figure8racer

Feature wise the major differences are the Stx has 3 more bearings total and also has dual brakes while the s has centrifugal brakes only. I own a new stx and absolutely love it, for me it was easily worth the money. That said the S would be more than sufficient for me if the only deciding factor was price and im guessing is also more than capable for most anglers. My longest casting reel is an old abu black max that will hang in there distance wise with every $150-$350 reel I own but its on a combo I use as a loaner because it feels like spinning a coffee grinder when you fish it lol. My point is its all dependant on what level of refinement you require in a reel. In that department I dont have any complaints with my stx. Its only a couple months old so I cant speak to it's long term durability but outside of a quantum kvd tour and a display model curado that I shouldn't have bought because i know better than to buy a display ive never really been let down quality wise by a reel in the $200-$350 range. Im not loyal to a specific brand so Ive tried about everything and have been pleasantly surprised outside a few isolated incidents.

While I couldn't disagree more with the poster who feels BR is the most overmoderated forum site out there, I also understand that peoples personal opinions are going to differ, and can respect the fact that he feels that way. I have been a member of multiple forums with topics including fishing, guitars, atv's, and bow hunting over the past 3-5 years and have found that many are extremely undermoderated to the point where 90% of what you read is garbage and or personal attacks based upon which clique you belong to and what your groups overall opinion of the topic is. In the atv forums it was the 2-stroke guys bashing the 4-stroke guys and vice versa and this was nearly universal throughout all forums that I have been a member of. In one particular atv forum the site owner himself was extremely abrasive in his posts and never passed up an opportunity to bash those with a different opinion. For someone looking for actual help and valid information this type of atmosphere is nearly impossible to get past and I find myself visiting those other sites less and less as each day passes. I personally couldn't be happier with the level of moderator/owner involvement on BR as I have seen many times what the other side of the fence looks like. When I joined BRi was a complete newb who just happened to get lucky with my google search on several topics and took notice that a lot of the forum posts/opinions that I was reading that were actually answering my questions and helping me to learn were comming from the bass resource forums. This revelation lead me to search out the bass resource website and the rest is history. I now visit on nearly a daily basis and have found that this is by far the most versatile and informative bass fishing forum available. The thing that really blows me away is the longtime members/anglers willingness to share information and knowledge with everybody and often times doing so multiple times and for multiple people like myself who often get rushed and don't take the time to use the search feature as they should before posting a question. Another major plus that I've found goes hand in hand with a community atmosphere among the members and a well run and moderated forum is the lack of people looking to rip somebody off or all out scam somebody in the for sale section of forum websites. This is a huge problem on almost all boards that I've been associated with excluding one other bass forum I am a member of which I use almost exclusively for the for sale section due to a higher percentage of high end equipment and for information on new products as they become available. While there is always going to be somebody willing to screw over other members, bass resource's flea market is by far the least volitile/risky place to buy items in a forum atmosphere that I have found. I haven't personally ever had any problems with buying or selling on bass resource but when I have seen it happen these d-bags have been removed immediately. I applaud the owners/moderators on an amazing site with the best format I have seen to date and hope to continue with my fishing addiction and use of bass resource to further my knowledge base.

Lol Francho I guess I did take a short answer and make it an extremely ong one.

Catt I totally agree that someone with your experience and knowledge on a specific body of water should not ignore past experience only for the sake of trying out new water. However for someone like me who lacks the knowledge and experience this can be a good idea. I think what's most important is to actually pay attention to what you were doing and where you were doing it when you were successful. I all to often find myself at the end of a fishing trip asking why I was or was not successful and most time cannot come up with a logical thought out answer. I think what causes this most for me is a lack of focus on the where and why. I'm fairly new to the game and haven't developed any true patterns to this day. Sure I've burned down a bank with a 1minus crank and slayed em a few times but that was more luck than anything. Yet I find myself headed back to that same bank time and again because "that's where I busted em up that one time". Think for a focused and educated angler ignoring your instincts and knowledge for the sake of new water would be not only a waste of time but a wasted trip. For me it isn't really about trying new water, but actually paying attention to what's going on in regards to an actual pattern which would probably lead me to new waters which duplicate this pattern. Just my $.02 worth

Hey man i can understand your uneasiness with it if you haven't had any previous experience, but it's really nothing to worry about. Some g.ays are way cool laid back and great friends, while others are ****** bags that will stab you in the back and be horrible people. But guess what? Staight people are the same way. Some cool, some not. And it's no joke that a g.ay friend can be the absolute best wing man you could ever have. Most women are more comfortable and trusting of a man that they know couldnt care less about their **** or getting in their pants, and a good word from him could seal the deal for you time and again, or get you in the door with your future wife. (I realize as a college freshman your still thinking quantity over quality but that will probably change eventually)Just be yourself and dont act any different than you would normally. Most straight guys automatically assume that a g.ay dude is checking them out and act uncomfortably, but more often than not thats not the case so just be cool and treat him like a normal person. Good luck.

You could try a trimmed toothpick through the head of the worm and also pass it through the hook eye. This is what I do If my plastics are slipping down the hook past the hook eye. Kind of a hillbilly fix and I'm sure they make a product that would do the same thing but I'm more of a type to take the wrong tool and make it work for what I'm doing rather than go spend extra money on the "right" tool/product as long as my idea works just as well and doesn't hurt the action. Good luck and just keep trying. Eventually you will get something figured out that works best for you and will be slamming em most every trip out. Just gotta go through the trial and error first.

It will definately add some time to your smoking. You will have to let ur meat thermometer tell you how much time though. If you pull it 10 degrees before it is done and wrap it in foil and put it in the oven while oven is off your meat will increase approx 10 degrees over the next 20 minutes and won't be overcooked. Cajun creole butter is delicious too as long as you don't overdo it. Good luck.

Not trying to jack the htread but how do you use your electronics to locate the thermocline?

Agree with j francho. I had a guide replaced on my smokr rod after mistreating in while traveling to a lake and the replacement only cost me $6.50. That's way better than shipping

Of the possibilities you have listed I currently own the veritas, carbonlite, and smoke. For me the technique I use most requiring sensitivity is a wacky rigged senko and for that I use the smoke. It is lighter than a popcorn fart and the most sensitive of the 3 for me. I've got a lews $90 reel on it which balances well and adds tothe sensitivity. The carbonlite is a close second for me and is also light/sensitive but just a little less so than the smoke. My smoke is a 6'6" medium and the carbonlite is a 7' medium. I love them both and am slowly replacing all my rods with varios micro guide rods. I absolutely love the microguides and don't think u can go wrong with the smoke or the carbonlite. I was throwing a spook about 2 weeks after I got the smoke and accidentally hooked my smoke with a trebble on the backcast throwing my smoke out into the pond. When I saw it sailing towards the water I panicked and yanked back on the spook and broke the tip off the smoke. I returned it to bps and told them exactly what happened and they replaced it for me so. I've been extremely happy with it. Caught a 5lber on it a week ago and it held up well and controlled the bass better than I expected for a 6'6" medium power. Not bashing the veritas either but for the money I'd go with the smoke first and carbonlite second. I'm partial to microguides so that plays into my opinion as well but tje smoke/carbonlite r lighter/ more sensitive for sure.

I agree with quantumboy. The smoke is lighter than a popcorn fart and one of my favorite rods. I've got the 6'6" medium fast which I use for senkos and love it. Extremely sensitive and I'm a huge fan of microguides. If ur looking for a do it all I'd probably step up the medium heavy in your desired length though as the medium wouldn't handle the heavy stuff as well.

Hey big O, were u on an episode of strike king classics also? I thought it might've been u when they did the episode on the rage shad. Hook'n look is a great show and I look forward to your episode!

Last year I had a colony of about 50000 bees in the ceiling of my side porch. With the trouble bees are having (dying off) you should talk to a beekeeper and see if they want the colony. A high school friends dad did mine. He didn't want the colony so we put bee suits on and smoked em right before dark to calm them and then hit em with spray killer. I will say that's a huge hive and if you start spraying they will go nuts. When we started spraying the you could hear the buzz from 50 feet away. When we did it everybody not in a suit was 100ft+ away and there were still a few stings. I would recomend u have an expert help unless u plan on burning it. With spray enough will get loose that it could be pretty hazardous. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Also forgot to mention for that kind of build quality and amount of time spent building a complete one off custom body and interior low 100k is a steal. By all means i could never hope to be able to afford something like that without the lottery but it actually isnt a bad deal in the sceme of things.

That badass custom has my absolute favorite styling from the old days with the impala fins/tailight look. Amazing ride!

I agree that you can't restrict the visitations. That might actually make it worse. Especially if he's look for attention. I would give the ignoring idea a shot or start making him do wall sits with his arms extended out from his chest. (My son calls it the motorcycle position. Start at a minute and work up from there. It was exceptionally effective for me and my buddy with the repeated bad behavior stopped in a couple days. (I guess their legs get sore too

Could you explain the best way to remove the knobs/find out if they are even removeable? I've wanted vork grips forever but have been to lazy to find a complete new handle with cork grips included. My reel line-up consists of a lews speed spool, curado E7 & E5, and 2 pflueger patriarchs. I would love to get a set of corks for all of them and possibly even the composite cork with design in your pic above. Let me know here or PM me. THanks!!!!!

TouchTooMuch, on August 02 2011 - 08:18 PM, said: Who is Big-O? Just some guy, who catches great fish, has great stories, teaches the people he fishes with and makes a d**n great bait line-up called Rage Tail by strike king! Jeff Not trying to jack the thread but was it the infamous Big-O that i saw on an episode of strike king classics the other day? looked like him minus the camo shorts and the were fishing the rage shad i believe.

If u will build them I would also be willing to buy some for my 5 reels. Not sure if all have removeable handles but pretty sure my shimanos do.

Let me know how it goes at brushy. My buddy and I are trying to decide whether to hit it or three mile for our annual birthday trip. I've never fished brushy but have heard great things. Thanks

split grips i tend to cast one handed, full grips are two handed. Not sure why i guess thats just how i started doing it.

agreed it is the depth of the fish. Also agree get rid of fish id mode. You can definately get a better idea of whats below u with it off

I think this may be the route i'm going to go. I appreciate all of the suggestions/opinions from everybody and will let you know how the custom ends up. THanks

Some of the waters around here require you slit their gills, pierce the air bladder and split their tail. (I also give em a whack with a little bat so they don't have to suffocate to death) then throw em back and they become food for the other fish species. If I get a big one ill cut it up so its manageable for the predators.

Good luck! The smallies will definately test the rod for you