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Packers over Jets, 34-24. I'm really excited for today's games. I wanna see Cutler get dragged through the hard brown sod of Soldier Field.

This is true. I've heard of pads that are dimpled like a golf ball. The dimples collect bubbles and reduce the water friction.

They're everywhere up there, and they'll hit anything that moves. Part of me loves pike fishing, especially when I'm maintaining a 5 lb+ average, but it gets really annoying when you're fishing for other species. Bring some spooks and Rapala Subwalks next time you go.

Anybody here like to fly fish for carp? It can be a lot of fun sometimes. A 10-20 lb carp will wear you out on a fly rod. It's about as easy as it gets to sight-fish for carp with a worm fly. I just use bead-head worm flies that are basically a gold bead and a brown pipe cleaner rigged with a twist similar to a Flick Shake worm. Give it a try if you haven't already.

I've never had good luck with Pinnacle, but that Supreme looks like a winner. My pick is Shimano Saros. I found one yesterday from a retailer for $109 while bargain hunting online for a Stradic CI4. I think these are as good as the mid-2000s white Stradics that were around $130-150.

Very true, there's always some kinks that need to be ironed out. Look at Dobyns Gen 1 breakage issues, NRX handles, iPods/iPhone software, DLP HDTVs and the white dot plague, and more high-tech cellphone issues than I can name.

Or an "Albino Shad?"

Drop Shot, because the water is clear and the fish are often spooky around here, and I can only seem to catch dinks with them. There is much room for improvement. ;D

That sounds like a disaster! They blast a horn?!?! I gotta see this. LOL I have to settle for my 4.5 - 6' UL setups. I love fishing little Mepps spinners for trout and panfish. They don't feel like such a "dummy lure" like bobber rigs, and they make panfishing a lot of fun. Our bass fishing season doesn't open until Labor Day and it's a way to pass the time.

6-9 in the boat, 4-6 on the deck.

How is the action and durability of the BPS flick shake knock-offs, the Flickn Shimmy? I like the technique but using the Jackall worms can get expensive in a hurry because they're so thin and tear easily. http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Flickn-Shimmy-Worms/product/10208036/-1713312

You would take a heavy, high-end bow mount trolling motor off the boat every time you park it and put it back on every time you go fishing? Really? When I winterize my boat and remove the trolling motor, I have to first take off the front graph that screwed into the front console and remove the cables on both the graph and the motor. Then I need a wrench and a power screw driver to remove all 8 nuts and bolts, taking care not to drop the nuts and washers inside the boat. Now the troller probably weighs 75 lbs and has a cumbersome pedal and cable attached to it, so I have to take care not to drop it or scratch and gouge the hell out of the fiberglass when I lift it off. This all takes about 20+ minutes and is a PITA. C'mon, seriously. Who does this every time they park their boat? I don't think it's reasonable to expect anybody to do it in the parking lot of a motel either, likely after sundown or before sunrise.

No sane person is going to argue that a GYCB Senko has an uncanny ability to trigger bites and catch fish. It's the presentation that people dislike, the time spent waiting for an unweighted plastic to get into the 10-20 foot zone. That's not fun at all, IMO, it's downright boring until when and if you get a strike. That's why I only use Senkos as a shallow water skipping baits. Often times, after you've caught your share of fish on Senkos, it comes down to asking yourself "Would you rather catch 5 fish on a Senko or 3-4 fish on a _____?" As an amateur angler, the fun for me is catching fish on a lure that I enjoy like a spinnerbait, buzzbait, or jig, and not just putting fish in the boat. For tourney anglers who are on the clock and people who don't get to fish nearly as often as they want, it's a whole 'nother story. If it floats your boat, then go get 'em with that Senko and have fun!

People should try dropping a crawfish trap in their home lake or river if they're curious about the critters that live in the depths. I started doing this as a kid when I would wade the Mississippi River and it's tribs for smallies, and I would use the craws for bait on Lindy Rigs. There is NOTHING that can trigger a bite like a live crawfish. I used the Frabill Crawfish Trap baited with a can of cat food that I stabbed up with a screwdriver. The buoy I tied to mine floated away last year, but I had some fun before it did. I found that the craws in the weedy little lakes around here were mostly green with hints of blue and purple, drastically different in shape, color, and size from what's in the rivers. These sometimes go on closeout at the end of the year in local retailers. http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/sportsmans/Frabill-Crawfish-Trap/productDetail/Minnows-and-Crawfish-Traps/prod72046/cat101118 NOTE: Check local regs before doing this.

Congrats. Retirement on Table Rock Lake sounds like a blast!

Good tip. Thanks.

Good point, Glenn. You hit the nail on the head. These are some of the principles that made the film The Social Network feel instantly iconic and important.

Sounds like a nice combo. A friend uses that rod for worming and I've been lucky enough to try it out a few times. That coupon code is 10%. I'm willing to bet there will be a better discount for the Bassmaster Classic in last Feb.

Fish will become conditioned to certain distinct lures like spinnerbaits if they are often exposed to them. I have a friend who lives on a private 60 acre lake full of big bass. All he throws is a 1/4-3/8oz white, single gold Colorado spinnerbait. Year after year, he catches fewer fish, but he won't switch it up. He claims it's the lake's fault, something is wrong with the lake, it must be the carp, blah blah blah. Stubborn people... :

Haha, that's very interesting!

Are there any trout streams in South Jersey? You could sling tiny a Mepps spinner a mile with that rig.

I know this site has a rule against political discussion but I think this is very interesting reading considering tungsten has been promoted as a greener option to lead in fishing tackle. It sounds like very little research has been done until recently about the harm tungsten can do to a person. http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/clusters/fallon/tungstenfaq.htm Tungsten has recently been linked to cancer by the US Army. The Army has developed tungsten bullets as a greener, eco-friendly option to lead, but wounds are developing cancer. Development has now stopped. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/04/toxic-tungsten/ Israel just created and used an antipersonnel bomb in Gaza with shrapnel in the form of cancer-causing tungsten powder. They're called "dime bombs." From the PrairePundit article: "The bombs are packed with tungsten powder, which has the effect of shrapnel but often dissolves in human tissue, making it difficult to discover the cause of injuries." *** http://prairiepundit.blogspot.com/2009/01/israels-tungsten-bombs.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/tungsten-bombs-leave-israels-victims-with-mystery-wounds-1418910.html

A 1/4 oz trap is a little small for a size 2 treble. On larger traps it would work fine, though.

Good post. I've tried out numerous shake/finesse worms in my sink, and the only one I had that had any float to it was the Squirrel Tail worm, and only the tails float on that one. Powerbait also has a 6" pink floating steelhead worm that can float a heavy worm hook and works well in the slop.

Junebug is an interesting one in particular. Junebug plastics are purple/green but actual June Beetles are brown to reddish brown.