GrumpyOlPhartte

Living in western MA, I’ve found very few retailers carrying the major brands of fishing gear so I do rely on various social media “pundits” for advice/recommendations; however, I take all advice with a shaker of salt. First, almost all reviews are of a single sample of the product. Comparisons are performed similarly - one sample of each comparable product is tested. Given the inconsistency of quality in most products, the results are ambiguous at best. The only partial solution is to locate as many reviews of a product as possible … at least that’s the best solution I’ve identified. Second, I attempt to consider the reviewing agent’s track record / reputation. This is information that is s-l-o-w-l-y accumulated but, in my opinion, is absolutely necessary. Finally, I take out my credit card, burn incense at the altar of the Bait Monkey, cast my fate to the winds, and hope fearfully that my chosen purchase will arrive in good shape. So far, the BM has rewarded my fealty with satisfactory results … well, with one exception; that was before I discovered the necessity of the incense.

@Boomstick: if you need a list of Berkshire lakes where I can’t catch fish, let me know!

Just imagine the backlashes if they tried to cast into that!

@Mojo Bass: I just rambled on in another topic about an experience I had that gave me the same feeling of satisfaction from acquiring a couple of inexpensive rods. Great feeling, isn’t it?

@Blue Raider Bob: Just a sort-of-related story here. My Christmas Angel (AKA wife) and I stopped buying each other presents a couple of years ago; seemed like all we did was swap gift cards. Decided instead to pool our funds and contribute to a few local charities instead. Anyway, my good deed was rewarded. Wandered into the local Dick’s yesterday and stepped into a slightly belated Christmas miracle! There on the rack were an AIRX701MFB and AIRX701MHFB. Here in Pittsfield one normally doesn’t find a lot of options - mostly I order online, pay and pray. In fact, this is the first time in all the years I’ve shopped there that I’ve seen the brand in the store. What makes this interesting is that for the past two summers I’ve had two reels with no homes. The first is my old Lew’s Tournament MB that had been relegated to the shelf when it’s companion rod fell victim to a low ceiling and the other is an Okuma Helios SX which cost a bundle but which I could never dial in on the supposed M from a not-to-be-named company. Played around in the yard yesterday: with a little tweaking the Okuma worked like a dream on the medium rod and, as expected, the MB performed well on the medium heavy rod. As in your case, the BR crew had piqued my interest in AIRD and when I had to grab two rods for $110.00 it gave me the opportunity to experiment with the Okuma without going through the hassle of guessing what rod(s) to order blind. You can tell from the length of this that it’s winter in MA and my fishing withdrawal has really kicked in, but the whole thing is pretty cool to me.

I have no problem with cheating. Heck! At any time I expect to be arrested for impersonating a bass fisherman.

@Catt: Take care. Pretty sure we’ll be here when you make your triumphant return!

For me it was an evolutionary process: 1953 - First there was fishing. My dad took me out in an old rowboat on Spirit Lake in Iowa. I was five and had a three-section bamboo pole with a bobber and worms. I caught two giant perch and a monster crappie. (They’re all big when you are five!). He died two years later so fast forward to … 1965 - First bass was a smallmouth caught in the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania. Although my uncle didn’t fish, he did buy me a rod and Zebco spincast reel. He understood that I liked to fish, just never why. Heck! I didn’t understand why either. But that was the first fish I caught on an artificial bait. 1972 - First serious largemouth caught when my LPO took me fishing in his tin boat in Back Bay, Charleston, SC. He introduced me to the magic of the Texas-rigged grape firetail worm. We weighed it at four and a half pounds on our old spring-loaded scale. Took it home and ate it … blargh! 1980 - First chance to show off / be shown up. Went fishing with my BIL here in Massachusetts. He still worm-dunked for panfish until I tied into a three pounder with my trusty grape firetail. Made a believer out of him. The same year I took my wife out in our little plastic boat and, before I had even gotten my line wet, she had tied into a five-pound pig using a gold Rebel. Even named it Zelda! Did you know that wives get really noisy when they’re wrestling uncooperative bass? So why am I addicted to bass fishing? Probably for many of the reasons above; however, I notice that my best fishing memories all seem to involve someone who was/is very special to me. Oh. And because the tuna bite really sucks here in the local lakes of western MA!!!

I keep forgetting how many wraps I’ve made on my Alberto knot …. If I can even see it.

1. Best - Serving as a horrible example. 2. Worst - Accuracy. Some days I’m spot on; other days I get excited if my cast lands in the same time zone as my target.

A tie-wrap and a cork?

Seems like a heck of a way to recover that lure! Welcome !

Always pee to the lee.

I quit using a well-regarded brand primarily because the only thing I found worse than the quality of the one reel I bought was the quality of the service. While I can accept that a clunker occasionally makes it to the retail outlet, I can’t tolerate poor service. But, hey! My profile name explains a lot.

@Leon162: I fish Cheshire Reservoir, Buckley Dutton, Onota, and a few other local lakes. At 75, balance and flexibility aren’t great. I added stabilizers to my kayak. They ain’t pretty but they allowed me to add a raised swivel seat so I can get in and out without mishaps. Also great for casting at different angles without having to reposition the yak. Just a thought. I use swim jigs, Texas-rigged critters and worms, and a lot of flukes because Cheshire in particular is a weed-infested salad bowl.