K_Mac

Yes, I thought the whole thing was dumb. I understand the Brits wanted to showcase their history as an empire. Maybe I am just not sensitive enough to appreciate the artistry or smart enough to understand the symbolism...or maybe it was just dumb?!

At its core the Olympics is, or maybe was, entirely about amateur competition. We have bought into the idea that it is about money and nationalism. I would rather we did not compete in any events than send professionals. I understand this is a naive notion, but what we have now is a corruption of the Olympic ideal that does not really honor sports or competition in my opinion. From Olympic-Legacy.com: An Amateur Ideal The role of amateurism in the development and survival of the athletic ideal is inestimable. Despite the passion for athletic competitions in antiquity, very few records of achievements were kept—the moral reward was what made all the effort and pain worthwhile. A key element of this philosophy was the amateur nature of the various competitions—particularly the Olympic games, which were the embodiment of the athletic ideal. If athletes competed for money, the values and virtues of the athletic ideal are destroyed.

While the price of your handles is more than my budget allows, it looks like you guys have a real winner. Fortunately my budget is not representative of most folks. I may start saving my pennies to have the coolest PQ on the block though. I wish you both great success. Just remember us little people when you hit the big time!

I will enjoy a few evenings watching some sort of sporting event during these games. By the time it's over I will have had more than enough. Raider here is all you ever wanted to know about "winking". Enjoy! http://www.etwa.org/

At 40% off the PQ is a great deal. I don't currently have a low speed one in my line-up. If you don't like it let me know, and I will give you what you paid for it. That would give me an excuse to work more on deep cranking!

Tebow is a great athlete and a good man. I respect the first, and admire the second. There are many great athletes in the NFL; the number of good men seems to be somewhat smaller... I wish him well in all he does.

I have been using the BPS River Bugs (both sizes) lately with good success. I think the RI beavers are the best, but the difference is not enough to justify the extra cost. Watermelon green with red flakes is my current favorite (BPS Crawberry). At night black neon has worked well.

Traveler in your analogy if the hospital, staff, and other surgeons knew of the abuse, you better believe they would be held accountable. There would be innocent hospital employees hurt when it hit the fan, but being employed by a corrupt institution has consequences-deserved or not. The "previous successful surgeries" have no relevance here. If there ever was a crime that deserved public hanging, this is it. Do it a half time of the opening home game. Your wink says you're kidding. I'm not.

I fish Cedar and Kinkaid on a fairly regular basis, though not too much since the weather went crazy. Deep and slow is my suggestion if you have to fish during the day. The night bite is not bad at Kinkaid. T-rigged beavers have worked best for me. I have not fished Cedar in well over a month. The last time I was there we caught many small fish in 12-18' of water on trickworms/shakeyheads. Even the private strip pits I fish with a friend at the hunt club near Willisville have been very slow because of heat and low water conditions.

While I feel for the young men negatively effected because of the penalties, the children who were abused will suffer for the rest of their lives because of actions and failure to act by everyone at Penn who was involved in this horrible situation. Institutional cover-up of years of child molestation is unimaginable, yet that is clearly what happened here. I have no sympathy for Penn in this. The thousand cuts should be literally administered to anyone who had any knowledge and did nothing.

I'm not sure that advertising wait times is a bad idea. There are many hospitals to choose from in most areas. I recently had an ambulance ride to the hospital and the first question to my wife was, "what hospital do you want him to go to?" The closest hospital is a small rural one that may be fine for getting a few stitches or a hook removed, but for a cardiac related emergency not so much. They have several billboards around claiming 5 minutes or less wait times. What they don't say is that they have only one doctor there most of the time and he may or may not be competent. Relying on an EMT to make the choice of hospitals in a life or death situation may not be in your best interest. I worked in health care facilities all over the area for years, and can say with confidence that the more info you have to make an informed decision about health care the better.

Clayton the difference in 3/16 and 1/4 is sometimes the difference in getting bit. I did not always believe it either, but the evidence is solid...this year I have had far more success on 3/16 than 1/8 or 1/4. I keep 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4, and 1oz weights in my boat. If I fished a lot of heavy mats I would have a few heavier ones.

Very nice. Thanks for the link Sam.

In that situation I would either go deep and slloooww with a jig or plastic-t or c-rigged, or shallow and vewy quiet pitching a jig or t-rigged beaver. A wacky rigged Senko/knock-off would also be on my short list. Some times the fish just don't act like they should though. It sounds like you gave it a good try. There is always next time...good luck.

I had a night fishing trip last week where I fished from from 10.30P till 4.30A without 1 bite. First bite was just over 4#. A few minutes later my partner caught one a bit over 5#. Caught some decent fish for about an hour, then 3 more hours with only a couple of dinks. We fished both day and night, all types of water, the entire water column at various speeds; jigs, plastics-t-rigged (weighted and not), wacky and c-rigged, bladed baits of various kinds, cranks from top to bottom, small swimbaits, assorted top water, you name it. One hour of bites, and nine hours of nada. This is a private lake that is normally very good for both size and numbers. Sometimes the fish just don't bite! We had a great time anyway. It was a beautiful, clear night that made me glad to be alive. I have fished with guys who have to be catching something all the time or they are soon ready to go. This usually only happens once though. There is far more to enjoying a fishing trip than just catching fish.

I also have 4, a couple of which that have served me well for several years now. For my money they are are a very good value. At $80 on sale they are a steal IMO. As far as disposable, are we really going to have that discussion again LMG? Goose52 has spent much time reporting his experience with the PQs and the availability of parts. DVT has said several times they are a decent value reel. They are no more disposable than any other reel in this class, and with proper care will last a long time. Best is a relative term that is completely subjective when it come to reels. To answer the posed question, I believe PQs are the best in class iceintheveins. I don't give a rip if anyone disagrees. It is just fishing.

Red Snapper is the best tasting fish I have ever eaten. Grilled or blackened, it is as good as food gets in my opinion.

I suspect that the OP making this his first post is just trying to rattle our chain a bit. What tickles me is that the question has been answered without anyone launching into a rant on either side of the selective harvest/catch and release divide. Good job guys. For the record smaller bass, whether fried, grilled, or sauteed are fine eating fish IMO.

Ziljian, after making my post above my fishing partner called and we fished all night(10.30P-9.00A) Sun. night. We did not catch a fish until around 4.30 Sat morning. The bite then only lasted about an hour! This is a private lake that can produce very nice fish. My point is there are no sure things when it comes to fishing. It was a beautiful night and just being out was worth the trip. Good luck. As far as deep versus shallow, I have long been a fan of deeper off-shore structure and have caught many fish on it both night and day. I have a friend who likes shallow water, and we have caught good fish in water that I would have bet was too shallow and hot to hold fish. Just when I think I have come up with a universal truth when it comes to fishing, the fish will prove me wrong! There are prime locations in both deep and shallow water on most lakes that hold fish. I do believe that is a universal truth; I could be wrong...

I buy a lot of Stick-os (among other things) and have not had a problem with them. I would not hesitate to take/send the ones that are not up to standards back for replacement. One of the good things about BPS is their customer service. They have always resolved any issues I have had fairly.

Night fishing in the heat of the summer is as good as it gets in my opinion. Stick with the types of baits 11justin22 recommended maybe adding a topwater or two, and you are good to go. The clearer the water the better the night bite in my experience. Shallow structure near deep water is my favorite night spot. The outer edge of deep grass is also a favorite. Use deet for the bugs! Most of the time once it is good and dark. the mosquitoes will not be much of an issue. One more suggestion: Pick a night with a big, bright moon. It is amazing how much you can see when you have a bright moon after your night vision adjusts. Good luck.

Of all the topics in this section, this one may have the most discussion. There are countless threads that all come down to the same conclussion in my opinion. Some prefer Senkos, others have another preference. The only way to answer this one is to see what works best for you, at a price you can live with. I catch a lot of fish on the 5 3/8 BPS Stick-os. I also use real Senkos from time to time...

Glenn's above video will show you how to set your reel properly. Once you get that right, it is just a matter of practice. If a guy with my lack of athletic skills can learn to be good with a baitcaster, then most anyone can! Line choice is a personal thing, but I would go with something cheap and soft like 12 # Trilene XL to learn on. As Sam said, making sure the lure weight is correct for the rod is important. For most medium or medium heavy rods something in the 3/8-1/2 oz range is about right. Focus on smooth. Distance and accuracy will come once you master the fundamentals. Good luck.

I have an old 6'6" St. Croix MH glass rod that works well with spooks and poppers. It is rated 1/4-3/4oz, and with 12# CXX it works fine. As mentioned above, a longer rod with a little more power and a faster action is my choice for frogs in grass. Most prefer braid for this application.

I am a man who likes to eat. I do like some smoked pork; beef is a good second choice. Slonezp is right that Chicago is a great place to find fantastic food. Just about anything a man could ask for when it comes to good eats. I would not live there, but a visit every now and then is a good thing!