to choose their colours and reel seat placement etc for a one of a kind build. most of my clients are happy to pay for the time i spend on the build, quality of components and customisation; to be honest a lot of my time is spent selecting the blank that is best suited to their application.

sylva - how do the titanium guides hold up against a hard fighting foe? i have heard of issues with rings popping out under load as the ti guide is softer than ss and can change shape thereby popping the glue holding in the guide ring.

which Ti guides are you using? For your info, i use Fuji MN style stainless guides with SiC rings for my HD spin rods, underbound and double overbound!