BUBBLE CHUCKERS & DIPSTICKS

[TubeDude]

[cool]Hey, JapanRon, here are some of the different longrod configurations I have put together for specialty fishing applications. As previously mentioned, I favor a 9 foot spinning rod built on a 9 foot fly rod for an 8 weight line. I use this not only for chucking water filled bubbles wayyyyyy out there...but for "drop shotting" flies in running water too.

The top two pics show the results of using long rods to give added control on small to medium sized streams. The first pic is a graphite rod. The second is built on an old Fenwick glass blank. It is soft but satisfying...especially when matched against 20" browns in small streams...like in the pic.





Below are some of the other long rods, including "dipsticks", where I attach a spinning reel behind the rod grip. It balances like a fly rod, for fighting fish, and makes it possible to delicately drop baits and lures into cover and rocks from a float tube.



A closer shot of the handles...showing some with long butt sections, to aid in two handed casting. Others have the handle forward, for dipsticking.



The last pic is a closeup of some of the fancy wrapping I used to do...when I had a life and some extra time to play with that stuff. Again, note that some rods are graphite. Others Fenwick glass.


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[JapanRon]

Hey there TubeDude,

I was going to say Wow, Fantastic, etc. but the fact is I'm used to your most excellent work now and know whatever you've done is gonna be.... well.... TubeDudelike!

At first I thought that you must be a monk. Then I thought that well, being snow-bound 11 months out of the year, you had plenty of time, but wrong again, you've actually got a life! ha ha

I'm still thinking.....

JapanRon
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Don't exactly know what you said, JR, but you said it nicely. I have been complimented, I think. Thanks.

I guarantee you that I ain't no monk. Maybe a monk-KEY. Nah. I did live more than enough of my life in the cold country. My old body appreciates warmer climates. Only problem is, these sand trout in Arizona ain't nearly as purty as the ones in the high country cricks and ponds. As I have heard it said on TV fishing programs..."trout don't live in ugly places".

I was going to pose the question to you. Have you ever fished with a spin stick with the handle forward? It took some getting used to, but when you are fighting a fish, you have the feel and balance of using a fly rod, but the drag and monofilament of a spinning system. It's great for short flips in the surf and around docks and pilings. You get a big slab perch or corbina on a well balanced rig and it is too much fun. I used to like those rigs for tossing multi-fly rigs for big jacksmelt. They can bend your stick.
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[JapanRon]

Hi there TubeDude,

Can't think of anything but compliments toward your many areas of expertise.

Yes, absolutely yes, I remember seeing a setup in Japan that had a spinning rod with no butt and a spincast type reel slung underneath the rod and having a lever extending forward which I think served the same a the spincast's release button. No, no alcohol in this house, so don't ask!

Also, I have a spinning reel that I use with my wierd noodle pole. I made it purposly with a detachable rear butt section I've described previously. I have the compact rod for tube use in one configuration and a two handed beach rod in the other. You knew what I was up to you sly dog. I use a Japanese spinning reel on that rod. The reel has the braking system actuated via a lever that extends from the front of the base of the reel so that the drag works by how much pressure (squeezing it against the rod handle) you put on the brake which is realized by a friction assembly that restricts the reel bail from turning in a way that lets out line. More pressure the harder it is for the whole bail unit is to turn! ha ha ha

Huh, what goes where, when???? This reel may have had its day here in the US too, I don't know.

The reason this rig works is that some casting and all breaking functions are done ahead of the body of the reel as is where your hand must be placed to grip the outfit. Thus balance is changed from what might be considered the norm.

Whew! If you mull it over a bit of time, I'm sure you'll recognize that it would be ok to use if you had a grip like a gorilla. ha ha

JapanRon
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Hey, JR, that was pretty long-winded for you. Guess I'm a bad influence.

I think that Daiwa is the maker of a fairly popular "underslung", trigger-cast, closed face spinning reel. I used one of them in a special spinning rig I designed for a "challenged" fishing buddy who had only one useable arm. A lot of those who like the "dipsticking" style...using fly rods as spinning rods...find those reels ideal for function and balance. Here's a pic of a little model sold by Shakespeare, that looks a lot like it

[url "http://www.basspro-shops.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=36939&hvarDept=100&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=1&hvarSubCode=3&hvarTarget=browse"][/url]

I had heard of the lever-drag type of reels, but have never had the chance to try one. I suppose it is like most other things...once you get the hang of it, it is simple to use.

I didn't point out that all of my "dipsticks" have at least a 5" to 6" extension butt on the end, behind the reel seat. Obviously, that is to allow them to ride efficiently in my rod tubes. They also serve nicely as "fighting butts" when I hook up to big ol' bigguns.

The biggest rod, a heavy action 11 footer, was especially designed for wrestling with big channel cats that hung out in the reeds and cattails around some lakes. I spool up with stout line and use big bait bugs with heavy duty jigs made from bass flipping hooks. I drop them silently down into the pockets around the edges of the cover, adorned with a whole bluegill fillet...or even a whole bluegill. MAN, when a big cat grabs hold, the battle is on. It really is hand to fin combat. If you get lucky, you can haul them out of the reeds before they get a chance to power back in. In many cases you get dragged into the greenery until the line pops or the hook straightens out...even on that heavy gear. Full contact catfishin'.
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[JapanRon]

Hey there TubeDude,

Just reminds me of the saying about 'a picture/thousand words' is quite true. That looks exactly like the one I saw in Japan.

On the $100 reel I brought from Japan and use with my noodle rod, I'm forcing myself to use it until I get the hang of it. Truth is, I don't like it as it takes a lot of strength or should I say a wierd way in which you have to apply your strength to cast and apply the brake. You tend to be gripping (squeezing) the brake lever when you are casting (almost un-avoidable) and the braking is anything but smooth as both the bail assembly and the handle (which is in gear at all times) is pulled in reverse to facilitate line coming off the reel. Big fish maybe OK but small fish?? Needless to say, you can't use very light line with this reel unless you like to hear that 'snap' sound echoing over the water. Ever been embarassed by talking to yourself in your tube and then realizing that people half-way across the lake could clearly hear you? ha ha I've stayed out much longer than usual on a number of occasions on that one!!!

JapanRon
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[TubeDude]

[cool]I wonder about you Ron San. Are you subjecting yourself to some obscure character-building excercise...or just to stubborn to give up on a bad investment? Reminds me of the old man moaning and groaning while rocking on the front porch. When asked by his concerned old wife what the problem was, he replied that there was a splinter from the chair poking him in the backside. His wife suggests that he get up and do something about it...to which he replies "Oh, I'll get used to it."

And, yes, I have been guilty of talking to myself while upon the waters. Even worse, I talk to TubeBabe on the walkie talkies and nearby boaters just THINK I am talking to myself.

As you know, sound carries well over the water. I always enjoy the comments of boaters who are looking at us in our flotation craft. I have kept a record of some of the dumber comments I have heard, like:

"YEAH, THOSE THINGS GOT WADERS SEWED INTO 'EM"

"HE'S PROBABLY WALKING ON THE BOTTOM (in 30 feet of water)."

"THEY GOT LITTLE MOTORS ON 'EM."

And, my favorite: "I GUESS THAT MUST BE FUN, BUT THEY DON'T NEVER CATCH NO FISH." (As I reel in the hundredth fish of the day...and they catch nothing but sunburn)

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