Gomer Pyle

For those of you who call Florida home, can these birds known as Anhinga's (locals call them darters or snakebirds) wipe out the forage in a small lake? I have noticed an increase in these specific species of birds at my favorite fishing hole and they seem to be mopping up so to speak.

Just bought a new Curado 200E7. I have fished with it the last 12 days straight. I really am digging this reel I think I may of read here that the reel may perform even better if it is re-cleaned and re-lubed right out of the box. Is there any truth to this? If so why?

Alright...alright....no more bold font.

What's nice about this forum is that I can sit here in my boxers sucking down a cup of Joe while educating myself on the finer points of bass fishing all without ever having to leave the house! Outstanding write-up Chris Kinda like a mini-seminar in the confines of my living room at ZERO cost...

I just returned home from a trip to Dallas to see the lil bro and fish Lake Fork. The trip didn't start off to good. I decided to ship all my poles to Dallas via UPS ground prior to my departure. I checked out the telescoping fishing rod tube sold at BPS to ship rods in, it felt rather flimsy and thin walled for the price they were asking. I decided to build my own out of PVC from Home Depot. I chose to use 3" dia. thick walled PVC cut to 86" in length. I cemented a thick end cap on one end with a threaded female cap with removable screw in access cap on the other. Needless to say, this was a very stiff and secure shipping container. I even stood on the tube and bounced and it wouldn't flex at all. I wrapped all four of my rods in bubble wrap followed by a thick towel. The package was not able to shift within the tube whatsoever. My lil bro received the package and noticed there was a crease in the tube..ruh roh! I opened the end game and pulled out the package to find all the rods had been broken clean in half at the crease in the tube. :'( I wasn't sure if I should cry or scream :-/ I called UPS, they sent a driver the following day to pick up the package and deliver it to their inspector for assessment and decision on whether or not to honor a damage claim and reimburse my losses. To make a already long story short, the inspector initially denied my claim finding the package was "improperly shipped". After many phone calls to corporate and threats of a small claims suit, the inspectors decision was overturned in my favor. UPS will reimburse me for the cost of the goods. My question for those in the know, how would I place a value on 3 of the rods that are at least 15-20 yrs of age? My newest rod was purchased at BPS ( 7' Extreme). I'm thinking that I will only be covered for the purchase of the newer rod? Any ideas?

Unfortunately, we could not stay in the boat lanes. Those who are familiar with Lake Fork know that there has been much rain there lately, lots of loose timber and logs dislodged during this period. It is imperative that one follow the buoys very closely or you could become impaled on a hidden stump. Needless to say, we weren't going to stay within the confines of the designated boat lane with bass boats flying by at 60+ mph. The closest distance between 2 points is a straight line. We headed straight away for the launch, well out of the boat lane. The closest any boat came to us was maybe 200 yds or so. As J Francho correctly stated, we should have been better prepared. Next time we will be fully prepared. Live and learn right? Nonetheless, I'm still blown away by the fact that out of hundreds of boats going by and seeing a lone boat apparently disabled, navigating in part of the Lake that you would normally not be in, not one thought that maybe those guys are in trouble. Moral of the story....expect the best but be prepared for the worst...and....Never get in the way of a man and his tournament....

Gods grace is sufficient for Rose...however...there are consequences for our actions. I pray for Gods peace and comfort for his family, they will surely need it.....

Sunday, Oct 18th...Lake Fork Texas. Berkley Tournament going on. Little bro and I are out fishing in his older boat that he had just purchased. Bass boats...maybe 100+ all over the place. Ruh Roh...the Chrysler main motor seizes ....wont start....cant even turn the flywheel on top : Good thing we have a 45lb thrust trolling motor to push our 18ft boat in 12-15k winds on a light chop. Nope, no emergency radio, no flares, no way of contacting help other than a cell phone which wasn't receiving a good signal anyway. There must of been 50+ boats pass us without one stopping and seeing if we needed help...maybe the hood being removed from the motor gave us away? :-? It took us 2 hrs to go maybe 3 miles to the dock with the battery dying as soon as we hit the protected dock area. Thank God! Day before we were at Lake Lewisville running the boat in preparation for our trip to Fork. We met a fellow boater there who had broke down and towed him into the launch and was glad to be able to help....but NO....not at Fork. All these $50K bass boats flying all over and not one offered to stop. Am I wrong to be upset? :

I just bought the Curado a couple of months ago. I never dreamed I would ever pay that much $$ for a reel...however....it was money well spent. The Curado is my crown jewel of fishing reels, it casts just about every lure I own a country mile, I rarely ever backlash or birdnest (maybe a couple of times per outing), and has a super smooth retrieve. I will buy another one as soon as I am out of the wife's doghouse

I just bought a new Curado and rod today at BPS...the older salesman who helped me with my purchase told me that all of the 09 BPS reels are manufactured by Pflueger. Not sure if this is correct or not....maybe someone out there knows?

I finally got around to making a trip to BPS in Orlando today I bought a Shimano Curado baitcaster and matched it with a BPS 7' Extreme rod. This is the first new rod and reel I've bought since 1984 Holy cow...what a difference This Curado casts a mile with very little effort, and I love the Extreme rod. I got the combo for $249. Not too bad huh? The sales dude was trying to push off a BPS baitcaster with a Bionic Blade combo on me. I already had my mind made up. I've owned an older Shimano baitcaster (over 20 yrs old) and it still casts very good and has caught too many fish to count. I'm sure that the quality of this Curado will last me for many years to come...

I tied on a - 1 about a month ago while fishing one of my favorite ponds. I tossed it out in the middle of the pond where bass were busting shad on the surface...when WHAM...a huge fish gulped it...ran about 8 ft...and then SNAP :'( ...talk about bummed!

I'm lookin at buying a fishfinder next week...do you prefer one with or without GPS built in? If so, why? I've never owned one but am doing lots of research and gathering lots of opinions before the purchase. So far, I am leaning to the Lowrance models.....

Without any electronic aids, is this grass you're talking about visible from the boat? Make's me want to just buy a fish finder for this trip.