nice collection. i'm stocking up for the trout plants slowly. one or two swimbaits every pay check. here's a link to how butch brown rigs his huddlestons. butch is the master at hudd fishing. check out his videos on huddlestondeluxe.com. i believe mike long uses similar rigging. anyways, here's the ...

dude, cal, you're killing me! might your new box be a lakewood swimbait box ? if your home-made boxes held up well though, i might just have to make a trip to wal-mart and the hardware store... i'm a swimbaiter on a budget.

hey cal,

just wondering if you have an update on how your boxes are holding up.

i'm using a luna 253 for swimbait fishing. it works superbly for heavy lures and hard running fish. i encounter very few backlashes. i never had one that was serious. its a brute of a reel but its also very refined. you'll be very happy with it.

thanks bantam1. i might be in irvine this thursday. could i just bring the rod in myself to shimano headquarters to get it replaced?

thanks for the replies. does anyone know of any places that participate in over the counter warranty replacements in the los angeles/san gabriel valley area? do i need any kind of receipt?

the alconite ring on the tip top of my crucial rod popped out. noticed it during an evening trip when i was reeling in a fish and the line sounded odd. checked the guides and the alconite insert was missing. should i send it to shimano or just take it somwhere? with sending it to shimano, there is s...

i love my okuma gear. you get the best bang for your buck with their rods. i much prefer them over the loomis and lami swimbait rods. i havent had a chance to check out the dobyns rods yet. the surf rod idea does interest me though. i'm not saying its the perfect rod, but i believe it has its niche....

this is something i have thought about for a while now. i do a lot of shore fishing and think that going with a surf rod is a logical choice... when i'm after stripers. i too was looking at the lamiglas rods and someday will have one wrapped for swimbaits. a lot of the big striper fisherman on the c...

why not use 50 lb braid with 20 lb fluoro leader? i use 30 lb fluoro as a leader but am considering downsizing in an attempt to get more bites. my current line setup is ridiculously tough. i splice the lines together with a bimini twist and albright knot. i tie to a snap with a sandiego jam knot. no...

castaics were the first swimbaits i threw many many years ago. they got me into the craze. i still get smashed on the old school bluegill. quality went way down in my opinion since my first few castaic baits, but the new rockhard plats look sick! can't wait to get a hold of some.

just put that one together this week as well ...

haha. guess i'll try it out for myself. thanks cal.

cal, thanks for the quick replies. let us know how the sterilite holds up. how about the igloo? have you had any trouble with the plastic melting?

i've had problem with some soft plastics melting sterilite boxes before. have you had any non-worm proof problems with the sterilite boxes, cal?

hey cal, that cooler retrofit is sick! how much did you spend on that? do you think attaching a shoulder strap to it is feasible? i made a cheap markey's style box out of a plano box, a wire hanger, and some snap swivels. works when i bring a limited number of swimbaits and when i'm shore bound with...