Al Wolbach

BPS has a 1 year warranty on their rods. They can tell the age of the rod by looking at them, no receipt is necessary, but always better to have. If you look on the rod blank by the letters that describe the rod, Extreme, Johnny Morris etc, somewhere near it you will see a letter and number, for example K5. This means the rod was manufactured in Nov 2005. C6 would mean manufactured in March 2006. These rods do not sit on the shelves very long so they have a pretty good idea when you bought it. Return policy is pretty liberal so you should not have a problem.............Al

Try this: http://www.candomarine.com/

I have used a deep cycle battery to start my 225 Yamaha for several years. This battery powers two fishfinders, GPS, several pumps for the livewell and running lights(night tournaments). Just to much for a cranking battery........................................Al

X2 on the 844. I own both and RW is right on with his assessment on the 843. I agree. You will be happier with the 844c. Ronnie is correct, this rod loads up very well. Getting the IMX or GLX is well worth the additional dollars even if you have to wait to get it.................Al

That's what I do......................Al

Outstanding Info "SHIPMATE"!!!!! I'll be camping down past the d**n in Flat Creek and usually do fairly well fishing those points on the oposite end of the POWER HOUSE (or whatever it is). Seen the weeds in the water today and got really excited!!! Also, thank you for your service SIR; both my Dad and Uncle were in the Navy. My dad calls me a "Sea Going Bail Hop", I call him a "Squid" and it's all in good fun!! ;D My uncle was a Corpsman and was stationed with the Marines pretty much his entire time in. My personal favorite- USMC= Uncle Sams Misguided Childred and of course in fun. I made many friends while serving including Marines. My only regret was retiring. Civilians suck.......Good luck and God bless...................Al

I agree, adjustments are not made easily. I rarely, if ever, make that adjustment while on the water so that part of the design has little or no impact on me........................Al

Douglas Lake-As of last week the deep cranking bite had not started, but will soon. I only fish a shaly head when the bite is tough but it will work. The are a lot of weeds that grew last year when the lake was very low that are now in the water down to about five feet. Many of the tournaments are being won shallow because or water temp being cooler then normal for this time of year and the weeds. Find weeds=find fish. A lot of fish are being caught on spinnerbaits in the weeds and on carolina rigged lizzards or brush hogs, green pumpkin/chart, pumpkin/chart and cherry seed to name a few. These fish will probably move deeper soon..............but you can always catch some fish shallow. I haven't fished Cherokee in a month or so..........No info..............Al

The method of removing the spool from the handle side allows the spool support bearings to be mounted in the frame of the reel rather than in a movable side plate. The other spool support bearing(handle side) is mounted in the side plate that screws into the frame. This design seems as though it would eliminate much of the play in the support bearings. I'm not a mechanical engineer but this design looks good to me. How often do you really need to remove the spool?..................Al

Yes there are several. I fish Douglas and Cherokee regularly. Loudon and Norris have to many pleasure boats for me and are to far away.............Al

I purchased one a couple of years ago and the reel has performed well although I have not used it a great deal. The only complaint I have is casting distance and so many things affect casting distance it may just be me. For the cost I believe there are better reels for about the same amount......................Al

I use it however the local selection of fluorescent line is limited and I have not experimented with other lines. I have been content with this line for night use...............Al

Although I have never fished with them I have spoken with several tournament buddys that have them and they all like them. Reportly as bright or brighter than the Stan Sloan blacklight and much smaller. They also draw much less current from your batteries. The downside is cost and 90 day warranty. If I have a problem with my Stan Sloan's they will be replaced with the moonlight..............................Al

I have never ordered a battery from the internet. I would think due to the weight, the shipping cost would be very high. Also not sure about the hazzard class of shipping a battery. I assume you are in the Air Force. If you are I suggest you go to the base gas station and purchase/order a deep cycle battery. They normally get them from a local supplier and will save you some money. At the least I would check with them prior to ordering/purchasing one from anywhere.........................Al

Good advice. Also use this grease on your boats running lights to prevent corrosion. Your origional problem sounds like a ground problem. However a poor ground normally will not blow a fuse, just makes your lights act weird or not at all. The first step you need to take is to isolate the problem to the vehicle or the trailor by using the tool mentioned above or hook up another trailor to your vehicle(or another vehicle to your trailor). After you have identifed the problem to the vehicle or trailor then troubleshoot............Al

Something you may want to try that has worked for me, after working the outside edges. Flip or pitch a 1/4 oz jig(or some type of bait) onto the leaf itself and wiggle your line to make the leaf itself move slightly. Do this for a few seconds to get the fishes attention and allow it time to reposition under the leaf. Then pull your lure off the leaf and allow to sink. Offen this will trigger a strike from a non aggressive fish just because they are curious.........................Al

I agree with changing hooks, however this is not an option on spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. On them I use a diamond sharpener. I make my own jigs and just replace them if bent or dull..........Al

I don't think you should have had a problem with what you had rigged. Answering this question may be the key to your problem.

Ditto

I was in the Navy for 22 years and scored a 72(missed 21). I need to take a safe boating course...................Al

I do tournament fish and I recently spooled a spinning reel with Sufix elite that I purchased last year. Should not be a problem. I do store my line in my basement away from UV rays,etc........Al

I debated about responding to this thread because I hate having to defend myself for stating my MHO. But, here I go anyway. I have three of the Ardent baitcasting reels and have been very pleased with their performance. I have purchased five but I have a 41 year old son that also tournament fishes and he has talked me out of two of them. I agree to the comments about the cosmetics, the reels are not as pretty as most other manufacturers. However they have performed flawlessly in fairly heavy use. I did have a problem with a knob coming off a handle but Ardent had a new handle in my hands in less than a week. These reels have been cleaned once a year and no other problems of any kind. I can't and won't respond to each of your comments. I just wanted to say I have been very pleased with myArdents..................Al

What colors do you like and what kind of trailer do you use? Sorry I forgot about this thread. I normally fish a mixture of greens and browns for daytime fishing and black or black/blue at night. For a trailor I normally use a Paca Chunk Sr or a Zoom Super Chunk. When I use the Paca Chunk I trim the hair about even with the hook. This allows the flippers on the Paca chunk to move. I leave the hair long when using a Zoom super chunk. In either case I use a chunk that closely matches the jig color and I add a rattle for night fishing or muddy water..............................Al

I have 2 of the 8030 that I use for crappie fishing all winter and bass fishing the rest of the year. This size is a good dual purpose reel but if you are going to use strictly for bass fishing you may be happier with the 8035. I also have a 2500 Symetry that I use for the same purpose and I far prefer the Pflueger over the Shimano. Much lighter and seems to have a lot less line twist. The drag system on the two are about equal. I use 6lb line for crappie and 10lb line for bass on the 8030 without any issues. I believe you will be happy with the Supreme..................Al

My outboard cost approximately $18,000. Amsoil is about $23 a gallon. I just don't see the need to gamble for the few dollars savings......................Al Even a 9.9 HP cost more than I care to gamble.