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I talk to myself often. It can look and seem strange to the untrained eye, but since I am a local, and consider myself the authority on any and everything around here...........who better to talk to?

I already have it but not for the sake of owning it. I did not pay full price but I would. I might fight the purchase a little bit internally but I would have paid full price for a new one.

Need? Absolutely not. You can get away with a medium fast and back off the drag a little. A moderate action rod would increase hookup ratio, and is definitely worth it to me.

I use Yum dingers. Are they better than Senkos?..............NO..............but since I have a dazzling set of angling skills, it makes up for it. If I used Senkos, it just wouldn't be fair for everyone else.

Depends. I have come full circle in my theory on cranking rods. I started with fast action...........it was never a problem, but like so many I thought a "cranking" specific moderate action rod would be better. For some it probably is, for me it is not. Why???? ...................Grass. It was absolutely frustrating fishing cranks in, around, and through grass, which is the predominate cover in my home lakes with a moderate action rod. Instead of getting clean rips and pops free of the grass, the moderate just loaded up and dug in deeper, cranking with braid helped little if at all. So I went back to fast action a few years ago, and my grass ripping woes are gone. I don't lose fish or pull hooks out, or pull the bait away or have any of the other issues some people do with fast action rods and cranks. I will say this though...............not every fast action rod is ideal for cranking. I look for ones with a little tip but don't load up very far down the blank. When I am cranking, it's probably 80% of the time in grass with a lipless, squarebill, or mid depth diving crank, 10 % of the time in shallow hard cover like wood, docks and rock, and the remaining 10% of the time deep cranking along outside grass line or over hard offshore cover like rock piles, and sunken debris. The times I deep crank with a standard cast and wind retrieve perhaps a traditional cranking rod would be the better choice, but since it's a limited part of my rotation, I make do with the rod/reel/line combo that I do the rest of my cranking with and get along pretty well with it...............especially since a lot of times I am deep cranking, I am long lining to get max depth, and max time in the strike zone. Trying to set the hook or turn a fish when you have 100+ yards of line out is undesirable to me with a moderate action rod.

Somehow I ended up getting 2

I was invited on a fishing trip this weekend....ran it by my girl and she was like "do whatever makes you happy".....to which I immediately made dinner arrangements.

stay away from those charts. horoscopes and astrology have netted me 4 ex-wives

Who dug up this old post??? All those charts, graphs, and apps remind me of the old saying, "Even a broken clock is right twice a day." -T9

I don´t need to talk to locals, I´m Raul, if there is a bass I´ll catch it and if there ain´t bass but something else I will catch it too.

There is not one single angler out there that will tell you about their "honey holes" LOL !! I ask more specific questions about baits, depths, target areas, and put that to work with maps and a little Google mixed in. its a greater experience rather than coming right out and asking where the fish are at, the more subtle questions seem to yield the better answers.

Yes. Of course! Nothing like local info. But you know how fishermen are... golfers, politicians, and fishermen are among the world's greatest liars! I can not tell you how many times locals have said where the fish were knowing they were not! Trying to send outsiders on a wild goose chase anywhere but where they were fishing. Sometimes watching the locals is of more value than actually talking to locals!

Why not use Rugers EXCELLENT repair service. This is one of the main reasons why I like Ruger. I purchased a P95 at a pawn shop years ago, it acted up a few times I called them and they were extremely nice. Tried to fix it over the phone when no results they sent me a shipping label. I did what they said and wrote down everything I was having issues with and put it in the box. In less than 3 weeks I had my gun back in perfect mechanical working condition. The best part was they included a slip showing what parts were replaced and their cost but their was no charge (yes they fixed it for FREE) Now my parts were less than $5 but still that is customer care. I have spoke with them on another gun issue as well and was treated with the same professionalism. If nothing has changed I would say no one can do a better job with customer service than that. http://www.ruger.com/footer/contact.html I have 2 Rugers a SR45 and a P95 both are excellent guns. They eat any ammunition I throw in them like candy.

Best largemouth is 11lb-2oz caught in Florida. Best smallmouth is 7lb-6oz caught in Pa waters of Lake Erie.

The elusive Snuffleupagus

I've been married for 35 years. If she says go fishing, I go Fishing! If she didn't want me to go she shouldn't say stupid things!

Kind Response: My esteem for the Solunar Theory parallels that of a state lottery (benefiting from its intricate vagaries is highly elusive) Harsh Response: Man has proven himself unfit to manage his own affairs, like balancing the fiscal budget; and predicting tomorrow's weather. Why would this same buffoon fancy the notion that he's capable of timing natural events under the auspices of Mother Nature? Roger

I actually caught this bass on January 9th but didn't post back then as I still had soft water and was busy fishing! Hardwater and icy roads for me today so I have time to post. First bass of 2016 - 23" / 6.85 pounds on an orange belly craw Red Eye Shad. This fish was caught after a heavy rain in only about 3-4 feet of water, near the outflow spillway of the lake. This 'ole girl was probably holding out of the current, watching for something tasty to drift by. Meanwhile, I aim my cast parallel with the flow, and swim the RES towards the spillway. Shallow water so no yo-yo retrieve, just short pauses. Splash down, start retrieve, about the 2nd pause, BAM. Cold water so not as big a fight as a nearly 7 pound bass would usually give, but the fish hit about 100 feet out so I had some fun getting the fish back to the bank and she pulled drag a couple times. A great start to the year...but if this year is like last year, my biggest bass in January ends up being the biggest of the year so it could be all downhill from here...

I think about all the money we spend on fishing rods, then I recall the 1985 Bassmaster Classic. Clearly one third of the participants used "Berkley's Lightning Rod", including winner, "Jack Chancellor". I suppose you CAN be the best without spending a fortune. Hootie

Me too. So much I bought 2 of them today. And 2 Chronarchs to put on them. Very impressive for a sub $200 rod and I very much appreciate the subtle styling.

I have six PQs, some of them have stickers on the reel foot that say made in Korea - some say made in China. I expect that the reason for this is that the OEM for the PQ, Doyo in Korea, has another plant in China, or outsources assembly to a Chinese plant. I don't know the answer, and I don't care. I see NO difference in any of the 6 PQs regardless of the indicated manufacturing location. From the photo I saw in the BPS flyer, the PQ in that combo looks to be the regular production PQ. If you have confirmed that the model number on the side of the reel matches the catalog/web site number for the regular PQ, then I think you can rest easy and just enjoy the combo and be satisfied that you got a GREAT deal. Regarding the regular production PQ, it IS possible to wear one out but it might take you a long time to do it: BPS Pro Qualifier BC Reel - 5 Year Challenge ....AND....Welcome to BR !

For sure - kayaks are nifty watercraft and work for many anglers. For me, not so much. I looked at all watercraft from float tubes to bass boats, using specific selection criteria: I needed something car-topable without a special rack, modular, very light weight, with as much capability as possible. I wanted stability so I could stand and fish all day, lots of inboard storage, motorized, and little to no maintenance. I didn't want to have to buy a truck or other tow vehicle, I didn't want to consume a garage bay or driveway space with a boat and trailer, didn't want high expense and high maintenance, and didn't want to use gasoline power. Taking everything into account, I ended up with a canoe, trolling motor, and outriggers for stability. Now, some would say that a motorized kayak would meet the above criteria. BUT, in comparison to my final selection, kayaks are generally too heavy, don't have enough storage (especially "inboard" storage - meaning below the level of the gunwales where stuff can't fall out), and require specialized racks for transport. My bare hull weighs 34 pounds. My beam is 38 inches - lots of inboard room. Transportability? No special rack needed, no lifting aid needed - I just pick it up and put it on the roof of the vehicle. Now, I'm only 63 and someday when I get "old" I might have to get a special rack and a lifting aid - that will be a few years down the road hopefully. Room - especially standing room? I've got some: Ease of rigging electronics? It's horrible - sometimes it takes me as long as 30 seconds to get my sonar out of the car and rigged on the boat: Transportability? Throw it on the roof and strap it down - AND, enough clearance to drive into the garage and be ready to leave the next day: Storage? Along one sidewall of the garage and still have room for a vehicle in that bay: So, those are some of the reasons why I did not buy a jon boat or small bass boat. AND, another benefit of having a lot of inboard room is that you don't have to handle fish like this in your LAP... Some types of small watercraft (canoes, kayaks, bass raiders, float tubes, pontoons, inflatables, etc.) are perfect for some people. No one type of small watercraft is perfect for all people. Different "floats" for different folks... It's all good...

I'd encourage you to stop fighting it - just get the little trailer. Why not take the hassle of loading & unloading & launching & recovering your vessel COMPLETELY OUT OF PLAY ? The ease and convenience of solo angling this way is IMO well worth the few bucks it costs. Over the life of the trailer, when considering all the trips you'll make with it, the $$ will be a complete after thought. A-Jay http://www.castlecraft.com/canoe_trailer.htm

Trying to predict if you will have a problem or not down the road is impossible. Another way to look at it is, can you afford to fix your engine if something should arise out of warranty, if you can and cash-flow is not an issue I would forgo the warranty. If you can't really afford more than $900 in the future then you should get coverage for your engine, especially if you actually use your engine and enjoy your time on the water. Nothing worse than being sidelined because you can't afford a re-power or repair.

There is very little information on the internet or anywhere else about some of the small, out-of-the-way, sometimes hard-to-access places I like to fish. For some of those places, locals are the only reason I know about them.

If there is a local Mom & Pop tackle shop, that is you very best option, especially if you become a "regular". In the Florence. AL area, Gary's is the ticket: Gray's Tackle Shop OPEN NOW Today:8:00 am - 4:00 pm 2813 N Jackson Hwy, Sheffield, AL 35660 (256) 978-3154

I trust myself better than information locals are "willling" to share . Only info I want are water conditions . Rick Clunn won the Arkansas river classic by fishing where the locals said there were no fish .

This year bigger swimbaits are going to be part of my game plan more than ever, so I'm filling in the gaps here and there. Few pick ups from the last week. Also got Mike over at Delaware Valley Tackle going on a custom built Swimbait rod for me. I'll have to put up a pic of that, and the Conquest getting mounted on it, when they make it home. C'mon, Spring!!

Look for something NEW, with some TECHnical advantages. Then you will be able to LURE them in!!

Yes.............but only for special people. I get 60% off everything on Presidents day, and free hot dogs. Although by the time the hot dogs make it to WNY from CA, I wish they would have just thrown in a hat or some thing.

Why would anyone buy a reel from a company known for making rods that break if you look at them funny? They're trying to use their name to sell reels but their name is mostly worthless.

I make my own with a swinging football head and an Owner twist lock hook. It works well.

I'm an avid user of mono, so it's so called stretch is of no concern to me. It sounds to me as though this line is going to give me an alternative to braid for my single hook applications and it will also give me another option with many of the treble hooked ones as well luckily, on many of my reels the spools are interchangeable and I can keep one spooled with it. Thanks for all the replies.

Check out the stuff on TW from Boss. Get the heads you want, then the skirts you want and put them together in combos you want and it's much cheaper than buying a pre-made factory jig, and Boss's quality is top notch.

90% off. monkey can't so no to that!!

Just got back from the bend.. Shallow water patterns sucked for me. Must have been the high pressure. (Just need an excuse )..... Did get on a deep water bite and caught 19 with a couple of 4s and a five. 15 to 20 fow on a football jig. This warm weather should have them on the move.

All partnered up on a XX DSR

Bill or the wolf?

What the hell would we do without water and bass?

'Fortunately', temp will top out at 27 on Sun. Temptation averted.

Thing is, they don't. Just yet another rebrand.

I'm not really a braid fan, unless it's on a spinning reel. For all of those applications I'd use fluoro.

Jfrancho has posted about tieable wire got leader where toothy critters are abundant. I'd match some of that to braid.

7 rods: Squarebill DT6 C-rig Spinnerbait Spook Jr. Senko Jig 7 is ENOUGH. If they won't bite THOSE 7 - they won't bite.

I'm now using izorline xxx on everything besides topwater. I love that stuff, cheap and just a great line.

12lb izorline I wouldn't use 8lb for squarebills, especially around rock.

How many elements do you consider? One! If mama gives me a kitchen pass! Some of my best trips & double digit bass come on spur of the moment days!

Put in my order for a Curado 70 XG and a Scorpion 70 HG this morning Hoping the Scorpion gets here before the Classic but I know the Curado won't get here before then. Always wanted to own a Scorpion, excited to finally make it happen.

Y'all seen this?