MooreLyonQuick

I have a used Abel #1 and Abel #2 - for me, the #1 is more of a 6-7wt and the #2 is a 8-9wt. I've got an Airflo Tropical Ridge 7wt on the #1 and a Cortland little tunny 10wt on the #2 (which goes on a 9wt rod). I like the old Abels - both are not ported on the drag side which helps to keep sand/grit off the drag plate. I also have an Abel 6n and 7/8n, also bought used, both without drag side porting. I like the smaller Abels for light saltwater - I wish Tibor would bring back the Freestone to fill that niche, or offer the new backcountry with an unported version. As an aside, the price of used Abels and Tibors has gone up so much I may be able to convince my wife that I'm investing in reels, not buying them - as long as you take care of them, they are an appreciating asset

Get an Ottlite - it has three modes, including natural sunlight

Could be a Penn Power Graph - this is a Power Graph I bought back in 2001

Thanks Herb - learned a lot with the first build and will start on another one soon. I should have done this years ago - it's a very satisfying hobby.

mostly with the guide wrapping - not as neat and uniform as it should have been (some small gaps), and with the epoxy finish - a few small bubbles, but the worst thing was accidently touching an epoxied guide thread while doing another. This happened on the label area of the rod - had to use heat to smooth it back out and it got a little wavy. Working with cork was a lot of fun. I made about 5 fighting butts, then progressed to the grip. Next time, I'll use more cork and less burl to get the grip a little lighter.

Finished the rod - many rookie mistakes but overall pleased with it - planning next build already!

I carry a Benchmade rescue hook on my kayak vest - safer than slashing around with a blade (which I do carry, a small Buck neck knife). The hook can come in handy when wade fishing the oyster bars where you can get tangled up in discarded braided line from a cut-off - the tide movement can 'weave' it around the shell clumps and can tangle you. Normally not a problem, but you don't want to trip and do a facer on oysters. The hook gathers the line in and cuts it. For general fishing, cheap hemostat with a cutting edge. Rarely will I even think about using the knife.

cortland clear camo / little tunny remains my favorite line - most of my fishing is blind casting light clousers over grass beds shell and sand bottoms; for me it excels at that. Drawbacks are it's susceptible to cuts and nicks from oysters and I believe it slowly absorbs water which changes it's slickness. Also, it has some stretch to it but good hooks and fluorocarbon leader help with that.

Nothing like a clouser strike between the shoulder blades to remind you of the wind direction - like getting shot with a pellet gun!

Good to know - oysters around here are unavoidable

63 yrs old, have a 2008 Native Ultimate 14.5 that I got used in 2014. Good boat for the marshes and creeks but I have to bail sometimes on open water crossings. I'm looking at adding an Eddyline Caribbean 12 or a Hurricane - something lightweight. Not sure how the lighter boats would hold up to oysters. Sometimes I find broken oyster shell stuck in the plastic of the Native Ultimate.

Herb - thanks, I've got both, I'll hit it with the 400. Waiting on the arbors to come in the mail and hope to epoxy this weekend.

Thanks - I'll touch it up with some 120 grit

Herb - Thanks - this is very helpful. For the bushing, the reel seat tube has a relatively small diameter - when I sand the arbor (16mm poly) down to fit, it has a wall thickness of approx. 1/16 ". Would it be just as good to use a few turns of dry wall tape for the bushing, or is the thin wall OK? Thanks!

Will do - the recessed cork ring is rubberized cork, but I'll use a thin layer of epoxy