dave potts

I wasn't sure what kind of rod he was referring to. I agree the best way to fit any reel seat is to slide it down from the top to tighten onto the taper of the rod. However a loose fly rod reel seat can be fixed like I described above. Flyrod reel seats are generally oversized so the blank area where it ends up at is shimmed with tape or cork. A casting or spinning rod couldn't be fixed this way.

Are you talking about a fly rod? If so that is probably an easy fix. Most reel seats are attached using a thermoplastic epoxy. Simply hold the rod vertically and dip the reel seat into a pan of very hot (but not boiling hot) water. This should loosen the whole reel seat enough to twist and slide it off. Then buy a new reel seat and epoxy it on being careful to properly line up the slot where the reel foot goes so it aligns with the rod guides. In fact, if it's not damaged you good probably re-attach the reel seat that was on it. Dave

Follow southforkresort for info on MTL. Ron posts updates on his blog and people post comments with timely info.

Where do you get those popper bodies?

Wrench, does that also apply to the 1983 115 HP Merc motors? That's what I've got on my Charger Bass Boat and I have always been a bit concerned about getting parts if I need them. If I ever hit a log and needed a new lower unit what would be the odds of getting one from a salvage yard?

Thanks Wrench. I was wondering if that may have been the case.

I'm in the market for a couple of new trolling motor batteries for my bass boat. I went to Menards in Columbia to see if they still sold Exide batteries which I had been using and had good luck with. I noticed they no longer sold Exide brand and now sell FVP brand. I've never heard of this brand. Anyone ever heard of or used them? If so, how were they?

What was Elvis doing in your boat?

Twenty years ago a brick skidder could make $60,000 per year loading brick off the kiln cars onto shipping pallets at A.P. Green. Back breaking work but great pay.

On Monday at 9:00 PM on the Outdoor Channel there is going to be a one hour preview showing of the museum. Morris is showing it to George W Bush, Jimmy Carter and some other dignitaries. Should be an interesting program.

Plus one on the Exides from Menard's. I had a starter one on my bass boat that lasted six years. It was still fully charged but I went ahead and replaced it as I was leery that it would last much longer. Menard's runs 11% off sales pretty often also. I did get a bad one from them once (wouldn't hold a charge after six months) but they replaced it no questions asked.

Glenn, I haven't forgotten about a trip to Bennett we talked about earlier but I've been a bit inactive lately due to lower back problems. Maybe we can catch a warm day in the upcoming C&R season. We are headed to Florida in mid November but maybe we can catch a day in Dec or Jan. Dave

Well I called about the boat and found that it belonged to the woman's deceased husband. I asked if it was a Serenity boat and she said no, that her husband had the boat painted red and had a professional apply the Serenity decal as he was a recovering alcoholic. Go figure. Said she wanted $1200 for it. She thought the "professional" paint job and decal added to the value. Told her I'm still drinking so would pass on it. Well, I didn't really tell her that but felt like it.

Anybody ever heard of this brand aluminum jon boat? I can't find anything on the web about them but recently came across a used 12 foot one for sale. It was a red boat on a decent trailer and looked to be in good shape. Kind of leery as I have never heard of the brand. I noticed the drain plug screwed into the bottom of the boat rather than the transom which seemed kind of odd. Thanks

You got pink grasshoppers down there Phil?

I have another story on him Wrench. One time when I was at Bennett I stoped in and talked to Bob Gaston for awhile. When Bob learned that I had worked at A.P. Green he asked me if I had known Kramer. I said I had heard the name but didn't really know him. Bob asked me what he did there and I told him he worked down in the plant somewhere. Bob said that Kramer had told everybody down there that he was Green's main clay finder as he could go out to a farm and sort of "smell" where the clay deposits were. I guess we didn't really need all those geologists we had on the payroll after all.

Wrench, Was Frank Kramer the same guy as Harold Kramer? I've heard a lot of stories about Harold Kramer at Bennett. I went into Larry's one time and asked for some Golden Nugget Glo Bug yarn and he said you must know Harold Kramer and his famous "Horse Choker Fly". When he retired from A.P. Green he moved to Bennett and apparently developed quite a reputation for his fishing prowess.

I think they finally gave up on that Wrench. Everybody just ignored it. They eventually even took the signs down. Years ago there were "no alcohol permitted in state parks" signs all over the parking lots.

I've still got a lot of that stuff. The old Mitchell 408's and 409's were great reels and easy to take apart and clean and re-lube. I've a couple of each along with the 300 and a couple of Cardinals. I also have an old Fenwick rod like Al mentioned. Pistol grip and Carboloy guides. I remember when you would get "all your fishing stuff" at the local hardware store and when I would be in there with my mother she would always warn be to stay away from those hooks-heck she had be convinced they would jump out and hook me.

There are numerous camping sites near the state park at Buzzard Roost.. Also lots of camping at the Corps camping grounds near Ray Behrens put-in.

I was thinking of stopping by for a little fishing the middle of next week on the way back from NW Arkansas and was wondering how the stream was after all the recent rain.

I'll be in Rogers,AR next week. It will be interesting to see what it looks like.

Another store that is going to hurt them is Academy Sports. I was in the new one in Columbia on Monday and have been in the one in Rogers,Ar where my son lives several times. These are big stores that sell just about everything sports related. Not much in flyfishing however. As Al points out though, the online sites are putting a real hurt on all the brick and mortar stores which not only hurts the stores but is destroying jobs for tons of people who do not have the skills or education for higher paying jobs. Those lack of jobs is the biggest problem this country has and it's going to keep getting worse.

Saw this on another site so thought I'd pass it on. These are available to people 62 and over. They used to be called Golden Eagle Pass. They are worth their weight in gold. I used mine in numerous National parks around the country over the years and it will get you in either free or for a substantial discount . I now find it's all I need to launch my boat at Corps lakes. Here's the quote from the other site: The Federal lifetime pass for senior citizens will increase from $10.00 to $80 before the end of 2017. I don’t think a date has been set yet. You can use this pass to launch boats at the Corp ramps. If you’re 62 and boat at Mark Twain get this before it increases. They sell them at the Visitor Center. It’s good for a lot of other things also, like getting into National Parks.