Alpster

YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!!! They are the only GS cookies I care anything about and I can't leave the box alone till it's empty. Thin mints are definitely EVIL! Ronnie

Clarus is a great rod in that price range. If you catch them on sale you can get a Shimano Compre for that price. A St. Croix Premiere is also in that neighborhood. Good luck. Ronnie

Hookem, You said it! I remember my first post and how so many members knocked themselves out to welcome me and make me feel like I belong here. Now I have made some great personal friends, I travel all over the country and fish with these guys. Last year at the Lake Fork Road trip, I got to know a lot of members personally. In the next six weeks, I will get to fish with 50+ members of this forum in Guntersville and then with another dozen or so in RI at the CAST for Kids Tourney. A member of this board (a guy I've never seen in person) offered to loan me and Speedbead his $40,000 bass boat to use for a week in Guntersville because I don't have a motor on my boat. For some reason, I am having a hard time being upset by the constant, boring, repetitive new member intros. As a matter of fact, I feel quite obligated to welcome as many new guys as I can. If I had not been made to feel welcome, I would have probably just moved on. What a HUGE loss that would have been for me. How many of you guys realize that Glen and Fivebasslimit were at the Bassmaster Classic and prefished the tournament with Mike Iconelli and Timmy Horton. If you had told me 2-years ago I would know these guys personally and get to hang out with them and fish with them I would have thought that was crazy. Members get to laugh at Muddy man's jokes. I call him a personal friend and traveled across the country and fished with him. Roadwarrior cooked his famous BBQ and we stayed at his house, LBH cooked me a Lobster dinner and put me up for the night. I can go on and on. Most of the members of this board will take you in like family without even knowing who you are. That's pretty rare these days. Think about it. JMHE Ronnie

Everyone on a tight budget looking for quality fishing gear should look at ebay, craigslist and carefully watch the 'flea market board' on this forum. If you are patient and careful, you can beat BPS and Cabellas by a long shot. I have some very sweet, even 'high end' gear that I didn't pay 1/2 of retail prices for. Most of it was still new in the box and the used stuff was just fine. Just something to think about. PM me if you want the details. Ronnie

Hey, Gary Yamamoto probably started in his garage. Keep up the good work. Who knows? Maybe one day.......... Ronnie

It stands to reason why so many posts get moved on the general board. New members don't yet know how the forums are organized, so they tend to post on the general board. Moving the posts really helps new members understand quickly how the board is ordered. In the long run, it helps us all. Just imagine if you had a question about a bait, line, or better yet, Lake Whatyacallit in Whatsahawkin, MO. If the forums weren't segregated the way they are, you would have to depend on the search engine to find anything specific. It would be a true nightmare. LOL It's hard, diligent work for the mods to keep posts under the right topic, but it is the most efficient way to help us all to stay organized. You would miss it if it weren't happening, I guaranty it. JMHO Ronnie

I am still running XP on a ten year old computer, without XP-SP2. This machine and OS is as bullet proof as it gets. JMHE Ronnie

I still think Hartley has something figured out. I am rooting for him. 8-) Ronnie

I been watching since the Casting Kids competed. It's a lot of fun! Ronnie Here's the link http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/live/index

I hear you there! I got to admit they would probably surprise us. These guys really do have a talent for finding fish in ANY water. Ronnie

Weather is holding, patterns should too,...at least for today. Quoted from the Bassmaster site........ "ANDERSON, S.C. If Friday were the worst weather ever in a Bassmaster Classic, which it was, then Saturday marked the most dramatic two-day weather swing in Classic history. When the 50-angler field took off on Lake Hartwell at 7:15 a.m. Saturday, the temperature was almost 10 degrees warmer than it ever hit Friday. The forecast is for the overcast skies and fog to give way to clear skies and sunshine by noon. The afternoon high is predicted to be 64 degrees. "That's crazy," said Mike Iaconelli, who won the 2003 Classic and is fishing in the Bassmaster championship event for the ninth time. "In a Classic, I can't remember two days that were so different." The guys who are actually there can let us know what is actually happening. Ronnie

+1 Ronnie

I am about 2 hrs off your beat and path, but if worse gets to worse and you want I can arange to meet you somewhere 1/2 way or something. I have a '92 Johnson 9.9. It hasnt been run in a year, but its always been a great little motor and I have owned it since it was new. I would definatly trust it. I use to use it all the time, but the 2 main lakes I fish now are trolling motor only so it doesnt see much use. It also has a brand new prop thats never seen the water. Tommy Tommy, You are now on my list of possible solutions. Thanks for wanting to help us out, you guys are the BEST! Ronnie

Catt, I agree. Hartley is 'on to something'. It will be interesting to see the standings after today. Conditions are changing quickly and drastically. We will see how the pattern holds up. Ronnie

The G.Loomis posse has been around for quite a while, you can defile a nice rod with any Quantum reel you want. BTW- along with my Shimanos I have (and fish with) at least one Quantum, Pflueger and ABU. I keep them so I can pick on everyone. Ronnie

I will pick up Speedbead in PA and we get on I-81 off of the PA Turnpike just West of Harrisburg, PA. Ronnie

I hope you don't think I was doubting your word Roger. I just don't understand why any rod builder with a decent lathe for shaping cork would have trouble with foam. I also like foam because I can use my "Fordom" wood shaper on foam, it destroys cork. You get ready for another tuna rod, you just let me know. I won't complain about the foam grips. Ronnie

Roger, I disagree that foam is hard to work with, 3 of my personal rods that I built for myself have Hypalon grips. I love working with foam. I think it is easier to shape and manipulate than cork. When 4bizz gave me the specs for his giant swimbait rod, I was very pleased that he wanted foam grips. He gave me very specific dimensions for the split grips and the foam made it easy to make exactly what he wanted. I also like exotic burl cork. I don't do anything with conventional cork like you see on most rods. Light weight is it's only advantage. JMHO Ronnie

Congrats on the new Stick! Have fun! Ronnie

Most of us fight that battle to some degree... my fly tying set up is also portable, for just that reason. However, I'm not as organized or as tidy as Ronnie!! Hey Keith, Those pics are just like my drivers license picture, I wash my face and cut my hair every 4 years weather I need it or not. You should see it when I am working on something. It normally looks like a hurricane hit it. BTW My little work table is very portable. I sometimes pick the whole thing up and take it to the kitchen to get away from the office phone. Ronnie

I would be landing a 7 1/2" culprit ribbon tail worm on a Charlie Brewer Slider on top of the pads and drag it ever so gently off the edge of the pads. Very nice picture BTW Ronnie

Wow 10 casts seems a bit skimp to me. I feel like I give lures I have confidence in too much time while those I dont have confidence in too little. But I'm sure thats kinda typical +1 Ronnie

I have a tendency to pitch a little beyond the stump, stickup or weed edge so the "pendulum" will swing toward my intended target. I like to keep as little slack in the line as I can without it being real tight. Quick decisive hooksets are the key to not losing fish. I often jerk the bait out of the water. It makes my fishing partners a little nervous, but it works. Ronnie

Is anyone as amazed as I am that (with my help) this thread has gone 21 pages. I'm thinking we need a hobby. Fishing maybe??? Ronnie

to the forum. There are many articles on the techniques you are interested in right here on this site. Check out this area of the site. A ton of information, yours for the reading. A quick way to get answers to your questions. Scroll down, there's lots of info. http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/features.html#techniques Glad to have you here! Ronnie