desmobob

I got out today on southern Lake Champlain to see what was shakin'. On my last trip out, on Veterans' Day, the water was 47* and the fish were willing. I picked up several decent largemouths and a couple of nice smallies. Today was a different story. The water temp was down to just below 45* , a cold front had moved in, and the largemouths were not playing. I threw a lightly-weighted T-rigged Senko in the same spots I hit them on Wednesday. No dice. They didn't want a jig, either. I tied on a blade bait and immediately caught a five or six pound pike. A couple of casts later, a big white perch ate it. No bass. I finally resorted to the ol' Ned Rig and started catching some smallmouths. I got a half-dozen; all the same small size: about 1 1/2 pounds. The wind started blowing out of the North at a pretty good clip. At one point, I was casting straight into it and could feel the line fluffing up on my reel. I turned the magnetic cast control way up and threw again. Major league backlash! I looked at the cast control to find that I turned it way DOWN, not way up! Oops!! Oh well... I needed to put fresh line on that reel anyway. ;-) Eight fish in eight hours of fishing. Not great, but I guess it beats getting skunked! I have tomorrow off and will most likely try again. It will be a little cooler tomorrow with the morning temperature at 26* and a forecasted high of 46*. I have a good feeling it will be my last day out for the season. Tight lines, Bob

And I just voted for it. I have five of the KLX series rods and they make me happy every time I fish. Today, I was dragging a jig real S-L-O-W and doing that reminded me how sensitive the KLX is. TackleTour gave the KLX its "Best Value" award when it tested the 7' MF. Tight lines, Bob

Wow! That's one heck of a prize list for kids' ball team raffle! Very nice... I hope they make a ton of dough!!!! Tight lines, Bob

I just got home from a cold day of fishing. I left a nice Red Eye Shad lipless crank in a beautiful little cedar tree. The irony is, I found that very same Red Eye Shad where somebody else left it... in a tree along the bank! What goes around, comes around.... Tight lines, Bob

I have four Tournament Pros and I think they are excellent reels for the money. I like their light weight and compact size. They cast very well, have a nicely-adjustable combination of centrifugal and magnetic braking, and have a smooth, strong drag. I know I'll buy more of them in the future. Mine were all purchased from the big auction site for about $165 each. My favorite budget reels are the two Daiwa Tatulas I also picked up from eBay sellers at under $100 apiece. They are heavier and bulkier than the Lews TPs, but I can't imagine a better reel for the price. Tight lines, Bob

I really like this reel, although I've only casted it in the back yard. Tomorrow, I'll have it on the water (and, why does a cold front moving in seem to always coincide with my time off?). I hope the fish cooperate.... I put the reel on a rod I like to use for lighter stuff: a Kistler KLX 6'9" MHF "Finesse Worm-Tube-Jig." This medium-heavy rod is rated for lures 1/8-3/8 and really does a nice job throwing 1/4, which the new reel is happy with. I have the Alphas spooled up with 8 lb. Yo-Zuri Hybrid (which has an actual breaking strength of almost 12 lbs.). I think a Major Craft Volkey VKC 69 ML/BFS will be wearing this reel after the holidays. :-) Tight lines, Bob

Great photo, Pat! Tight lines, Bob

Tight lines, Chef ... I mean, Bob

The hull is RL84 (a type of thinner, lighter Royalex). It takes a beating and keeps on ticking! The gunwales and seats, not so much... It was seven or eight years ago. I picked them up a a canoe dealer to avoid the shipping cost, which I'd guess would be substantial due to their length. Check out one of the popular paddling forums and I'm sure you'll get some good, up-to-date info. Tight lines, Bob

The basic, convertible top model. (Winner of a 2013 Field & Stream Best of the Best Award, as chosen by the editorial staff.) Tight lines, Bob

I have a pile of waders. Currently, the Orvis Silver Sonics are my favorite. Reasonably priced, too.... Tight lines, Bob

I put new aluminum gunwales on my Mad River Eclipse after suffering a little mishap in the Hudson River Whitewater Derby one year... It got a set directly from Mad River and, after drilling out a whole bunch of rivets, pulled off the old ones, slid on the news ones, and buttoned her up. Looks like new, now. If the manufacturer doesn't offer them, another brand should fit if they make a boat with the same hull material and thickness. Tight lines, Bob

Kistler, St. Croix, Major Craft.

My all-time favorite place to ice fish is Lake George. It's a great place to catch landlocked salmon, lake trout, northern pike, or yellow perch. I also get out on Lake Champlain, and Lake Bomoseen in VT. The ice fishing season is getting close! Tight lines, Bob

I'd go even lighter! My two favorite small fish fly rods are a two-weight and a three-weight. The wind does become a bigger factor as you go lighter, for sure, but that depends on the rivers you fish. On most of the rivers --more like streams-- I fish, it's not a big issue but on more open waters, it can be. For me, one of the most relaxing things in the world is sitting in a float tube, casting a two-weight for bluegills and pumpkinseeds. Tight lines, Bob

My two favorite lightweight spinning reels are the Shimano Symetre and the Daiwa Tournament SS Whisker. They are sort of on opposite ends of the spectrum as far as "feel," but great reels. My next spinning reel will be one of the Pfluegers that everyone seems to hold in such high regard, and are generally referred to as a "best bang for the buck." Tight lines, Bob

This news is making me incredibly angry. It all needs to stop! Bob

Freakin' awesome!!!!! Congrats, Bob

Yee haw! Wait 'till I lay down some of that secret ninja kung-fu action on those bass's a**ses! Hiiii-Yah!!! Tight lines, Bruce Lee... I mean Bob

Tight lines, Bob

In my experience, InvisX handles nicely but is very stretchy and has very poor abrasion resistance. It gets long slices and cuts in it from Zebra Mussels and pike/pickerel teeth. AbrazX is a little stiffer and much more abrasion resistant. I have switched to AbrazX for use as leaders on my braided lines. Tight lines, Bob

I received one of my two Daiwa Alphas SV105Ls in the mail today. It seems very nice, but it was dark when I got home from work so I didn't get to cast it at all. :-( One interesting thing I noticed: in the instruction sheet (which is printed only in Japanese) there is a drawing of a hand holding the rod/reel (apparently to cast) so the reel is on its side. This drawing has a shaded circle around it. Next is a similar drawing, but with the rod/reel held so the reel is horizontal, like you'd hold it when you're retrieving. There is a shaded "X" through that drawing. The next drawing shows the hand holding the rod with the reel horizontal making a casting motion, and circular arrows seem to indicate the crank handle turning. There are some lightning bolts coming from the reel and, to the right, a paragraph with a large exclamation point inside a triangle at the top. I guess I can figure that an X through the drawing, lighting bolts coming from the reel, and a large exclamation point inside a triangle all represent bad stuff. My interpretation of all this is that you should not hold the rod so the reel is horizontal when you cast, as it may cause the handle to turn and engage the gearing during the cast. I looked on Daiwa's website for a manual for the similar (identical?) US version so I could be sure, but they didn't list one. Anyway, I know some people recommend casting with the reel held vertically because they claim there is less drag on the spool and spool bearings that way. But I don't cast that way. I think I hold it pretty close the way I hold it when retrieving. I've never had a problem doing that, and it has not yet caused lightning bolts to shoot from my reels. :-) Is the SV105 different in some way, that casting like this could be a problem? Am I the only guy who doesn't cast with his reel tipped up on its side? Or are the "X" through the drawing, the lightning bolts, and the exclamation point inside the triangle all good things in Japanese? ;-) Sayonara, Bob

Best of luck to you! Don't worry about the doctors killing you. They're extra careful because that would cost them a fortune in increased insurance rates. ;-) Tight lines, Bob (sporting a couple of screws in my right shoulder; 2 operations)

I'm making it a point to try and see if there's a correlation between the feeding aggressiveness of my cichlids and the local bass on any given day. Yesterday was the first day I checked. I didn't get to hit the lake until 11 am, so I waited to feed my fish until just before I left. They were unusually unaggressive and acting pretty mellow at feeding. The local bass, however, seemed to be on a different channel. I caught seven decent bass in the first spot I stopped, and had probably my best day of fishing since the water dropped below 55* (it was 47* yesterday). Hmmm. Tight lines, Bob

I clobbered some good largemouths and a big smallmouth on Ned Rigs with half a Zinkerz in 47* water yesterday... Tight lines, Bob