Ratherbfishing

My first baitcast reel (waaaay back in 1981) was right-hand retrieve. I bought it that way because back then, that was about all that was available and...well, that's how "it was done." When that reel finally crapped out, I bought left-handled reels and haven't looked back. For me, it's the logical arrangement. I need more strength and control with my dominant (right) hand then I do cranking coordination or strength with my left hand-which is sufficient regardless. More recently I was given a right-handed reel but couldn't use it because I kept reaching for the handle on the left side. Some people have a hard time transitioning to a left-handled reel. I had a hard time transitioning back so I just gave that reel to a friend (who hasn't yet "seen the light"). Use whatever works for you, though.

Me? I always leave the drain plug out so the bottom of the boat gets a good soaking. It also serves to get my heart racing at a sufficient level.

Go suck on a lemon! (wink)

When I was (much) younger, I didn't have anything in my meager tackle box larger than about 2.75 inches. Now I hardly have anything as small as that. Don't worry, you'll still catch plenty of fish with it.

Homeowner associations who compell lake "managers" to dump chemicals in a lake and kill all the plant life. The excessive number of geese around which attack you in the spring and then crap EVERYWHERE. Crowded lakes and crowded boat ramps.

Tennessee Tarpon-aka skipjack herring? Those are fun to catch! I never knew they existed until we fished downstream from the Picwick dam. They put up a pretty good fight and saved us from an otherwise fishless trip.

You mean like an M1A2 Abrams tank?

I have not caught a lot of really big bass so what do I know? But here is (are?) my two cents: 1) Fish deep. My largest bass was caught while trolling from point a to point be. I had a lot of line out and the crankbait got as deep as it could go. It could just be a fluke but I don't think so. 2) Go big. There are always exceptions but generally I don't think big bass waste much energy on small food. 3) Look for deep water structure changes and and/or isolated cover on changes in structure. Besides being where the big fish tend to hang out, they're less likely to have a lot of lures pass nearby. I'm not really very good at this but I'm getting better.

Yes but I think "Birth control on wheels" more accurately described it.

If size isn't an issue, a floating rapala.

Well, since I like to ice fish, the cold is a welcome change. The only problem is that I have hard time finding anyone to go out with me. Most people aren't as crazy as me-well, in this respect anyway.

A good tip I learned somewhere along the way: hold your rod(s) backwards (trailing behind you). You will have fewer snags.

On just the fish. I blew all my "bread" on fishing tackle!

A few minutes ago I thought I created a poll but when I clicked "finished", it just disappeared. I cannot find it anywhere. Is this feature working? I looked in the FAQ section but found nothing.

Jesus fed the masses with a few fish and loaves of bread. I could've fed...10?

Oh, bother!

Ditto!

There could be some theological debate about this but with my luck, only the "good lures" would be taken up in the rapture and I'd be left with the bad ones.

If some sort of fishing tackle "rapture" occurred and every lure type disappeared from your tackle box except one, how much would that impact your current fishing style? I'm not so much asking which bait you'd keep or which you'd get rid of so much as how this scenario would affect your modus operandi (M.O.) I think I'd have a tough time with it because my tactics vary so much from lake to lake and with conditions. And generally, while I'd try to adapt, I think I'd have less fun.

True that

Huh! This morning I woke up with a piece of scalp missing! Do you suppose some aliens were trying to determine my age? I don't want to know why my butt hurts!

I'd say most of the squirrels haven't actually lost their nuts. They obsessively stack them in very neat and orderly rows.

Here's my story. For several years I wanted a car GPS but held off because prices were high. Eventually, thinking the price tag wasn't likely to go down much (they had been out for several years without an appreciable drop in price), I swallowed my pride and paid almost 900 dollars for one. Not long after this, the price on almost all models dropped to less than half that price (and often less than a third that price). I was quite unhappy! So, having said this, does anyone have any scoop on the market trends on fish finders (particularly side-imaging sonars)? Are they ever going to drop in price much or they just going to add new features and keep prices high? There seem to be too few players in the game to really have to compete much. (maybe I've answered my own question)

Since you already bought it, you might as well use it. If you aren't sure how it'll perform, you might want to spool up a backup reel (if you have one) rather than on your primary "go to" reel. At least until you decide how you like it.

Alabama rigs and Carolina rigs are tie for being my least favorite and least productive methods. Must be where you are fishing that is the problem (location, location, location). So long as you aren't sleeping (and sometimes not even then), Texas rigs can hardly be fished wrong. Last summer my g-friend was dragging a texas-rigged worm behind the boat. It was practically water skiing we were moving so fast. Just about when I was going to tell her that method probably wouldn't work and she ought to tie on a crankbait if she wanted to troll, she caught a bass. So hush my mouth!