SudburyBasser

Here's the problem with that statement: Beavers have been known to eat fish. In fact, not one hour ago I watched a video of a beaver eating a crappie. In limited circumstances, beavers have been known to consume fish. I've seen no evidence that they hunt for fish, but they are capable of consuming them in the right circumstances.

I was fishing with my brother-in-law this past weekend -- we managed near 20 smallmouth in under two hours so a decent day -- but an old argument flared up as we came up on an area where beavers had clearly taken down a few trees. My B-i-L is of the opinion that beavers are a negative for bass fishing, that their huts drive away bass and that predation of fish by beavers also influences them to go elsewhere. Before someone jumps up to say that beavers are herbivores, they have been known to eat animal protein in limited circumstance, though not in a way that supports his contention. My argument is that beaver huts and the like are a net positive and attract bass, and avoiding those areas is nonsensical. So I figured my first post on BR in years would be to entertain your thoughts on the matter.

Agreed. Nothing makes me hate the world more then a decent headwind when I'm shore fishing. I think I end up smoking and drinking coffee more than fish those days. Boat I don't mind wind... you can usually position the boat or move to deal with the wind.

I would rate mine as solid. I stepped away from tournament fishing last year, only was in one, because fishing started to feel a little like a job. I focused more on the spiritual aspect of fishing -- getting back to the roots of it. I had a great time and probably caught more fish than any other year on record. I'll probably go back into the tournaments this year but I'm happy that I made 2015 more about why I fish rather than that I simply fish.

I'm apparently the contrarian in the thread as aesthetics is far from my mind when I'm putting together a combo. Little too fetishist for me...

I don't overthink stuff. I always keep two rods and a backpack of trays in the Jeep and I go fishing. What you're describing sounds like the run-up to the Normandy invasion.

I feel your pain OP. I like to fish slow and deliberate and really dissect a target and I invariably get paired with a run-'n-gun power fisher :-) Like Ike said in the video, find a complimentary style to the guy in front. It's helped me a lot to understand the boat isn't going to slow down... I'd claim to have invented power finesse but Iaconelli wrote about it years before I started.

I used to grumble about $10 lures now I'm desperate to spend $50 on a box of 20 rounds of 6.5x50 Jap for my Type 38 Arisaka...if I could find some. Shooting is a money pit.

Rods for frogging are one of those area where you can safely cheap out in my opinion. As stated earlier, as long as its solid.

I'm going to serve as a bit of a counterpoint to most of the posts in this thread: I have felt the need to take a break from fishing. Up until this past winter I was, like most of you are, completely obsessed by fishing. The winter before this last one I was actually worried I was losing my mind because the winter never ended and all I wanted to do was fish. This past winter I sensed a bit of a change in me...I didn't have the drive to fish like I did before. I don't know why, it's just how I feel right now. Although I still fish regularly (a week rarely goes by that I don't), I only fished one tournament this year and I don't wake up Monday waiting to for the weekend to hit water again. Part of that has to do with my re-entrance into the world of target shooting -- the past 8 months has seen me buy more rifles than fishing rods -- but I think I just needed a break, not from the fishing, but from the obsessiveness for fishing. A lot of energy gets tied up when all you do is fish. I just ran out for a while.

I'm an admitted ***** for Shimano so take that into account with my recommendation: Crucial.

Rod Glove.

Truth.

Shin Fukae and Dave Lefebre .

Golden bass are rare and are hidden in five lakes around North America. If you find one you win a tour of BASS HQ.