FishTank

I have a couple of Quantum reels that I like a lot but this one looks like it might be more about looks than substance. I tend to shy away from any of the branded reels with a pro fisherman name on them or the words "exclusively made for" attached to it.

For an all around rod I would have to go with the St. Croix Avid. IMHO, it is a great rod for the money and it is simply a well made rod. If you're looking at a higher end rod this might be a good place to start. Another suggestion would be the BPS Extreme if this is out of your price range.

I have a Daiwa Zillion and it's a workhorse reel. It's light, powerful and easy to use. I would highly recommend it.

Personally, I am a huge fan of the LC Pointer and I was looking forward to purchasing one of the Reals Skins. But after reading the review, it sounds like they just made a cosmetic change to an already proven lure. I don't think they will be worth the extra $5. :'(

I use fish mostly T-rigged but ocassionally I will wacky rig one. I just seem like I loose more worms and I don't tend to get the best hook sets with a wacky rig setup.

Never used one. If I am fishing a frog, it is usually in some heavy cover and I want to be totally weedless. I would think you would get snagged constantly.

I have to say my favorite is The Usual Suspects as well, followed by Star Wars (the original 1977 version).

Funny stuff. I can recall traveling through Chatanooga, TN in the fall of 1998 and up in the mountians there is a steep downgrade with a run off. I was going about 70mph and a semi comes flying by me. It pulls off to the right side and I could see that his breaks were smoking. About 30 sec later I see parts of the truck everywhere over on side of the mountian. I heard later that the guys brakes had failed, he tried to stop by hitting the runoff head on but he ended up going straight through it. Oddly enough the guy was haulling mattresses and when he hit the run off the back of his truck exploded but the truck itself went airbourne. He landed on a pile of matress, he was not wearing a seatbelt and walked away with minor cuts and bruises.

It'a a F-R-A-G-I-L-E A Christmas Story.......

Very well done . Looks like a no brianer for Roboworms and Zoom Finesse worms.

If you guys want to dig a little deaper, I have two more suggestions. The Universe In A Nutshell and A Brief History In Time by Stephen Hawking. They are sort of like quantum physics for dummies. I thought it would all go over my head but once I got past p-branes and string theory I was OK. ;D

I really liked the DaVinci Code, believing his way of seeing things is up to the reader, but I thought it was one the best works of fiction that I had ever read. I also liked Angels and Demons but it seemed slow compared to the DaVinci Code. Fourbizzle, I tried to read the Wheel of Time years ago but it put me to sleep. I might give it a shot again since I have some time on my hands.

As the seasons pass into the frozen abyss of winter, I try to find other things besides fishing to keep my mind occupied and tend to read a couple of books during the off season. Last year I read a couple of the Harry Potter books (my wife is a reading teacher), The Devil in the White City, Eargon (boring and for kids), Four Past Midnight, and The Name of the Rose, again (my personal favorite). If you like books on history, I would highly recommed The Devil In The White City. It is about the construction of the 1893 Worlds Fair in Chicago and a serial killer that preyed on the people attending. It is a little slow in spots but living here in the midwest I found it interesting. I am thinking of reading the Golden Compass series based on my wifes recommendation but after reading a summary of the books, I might change my mind and go back to reading Robert Ludlum. You guys got any suggestions?

I have had good luck with DNR here in Indiana with the exception of Eagle Creek and Geist. They have limited it to just basically John boat fishing. They also have had out breaks of blue algae that have kept the water in bad shape do to contamination. They have done a good job cleaning up a couple of toilet bowels here, like Monroe, Lake Lemon, and Morse Lake. As far as Monroe goes, I think they are not out to get the fisherman but to cut back on pontoon boats and skiers so we can fish. The bad thing is the guys on waverunners.

I tried to modify the bill of a Rapala Crankbait on a bench grinder. I put on the slowest speedn and used a pair of vice grips, with pads to hold it so it would not damage it. Big mistake.... I was doing fine on oneside then I started on the other, I guess I pressed to hard, the lure came loose and went through the grinder. It is now permanetly modified and I use it as a casting tool.

Not a good rod for bass fishing, IMHO. I have owned two over the years and never cared for them. They are OK for catfish, carp and maybe a float setup. I would look at BPS's rods at that same price point.

I have a Johnny Morris Sig. Series and it is a good rod but does not come close the Loomis IMX's or GLX's that I own. I would put it close to the St. Croix Avid. I have had a chance to fish the Extreme, a Rick Clunn, and of course the Tourney Special Series. All would good rods at their respective price points.

For me, I like my Shimano Calais and close second would be my Daiwa Zillion.

Needles. When I was younger and in better shape, I twitched my shoulder and had one break off in my arm. They had to cut it out by hand with no anesthetic.

Has anybody heard from LightningRod in a while? He seems to be M.I.A. He always had some great gear and pics.

Man that's creapy. It sure would make the strays in my neighborhood easier to get rid of.

I am not a frequent drinker but I do like Sam Adams, pretty much all their varieties. If I am dining out and enjoying a nice steak, I like a glass or two of merlot or chianti.

This was taken from today's Republican Debate and I know this goes down the Political Road but I just wanted to point out that a couple of people have made a few comments that I did not expect. ARIZONA SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: - "I know that climate change is real." - "It's real, we've got to address it, we can do it with technology, with cap and trade, with capitalist and free enterprise motivation. And I'm confident that we can pass on to our children and grandchildren a cleaner, better world." * FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI: - "Climate change is real. It's happening. I believe human beings are contributing to it." Of course this could all be BS just for the debate but they said it.

The worse thing I have caught was a red bag filled with blood samples and needles. I pulled it into the boat to get the hooks out and then I noticed the Bio Hazard symbol on the bag. I guess the lake I was fishing had some hospital dump waste dumped into by some dumb@$$. The bad thing though I don't how many I have caught and eaten out of that lake.

One of the guys I was fishing with over the summer had a nice setup for swimmbaits, he used a St. Croix Legend Tournament Big Jig rod and a Shimano Curado 300. It's not made for huge swimmbaits but it fit the bill for what he used.