Pantera61

If it were up to the "serious" anglers to keep a store afloat most merchants would be in the poor house. Those quarters and dimes spent on bobbers and bait add up quicker than the dollars spend on even mid-range tackle, simply because of the profit margin. There were two tackle stores within 5 miles of my home, both now closed. One catered to the old, the poor and the guy who was taking his kids out for a Saturday trip, the other to the tournament wannabes and the more serious anglers. The high-line tackle in the second shop caught more fingerprints and wistful glances than sales. Guys who populate this and other boards would go into the local guy's shop, check out the tackle and feel it up more than Susie Creamcheese her first time in the backseat, then order it from catalog houses. Sad but true.

I never could understand the sale mentality from either end of the cash register. It conditions the customer base wait for a sale which leaves plenty of room for crickets during non-sale times and the people in the home office have no idea of stock on hand or if they do, they ignore it, when they run the sale. Give me a fair price on in-stock merchandise and service after the sale and you've got me as a customer.

I preferred mag brakes over cent brakes simply because of the "mess around" factor inherent with cent brakes. Go from a 1/4 oz lure to a 1/2 oz lure, adjust the brakes, to a 3/4 oz adjust the brakes, back to a 1/4 oz lure, adjust the brakes, ad infinitum. Mag brakes, keep on minimum and use the brake God gave ya. That said, I used the new Revo Premier with dual brakes and it's a whole new world. Unlike the bulky, clod-hopper Shimano cent brakes, the Revo (and Pflueger) cent brakes are significantly smaller, precision type brakes. Sort of like the difference between those old, Soviet-style, basketball-sized bearings and the exponentially smaller and more accurate U.S. of A bearings.

Another vote for Paulie and Chris in the Pine Barrens

Cool!! Nice BC Rich!! Nice hair!!!! The bass is long gone, fortunately, the hair has remained. My situation worked out exactly the opposite ;D I had several BCR's but the best one I had was an American made Eagle. I even had Neal Moser sign the truss rod cover. He was the man at BC Rich behind their famous electronics back in the day and now builds his own line of custom guitars and basses. This is a bass that I should have kept.....REALLY should have kept :-/ Did you find the Rich heavy or heavier than it should be? thanks

Reagan was President when that picture was taken. That would be his first term! Wow!! Rock on my friend, Rock on.

Cool!! Nice BC Rich!! Nice hair!!!! The bass is long gone, fortunately, the hair has remained.

Many, many, many, many moons ago ... rockin' the joint

depending upon your local conditions, it's not a bad choice for suspending jerkbaits.

The tags that come on the rod's say 3 years.

Warranty on the Vendetta is 3 years, not 30 days.

The Cardinal 800 series also has a very nice feature for an inexpensive reel, a bearing under the spool. Most reels only have a shim, Daiwa Japan sells one as a drag upgrade @ $20.00. It's a great performance upgrade @ $20.00. It's super for free. On the other hand, what I didn't like about the Cardinal 800s was the bail didn't flip to 180*, only to about 90*. I was always afraid it would close mid-cast.

It does more than LOOK good, my friend. Trust me on that.

The Veritas rocks.

I have only checked the Mojo out in the tackle store but I have used the Vendetta in several different models, spinning and casting. They are good sticks for just knocking around or for tournaments.

1. It's perfectly acceptable to start a sentence with the word "and", depending upon usage and readership level. 2. Actually, it's the people with blind loyalty and pat responses who lack credibility and we all know who they are. No manufacturer is the be all and end all of fishing equipment. 3. I can understand pros having their equipment replaced even after one tournament. The tackle receives a level of stress in 3 days, the average angler may not apply in a lifetime. I remember reading Dean Rojas donates all of rods and reels to a local high school at the end of the season.

I knew that thing looked familiar ...

Built as a low profile Ryoga?

sad news, my heart goes out to ya

Perhaps the fight put the 300+ pound girl in the mood for lovin'

people who buy their tackle based upon the name decal ain't much better

Carbonlite and Cumara in the same facility?

Never personally got into a bar fight but I was the target of a drunk when I was in a band. Guy came charging at me with a bar stool in his hand. My brother, who is calmer than Buddha on 'ludes, grabbed the guy's other arm and twists it up so his hand above the opposite shoulder. Ended that real quick but it just goes to show everybody's a critic! Another time we were playing a huge cat fight broke out on the dance floor. Wicked!

Planned release date is September. The rods Ike will be fishing are pretty much the final product except for the guides, unless of course, there is some unforeseen catastrophe. The model I have been privileged to fish, in the short amount of time the snow has allowed me, has impressed me. I have it slated to be my utility rod, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, shallow cranks and lipless cranks. A very versatile stick!

I've been using the ~2.5" I-shad as a trailer for 1/32 oz and 1/16 oz jigs. It produces.