Tokyo Tony

Sweet fish there X-Rap Man that looks like an awesome place to fish - gotta love those little ponds within walking distance. So how p'd off was your GF after that trip? ;D

Love it, although it seems a lot of the time I'm catching small fish on heavier-than-necessary gear ;D Nice fish there 8-)

That's awesome Jeremyt, congratulations! He's definitely hooked for life. Lookin' forward to those pics.

I don't think so - I doubt it. How would you tell the difference? Maybe, unless there are ice fishermen on board here...

Vanish transition looks cool, but it does have a good bit of memory. Yo-Zuri Ultrasoft is super strong, but I have experienced some memory with it. However, I have only used it this winter in freezing temps, so it's probably pretty soft when it's warmer out. And I don't think it will glow under a UV light. Obviously personal preference is the biggest factor here, but my suggestion would be Power Pro braid. It has NO memory, is super strong, casts farther than any non-braid line for the strength, and is more sensitive than non-braid lines. Those are facts. However, you almost always have to use a leader because it's pretty visible in the water. If you don't mind using a leader, I'd highly recommend braid. A big plus is that it doesn't stretch, but also keep in mind that there are certain presentations and techniques where you need some stretch. PM me if you want more info on braid - I use it 90% of the time.

Thanks guys. That trout hole is amazing - it's on the inside edge of a large bend in the river, and it's shallow on the inside, deeper on the outside, and crystal clear. When I go there in the morning, the sunlight is just right so that I always see the fish following my lure, and then finally striking it. It's pretty fun to watch If only there were smallies in there :

Last summer I caught a 2.5-3" smallie on an X-Rap. He was hooked in the mouth, but it definitely snagged him. He was probably curious, and got in the way of one of my violent twitches 8-)

Went trout fishing Sunday with wind chill around zero. Had to give up after I couldn't feel my feelings anymore. I was admiring one of my trout until his eye started freezing over right in front of me, so I quickly put him back in. It was crazy. Bassin Blvd - I know how you feel. When I lived in Miami the smoke started to come out of the chimneys in my neighborhood around the 65 degree mark ;D In ten years there the coldest morning I experienced was 40 degrees, and that was a huge deal. Now 40 is t-shirt weather ;D

Go skiing and get p'd off at all the snowboarders ruining the slopes >

Isn't it all fake and predetermined?

Nice fish there Brokejaw

Well I got this little guy two weeks ago, first bass of 2008, from a little 1.5 acre pond that the Canadian geese have worked hard to keep thawed this winter. I drove by one night and noticed it was open so the next night I threw a little jig for a while Got this brown a week ago fishing my favorite trout hole in the morning. Tricked him on a Blue Fox inline spinner. A chunky 1 1/4 lber on a Pointer 65 Hopefully sooner than later I'll be able to post some more bass pictures...

I don't have personal experience with either, but they both look pretty stable. The second one is wider, but the two are probably about as stable as the other because the first is a pontoon. You should be able to stand and pitch in either, but I could be wrong. If I had to choose one, I'd choose the second. It looks nicer and more comfortable. I'm sure someone who has personal experience with these will respond...

Lol, exactly my situation. Got the Crucial 7'2 dropshot, use it for trout fishing as well til the bass season comes around. It's soft enough to cast 1/16 oz lures, which I do frequently with it, but also good for 1/4, which I have used. Heavier lures should be fine too. And, also, 2nd favorite behind my IMX, but my IMX is M, not MH. Great rods, both of them.

I used it once, won't use it again. It wasn't terrible, but it did begin to fray after several uses. As for the crystal, that's what I used, and it didn't seem to be any less visible in the water than normal braid. I use Power Pro for braid, and haven't had a single problem with it.

Thanks so much for the replies folks, I know all I need for a basic setup. I'll post about some of my trips later this year. ;D

I thought it was the same mold, but Gary wouldn't give his son the formula...?

I agree, but I did buy a spool of it to use as backing. It does do a great job at that

Holy crap. You know about how much that was? What an idiot that guy was - he had that whole stack and still kept running drugs. That's a lot of work gone to waste!

Lol that's what I thought too. Anyway, Redline - those bags look tasty. I hear the briefcase monkey knocking.

Best game of any kind ever is Oregon Trail, by FAR. Nothing can beat the excitement of that game. Nothing.

I can understand Nascar - I really don't get it. A friend of mine is big into Nascar, and I watched it with him a couple times at school. What I said before about having to understand all the subtleties in order to enjoy watching it is definitely true. He was talking about all this technical crap like the height of the front bumper to different passing techniques, and he was getting all excited about it. I was like, "Are you serious?" But to each his own I guess.

The best knot I've found for braid to mono/flouro is the uni to uni. I've tried the Albright, and although it's a smaller knot, which is a big plus, I've found that it's not as strong. The surgeon's knot is strong as long as you pass the lines through 4 times (any less with braid to mono/flouro will slip), but that makes the knot huge and it will have trouble going through the guides. Although the uni to uni is a very small knot, I'm still looking for something smaller that's at least as strong.

Well tennis is like a lot of other sports in that for most people, in order really to be able to enjoy watching it, you have to have played it or watched it a lot to be able to appreciate the subtleties. It's the same with golf. There's no other sport I'd rather watch on TV than golf, with fishing a close second, and most people would probably consider those two sports the most boring ones to watch.

I fish because I love to fish. Why do I love to fish? Everything about it is amazing. Name any one part of the whole fishing experience, and that part is amazing.