NorcalBassin

Your parents are offering to pay and you're worried about being a burden? Your parents want to see you succeed and will do whatever they can to make your life "better" than theirs... that's the way it's supposed to be but increasingly is not for many kids. Be thankful that you've been blessed with that opportunity and do the same for your kids someday. Nick... comforting to see someone with more school loan debt than me. I walked away with a "bargain" debt of $120,000 to be paid over 25 years. Joking aside, it was worth every penny.

Welcome to the boards Wolverine. Are you looking for a spinning rod or casting? I personally like my Mojo rod, but there are probably better offerings in that price point if you want the most bang for your buck (Shimano Compre for example). I would recommend getting a nicer $100 rod for multiple techniques over 2 $50 rods. A 7' medium power rod with a fast tip would make for a nice multi-technique rod (Compre comes in either 6'8" or 7'2" versions). Best of luck with your search.

Just another over the hill performer for the Superbowl. Getting to be a bit of a joke. She would have been fine in the 90's, but c'mon.

If you can't afford a "major" university then there sure as heck isn't anything wrong with community/junior college as previously mentioned. I know some good doctors that started out at a JC, went to a state school for undergrad, and then went to prominent medical schools and residencies. Don't worry about what other people/peers think about where you go right after high school... it's all about where you'll be when you see them again in 10 years. It's not how you start, it's all about how you finish. As Grundle said... set your goals and go crush it.

Wow, back from the dead 6 months later. I just picked up my first pack last weekend. I'll post the results here in March.

That is awesome. Love his show and his down home attitude. He's like the Barry Sanders of bass fishing... just walked away while he was at the top of his game. Fantastic news.

Thanks for the heads up Monte. I saw those at BPS the other day and thought about pulling the trigger on them before deciding to wait for the Ecos. Maybe I'll give them a shot.

That's fantastic... if only he had done a little more of that against the Skins and 49ers.

After seeing Tackle Tour's review from ICAST I've been patiently waiting for these wacky weights to come out since they look like they may potentially be a good option instead of using wacky rings/jigs. I haven't been able to find them anywhere except for their site, but I don't want to pay $6.99 shipping to them for a sample pack to see if they're worthwhile. TW and BTD don't carry them yet, but they've supposedly been out for a week or two. Any of you guys try them yet???

Welcome to the boards. 8 wt should be plenty. Floating line would be a blast for topwater and a weighted fly would get you down a bit, so you should probably start there. I prefer flouro leaders/tippets, but mono would be better when you're going topwater. 9' rod would be a better choice, especially if you float tube, but I understand the desire to have <8' with the tourney regs (is this fly fishing tourneys or do you plan to use the rod for "regular" fishing duties as well?). I haven't seen a short rod like that offered in 8wt or above, but I could have just missed that. Anyhow, most fly fishing sites offer bass flies these days, but my favorite for a combination of price and quality is the Blue Fly Cafe out of Idaho. http://www.blueflycafe.com/ Do yourself a favor and get a quality rod (go up the line as far as you can afford). I prefer Sage and St Croix, but other brands have quality offerings as well. Good luck!

Awesome rods... you'll be pleased with the deal.

Holy cow, that thing looks like it has a head in its belly. That would have been a great fight lip hooked... I can only imagine what it was like foul hooked.

Those snakeheads are crazy looking. I hope they don't make it out to CA or my kids will never swim again.

A sweet fish like that always makes it worth it.

That's a heck of a trip. Congrats!

Sorry to rub your nose in it, but we don't put them away here in NoCal either. Fish and Game plants a ton of rainbows in our foothill lakes all winter long, which is like a dinner bell for the big girls. A bunch of DD's are caught on swimbaits, but you'll still read about the random shore fisherman chasing trout catching a 10+ pounder on a Rooster Tail. I'm still waiting for my first DD... maybe in another couple months.

That would make me take my business elsewhere as well. It's easy to overlook some things, but that seller has a pattern that is over the threshold.

Great story and pics. You're pretty studly holding the pike like that... I always go the safe and wimpy way with grips.

Keep it in the family and go with a new Cruial 7'2" MHXF (1/4-1oz). Tough to beat the quality components on a Crucial at that price point. It would be a sweet set up and look good too.

Not sure why it would come out "funny" after you run it back through. Any way you can post a pic or elaborate? You're going to love drop shotting by the way.

Have to agree... smallie no doubt.

Tackle Warehouse has the Winch in stock and lists it as medium with a moderate tip so it would probably be a nice mid-priced cranking rod, but I've never held one and can't give you any specifics. As far as an all around rod, since you already have the 7'H XF, you'd probably get a lot of use out of either the 7'MM-F or 7'MHF. They're really nice rods for ~$100.

City Limits does seem about as real as it gets, which is why it's probably my favorite show.

Well, that's an interesting combination. Suppose that one may get some guys into trouble when it's lying around with "Bivvy Babes" inside. I have to say I got a chuckle out of that cover. I'm always disappointed when I catch a carp, but some fly fisherman swear they're the best "game" fish out there.

Agree with critical concepts from In-Fisherman, and I personally liked v3 the best. I enjoyed Ike's first book (more learning about his journey), and his most recent one may be more useful to you for picking up pointers (fishing heavy with some good info on finesse tactics).