Tokyo Tony

Sharapova's playing right now, and she's just dominating so far. The thing I can't stand is the freaking sounds these girls make on the court. It's pretty annoying.

Any of you guys been watching the tennis? The Blake match yesterday was amazing, and so was the Federer match. Lookin' forward to Blake/Cilic, then hopefully Blake/Federer in the quarters. Also looking forward to the Sharapova match

Yeah well you know that just like, uhh...your opinion, man. We can take this outside if you'd like

Night fishing is awesome ;D I do it a lot when it's warm out, and during the week, because I have to work during the day. The most productive lure for me this past year for night fishing was a black/blue chatterbait. Deadly. Topwaters and big spinnerbaits are good too. A couple things that really help me are: 1. Headlamp - without a headlamp you'll have a much tougher time night fishing, whether it's trying to tie a knot or releasing a fish without hurting it. 2. Camera with a flash - the pictures still aren't that good, but at least you'll have pictures. Can't wait until it's warm enough to be able to night fish for bass! I've been night fishing for trout a couple times this winter, but it sucks, mostly because it's freakin' cold.

Well Rhode Island isn't exactly what I would call a huge state ;D

Nice post there Aint Texan - very informative. Although it has turned out that our presence in Iraq isn't directly part of the war on terror, as you made clear, that was the intention when we started - to take democracy to Iraq so that it didn't become a nucleus for terrorists. Obviously that whole concept may have been flawed to begin with because we didn't realize what the cost would be. P.S. Thank you for your service. I can't imagine what it would be like to do what you do.

1/2 Japanese, 1/4 Polish, 1/8 Irish, 1/8 Danish. My father is full Japanese, my mother and her parents were born in the States, but my mother's grandparents were immigrants from the above countries. My last name is Kobayashi, like the guy in Usual Suspects (I'm so glad that it was a good movie otherwise I would cringe when everyone asks if I've seen the movie), the ex-world hot dog eating champ, and many other Japanese people. It's the 5th most common name there.

I have the 3000, and I wouldn't recommend putting 10 or 12 pound test mono on them. Although the reel could definitely handle it, I don't think line that heavy would be very manageable on a small reel like the 2500 or 3000. If you don't want to use braid, I would also recommend the Ultra Soft #6. It's way stronger than similar mono and stretches less. You said the reason you don't use braid is because you don't want the fish to see it. You can still use braid in clear water as long as you use a flourocarbon leader, anywhere from 6-12 lb test connected with a Uni to Uni knot, blood knot, or an albright special. I think this would be your best bet for jigs. With my Stradic, I have one spool filled with #10 Power Pro braid, and the other with #6 Yo-Zuri Ultra Soft. That covers pretty much any situation I get myself into 8-)

And one more thing - what length would you recommend for the type of fishing I described? I take it 8' would be more manageable but 9' will cast farther? And is 2 piece noticeably better than 4 piece?

Awesome, thanks for the info flechero! And very good to know about the reel - I'll definitely spend more on the rod and line than the reel. When you say depending on my flycasting background I might want to go to a 4 wt, do you mean it's more difficult to cast a 4 wt than a 5, or vice versa?

Not sure about skipjack, but I used to catch ladyfish in south Florida. Down there they're considered "trash" fish, and they're very slimy, but they're still definitely a lot of fun.

Nice fish there. It's nice to see someone else enjoying some cold trout fishing this time of year Crazy deformed trout too. I once fished a hatchery pond owned by a friend of a friend, where they dumped all of the fish they couldn't use. We caught some pretty crazy fish there as well What were you using for bait/lures?

This post may be better suited to a different forum, but I know some of you guys out there go for smallies on fly, so any advice? I used to fly fish quite a bit, but haven't done it in quite a while. This coming year I'm looking to start fly fishing a lot more, mostly for smallies in New Hampshire, but also I'd like a flyrod that I can use in streams for trout. I'm thinking about using 5 weight line - is this too light for small to medium poppers? I'd like something that can cast tiny dry flies but also small poppers, if possible. What's the price I can expect to pay for a decent-quality, but not super high-end setup? Compared to spinning gear quality, I'm talking comparable to a Shimano Crucial, for example, with a Stradic. I'd rather not spend more than $300 for the setup, but if you think there's a big difference to go up to $400 or $500 I'm all ears. Any ideas on brands? How are the Cabela's combos? I'd like to use the setup in my float tube on little lakes in NH, and also wading for trout in smallish streams in CT. I don't expect to be catching 5 lb smallmouth on the setup, but anywhere from 1-3 lbs and trout in the same size range. Any advice on fly fishing for smallies would be awesome Thanks.

Here's the other recent thread on this lure: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1198685745/0

Depends, but here are a few: "Got one!" "Bam!" "Count it!" "There she is" "Respek" - in honor of Ali G

That had to take at least 3-4 hours to set up. Definitely not worth the time. It was cool to watch, but all I could think about was how much time they wasted setting it up, and how much time they could have spent fishing in that lake.

I've always had several in my tacklebox beginning back when I was younger and used to go for redfish with a gold johnson's minnow. This year I plan on using this bait a lot (in silver) in the slop, so we'll see how it goes. I caught two bass on it last year and only used it once for about a half hour. They were dinks though.

It's crazy how during the season (from ice-out to ice-up) I feel generally relaxed and generally happy, but when I can't bass fish, I just feel antsy and kinda p'd off. Fishing is seriously like a drug addiction :-? All I think about all week is when I get to go trout fishing during the weekend (which is not quite as satisfying as bass fishing, but enough to get my 'fix'), and when I'm finally out there on the stream, I just feel relaxed and happy. It's crazy

Like some others, I was searching Google for information on bass fishing, and I came across a couple articles that brought me to this site. I immediately saved the site because of the number of articles, and I didn't even know that there was a forum until a couple of weeks later. I started reading, was totally impressed by the amount of info, and the rest is history. I couldn't believe the number of active posters on the site, and when I first posted, within an hour or two there were like 8 or 10 responses, which was a huge change from the first bass forum I joined. Anyway, thanks to everyone for such a tremendous site, especially Glen and the mods. I've learned so much, and I can't wait til spring comes and I can apply all of my new knowledge to chase the bigger bass. Another thing, since joining the site and reading all of the posts in the tackle and rods and reels section, I've spent a ton of money upgrading all of my equipment; equipment I never knew existed ;D

Great thread guys, seeing those pictures and reading your stories has me looking forward to having kids, although I'm not in any rush ;D I remember the good old days going fishing with my dad or with my grandmother. You fathers and mothers out there taking your kids fishing are really doing it right and giving them some life-long memories. Great stuff.

You NEED walk-the-dog baits, whether they're Zaras or Sammies, or any of the other good brands. Jerkbaits like X-Raps and Pointers are necessary. And frog/toad baits to throw in the weed/pads/slop.

Mention of Dennis Quaid in another thread reminded me - my college golf team and I were playing Bel-Air Country Club on our spring trip my senior year and Dennis Quaid played through our group. He hit a huge high hook that went into the trees, and he was skinnier than I ever would have imagined, I won't go into the reason... I went to lower and middle school in Miami with Jeb Bush, son of the old FL governor who is, obviously, Dubya's brother. Jeb Bush, the father used to come to a bunch of our soccer games, and First Lady Barbara Bush, at the time, made it out to one of our games, secret service and all. People kept bothering her and asking questions, and finally she just said, "Would you folks mind just letting me watch my grandson play soccer?" Very gracefully, of course. When little Jeb and I were in the playground while his grandfather was president there were always a few secret service guys scanning the area. He used to say, "Hey Secret!" It never occurred to me what a big deal that family was, but in retrospect, it's pretty ridiculous.

That's one of the best - can't believe it took you this long to see it!

I was watching a big poker hand at Foxwood's a month or two ago (I'm talking a $20K pot - way way higher than the limits I play), and someone at the table made a comment, and as I looked up, there was James Woods. It's pretty weird seeing someone famous in person instead of on t.v. And way back in the day, Ted Williams was trying to "get with" my great aunt, and he wasn't looking for a long-term relationship, if you know what I mean. My great aunt was very religious and was holding off til marriage, and she didn't know who he was (not that it would have made a difference), so obviously she declined