AQUA VELVA

Ive always wondered, while servicing my reels, if the drag washers need any kind of maintenance. I usually take a look at them but they always pretty much look the same, a little oily.

Ive had experiences where Im sure things got returned to stock without being checked out and then sold to someone else (me). All of my reels are Quantum and I have had very good service from them through the years.

I wader fished for a few years before I decided that what I really needed was a boat. I looked around and finally chose a new 94 Bass Tracker TV 17 with a 60hp Merc and trailer. As it turned out, it was a great entry level boat. At $13,000. it was affordable and had all the basics, is easy to haul and maintain. I still have it and it's still in great shape. Best of luck to you!

Can't count how many times I used to try and ''whip'' lures out of trees and bushes until I read an article on how fishermen were sustaining severe eye damage doing that very thing. I always wear my glasses but I still would'nt want that lure in my face or any other part of my body.

Drank Bud for years and really liked it until it got sold and ruined. As it turned out, it was probably for the best as now I thoroughly enjoy Sam Adams and Bells beer.

It's true that you will usually get what you pay for. I started out with an entry level Quantum baitcaster in the late 80's and it was a good trouble free reel to learn on. As I got better, my reels got more expensive. My first $100. reel was a Quantum Ti 600. Now Im slowly replacing those reels with Quantums in the $130. to $150. range. It's not likely that I will ever own reels over $200., Im 66 and this last batch will probably outlive me although I must admit I wonder when I see reels for $400. and up with more bearings than I have fingers and toes, what they would be like. Good hunting!

I used to see guys oil and grease their reels until it actually ran out of the reel on hot days. Just remember, when it comes to reel lube , if a little is good, more is NOT better.

When someone asks'', Are you a pretty good fisherman?'', I like to reply,'' You bet, I caught three bass twice once !'', just to see the expression on their faces.

In all the years Ive been fishing I have seen very few women out on the water and fewer still in a bass boat. If there is a large segment of female fisherpersons out there then I have not seen them.

I don't think I would want to fish with anything that looks like it should be pulled behind a Russian trawler.

Sorry to hear so many of you are having a negative shopping experience with BPS. Ive been doing mail order with them since the mid 90's and have never had a problem. Sometimes they will drop a product but I can usually get what I need. Never had a problem with customer service or tech help. BPS is a big outfit and Im sure there will always be room for improvement.

I guess it might depend in which part of the country you live in. Here in MI, a ''nice'' fish starts at 2lbs. although Ive had days when I would have given anything just to catch ''dinks'' all day long.

I must admit, they do look interesting but so were a lot of other crankbaits I bought that never caught a fish. I will probably get one just to hang in the man cave.

Hey, Otsego, used to go on two week fishing trips up there with a buddy. We stayed in Gaylord for a week and then went to Atlanta and spent a week there.Some of the best fishing I ever had.

All my musky reels are round because of what they must do. My bass reels are all low profile for comfort and they also get the job done.

Yea, those things work great if you do all your fishing in a bathtub.

Ran across this in my file, probably have had it for a few years. Came from Bob Montgomery written for BASS magazine.'' We see ''anthropomorphism'' occur innocently, when dog and cat owners dress their pets in human attire or turn the TV on for them when they must leave them home alone. We see it more sinisterly in the tactics of animal rights activists, who want you to believe that fish feel pain and fear when they are hooked. The fact is, that's just not so, according to Dr. James Rose at the University of Wyoming. Concerned that fishing is being challenged on grounds of humaneness, Rose reviewed the literature, studied the biology, and produced ''The Neurobehavior Nature of Fishes and the Question of Awareness and Pain''. He concludes that fish are incapable of feeling pain and fear because their brains are so much different than those of humans. In fact, they operate from the brain stem, while we function from a much more developed forebrain. ''The fundamental neural requirements for pain and suffering are now known,'' he says.''Fishes lack the most important of these required neural structures, and they have no alternative neural systems for producing the pain experience. Therefore, the reactions of fishes to noxious stimuli are without conscious awareness of pain. The evidence supporting this conclusion is extensive and diverse, thus permitting a high degree of confidence in its correctness.''

I grew up in a fishing/hunting family so it's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I feel sorry for a lot of the young people today. They don't understand anything about the natural world and how things work because they are not part of it. All they hear is how bad it is to hunt and fish from organizations like PETA.

KVD ,but that is probably because Im a Michigander. Those good ol' boys from down south ruled the roost for a long time. It was nice to see a northern boy show them that we know how to fish to. Unfortunatly, he does not seem to interview very well.

I've been seeing photo's of the top bass tournament guys wearing what looks to be NASCAR racing fire suits complete with fishing industry sponsor patches from neck to ankles. I thought the cool looking shirts and slacks were good enough but maybe not. I fully expect to see KVD in a NASA moon suit some day, complete with sponsor patches, of course.

Got $300. in gift cards for Cabela's over the hollidays so I ordered about $75. in crankbaits today. Wish they were BPS gift cards as thats where I do most of my fishy business but, hey, Im sure Cabela's will get the rest of them sooner or later.

I remember a night back in the early 70's . I had ridden my motorcycle over to my girlfriends place. She lived with her family still and that evening a big storm moved in and it began to pour. They said it was ok if I wanted to stay the night and go home in the morning as they had a spare bedroom. At some point in the evening my girlfriend started to talk about an aunt that she had been very close to that had passed away.She said that sometimes she could feel the aunts presence and smell her perfume. She also said that late at night she could hear what sounded like someone walking on the roof of the house and that she thought it was her aunt. Of course, I did not believe any of it. Latter that night when everyone had gone to bed, I woke up to see that the storm had passed, the sky was clear and the moon was high and bright. I just lay there ,not thinking of much of anything and then, yep, you guessed it, I heard foot steps..........on......the.........roof. There was no upstairs in this house. It was just me the ceiling and the roof. Whoever or whatever it was, was doing a lot of walking up there. I remember laying there with every hair on my body standing on end just wishing it would stop. At some point it must have cause I finally fell asleep. The next morning I got up, had a nice breakfast with the family and rode home without saying a word to anyone about my visitor. I never stayed overnight there again.

I have been using the ones that look like a thick O-ring with an eye on the side. They work fine for me although you might want to go with something that holds your lures further away from your rod if your worried about scratches.

Started with MG and overall, they've been good. Had a few issues with one but it was'nt anything I could'nt fix. If I ever need another one,though, I might just give MK a try.

I have to interact with people, for better or worse, every minute Im on land and for me, thats enough. When I step on that boat it's just me, the water and the fish and I would'nt have it any other way.