jimmyjoe

The advertising puts distance between the SLX and the Curado, but for me the main difference is line capacity. I use large-diameter nylon line, so it makes the Curado more attractive for me. jj

I used to be a stick-in-the-mud. I had my tried-and-true, and wasn't interested in new stuff. But now that I'm fishing lakes a lot more, I try more new stuff. Of course, people here at the site have ... kinda .... sorta .... helped me with that. ??? ??? jj

No prob. You know why they call it the "postal service", don't you? When my buddy George Washington was a kid, people would write a letter , fold it after the manner of our present-day envelopes, seal it with wax ("sealing" wax) and then attach it to a designated post .... a post, usually with a wooden box on top, situated so that a rider could see it easily and retrieve the letter in muddy weather. Really bad weather could ruin the letter, so city people arranged for the central office of the postal service to stack boxes for them under cover of a roof. That was the start of "Post Office Box" numbers. In those days, "You got mail" was really a cause for celebration! jj

I must assume that you already know the obvious: for salt or brackish water, use guide frames designed for salt water. Not absolutely necessary, but extremely wise. jj

How well do you like cold brewed? jj

If you stub your toe or hit your thumb with a hammer, you do whatever you want. If you're 86 and have heart problems, you'd best do EXACTLY WHAT THE DOCTOR SAYS! After the implant, you come back here and talk to us, y'hear? ? jj

Odd that no one mentions cold brewed coffee; it seems all the rage now. jj

Most of my jerkbaits and twitchbaits are between 1/2 and 1 oz, so I use a MH power, F or MF. But those are not my favorites; my favorite is the Bomber 13a, a little 1/4 oz. demon that fish love to gang up on. I use a St. Croix Avid-X spinning rod, ML/F for this, whether I use nylon or braided line. It has a reasonably stiff tip, and that lets me put a dance and shimmy into that little 13a ...... and then stop it dead. But this may not be what you want. If you talk to @Delaware Valley Tackle, about getting a rod, he'll guide you. He can do that. Like a fisherman told me years ago, "Rod builders have to know more about rods than rod users." No matter what you do, I wish you the best of luck. jj

Yes, I remember it. We all wondered why they were doing something like that. If only we could have seen the future ......... jj

Weight and specialized design. If they caused women to flock to your boat the way @CFDoc says, they could charge a lot more than $400, believe you me! ?? jj

That's not the issue on this forum. There are forums (fora?) where people withhold info to appear smarter, or mysterious, or to protect their knowledge base. We don't do that here. We're glad to help anyone with a legitimate question, especially newcomers. The fact that dozens of us all gang up on you with conflicting advice and confuse the heck out of you is just a side benefit. It's free. Costs you nothing. ??? jj

Thank you, @Hewhospeaksmuchbull ! I'm an old stick-in-the-mud, so I'm sure there will be instances where I'll cuss. But that's OK ..... I've got a good vocabulary stored away that I can use. ??? Who knows .... maybe you CAN teach an old dog new tricks! jj

^^^ This. ^^^ jj

I have no idea whether or not you might want to try these, but they are a LITTLE less expensive than what you're using now. Not only that, but you get a hook! (Wowzers!) ?? http://j-maclures.com/muskyswimbait5.aspx Hope this helps. jj

I'm a shorecaster, too. Spinnerbaits are one of my most-used lures. Reference retrieve on a spinnerbait is to cast it out, let it drop and pull it in steadily. How far do you let it drop? Jimmy Huston use to say that you bring it back so that you can just .... and I mean just .... see the blades working. That's the reference retrieve. You can go up, making it a wake bait. Some companies make spinnerbaits designed specifically for that; they have larger or more resistive blades. Or you can go down, right to the bottom if you want to. On the bottom, you can slow-roll the spinnerbait back to you, or you can stop-drop-and-roll the spinnerbait. If I do that, I stop for about 10 seconds, then continue the slow roll. As you retrieve, you can modify the "steady" part of the description. "Pulse" the bait. In other words, put a little bit of a jerk into your retrieve every few seconds. To see what this does, try it in clearer water, close to you and shallow. The skirt should expand and collapse as you "pulse" the lure. One of the reasons I use spinnerbaits is that they hang up less than other hard lures. I pull them right over riprap all the time. Yes, it destroys them, but it also gets fish. You can also pull them over branches and sunken trunks, then let them drop. Be especially observant on that one, though, and be prepared to set the hook INSTANTLY. Other people will, I am sure, be here presently to tell you about the different colors of skirts and blades, and the different blade shapes. I consider those things very local and definitely not universal. The videos that Glenn has are great. I don't do everything the way he does, though, because I'm a shorecaster. He's working areas and angles that we can't duplicate. Still .... his advice is a great place to start. Good luck! jj

I agree. jj

Bingo! jj

PM sent. jj

No, what I'm missing is an operating system that doesn't go BSOD three or four times a day. The problems of Windows 10 have nothing to do with dial-up vs. cable, or download speed at all. I think you know that very well. jj

I have Win 10. All I can say is that it's a disaster. I'm not a computer nerd. I'm trying to learn about Ubuntu, but it's not easy. jj

Same here. jj

I share your sentiments exactly. I feel like a passenger on a runaway train with a bridge out ahead. I can't stay on and I can't get off. Not a good feeling. jj

I've been spoiled. In 1975, I went to the Expo 75 in Okinawa, Japan. The Brazilian pavilion had a coffee urn, and a man was giving out little shots of coffee to visitors. I have never tasted anything like that since, and like I said, it spoiled me for coffee. Of the stuff that I've had to drink since, Sumatra is tolerable. And yes; no cream, no sugar, no flavorings, etc. Good coffee and good whiskey are taken straight. What you do with bad coffee and bad whiskey is entirely up to you; anything goes. I told you I was a cantankerous old SOB, didn't I? jj

Good luck with your balsa lures. In general, I don't like them just for the reason illustrated above. jj

Three hours? Three HOURS? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? There have been people who tried for three weeks and still couldn't cast further than they could spit! You're not a fast learner, you're a prodigy! ? BTW .... congratulations on discovering the next level of fishing. You're gonna enjoy the heck out of it. And when you have any questions, just come back here. Everyone here will be willing to help you. ??? jj (three hours?)