SudburyBasser

Work on my drop shotting and work on my fly casting. I also wouldn't mind going musky fishing -- for a northern Ontario boy to have never gone after them even once...

Lord Almighty, this happened to me the last time I was in BPS! Last time I was there I walked around aimlessly trying to find something to buy. I had virtually everything I wanted. It was like that The Simpson's episode where Homer was in the steak eating contest and couldn't understand why he couldn't eat more steak (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXMA3nSeg80). I finally picked up a few bags of Senkos and a crankbait just so I could say I bought something.

The last time I bumped into a CO while I was fishing was the late 1990s so I haven't been checked since then. That said, I always have a licence with me with the exception of one time last year when I forgot it at home. After driving for over an hour to a spot I realized that I hadn't brought it. I dared Murphy's Law by going ahead with my fishing. Fortunately no COs that day.

There was a time where I would have spent over $200 a spinning reel -- and have -- but those days are over. While the differences in weight and construction are apparent enough between an expensive and inexpensive spinning reel I don't know if they're enough for me personally to justify the added expense. I'd rather put the money towards the rod than a spinning reel in a new set-up. That's the plan this winter as I put together a new drop shot set-up. I'll spend what's necessary on the rod but the spinning reel? Unless I find a tremendous deal I imagine I'm just going to use one of the relatively inexpensive ones I have lying around. As for spool diameter? I must be a ninja because I think I've had all of one or two wind knots on spinning gear in over two decades of angling.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi said you're wrong.

Nothing is 100% effective.

I voted for "Only If Its a Light Rain" but I generally fish through even torrential downpours. About the only time I won't is if I wake up to go fishing and its coming down like I need to build an ark...then I don't mind calling it a day.

I use braid virtually every I fish from the bank... can't say I've ever had a problem.

Avalonjohn beat me to the punch but I've seen videos of bass inhale and exhale lures so quickly that no one would have detected it and set the hook. Any amount of slack on that line and you could use spider webs and not know a bass had investigated your lure and found it wanting.

Didn't Gerald Swindle have to go to hospital last year after he got spiked by a fin (on account of inflammation)? I could have sworn seeing something on his Facebook at the time. At any rate, I've been spiked more times than I care to count...nothing ever happened outside of annoyance, though I have been wearing gloves more often these days. After a hard day of fishing my hands are usually cut up by fishing line, scratched/cut up by hooks and occasionally spiked by fish.

Depends on the criteria you use I suppose. Wins and money means it's Kevin VanDam without any argument what-so-ever. Early pioneering impact/success in the sport and you can talk Rick Clunn, Jimmy Houston, Bill Dance and Al Linder. If someone argued any of those five names I may disagree but I would completely understand. It's like arguing who's better Magic or Michael. Depends on how you define best. EDIT: Shoot, I forgot about Roland Martin. You can definitely add him to the second list.

On those occasions when I want to wear a long-sleeved shirt when fishing I go with the Columbia Bonehead line. I wore one of those last month while fishing for bonefish in the Caribbean -- complete with 90 to 100F temperatures -- and didn't feel the shirt made me any hotter than I had wore a T-shirt. When I buy long-sleeve shirts in the future they're going to be the Columbia Bonehead shirts.

I don't mind hearing people say they don't like spinnerbaits. It generally means more fish for me.

I'm not a handgun owner yet so at the moment it would be a Russian SKS 45. I'm old school...very old school.

Nature has plenty of music that I don't need more.

There are few sounds sweeter to my ears then that of braid whistling through the guides of a rod.

No, No. I always dreamed of being middle management for a federal government agency and I've achieved that dream. Seriously though, while I fish club tournaments I could never imagine myself doing it on a professional level. The huge concessions you have to make to that life alone puts me off let alone the ongoing financial insecurity. It also strikes me the quickest way to not like something is to make it your profession.

You apparently have different fishing partners then I do :-)

The problem with sunscreen is that it wears off and you might forget to reapply. Buffs and gloves eliminate that possibility. That and there's no manly way to put on sunscreen

I was beginning to think I was the only one who liked the BPS Extreme. Better than the PQ? I don't know but the Extreme I have is one of my favourite reels.

Last year I was scouting a new river to fish (turned out to be a dud). The night before my trip I dissembled my spinning reel to give it a quick clean. The next day I drove about an hour to the spot. The mosquitos were horrific and of course I forgot any repellent. I pulled out all my gear, tied on a lure and made my first cast. Reached down to reel it back in when my hand hit air. Looked down and saw that the night before I forgot to put the handle back on the reel. Of course, I left all my other rods and reels at home. For an hour, while battling swarms of mosquitos thick enough to drive any animal insane, I cast out and then tried to spin the reel's spool fast enough to reel lures back in (it doesn't work). Eventually I declared defeat and threw all my gear back in the Jeep and fled home -- beaten by the mosquitos and my own stupidity.

Saw Primus live in '93...I like him even more now knowing he fishes! Neeson is pretty big into fly fishing. There was even a video on TMZ recently that someone sent me that had him talking about it. I know Julia Louis-Dreyfus enjoys fly fishing...she was talking about it on a talk show earlier this year. There are a surprising amount of Hollywood types that enjoy angling...I suppose a lot of them were born in places where it was an activity. Someone earlier mentioned that Jimmy Carter fly fished...he had an article recently on Fly Fisherman's web site where he talked about fishing in Mongolia this year. Don't care for his politics but I wouldn't mind fishing with him.

I'll tell people what I'm using. My job requires a government security clearance...fishing doesn't.

I must confess to some scepticism when it comes to fluoro. Last year on the tournament trail (team format) every rig I had was spooled with braid -- even my finesse rod. Fished mostly clear lakes, never finished lower than fourth and won our classic. Granted, I wasn't fishing against KVD but still. Outside of one tournament where the bite was horrific, never had a problem catching fish with braid. Now my example is worth precisely what you paid for it but I have found that braid doesn't seem to be the overwhelming factor. I'm sure it can play a role but I think less then some people think. Of course, that's why I'm fishing in a small trail in northern Canada and not the BASS or FLW top events :-) So of course to screw up a good thing, this year I have fluoro on my crankbait setups, mono for my jerkbait and top water rods and I might use a fluoro leader on my finesse stuff... because I can't leave well enough alone :-)

You might see Randy Howell out there. He posted some pictures today of himself at a MLF photo shoot. I don't know from where or when but makes sense that he would be at the same one.