Pat Magee

I just sent Phil a PM. I will drop them off at the fly shops (Hargroves and Feathercraft) and see if BP, Cabela's, and Gander Mtn. can put a few out there as well. I will re-post here when and where I drop them off.

I could drop some by the fly shops in Saint Louis (Hargroves & Feathercraft) and I could also drop them off at other Bait and Tackle shops around here. I am not sure if BP and Cabela's have a policy against doing something like this.

So I guess you got the boat up and running?

I also found that the size of the rope fits perfectly through a large spool of fishing line. Looks like I may put those on one end as well. That should make adding new line a breeze. Pictures to come when I am happy with how everything looks.

I have three different designs so far that I have tried doing. I messed around with a bunch of PVC pieces and I just never really liked the way it looked. I tried mimicking some of the nice wooden racks but without buying one but I haven't quite perfected it. Since I am not much of a woodworker I decided to try and be original and see what I could come up with. I wanted something simple and something that worked so I came up with taking 5 ft. of climbing rope and stapling it onto a strip of wood every 2.5 inches. I am going to leave enough slack in between so i can put either one of the rod ends in. I take all of my reels off of the rods when I store them anyway so this will be a good spot to store a bunch of rods up and out of the way. Thoughts? I need to get a better stapler before I start because mine wasn't wide enough to keep the rope in place. I have about a dozen rods not including my fly rods which are just fine in their hard cases so I think this might fit the bill perfectly.

Great designs guys, very inspiring! I am working on mine this week and if I get it done I will post someone pictures. Thanks for all of the tips.

I agree. I told my wife the Mystery Tackle Box thing would be kind of neat and 4 months later she gave it to me for Christmas. I had completely forgotten about it. BOT> I have some PVC pipe and some adapter pieces that I may see what I can do with. It may not look that great but it will do the job. I may begin drawing up a design for a nicer handmade wood one as well.

That is a great idea, looks like a great conversation piece. In all of the pictures I scrolled through today, that is the only one I have seen like that. I love the hidden thru & thru design. I wonder how it would work with some bait-casters and spinners that aren't as balanced as a fly rod? Was that your design or did you let the guy who made it for you use his imagination?

I know I could go and plop 50-75 bucks down and get a decent one at BP or Cabela's but I was wondering if anyone had made any rod racks on their own. The older I get the more rods and reels I seem to accumulate. I am sick of all of them being shoved in the corner of the garage or basement. I searched the google machine and found quite a few decent designs but it would be great to hear from some people who made one and what they would do better if they had to do it again. If I don't hear anything back I will be making a few based on some designs I have seen online. Please share some pictures of yours if you have one!

Thanks for the share Muddler. I am sure all of my questions have been answered at some point in this forum so I appreciate you posting. It appears that the weather doesn't want us to hit the water tomorrow. They are predicting rain, freezing rain, and snow most of the day so I doubt we will make the trip from Saint Louis with that in mind. I guess it will give me some more opportunities to scour the forum for some helpful tips.

The weather Friday looks a hell of a lot different then it was Thanksgiving weekend. It looks like we may get some rain and freezing rain at some point. What do those weather guys know anyway!?? As a bass fisherman we always fish the spawn. It seems like it is more frowned upon with browns and bows......why is that? As a rook, it is my understanding that stocked/hatchery fish lay eggs but they cant actually reproduce, any truth to that? I also don't understand how you can see if they are bedding without being right on top of them and ruining your chance of catching whatever is in that hole. I have so much to learn....

Very nice suggestions. Where do i get this "ice-off," i usually just throw it back in the water to get rid of the ice but obviously it will keep coming back. I will be praying for a hatch but I am not holding my breath. The weather report sounds like we will see upper 40's by the afternoon so who knows? I also like going the backpack route in the winter. I takeout my camel back water bladder and put everything I may need in there. It is really light and the pockets can hold quite a bit. I usually keep my vest on because I like to have everything at my fingertips. I haven't yet found the middle ground between too much and not enough though.

First time poster A friend and I are headed down to the CR a week from today and I was wondering if anyone has had any reports from down there lately. I am in my second year of fly fishing so I still rely heavily on tips from the seasoned veterans to steer me in the right direction. I always stop at Hargroves to get an idea but I figured I would try the forum as well. We plan to enter near the wire outside the park and see where the day takes us. I appreciate anything that you guys want to share with a rookie like me!

Great looking fish Paul! Next time you and Scott head out let me know.

google the x-wing.....looks pretty sick

I think I found my next MOD on Malibukayaks.com. At $100.00 (plus $22 for adapter brackets) It will give me some extra space where I need it and I could also put the battery inside the dry storage for lights. It is completely removable and only requires drilling the holes for the runners. It would be a perfect place to mount a fishfinder or gopro too!

I knew you guys wouldn't disappoint. I am going to pick up the bigger one and see how it works. i have spent my fair share on baits that don't work so if it doesn't i won't be too pissed. That is pretty interesting about the Heddon Dowagiac. With the amount of lures out there I guess I shouldn't be suprised that there are so many similiar lures. I never would have guessed the original was 100 years old though! I like the idea of thowing something that nobody else has in their tacklebox as long as it nets me something.....anything. Now to pick out the right color combo........

While perusing my facebook page I came across this and was wondering if anyone had tried this or something like it. I love using my propbaits as much as possible and I really like the idea of a propbait that I could work in some deeper holes. Here are a couple links: http://www.duo-inc.co.jp/bass/en/realis/spinbait60/ I like the action it has in the video and it seems extremely versatile.

This is what I have! I bought them to use for rock lights on my Jeep for late night rock crawling. You can buy it way cheaper on ebay too. I have a 50 foot strip that I was thinking about using.

Now I feel like a jerk! I may take sometime and make some adjustments to it. Did it ever bother you that the seat bottom extends over the dry storage hatch? Since that is the only area close to me when I am sitting in it I would love to have better access to it. I also have terrible back pain so I may just be overreacting to the whole seat problem! I may try and do some fine tuning with the seat straps and see if that will help out. I completely agree with you about Paul's yak.....it is simply beautiful. I like how he proudly displays it on his sawhorses at his house too! Like a work of art. Thanks for the help fellas. I will try a combination of both to get rid of the noise. It did seem to calm down a little bit when it was pushed back a little but still a little annoying.

the lights would purely be for a private lake and an occasional float down a small river. As far as the scuppers being the reason it howls I will definitely try the duct tape. I can easily rip them off and reapply them as needed.

New to the site so I hope I am posting in the correct spot..... I just bought a used Malibu Mini-x from a member on here and I have already got a few trips under my belt but now I want to make some modifications to make the boat work a little better for me. I figured I would mention my plans to see if anyone has tried any of these and how it worked out. *lighting- i was thinking about adding some LED strips that are waterproof around parts of the boat so I could take it out on some night trips on small lakes. I have a small marine battery that could power them and not take up much space. I have a hundred feet of LED lights so I think I will try this one first. *seat- for those of you that have sat in a malibu the seat is a piece of crap! It blocks the dry storage and offers no back support. I saw some at an outfitter that work but does anyone have any suggestions on an aftermarket seat? *roof racks- i just have the cross bars currently but i was wondering how well the cradles work? Mine howls if I am going over 60mph so I am wondering is the rack would help. I am assuming the noise is the win blowing over the scupper holes but i need to find a way to stop it. Thanks for any help! If you did any mods that helped make you more productive on the water, what are they?

I feel you, I make an effort to get out every week at least once. Whether it is at my secret honey hole or in one of the many fine Saint Louis county lakes that are near me. Like everyone I would love to catch all braggers but sometimes even a simple panfish will make me happy.

Thank you!

I figured I would join the forum since I have heard such good things from the current members. I am not sure why I didn't join sooner! I have gotten really serious about fishing over the last several years and have slowly amassed quite a bit of tackle, rods, and reels. I have also picked up Fly Fishing over the last year and I am really enjoying it. While it cost an arm and a leg to start up, it is extremely rewarding when you hook up with a nice MO trout or smallmouth. I look forward to learning some new ideas and hopefully finding some new fishing holes that I haven't been to yet. -PM