Jolly Green

I think Raul was kidding. I like #3 Mepps, dressed. I have a couple of Rooster Tails but I have to rip them hard to get them spinning for some reason, so I don't use them much but they will catch fish. I always use a swivel 12" up with inline spinners to cut down on line twist.

Aha, now I see. I wonder if spare spools for your nice reels are a viable option? I realize that a given line isn't likely to behave all that differently on a $30 reel vs. a $200 reel of comparable size, but I'm always for changing as few variables at a time as possible. Just a thought.

So... what are you going to do with it if it lasts through two seasons? Bronze it?

I saw one at a thrift store and I couldn't stop laughing. I was in disbelief that it actually was made by St. Croix, but as gimmicky fishing gear goes, it's at least interesting. They wanted $30 for it though, and I'm not much for collecting. They are all over Flea Bay if anyone's itching to try it.

You mean these?

Nope, just 8. Is 8.1 where the awesome happens?

It's not as awful as Millenium Edition, but I don't love the tiles. To be fair, probably half of my issues relate more to how my laptop and 8 conspire together to muck up even the simplest task. Cannot recommend the Lenovo Twist.

Last time I dabbled in Linux was five or six years ago, beginning with Puppy and Ubuntu. I didn't traverse the entire learning curve however, and even though I have somewhat of a natural affinity for messing with computers (I used to program simple games in BASIC on an Apple IIe, for Pete's sake) I found that I was waaaay too far behind to catch up very quickly, and eventually decided that the music and photo editing for which I primarily use a computer would be on hold for a year or two while I figured out how the heck I would be able to do it in a Linux environment. I couldn't even guess at how much I didn't know, so I went back to Windows XP x64, my favorite OS to this day. Full disclosure though, my last name is Gates... Uncle Bill if you're reading this, I love Windows 8 more than all my children put together... really... honest...

Maybe your presentation isn't the best match for the depth and bottom composition of the lakes and ponds you fish. I've only been fishing for a couple years and when I wanted to learn to fish jigs, I tried some of the most prevalent advice I found here and elsewhere, which was to let it fall --pay attention! Most strikes come on the fall!-- and then pop/twitch/hop/etc. a couple times, repeat. Well, I did that... in two feet of water that was packed with jungle-density weeds that choked at least a foot and a half of said water, and I was frustrated and went back my beloved spinnerbaits. Later that year the water dropped significantly and I was able to actually see what I was tossing a jig into, and I could immediately see that the presentation I was using in that water was a completely ridiculous mismatch; there was no fall to speak of, and once it did get down, that jig was buried, and all the pop/twitch/hop/etc. in the world wouldn't overcome the fact that it was essentially invisible to anything that swims. D'oh! I fish from shore, so a lot of the water to which I have access is fairly shallow and it gets weedy all over its muck bottom fast... not ideal water for that style of jig fishing. But a swim jig (with one of those weed guards you hate) is often the perfect bait; I can let it dive down into the top of the weeds and swim it through without snagging a bunch of salad, ditto with letting it fall a little deeper and ripping it up and out, things you can't really do with a bare ball-head jig. A 1/4 oz. Strike King Bitsy Bug with a basic 2" or 3" curly- or paddle-tail trailer will catch fish like this almost any time of day in my experience, provided the fish are in the mood to track down something moving moderately fast with shorter pauses. There are a few areas along my local river that are as deep as ten feet, and in the eddies of those areas I can fish the good old let-it-fall-then-hop-it technique because there is room for the jig to fall without the current sweeping it thirty feet downstream, and it works. I'm far from a jig expert, but I have had a couple of moments of sudden clarity that have enabled me to use them with confidence within the limits of the available water. Give fresh consideration to the parameters of the water you're fishing, and think about adjusting your presentation accordingly.

Nice! When the '90s come back I'll probably switch to a Glock held sideways.

Since the '80s are back I use a switchblade.

Oh yeah, I always keep those receipts. I hear you, I'm not impressed at all with Walmart's general rod storage practices, but I picked these up literally as they were on their way to the Garbage Can O' Bargain Rods, so at least they weren't banging around loose with a bunch of Ugly Stiks for a week. I bought a Vendetta there last year and have had no problems at all with it. Even at Gander or some more reputable retailer where you'd think they are handled a little more carefully, I always check a rod over carefully for minute damage that could lead to bigger problems later. Seen more than one pair of kids having sword fights in the aisles...

I have no experience with newer modular homes, but I've torn into some older ones and the one thing that really shocked me was the 2 x 6 joists. There is always 1/2" plywood attached to the underside of the joist system, and that's basically all that prevents the whole floor system from imploding. I'm sure there have been advances in modular home systems but I would probably try to find a "regular" contractor willing to look at whatever plans you're considering to maybe help in identifying potential issues.

Dear Raider, My dad says grounding in the US is a bunch of hooey since the ground just goes to the neutral bus bar. Can you drink on the bus too or only at the bar?

I tried a few before settling on the Alberto knot, and it hasn't given me any problems at all. The knot that you practice and tie well will be the knot that works best for you; that said, I like the Alberto best because the fluoro basically stays put in your hand and all the wrapping is done with the much more manageable braid. It's not only simple, it's actually easy, on top of being effective.

Mine has been basically throwing stuff away for months. They cleared out all their Gammy EWG hooks (my favorite) for 50 cents a 5 pack and I bought most of them. Picked up two more Vendettas for $30 each, maybe have to go get one more... And for the hefty price of a single buck each I picked up some Rat L Traps, Powerbait plastics, 3-packs of Storm soft swimbaits, SK Red-Eye Special spinnerbaits, VMC dropshot hooks, some SK Bitsy Minnows... Anyone need about 200 Rapala SR-8's in Silver? $3 each, and probably going lower... my local Walmart wants their clearance gone like last week, I love it.

No wire problems, but each of the half-dozen Booyah spinnerbaits I own required tweaking right off the rack to get them to run true. Two of them had to go down in blade size to prevent them from rolling. Nice baits now that they're dialed in; I have yet to have any fish completely trash one.

What percentage of statistics I've heard in my life are accurate?

Um... more than I did yesterday at this time. C'mon, spring...

Could be worse. Could be his wife's band's CD stuck in there. Perspective, my man.

Whenever I'm driving past water with the boys I always yell, "Bye fish, catch ya later!" because I'm a firm believer in getting to your kids before they get to you.

In my house Bassresource.com is known as "fishbook" if that's any indication.

None of the neighborhood kids with whom I played backyard football wanted to cover the 6th grader who was six feet tall. "F that, I ain't guardin' Jolly Green!!" as in the giant of canned vegetable fame. Same initials as my real name, also. I hate thinking up screen names, but otherwise I guess I'm reasonably jolly.

Nice bait. And interesting carpet.

Ever seen an ice fishing dipper? It's like a ladle, only with holes in it for increased velocity...