Carmen J Bernardo

Here's my final roundup on the rods that I've decided to keep after working through my collection. For simplicity's sake, I excluded three lighter rods to be used for panfish/trout fishing and three heavier rods intended for inshore/bay fishing and ocean surf fishing. [*] St Croix Pro Glass Linear (6' 6" M, moderate-fast action) Intended as the go-to spinning rod for general freshwater fishing applications, but will be used for bass fishing in most area freshwater and even some tidal creeks [*] Shakespeare Sigma Intrepid (6' 0" MH, moderate-fast action) Intended more for jigging in deep water or heavier cover such as you'd find in Piedmont lakes or some of the larger streams where lots of rocks are present [*] Quantum Energy (6' 6" M, moderate-fast action) A baitcast rod comparable to my Browning, but of graphite composition which may be used for slightly different presentations depending on conditions [*] Browning David Fritts Special (6' 6" M, fast action) The go-to crankbaiting rod, as suggested by Simp, though its fiberglass composition makes it a bit softer [*] Quantum Competition (6' 6" MH, moderate-fast action) A stouter spinning rod which may be used for heavier cover where the other spinning rods might have trouble [*] Daiwa Eliminator (7' 0" M, moderate action) This could be my topwater rod but it's rated for heavier lure weights (3/8ths - 1 ounce), which suggests Carolina/Texas rigs in heavy cover -- I actually used it in the Delaware Bay, landing a bluefish hooked on a 2-oz bucktail. All in all, that's it for the potential bassing rods. I'll be starting up a new threat as a sort of "return of the son of" this one, soliciting suggestions for reels to pair up with the rod collection. Look for that one. Thanks, all...

After several years of just wiping down rods when they're pulled off of a dusty stand and maybe one instance of dropping some lube into a reel where I think I could safely open it up, I'm beginning to think that what Raul does makes more sense, especially to me as a recreational angler. As I'm trying to shed the Bait Monkey from my back, I'll be whittling down the old collection to a modest collection of essential rods and reels over the winter, perhaps ending up with roughly half the number than I have now and maybe even replacing those with good brand combos which'll be swapped out as different opportunities present themselves. Good thread, thanks.

It sounds like a good idea, but the price is a bit steep for a guy in this crazy recession. I'll give 'em a pass until things look a bit better. Perhaps one or two lures switched over can be used for the experiment...

I see a lot of that. I call it "fairy tackling". There's just no attempt made to trap the guy and hobble him so that he can't gain yardage. If they did that, it allowed others to move in to stop his progress and take him down. In addition to doing that, I'd think that most of the serious injuries caused by a hit in the worst location would be avoided. Having a big guy falling on you after being slowed down to a crawl beats having to send him to the hospital with his leg practically broken in two (not to mention you with your ringing head).

Rotty to Big Mike: "TAKE ME WITH Y-- Oh, snap! He got the big hookie stick with him again, I'm outta here." Gotta be careful around your pets and kids. They can't tell what a fish hook is until it's in them. Glad it turned out better than it would've.

I've been thinking of making the upgrade. My current OS is the 64-bit version of XP Pro and, even though it runs most programs well enough, it won't recognize some that I'd like to install and will occasionally crop up with an odd bug or two. At least I can use the Internet and whip up a few Word documents and edit scanned artwork and photo downloads, but I want a better OS capable of using the latest software including updated mapping applications (for those fishing trips and bike rides away from home).

When I came of age, almost all pro wrestling was handled by the old WWF with old names like Cheif Jay Strongbow, Ivan "Polish Power" Putski, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and George "the Animal" Steele. You could witness the antics of heels like Captain Lou Albano and his Samoans, the Iron Sheik and Ivan Koloff. You could cheer to Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant in their prime. Back then, all WWF events were taped to be televised on weekend broadcasts on the old UHF channels. It was a nice treat for a kid on Saturday afternoons following the decline of the era of D-rate horror flicks. But with the advent of cable TV, imitators started popping up and the soap factor started creeping in. Wrestling matches stopped being an entertainment factor for some of the outrageous acts and more for faked melodrama which eventually shoved virtually all of the action in the ring off of the screens and forced me to sit through over-wrought "locker room scenes" and bragging and threats by men and women who were more like actors than athletic performers. The fun elements of it are long gone.

Say, if what Bassn Blvd highlighted above is any indication, wouldn't you think that the bass action in those areas might actually improve?

NewAngler, I can see where you're coming from. In fact, the Eagles (in spite of a reputation for getting into the playoffs often enough) make me feel that way sometimes. With McNabb getting as sloppy as he's been, I don't know how much longer they're going to manage. You just don't play down to your opponents if you can beat them. As for mixing up those quarterbacks -- sorry, I just keep mixing 'em up these days because I hardly ever got a chance to watch football these past few years since being on a job which either had me working the graveyard shift or weekend days. I should be able to make up for that now.

I left the game at halftime -- I'm still sleeping like it's early workdays although the contract is done -- and even though the "Birds" were up 27 to the 'Skins' 14, it was looking kind of ugly. This morning's headlines revealed an Eagles win. I have to say that Cutler just looked rattled, many times over. McNabb was typical sloppy McNabb throughout the 1st half and those penalties were killers. I'm surprised about the score as it was, but much of it was Redskins offensive turnovers with one punt return for an Eagles TD. I have to wonder how long Westbrook will be out. That was a scary hit. Reviewing the game on FOXNews.com, it seems that I didn't miss much on the 2nd half. Virtually no scoring from the Eagles; Redskins got one more FG. Chalk this one up to the Birds' defense. Wake up, McNabb! >

I recall reading that the biggest concern about snakeheads is that, as an invasive species in mid-Atlantic coastal rivers and lakes, they're basically eating all the forage that native predators would be feeding on. It's the same concern about pythons in Florida right now, where some of the big snakes will even attempt to eat full-grown alligators. My guess is that maybe the native species are starting to cope and might even have figured out that a snakehead is a pretty good meal, if they can nail one while it's still small or can get around those teeth. Perhaps the alligators will realize the same thing about the pythons.

Ooh!! Spiderweb (yankyank)!

I just might sit down and watch tonight's game. Being a fan of the Eagles back when Buddy Ryan was the head coach and we had at least half a chance in the playoffs every season, it kind of hurts to see what Reid has been doing since he took over (blowing more than winning) but it's more fun than getting high off of paint fumes. I'm pretty much an NFL/NASCAR boy. Gotta say that I'm off of the beer for a while because of a diet change that I'm on right now (almost ballooned out of control again), but I'd love me a Coors Light. :exclamation

I have the trailer. It's just going to require a little bit of work getting it back into condition after many years of non-use, getting the truck set up with a hitch and getting the trailer registered again (I let it lapse). However, I want the convenience of not needing the trailer for moving a portable boat around. Still, thanks for the suggestion.

I have a question here: Where do you look for small stream smallies in late autumn? I fish the Brandywine in downtown Wilmington (DE) and upstream from there and have had some luck with smallmouth bass in there a few times over the summer. At that time, they'd be slamming spinner jigs or small spoons dressed with soft plastic baits in pools where the current appeared to be broken by large rocks or bridge pilings. Another good place was out of a brushpile (a blowdown) lying just inside the mouth of a feeder stream in the Piedmont hills at the State Park halfway towards PA. However, when I went to the parks two and three days following that series of Nor'easters which blew through the area last weekend, I got no bites and couldn't make out anything following the lures around like was happening during the summer months. The water was still coming down from whatever high it reached during the rains and visibility was somewhat cloudy, but just enough to reduce visibility at mid-stream to about a foot or so. The current was pretty swift, though. I also think that the temperatures had fallen into the 30s Fº overnight with one night leaving frost on the windshields. Did this put an end to the feeding frenzy? Also, as winter approaches, I'd like to know where smallies hold out and what works best in streams like the Brandywine. When the water is running a little swift, what are your suggestions for presenting a lure to slow biters? It seems to me that finding pools and rigging a way to suspend a flashy vibrator bait for extended periods near suspended fish would be the way to go. I recall fishing microspoons amidst rip-raps at the base of a bridge over the White Clay creek some years back and managing to coax a few small fry into striking by letting the spoons drop in between a few gaps in the rocks, so I can guess that similar methods would work to a larger scale...

The kayak looks nice. It would probably be worth the grand if I had it. I could take it to places which I'd be reluctant to put the pontoons into (so long as I was careful with the driving fins and resorted instead to paddling along), so that could get retired. I'll keep it in mind. One question, though: do you still need some instruction in how to use a kayak? I seem to recall seeing signs requiring kayaking instruction before using them in certain places (like public parks). Otherwise, all I need is to get a good PFD and know where I can and can't safely use it and I'm ready.

SimonSays and J Francho, Those look very interesting to me. I've seen someone puttering around in Baltimore Harbor on something similar but he was a recreational boater out on a weekend cruise, not a fisherman (no way anything lives in that water, unless it's a Godzilla carp). I got a closer look at that type of model at the yacht show in Annapolis a couple of days later and thought that it'd be worth the thought. If the price isn't too steep, it might be worth picking up. The exercising would be a nice side benefit for someone like me who's been fighting a battle with the Bulge for a few years now (aiming to get back to holding a weight [ch8804] 200 lbs here).

Good advice to offer, FishCat and J Francho... I think the saying "Try Before You Buy" comes to mind here. I know there's a couple of shops around here that I can go to to get a closer look at the boats that I'm interested in, but that's nothing like having a chance to actually put one in the water to see how it works. As for dealing with a jon boat, I know what you mean. I usually try to make the least amount of noise that I can whenever I get out on the water, but sometimes that can't be helped. As for the fishing kayak, I doubt you could stand up in that one; it'd be too much like being seated on the pontoon. I will, however, consider keeping that pontoon just for those situations where even the Bass Hunter or Pond Prowler can't be used, especially if I think I can refit it with the newer style bladder/skin set that's available from the manufacturer. The main reason I want to get a boat is the ability to stretch my legs a bit and get a better vantage point on where I'm casting to.

All I can say to this is, "Son of a -----!!!" Somebody book me a flight to Africa. I want to try getting one of these monsters!

Ditto with tholmes. Sometimes, you have to lose a few to get a lot. Today, I had the best day fishing all year. A local pond where I live has tons of black crappie stacked up in the coves on the northwestern side. A fellow who was coming back from there tells me that the particular cove I picked out would have 'em from here on until February. It's a matter of getting the right lure and tackle and figuring out what works best in any given situation and you're set. Today's weather started out a bit cloudy and cool but warmed up real fast as the sun came out. The cove was situated with a southern exposure, so the sun and the breeze were going straight in. Crappie were stacked up around brushpiles and fallen trees around the back half of the cove and guys fishing there told me they had gotten up to 30 to 40 of 'em by the time I arrived after Noon. I used a 7' light fast-action rod and reel combo with small bobbers and any combination of jigs, microspoons and grubs to get my crappie action. I had lost the better foam bobbers within a couple of hours on snags and miscasts into the surrounding branches and bushes so that I only had a few cheap plastic bobbers which did more sinking than floating, but that didn't deter me. By doing a moderate retrieve across the cove where the other guys had been (they left by 2:00), I ended up with a blizzard of strikes and came up to 25 catches before retiring for the day. The lure colors which seemed to work best were chartreuse or at least partly white in stained water of 1-½' to 2'. Check your local pond for similar situations and bear in mind that changing weather conditions might either heat up or turn off the crappie/panfish bite, depending on how servere the change gets. I had to give up on fishing a clearwater creek this week because the Nor'easters which blew through over the past week had raised a bit of silt and made the current run faster, which -- combined with a few frosty nights -- seems to have turned off the creek fishing action all together.

I've seen these buggers in a couple of places where I fish and often wondered what it'd take to hook one of 'em. They're said to be pretty hard-fighting fish when you catch 'em. Tidal marshwaters south of the Chesapeake-Delaware canal near Port Deposit, DE -- you could see plenty of 'em rolling on the surface in summer Ponds and lakes like Lums Pond north of the canal -- I've seen prowling the flats when the water gets a little clearer In the mouth of Deer Creek on the Susquehana River in MD, same as above.

This gives me some thoughts. Where I live and fish, I haven't had the chance to get out on bigger lakes and reservoirs yet so I haven't encountered some of the hazards that you're speaking of here. Most of the public parks in Delaware prohibit gasoline powered motors (except for park rangers using smaller 9hp models on their patrol boats) and those reservoirs up in Pennsylvania and over in Maryland that I've been to all have a strict "electric only" policy. I've seen "No Wake" rules posted on a few of the larger creeks, as well. It's like Al posted earlier. Common Sense is about all you have in most situations and I use it a lot while out on the water in some of the public lakes. No need to get your line tangled up in someone else's or in their propeller. Just give 'em room and wait until they've moved on to try the same spot.

I was browsing around when I saw this thread. That must've been a pretty good-sized lake to have a nice boat like what you've got on that, Dwight. I wonder what Steelheads will usually go for in there. You can get surprised by what might bite when the water gets a little muddy. I usually pack it up if visibility starts getting low or if the current in a stream gets fast and muddy, but there was one day I started casting in-line spinners (1/32-oz roostertails) and roadrunners into the Brandywine near where I live after a rain started raising the silt when I caught a couple of sunfishes that must've been set off by the vibrating blades in that water. Seeing this makes me realize that I could still use a few pointers for fishing the lakes under those conditions...

Actually, it would be a good idea to wear PFDs no matter what you're sitting in because you'd never know when you might get capsized. It's common sense, especially in the smaller boats.

That's something that I'll be doing when I get the boat. It's still pretty much a toss-up between going for one of the two foam/plastic boats that I mentioned in the opening post and an aluminum jon boat like CFFF recommended. It's all in what I feel comfortable in handling. The jon boat is an acceptable option if I can put more stuff in it and I already have had experience using one because of an old Ram-X plastic one I had in the 1990s. That boat was fun to get out on the water. The main reason I was looking in on the shorter Pond Prowler or Bass Hunter boats was that they could carry more of a load (up to 400 lbs or so) and were supposed to be able to squeeze into places that most boats couldn't. In addition, one of the makes pre-wires their boats for a battery and trolling motor. Still, if a 10' jon boat can replace the Ram-X Crawdad, I shouldn't have to worry about it as long as I can more easily lift and carry the boat (I actually plan on outfitting a sort of dolly for rolling the boat over to a launch ramp instead of having to drive the truck on and off of it).