desmobob

I avoided them for a while, but I think their buoyancy and extreme durability make them worth the little bit of extra trouble of keeping them carefully stored. Tight lines, Bob

Mend-It is a wonderful product, but I keep it at home in the refrigerator. Damaged but repairable soft plastic baits get put aside while fishing then brought home to repair. It saves you money on replacing baits and helps keep more soft plastic out of the environment! Tight lines, Bob

I use both and don't notice a difference. Either will generally sink more often than not until they've been used a bit. After you put your TRD or half ZinkerZ on the 'Shroom head, hold it in the water and give the plastic a good stretch or two. It will help remove the salt and improve the buoyancy. Tight lines, Bob

There's a Ticonderoga on the St. Lawrence, too? I live about 25 miles south of the Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. Tight lines, Bob

I'd keep doing what's working, and also make it a point to experiment with some new approaches... how about moving a little further off shore and throwing some deep cranks? You'll find some of the big mamas hiding out in the depths. :-) Tight lines, Bob

I bought a custom-fit Carver Sun-Dura cover for less than $285. It's in it's third season and in perfect shape. Tight lines, Bob

It's my personal fiscal policy not to pay more than fifteen bucks for any walking one-eyed skull topwater baits. Ever. Tight lines, Bob

How do you like the Speedcast (ACB) braking vs. the old Dual Braking System? I have a half-dozen of the old Tournament Pros with the centrifugal and magnetic braking and I really like that system. Tight lines, Bob

Ouch. That's painful to look at. I once had a cat that bit clean through a brand new $70 fly line I was spooling up. Tight lines, Bob

You better ask their permission first. Sounds like a good way to get kicked out of the sporting goods store, or punched in the eye.... ;-) Tight lines, Bob

But the two-tones look eerily like something alive! =:-0 Why the aversion? Is there an interesting story about something that happened in your childhood? ;-) Tight lines, Bob

^ +1 on these choices, although I now use AbrazX for leaders, too. I used to really like InvisX for bait casters, but I fish where there are a lot of Zebra Mussels and the AbrazX really does hold up a LOT better. Tight lines, Bob

The Z-Man bait seem most dangerous when left next to a conventional soft bait. I think I might have left the TRD sitting next to a jig with a normal vinyl plastisol trailer and I think the TRD may have self-destructed, taking a part of my carpet pile with it. The jig tailer was still intact though, and there was no color staining in the melted area. But I can't imagine what else could have caused this area of my carpet to melt... Tight lines, Bob

I went to the West Marine web store, picked out the hardware, and put together a DIY trolley that works great and was cheap. Once you drill that first hole, the worrying subsides. My kayak is a conventional model, so I used those "expanding rubber plug screws" if you know what I mean. I don't know the correct name for them. They're all above the water line, so no worries.... Tight lines, Bob

I have a large and strange "burn" mark in the carpet of my boat. I'm convinced it is where a Z-Man TRD was left laying on the deck, but I'm not positive. I love Z-Man baits and have no problem keeping them in the original packaging and separated from other plastics. Has anyone ever had one dissolve their carpet, for sure? Tight lines, Bob

I broke the 95mm carbon fiber reel handle that came on one of my Lew's Tournament Pros. They are rock solid, but the rod/reel was on the deck under the trolling motor with the handle perpendicular and I got into some really rough water. The trolling motor was bouncing up and down a bit and it came down just far enough to hit the upright reel handle and broke it. Lesson learned. Anyway, I had the Hawgtech handle in my shopping cart but couldn't make myself shell out the dough (I found a new Lew's carbon fiber handle w/knobs on the big auction site for $33.) Some people (including me) like the knobs on the Lew's reels; others hate them. For those who like them, the Lew's carbon fiber handles are a very nice quality item for a decent price. The only other reel handle I've ever broken was on an ABU Orra Winch (I broke one knob off in a mishap). Again, I considered the Hawgtech replacement, but wasn't willing to spend that amount of money on a handle for a $99 reel. After reading Jeff's post, I'll probably try one in the future. My favorite reel upgrade is new ceramic bearings. Most of my favorite reels come standard with carbon fiber handles so I haven't really considered that as an upgrade. That Hawgtech handle looks pretty sexy, and I like the look of those cork knobs! Tight lines, Bob

I do. I disassemble the new reel, clean out all the factory lube, flush the spool bearings, then re-lube everything lightly and carefully with the appropriate high-quality lubricants (MiliTech grease, Boca Lightning Lube, Cal's drag grease). I don't find it necessary, but it sometimes makes a noticeable difference in performance. Tight lines, Bob

I have one of those Kistler KLX "Finesse Worm..." rods. Even though it's a medium-heavy, it's very capable of casting light weight baits. I think it was a little over $200. I also have a MajorCraft Volkey 6'8" light/fast that does a great job. About $170, IIRC. Tight lines, Bob

Some postal areas are experimenting with delivering Amazon's parcels on Sundays... was your shipment from Amazon? I think Sunday delivery is an extra-cost option on next day "Priority Express" mail service, too. ($$$) Tight lines, Bob

We had one of the mildest winters in my lifetime here in the Northeast. But it was mild because the weather would be wintery one day, then Spring-like the next. And Spring is being just a fickle... I don't think we've had more than two nice days in a row. We had snow last Tuesday. And the wind has been blowing strong out of the North since winter. This week it finally started coming out of the West, but it's still strong. It kept me off the water today. I'd have to say the weather here, since last fall, has been the most unstable, fickle and unpredictable I have ever experienced. I have tomorrow off and want to get out on the water but the wind forecast looks nasty again. :-( Tight lines, Bob

Today was too windy for me to have any fun fishing, but I used the wind to my advantage: it kept the darn black flies off me while I took the snowblower off the lawn tractor and mounted the mower deck. After mowing the lawn, I got out my new Daiwa Ardito travel rods (7'MF and 7'6"MHF) and my new Lew's BB2 Inshore reel and headed outside. The rods are surprisingly nice for the money, and what I feel is just a little on the stiffer side of their ratings compared to the Kistler KLX rods I generally use. I really like them. They are a little bit heavier than my KLX one-piece rods, but not too bad at all. They seem plenty sensitive, but only some real fishing time will tell the real story. When I mounted up the new Lew's reel, I started it off with two of the four centrifugal brakes set on. I was throwing a light weight; about 1/4 oz., and the reel fluffed up a little during the cast. I switched to a 1/2 oz. weight and decided to turn on the other two brakes and work down from there. Since all four brakes were on, I threw a mighty cast, thinking the cast would get choked short by the full braking. Well, it seems that when I opened the side cover to activate the other two brakes, what I actually did was turn off the two that were already on. Having no brakes on, coupled with my major league cast, gave me a major league, all-star, MVP overrun. I worked on it for quite a while and finally had to cut it out. I should have just braved the wind and gone fishing! At least the lawn is mowed.... Tight lines, Bob

Startron in every gas-fueled engine I run. Ethanol-laced gasoline SUCKS! Tight lines, Bob

I tried some of the lower priced cranking reels that are available in left hand retrieve; a couple of ABU Orra Winches and two Lew's BB1Ls. The BB1 has a much better feel to me and, in head-to-head casting comparisons, out-casts the ABU. I believe the Lew's BB1 is the longest casting reel I own. It has an interesting centrifugal braking system with four conventional spring-loaded brake pins plus two non-sprung pins. It works great and can be had for a very good price. The BB1 Pro has a totally different braking system... one that I'm looking forward to trying at some point. I have always been very happy with the Lew's reels I've purchased and even prefer them to some of the higher-priced reels I own. I consider them an excellent value. I feel the same way about the Daiwa Tatula reels, I have two of them and don't think they can possibly be beat for the price. I have not tried one in a cranking ratio. Tight lines, Bob

I hope everyone takes the time to add their location. You might meet some new fishing buddies or get some good local fishing tips.... Tight lines, Bob

The mere fact that you're asking means you really want one and just need others to push you into giving in. ;-) A lot of tackle junkies start out that way. Don't be ashamed. Tight lines, Bob