Eyefull

Oh man! That would be hard, like taking jewelry back from your, never mind......

They got up late, then got delayed further when they weren't able to get around the blocked off roads for that marathon!

Walked past it in the garage this morning and fealt like it was looking at me with teary eyes. I'll have to go inside and won't be able to watch it roll down the driveway hooked to another truck.

I so missed you guys at the dock when you came back. I was pooped out and sawing logs in the vbirth when you came back. Wanted to catch you guys and kick the sand for a while, but fell asleep.

Don A. let me mate for him on Saturday morning. Our guests showed up at 10:00, just a bit late. We set lines and had a miss and two kings in the boat before our third line hit the water. One on a deep rigger pulling a big white paddle and fly. The second came on a SD and green fly off the wire diver, stayed stuck the second time. Afte that we drove for a half hour, no bites and lots of phone calls asking who turned off the switch? We picked away until 2:00 and had our guests back in time to catch the football game like promised. I think we ended up 7 for 9 in very unprime time fishing. As always it was a great weekend, seeing everyone again. Holland is fast becoming my favorite port, lots of nice folks and consistant great fishing. Hopefully can do some more of that mate thing, was a blast.

Been in love with this particular Grady since March. Like you said, looking around quick to make sure I am not missing out on a better deal. Hey, check and make sure you got 22 caps, my invoice showed only 20? I might owe you money back, or two more caps.

The Eyefull is sold! A very lucky guy from South East Michigan bought the Eyefull this afternoon after a short water test. What I thought would be a very happy moment for me was actually very hard. Lots of great memories in that boat and lots of fish met their maker as a result.

Now for the good news, this frees me up to purchase the new Eyefull. Looking for used 24-26' walkaround style glass boats with outboards preferrably. I have a 25' Grady Sailfish with twin 200's in my sights locally, but am open to suggestions in the short term.

Thanks for any help.

Nice job Ben. I missed you guys last night at the launch, I was already sawing logs in Dons vbirth when you guys came back

Yep, or that.....move the tip top guide down and you have a great combat fishing weapon:rolleyes:

After thinking long and hard, along with crunching and recrunching numbers, I decided to not open a store at this time. I will instead be renting two rows of aisle space in a local hardware store beginning this next spring. I'll carry a specialized array of Saginaw Bay tackle, rods, reels, and some custom stuff. I think at this time it will be a good way to guage the business climate for a specialized tackle shop in my area without jumping into a huge dollar venture.

It can be fixed, but it is a several step process. The finished product should be good as new and last for years, however it all depends on the break itself, the care taken during the repair process and a little luck.

First a crushed break where the blank is basically splintered and spungy is not going to hold up no matter what you do.

If it is a clean break, find an old fiberglass rod. It is important to use a lower modulus material blank for the repair, it has to flex in and around the repair. Once you have a suitable piece of blank, use a portion that fits perfectly inside the ID of the broken blank, and overlaps the break by appx. 1 " each way. At the same time, find a piece that fits the OD perfectly, overlapping the break about a half inch either side of the break. Use U40 Rod Bond epoxy to bond the pieces altogether. You have plenty of time before the rod bond cures (about 1 hour before it sets and becomes unusable), so take your time. Use Isopropyl alchohol or Acetone to clean up any excess epoxy in the repair area. After the rod has set up for 24 hours or overnight, you can gently sand the oversleave edges to a nice taper to the original blank, carefull not to scuff the original blank. If you have a lathe, you can chuck it up and make that part very easy. You can then use rod wrapping thread to do a wrap over each end of the repair, then use a rod finish epoxy for the threadwork.

Many stores carry basic rodbuilding supplys (Cabelas, Bass Pro) that you can use for this repair.

Keep in mind that you cannot see microscopic fractures to the blank that may extend several inches either way of a nasty break, so if the fix fails, and they sometimes do, it is nothing you did wrong, it was just not going to work due to the severity of the break. Most of the time however, the repaired area will have no adverse effects and will last as long as the rod does.

It is a project that most can do in the offseason, but I am always happy to help or even do the repair with you in my shop.

Hey, I just got off the phone with your dad. Trying to make him a deal on Traxstech equipment for the new boat. I am looking at getting in town Friday after lunch, and probably going home Saturday night unless I get peer pressure causing me to stay.

Those October offshore steelhead trips with Don are nothing short of awesome!

I am heading over to Holland this weekend, hopefully getting in on some of the great action aboard the Tangled Mess. I am delivering a set of four matched rigger rods to Bob Middleton, a repaired rigger rod and a brand new one for Don. I will be putting an order in for some reels, rod holders and other odds and ends this afternoon, so if anyone needs anything, I can deliver to the Holland area and save you some coin on shipping. Need to hear from you by 3:00 this afternoon, sorry for the late notice. 989-397-0236.

Welcome to the board Ron, thanks for doing what you do. We always hate to see the choppers head out, but glad your as good as you are.

Great season Kevin, congrats!

Thanks for all the kind words. As you type these compliments, and as I try to dig out of my huge backlog/hole from this spring, I am also working with MHX blanks on a new downrigger blank that will hopefully be even better than my present blank. Check out www.fishmhx.com, click on Prostaff to see my ugly mug. MHX has revolutionized blank construction and is taking the custom rod world by storm. As with anything, I have seen some issues with almost 100 of the Forecast rigger rods fishing now, but I have been solving the issues as they arise. Thats what you get when you offer a lifetime service guarantee:lol:. If you ever get a chance, check out Jay's wire rod, it is truly one of the most whicked sticks to ever leave the shop, another is in the works for him, hopefully before the second coming.

Jay, heres the plans I used. Very simple, pull like a beyotch. They do take up space cause they don't fold, but not really a problem for me. I used ash. Heavy, inexpensive, and readily available. They sit deep in the water and don't jump waves.

http://planerboard.blogspot.com/

Stop in anytime Jay. I'll look around for the design I used. I use the 250# braided rigger line and the clips zing out unreal fast, I actually slow the boat as slow as it will go to bring them in.

Go get em Braveheart!!:lol:

Jay, the best ones are home made. Do a google search for plans for them. Redwood is best but can be hard to come by. Any other dense hardwood will do, just be sure to paint and seal any and all areas. You can play a banjo on my homemades line.

Next weekend Team Verdict will compete in the season ending 333 shootout in Charlevoix. They pretty much lead the 333 Pro Division this whole season with several first place and top ten finishes. The top four Pro Division boats will be competing for a $10K payday and season championship this next Saturday and Sunday. I couldn't be prouder of them! These guys work hard and have one of the most professional and personable teams in the sport. Eyefull Custom Rods is proud to be a part of their arsenal and can't wait to work with them on next years additions. Good luck guys!

If I can swing it, count me in as well. Got one other thing in the works, but if it falls apart, will bring the Eyefull down and play.

Welcome Ken, ask about anything, there isn't anything that someone on here is sure to know about.