OK, for those that were wondering when and where the MSBA show would happen for 2001;

March 24,25
Braintree Armory (just off Union St exit of Rt3 across the highway from Best Buy)

The club was unable to get use of the facilities at Cordage Park which is sad as those were great facilities...

Yes, We'll have a little booth there, a little bigger than last years... :P

Thanks John
Ill be there for sure I just love the shows . Great way to get rid of the jitters by then im a wreck . Do you need any help with setup ? Or breakdown ?

Thanks for the offer Chris but I already have a volunteer or two... Good to hear that you're coming up to the show and looking forward to seeing you and everyone else that makes it... It will actually be a little shorter drive for you by about 1/2 an hour...

What are the hours for the show John? Will stop by for sure, tight lines.

Even though its smaller than the Worcester show , I always end up with great bargains from the MSBA show. For example , last year I got a nice 7 foot St Croix graphite blank for $20. Thats about $50 off on a $70 item. I also got to see a guy tying teasers using Easy Sparkle Body. It was nice to see how he used the stuff. Anyway , its a very good show and an oppurtunity to say hi to people you haven't seen since the fishing stopped in Nov.

John, do you know why they are not having the show at Cordage Park this year? I was at CMS this A.M. and when I told Charley , he said he hadn't heard anything yet and if it is in Braintree then he won't set up there. He also mentioned that he suggested that they have the show down there at some Sports place and it is so big people could cast rods to try them out. Did anyone check that place out? off 195 closer to you and alot of other rhode Islandahs'.

Mike P, so you picked up an Allstar 11-9 rod at a bargain huh. When I was there I asked about the lami's and Charley suggested a 10' - 6" Ron Arra for jiggin' in the Ditch with, he says it will outcast the 10' breakaway 100h but about 80 dollars more. I think I will order one after they move. And put on a Abu big game 7000cl. With whiplash or spectron I should be able to whip out 4 oz. jigs to the middle no problem. I think I'll have to sell my boat this year, I can't wait to go surfcasting again.

Looks like Brad and Kevin will be manning the Hawg Booth without the Ditch this year. The family and I are going to be in Disney World from the 17th until the 24th.

Hmmm, I wonder whether I'll be up for a one-day trip up to Braintree--even if I have to pay my way in, this show is usually too good to miss. :)

Been a long time since I did an up-and-back in one day. But, I did get my bargain early--custom Breakaway 11'9" from CMS for a mere $220. That's $115 less than what Hatteras Outfitters wants for the finished rod. Sorry, Mike, you were closed :( And the price was too good to pass up. I'm sure I'll make it up to you during the season ;)

Hey John--that's twice I typed "eleven/nine " and it came up 110". It showed as "eleven/nine" in the preview box, too.

Hey, Bruce, I missed your post before. There's a trade off with the 10'6" Arra, it's a good bit heavier than the Breakaway, and the extra 6" can be a factor in tight places, like Good Hole when the tide is up, or the Cribbin at the end of the west. If I didn't have a reel seat in place on my Arra, I'd seriously consider chopping about 6" from the butt. Even my 10' Breakaway 1208 is a little tight in those spots at the start of the west, when it's high tide. I picked up a 10" Fisher 8720 last summer from a shop in CT thanks to Jeff H--unfortunately, it was probably the last one he'll ever get. I took 6" from the butt of that one, and it's a great light jigging rod for the Ditch--it moves a fish a lot better than the 10' Breakaway.

There are places where you have to fire a jig, and there are places where you want to just hit the seam between the current and the backeddies. Many of the best jigging holes are close in. But, if you want a rod for both heavy jigging and big plugs, the 10'6" Arra is the way to go.

Charlie is also selling the 10'6" Arra well under MSRP, if he's only asking $80 more than the Breakaway. Mike stopped carrying the Arra blanks because he had to take a lot back when they had that breakage problem--although the 10'6" isn't one of the ones they had the trouble with. I watched Donny Willis land a boat that had broken loose during a storm--pulled it right into the rip-rap. It's a very strong rod.

What the ??????? Why aren't the numerals coming up? Anyhow, where it says 100", read that as "ten/six".

Well thanks Mike , that's just what I needed to hear, and I do plan on jigging and heavy plugs with that rod. I remember you posting about him landing the runaway boat. I went to lamiglas.com and they don't have a 10-6 rod so I assume it is an 11 cut to 10-6. Being a little heavier rod than the breakaway I can deal with and casting in tight quarters, well low tides will maybe give me more room. I love the cribbin but it is tough to fish, I know what you mean about the pockets. thanks again and Happy New Year.

Bruce, the 10-6 Arra comes stock at that length. The blank model # is XRA 126 1MH. I don't know why it's not listed on the Lamiglas web page. I think it's the only 10-6 blank they make. None of their glass or black graphites come stock in that length.

With some of the Arra blanks, I would say don't cut them, as this will void the warranty, and some of the older ones with breakage problems might still be in builders' stocks. But the 10-6 isn't one that will break easily.

My fault Mike, it is listed I didn't look in the right spot .Thanks,I did see that the 1261mh is rated for 4-6 oz. I sometimes throw 2-3oz jigs. So maybe I should go down to the 1205 which is for 1-51/2oz. Man you guys know alot about rods, I guess I'll be learning alot more in the future especially with this internet thing.

Hey Mike, something about the apostrophe that does it. It happens when you try to truncate a year for example. I haven't seen anything in the documentation that it would correspond too either... I guess it would be easier to explain if it were a Microsoft product ... bug, ahem, I mean "Feature".... :P

Slip, I built a XRA1205 a couple years ago and have used it for eeling and plugging and have been pretty happy with it. It will cast a country mile too (when you are seeing spool bottom on a Mag-Elite with 20# test :o ) I don't have the experience with the jigging rods that Mike P and Saltheart have but I do know that they've had many a stick purpose built for use there and elsewhere... I accept their word as near gospel when it comes to these rods... And my wife thinks I have too many rods :P , hehehe

Yeah, Bruce, if 2-3 oz is what you're going to throw, the XRA1205 will be a better buy--I happen to think that's the best and most versatile blank in the entire Arra line-up. And I don't even own it. :-o

Also, the Breakaway 1209 is too heavy for 2-3 oz. The 1208 would be the better match for those weights. I'm not sure which Breakaway factory models match up to which blanks, but I think the 1208 is the Breakaway LDFC100MH, and the 1209 the LDFC100H.

Yep, looks like I'll go with the versitallity of the 1205 and a Abu 7000cl. Thanks for the advice guys. I can always put the breakaway100h spin on my short list and get that from Mike T. I have a Neptune reel that will go good on that. Then I will have 4 good surf setups to choose from. ;d

I decided to stay with a 9 foot rod for jigging at the Ditch. I like a relatively long casting tail and I even have trouble at some places with the 9 feet. For some places , I do like to use my lighter Loomis 1266 but most areas I like the 9 footer. I looked at a lot of rods. I had been fishing the Sabre 1089 and I liked it cause it would throw 2 OZ well. I broke it the day I broke my finger. I was hot for the Breakaway 1209 but decided on 9 feet. After much considering , I settled on the Loomis 108-30. Its pretty heavy. It won't throw 2 well but really zings 3. I bet you could cast 12 OZ with it!. I put a BG7000CL on it. Got the rod and reel from Mike T att www.capecodtackle.com. A very good price for a custom made Loomis too. The thing I feel really good about is its ability to handle a big fish in a fast current. So for Mr Big the Loomis 108-30 and the BG7000CL spooled with 50 LB Cortland Spectron is perfect. I do have trouble catching fish below about 16 inches though. Very tough to feel them and if they run right at you , you lose some. In summary , if you want a shorter rod for throwing 3 to 5 and you want to be able to handle a whale in the current at the Ditch , the Loomis 108-30 is one rod you should look at. My second choice was another Sabre 1089 and I will be building myself another one this winter. It throws 2 OZ well and some days when the Ditch is just meandering along , I like to use 2 OZ jigs.
Another thing to mention is that I've given up using the 50 LB spectron on the ABU 6500size reels. I use the 35 lb spectron only now on that size reel. I fished the 50 LB spectron on my BG6500CL for a whole season and eventually the reel died. I'm pretty sure I bent the spool breaking off from the bottom with the 50 LB Spectron and the 50 LB ande leader. As I stated above , I still fish the 50 LB Cortland Spectron but I now put it on the BG7000CL instead of the 6500 size. One interesting thing though is how well the 35 LB works for jigging in the ditch. Its smaller diameter creates a lot less drag than the 50 LB spectron. I could be happy with the 35 LB spectron except that to insure it breaks off in the leader instead of the expensive spectron , I have to use a 30 LB ande leader with the 35 LB spectron. That's not acceptable to me and it also not acceptable to use a heavy leader and lose lots of the spectron when I have to break off from the bottom. Therefore i use the 50 LB Spectron and a 50 LB ande leader. For some reason , that combo always breaks off in the leader material. I feel a lot more comfortable with the 50 LB leader than with the 30 LB leader.
The whole system has to be matched and chosen for the job at hand. The right rod but the wrong reel won't work. The right rod and reel but the wrong line won't work well. The right rod , leader and line won't work if the reel is too small and gets damaged by the heavy line and leader. Everything has to be matched to the fishing conditions and the lures you intend to throw. This fishing game can get complicated! :)

I appreciate your input Saltheart. I still think I'll go with the 10' . I have been using a custom Sabre for a few years (eeling,plugs,jigs and some cut bait) I think the model is 1088 but not sure. Alot of people at the Ditch comment that it seems like too light a rod if I hook into a big bass.

Yes fishing can be complicated

I would agree that a 1088 is light for the canal and at minimum you would want a 1089 or 1209 if you are running Sabers at the Ditch... But those Sabers are very nice inexpensive rods... Lets see, maybe I'll build a 1209 this year in addition to my Original "PLUM" colored Saber 1088 :P ... 'Course I still need to finnish my 1088 All Star :o ...

So many rods so little time....