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I'd rather spend my money on the bait monkey than booze, but that's just me. Now hookers are a different story. Just kidding. Or am I? I don't mind having a rather large assortment of baits as long as they get used. I can think of a lot worse things to spend my money on.

My best friend and fishing buddy, Speedy Madewell, passed away last night. People grieve in different ways, but I choose not to be sad about his death, but instead celebrate his life. Speedy was a strong willed man, solid citzen, good husband and a great father to his children. His legacy is extended through his son and daughter and their four beautiful children.His wife Janie remains strong and serves as the matriarch in her extended family. So CHEERS for my friend. Speedy had a great run and I am proud to have known him. -Kent

Nobody likes a quitter.

Got out for a bit today before watching the lacrosse game and got this guy on the first cast with a home made spinnerbait. Spring is here!

Being 68 years old, I keep finding gear I forgot I had, Looking at 100's and 100's of bags of plastics, 100's of cranks, 100+ spinnerbaits in the boat and another 100+ on the wall of my man cave.I went down to Guntersville a few weeks ago and took the plastics I needed in a small bag, All the cranks I needed in a single box and most of what I needed weighed about 5 lbs. I'm sure I have between $5K and 10K in tackle, not counting rods and reels. ( the old saying of " I hope my wife doesn't sell my gear for what I told her I paid for it") is "ME". After all my years of bass fishing, I have culled what I really need down to: 5" pumpkin, black/blue flake and silver/black flake Senko's. #200 Bandits in spring craw, rayburn red and black back shad. !/4 and 3/8 oz. double willow spinnerbaits ( my choice of colors). Jigs for swimming, shakey heads, and dunking into cover. A couple of topwater lures ie: Chugbug, tiny trorp and jitterbug, Zoom 7" Utail worms in pumpkin, plum, sour grape and black. A couple of Zoom baby brush hogs in the same colors as the worms. Have I limited myself, you bet, but oh how I have freed myself from the bait monkey. I now can just go fishing and not worry about what I don't have. Free yourself my brothers and buy good sippin booze instead of listening to the bait monkey.

Fluoro is monofilament. Fluro has some advantages over nylon: 1.- It´s denser which translates into better vibration transmitting properties. 2.- It´s impervious to UV radiation damage, that means it doesn´t "rot" 3.- Doesn´t absorb water 4.- More abrassion resistance when compared to a nylon line of the same diameter. Also has some disadvantages. 1.- Costs a lot more 2.- The line is "fragile", kinks ( like when you backlash ) damage it and is sensible to the heat generated as it rubs against itself ( like when tightening a knot ) 3.- It´s stiffer 4.- Looses manageability as you increase diameter ( for example, fishing with 12 lb test FC is like trying to fish with a slinky ). The subject of stretch has been discussed ad nauseum and it´s a myth that it stretches less, it stretches as much as nylon does.

The thread linked above has lots of discussion on this topic.... For me, round reels are fun. Modern round reels are fairly light (most of mine run from 6.5 to 9.5 ounces), and in the 50 and 100 size Calcuttas, are very palmable. I like using lots of different gear - round reels are just another way to expand the fishing experience. I still mostly fish low-profile BC reels, but I really do enjoy getting out the round reels as well. I've got an Ambassadeur 1500 and a 5000, plus a couple of Calcuttas/Conquests... Fun stuff...

$15. That's about what a decent scale will run. Nice fish!

I broke out my trusty 6'3"crucial 1st gen spinning rod today (still one of my favorite rods) and realized that there are vary few high quality rods made in the 6' to 6'6"range anymore. Is it just a market swing toward longer rods or is there a good reason for it. Shimano doesn't have a single rod in the Cumara, Crucial or Compre lineup under 6'8"

Yeah id rather be broke from baits then booze or drugs. Thats how i look at it. But if you really want to stop the monkey you gotta get rid of the interweb, smartphone all your gear and get hypnotherapy to forget fishing and everything about it. Really is your only option .

If the guy can't tie a knot, I wouldn't recommend him trying to remove the spool.

but really, your posts are always clear, concise, and make excellent points. Always something to learn when you pen something. THANKS

Whatever you do - Do Not let 00mod take it to BPS ~! A-Jay

Siebert Outdoors Brush jig 1/2 oz Blue Craw Blue Craw Rage Craw

What's on my mind today? How could Jesus love us so much that he was willing to be whipped, beaten, spit on, cursed at, and nailed to a cross to save our sinful souls...

Caught this guy yesterday on Mousam Lake. I only had a chance to get out for a few hours after work, but managed 6 fish. 4 Bass and 1 brookie and 1 brown. Quite a few lakes open in York County now.

Well at least the rod didn't break.

Actually, the way it's been going this year so far I'll be happy if I catch a shiner.

We've lost a good friend. Speedy was a good man, a fine friend, a gracious host and a top shelf fisherman. That's the man I knew. My heart goes out to his family, who knew him as much more. I didn't get to fish and hang with him as often as I would have liked, but the times I did have will be long in my memory. I will never forget the night he and I sat up until way past zero-dark-thirty, sippin down most of a bottle of fine old cognac, talking about everything under the sun. I didn't know him as well as I would have liked, but I liked him as well as I know how. You will be missed, brother.

Well it has to be because you aren't doing something correctly. If the thousands of members on BR have no problems with a variety of knots to get the line on the spool and you do. All signs point to you then. I'm kinda hoping you are just trying to get a good laugh out of this and it's just a joke. Tie 2 over hand knots and tighten them down and use a piece of tape on them.

I love the Miami Bass Pro ! The employees at Dolphin Mall are among the nicest employees I've ever met. This about the 4th or 5th time I go. My reel was broken and within minutes I had a new replacement rod and reel with line and I was ready to go. Chris the operational manager runs a great team at customer service and they get you licensed within minutes. I am sure the other Bass Pros are the same. Who else goes to the Miami Bass Pro in Dolphin Mall?

Not much pond hockey being played in an area where entire cities shut down when they get an inch of snow!

My opinion is that people greatly over-estimate how far they're casting. 35-40 yds is a long cast and hook sets become iffy at those distances. It sounds like you're doing fine. As you get more experience, your thumb will get better at stopping the spool and keeping it from backlashing. There aren't any magical brake settings, just experience and practice. I wouldn't expect your casts to get much longer than they already are though.

Try to be more helpful next time instead of griping about those trying to be helpful.

I'm way too scared to break a rod to flip them in!

What would be the point in stocking a community pond and not letting people fish there? I'm assuming that it has been stocked since Peacocks are an introduced species. What is the point of building a pond for a community if not to fish? Mosquito breeding? I'd tell everyone that approached me to f off until I was approached by a cop. Any "HOA laws" will not stand up in a court of law against a good lawyer anyways. Especially if you have permission from a home owner. It is after all the HOME OWNERS association. The HOA in my neighborhood ticked a lawyer Home owner off so much that he basically took them to court and forced them to abandon most of their bylaws. It's a townhouse community with two parking spots assigned for each home. He apparently was getting nasty letters from the HOA because his extra car was always parked in visitor spaces. Well now there is no assigned parking at all in the entire neighborhood and even though the spaces are numbered still, you can technically park wherever you want. The lake in our neighborhood has signs all around it saying that it is for residents and guest use only which is fine with me. In actuality, anybody can fish there because the dam was paid for by the county for drainage control. The only reason HOAs think they have so much power is because nobody challenges them. They assume that they actually have authority, and they don't. Our HOA will soon be a civic association that pays only for landscaping in common areas, and that is fine with me.

Click here Then here Then here

pipe foam, like the long pool floaters..... wont fit in a rod organizer in the rod box thought, if that is a concern.

I'm just having some fun with you Brian. A-Jay

I have a Kodak Easyshare Sport for still images and I just got a cheapo Ematic Sportscam video camera that is pretty cool. Here is a video I shot a couple weeks ago. I got the flu and didn't fish last week. I will be on the water tomorrow for some more footage. I am going after snook on the fly tomorrow. Here are some bass on the fly while I was fishing for bluegill.

After expending the time, effort and $$ to get a good one, not using a net is like spending all day in the tree stand, having the Big Boy waltz right into your sweet spot and right before you let your arrow fly, you remove the broad head. C'mon Person . . . . A-Jay

I value my rods too much to do something like that. Go back and look at the first video you guys posted. Watch the rod tip go past 90 degree wgen you flip one in. that's precisely how rods get snapped.

Naw Ive said that out loud. Got smacked for it too.

I do mine at the end of the season, unless I have really used the tar out of one. I can only comment on Shimano reels, which are usually over oiled and greased out of the box. I am less concerned about the grease, but I always remove the spool bearing, clean them well and oil with a tiny drop of oil. I use Yellow Rocket Fuel, but there are other quality bearing oils out there. It does make a difference in the bearing performance (much faster).

Get your friend to get it....non property owners aren't supposed to get it....HOA care about apperrance, property value etc. you trampling their grass catching the fish they stocked looking all recreational is unsightly. People unknowingly or uncaringly forked over their rights to hoas so a bunch of narrow minded clueless nit-wits because they are too lazy to cut the fricken grass or to busy to take off work wait for the bug guy. HOA aren't good but they ain't going away and laws/rules are laws.

I don't even use a knot. I just put the line through a hole in the spool and start turning the handle. Never had a problem. Hootie

i believe that bass really do not travel far unless necessary because of food or water quality. we here stories all the time about how fish will travel back to where they were caught. well, if that were true, then all the bass that are caught on the upper end of table rock and are hauled down to the dam area to be weighed in would travel all the way back to the upper end, and we would still have a great bass population on the upper end. but, that just does not happen. another case in point is the fact that over a four or five year period, a buddy of mine and i caught and transported keepers size small mouth from the lower end of table rock and released them around the big m area of the lake, where there just was never any small mouth caught. now, it is common place to catch small mouth in this area. pretty good chance that all those brownies that we brought back to the upper end stayed, and that is why there a brownie population on the upper end now. bo

Reading the posts here I don't feel alone with my addiction to fill my boat with what I think I might need not what my wife thinks I should have.

I was able to find a baby hardgill over the winter on Ebay. I check daily for regulars and baby. Far and few, if I see one I'll give you the heads up but probably buy it for myself and tell you about it after. lol jk

A 'long' cast is any cast that overshoots your target. Roger

Cold snap didn't hurt the river. 2 small Muskie and 5 smallies about a hour ago.

MD sleeping today or what? 2 nights in the mid 30's and everyone shuts up....lol

I hope thats what he meant.

We have added a few new products. Mattlures swimbaits Cosmic Double Colorado Spinnerbait Cosmic Tandem Spinnerbait And last addition, Tungsten bullet and flipping weights along with some Owner Hooks http://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Terminal-Tackle_c23.htm

Getting Started" Guaranteed To Catch Bass I just cant catch bass Learning to fish on your own

Good Point. I lost my full interest in BASS when they took the AM's out of the back of boats. Sorry...old fashioned ... still believe it's the average joe who pays their bills. Any pro who whinned about AM catching his fish just didn't quite make it with me. There's things that could of have been done....three fish limits etc. Oh well...I'm old and set in ways. Tight LInes

"I can't keep it to myself any longer," a man said to his friend. " I've been getting it on with my girlfriend and her twin." "Impressive," the friend remarked. " How do you tell them apart?" The man replied," Her brother's got a moustache."

Heading down to Bass Pro Shops Saturday to get a new rod and reel. Most likely the Pro Qualifier and Carbonlite combo.