Gone_Phishin

I have a tuned Fuego on a 5'9", MH, XF LTA. I use it for spinnerbaits and topwater work as well. I am quite happy with the reel. I have no problems with 3/8oz blades.

Give them both, and let them tell you what they want. Unless I know the fish are active, I usually would go with the tube first.

That's ridiculous. He'd be out for the season with an injury at this point.

That's not far-fetched. Gruden was the receivers coach under Holmgren here in the 90's. I still want Bill Cowher. But heck, at this point I'd take you Kent. Penalty or not, McCarthy should have ripped Jolly's throat out. Period. That was four BIG points. Thompson's drafts are why the O-line stinks. Many high draft picks doing nothing. Colledge was a second rounder, etc.

Tampa Bay??? I knew the Pack was in trouble, but not to this extent. McCarthy has lost the locker room, and Ted Thompson, well, enough said. What this young, stupid team needs is a guy like Bill Cowher to beat the crap out of them.

Well, the Crew traded JJ Hardy to the Twinkies for CF'r Gomez. At first, I was ticked. The more I think about it, it makes sense. Gomez will save the Crew at least 10 mil on Mike Cameron, and about 7 Mil on Hardy. Doug Melvin has went on record saying he wants two SP's this offseason. There's almost 20 mil saved for such a purpose. With the main trade chip, Hardy, already gone, it appears the Crew will not trade for their pitchers, but rather sign a few free agents. This excites me, as this is not an often occurrence on a small market team. On the other hand, Matt Gamel and Corey Hart could be trade chips. Heck, I've even heard the Brewers may be in the mix for Lackey. I suspect they will also target either Washburn, Bedard, and even Mark Mulder.

It took them 9yrs to win another, and when they do people start the hate all over again. They finally changed their philosophy. Rather than picking up every big name simply because the guy was available, they went after what they needed. In the past it was, 'Oh, Abreu is available...stick him in right." The Yanks went after any stud they could at trading deadlines and such, and screwed their farm clubs in the process. This is why it took them nine years to figure it out. Either way, must be nice to have the kind on dough to tinker around like that year in, and year out. :

I've not fished these baits. Heck, I haven't even seen them in person. The monkey made me do it. There are times on my home lake where a T-rigged craw will outfish a jig, so I thought I'd give these a shot. Some Force Beads have been on list for this purpose.

These are on sale for $1.88-$2.88. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0072898123715a&navCount=0&podId=0072898&parentId=cat603936&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat21404-cat21406-cat603936&catalogCode=OG&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat603936&hasJS=true

FOUL If things are not changed soon, I'll have no choice but to abandon the game I love. >

10-4.

Like everyone said, it's probably the rod. On a related note, go for the EWG trebles on your lipless cranks. The hook is turned in a bit, and this will help deter your bait from getting snarled in the grass.

This confuses me. If someone posted that pic, and it wasn't here on the site to begin with, I'm assuming it would go bye-bye. It appears that the family friendly thing is not a no-tolerance policy. If I pay a few bucks, can I post a pic of a busty woman in a skimpy bikini flippin' mats?

Touche, LOL. But the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, and Cubs have trying to buy WS rings for more than a decade, and look how well that's worked out. In fact, its actual organizational farm team players that have really been the success story of big market teams. In some way, the economic downturn has resulted in smarter business by the big market teams....Cano, Wright, Cabrera, Joba, Robertson, et. al. The big name free agents have just been the extra edge. It would have been way too expensive to assemble a team of solely free agents for even the top four. It's true a small market team can squeak their way into the playoffs (Min, Mil), but over time, look at the majority of the playoff teams: they've all got deep pockets. Kent is right on. Of course the model would have to be adjusted to fit MLB, but the groundwork is there. The guys and gals in the commissioners office make big bucks...I'd like to see them actually do something to warrant their salary.

If the Yankmees win it, I cry FOUL. Must be nice to sign Sabathia, Burnett, and Teixeira to long term deals all in a week or so. Come time when the current labor contract expires, which is coming soon, a CAP in necessary. I don't care if the players strike two years, a cap is a MUST.

What's your budget?

If you are on a budget, the Crankin' Stick is the way to go; especially when they are on sale. I've said it many times before, but it's well worth repeating: I've had a Crankin' Stick for years, I've beaten the crap out of it, and it's still tickin'.

Yup! And at $1.99 a pack at TW, you can't go wrong. They have a TON of great colors as well.

The Natural hit it on the head. Years ago I started using ISG's tiny plastics for vertical jigging through the ice for panfish. Long story short, I had to check out their bass and walleye products. I use the Intimidator Tubes early in the season, and and by summer I switch over to the Dream Tubes. They're hand-dipped four times and have two series of patterns: The Great Lakes series; and a Flippin' series.

I've been watching since the first season, and love the show. That being said, last season was an embarrassment. I really hope the reason was the guys were rushed in writing the scripts. Nothing made sense, and Frank represents this best. Not his acting, but his character. He did a total 180: once he was wealthy, cold and calculating, now, he's basically an older Charlie. Yes he always was a nutball, but he was a nutball who saw things five moves in advance. I had high hopes for this season, praying they would bounce back. For the most part the beginning of this season left me quite pleased. The last few weeks, not so much. I don't want to admit it to myself, but I think the best is behind us; their writing peaked years ago.

That's kinda what I figured. Thanks Natural. I guess there's only one way to find out.

You bet. It will handle cranks well. Depending on how you fish jerkbaits, it may work well too. If you are deadsticking, slowly sweeping, and finessing jerks, this rod should shine. Where the mod-fast action won't be the best for jerks is if you plan on ripping your bait with hard jerks of the rod: the rod will take a lot of the action out of the lure.

Does anyone have experience with the Blazer? It looks like a promising 'eye bait.

I've had the Super Mag size for a few years now, and I'm quite pleased. I've beaten the crap out of that thing, and it keeps on tickin'. I would recommend these bags to anyone.

Do what you feel comfortable with. I do recommend giving a baitcast rig a shot. St Croix's Mojo series is a great place to start for a rod. They are labeled as technique specific to help you pick the right rod for your tournaments, and the price can't be beat. Practice practice practice. Even the most seasoned casters experience backlashes too.