bilgerat

A gold Panther Martin is a mainstay in my tackle box.

Looks like Brent needs a field office in VA. "Pssst....Hey kid, wanna try a couple of Trick Sticks ?! the first ones are on the house......"

One of mine this season was to learn a jig. I have caught some fish on it, so I'm out of the chute. I have a lot to learn yet, but I'm on my way. My next thing is crankbaits. Until this year I was pretty much shorebound and cranks were not a good choice. Now that my boat is in the water that should open up the crankbait game for me. Did you break any new ground this year ?

Download and print this chart. You MUST print it as it will be to scale. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/Content/Parts_Sizing.htm

I decided to try braid at the beginning of the season. I fish spinning gear and wanted to see how it performed. At first I HATED it. I went with Sufix 20# (6# dia.) I couldn't get past the noise and the way it felt, so I went back to mono for most of the year. A few weeks ago I put the braid spool back on but this time added a 12# mono leader. The addition of a leader made a huge difference! Also it seems the more I fish with it, the quieter it gets. This is where I wonder if it's breaking in. I still use mono for a lot of applications, but the braid is working nicely for my jigs and soft plastics. One more question - Most of the waters I fish have very little in the way of rocks and wood, so abrasion is not really a factor. What kind of lifespan can I expect out of it ?

Nice toad !!!

I was jigging it most of the time. Brent's tubes have a very thick head and a way thicker body than most. I don't think you could get the same results with a standard tube. They are heavy enough on their own to cast weightless on spinning gear.

I was on Prednisone last year for a few weeks and I ate like a shark. I could not stop myself. Thank God that's over.

I remember reading a tip here from someone that said to use about a three inch long section of one of those tiny coffee stirring straws. You thread the line through it then tie on to the bait. This was supposed to cure this without affecting the action of the bait.

Wishing you the best.......

It was ON last night here in South Jersey !!! I posted about it in the Tournaments and Outings section. Hopefully it'll stay hot through the weekend.......

Went to one of my favorite spots last night - a row of three small ponds that sit in front of an industrial park. The biggest of the three is only about 80 yards long by about 30 yards wide. More like a big puddle ;D but this place always gives up fish. So I start throwing a jig but it's getting fouled with grass and weeds on every cast. So I tie on an *** 4" *** rigged weedless and weightless on a 3/0 Gammy EWG. Let me tell you what. Those fish absolutely ABUSED that tube. No subtle pickups, they were crushing it. I caught 12 bass ON THE SAME TUBE !!!! About 4 of them were dinks, the rest of them about about a pound or two but the last one of the night was a solid five pounder easily. After the fatty, the tube flung off on the next cast. That's when I called it a night. Of course I had to re-rig the tube several times over during the night. These tubes have been my top bait this season but this was insane.

By any chance do any of you that own one use braid ? If so, how does it cast ?

You used to drink out of the hose too , huh ? ;D

You mean opened up as in the coils are not laying flat to each other and you can see daylight through them ? Yeah, I see what you mean. I too have a stack of catalogs on the back of the throne Another corny BPS trait (and somewhat Cabela's) is the item descriptions peppered with gems like "Big 'ol Mr. Bass" ,"Come and get it" , "Rings the dinner bell" etc.

Quit beating yourself up. There are a lot more people than you think that use spinning only. One extreme example is Fish Chris, who's caught a pig or two on spinning gear (ultra lite no less )

This company makes great spicy products using all natural ingredients. http://www.melindas.com/

Download and print this chart. The chart must be printed for accuracy. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/Content/Parts_Sizing.htm

I like anything hot. From Frank's Red Hot sauce to anything with habenero in it. One thing I've learned over the years is that hot for the sake of hot is ridiculous. I've had Buffalo wing sauce that was so ridiculously hot it ruined the meal. The trick is to get that kick AND still enjoy the food. Years ago I worked in a plant. One night we were all sitting around bragging about eating hot peppers. The next night an Asian guy we worked with brought in these tiny little peppers. Me, like the moron I can be at times, grabs one out of the bag by the stem and bites it off below the stem, chews it up and swallows it. As I did this, he yells "Bill noooooo!!" As fast as he said that, snot started pouring out of my nose like water out of a faucet. My head started throbbing and I d**n near passed out ;D They got me milk from the cafeteria and several bags of chips to try and put the fire out. I couldn't taste anything for a day or two. He explained that they were cooking peppers, one or two in a pot of food was sufficient. That's what I get for being a hog I guess.

One of the better fishing quotes I've read: There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and getting licked in the process. Paul O'Neil

Worst joke with the word 'smell' in it..... Bob "My dog has no nose" Jim "How does he smell ?" Bob "Awful" :-X

Do they come with X - Ray Vision ? Can they shoot lazer beams 8-)

Try these. Notice these are heavier than normal Mepps spinners, as they are designed to run a bit deeper. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/standard-pod-wrapped.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/pod-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat180001_TGP&rid=&indexId=cat180001&navAction=push&masterpathid=&navCount=1&parentType=index&parentId=cat180001&id=0031645

It is a nice bag BUT keep in mind: The ad says it will hold up to 4 utility boxes. That's a big maybe. It will hold three with no trouble at all. There's more than enough room in the main section for a fourth box if needed. I waterproofed mine with Scotchguard fabric waterproof that comes in an aerosol can. I fish in the rain a lot so that's why I did this.

Cornflakes and flat beer. Don't knock it till you try it. Until you pour a beer and a wad of cigarette butts falls out. Remember that scene from Caddyshack when Spaulding is scarfing down all of the leftover drinks and winds up swallowing a cigarette butt ? ;D