papajoe222

Is that how you got the nickname Dink?

At age ***, I worked at the local drug store stocking shelves and such. Being inquisitive about things, my sticky fingers provided me with a twelve pack of condoms for examination. My curiosity was quenched upon opening the first pack. Unable to return the open package, a friend and I decided to make reusable snow balls (they actually looked like fat sausages) and throw them at passing cars. We could then retrieve them and repeat the 'fun.' The second car to pass was my target and as I let fly, I noticed the elderly lady behind the wheel and momentarily felt a little ashamed as my 'snow sausage' was about to hit her windshield. It didn't, however bounce off as anticipated, but stuck to the wiper arm waving back and forth as she passed. I had to go home and change my pants as I literally soiled them from laughing so hard.

My attempt to revive the joke thread: As I was packing for a business trip, my three year old sat on the edge of my bed, joyfully playing by herself. After a short, quiet spell, she turned to me and exclaimed as she held up two fingers: "Look daddy!" In an attempt to keep her occupied, I replied: "Dady is going to eat those little fingers" and put her fingers in my mouth. I left the room to get some grooming items to pack and upon my return, my daughter sat bewildered, looking at her hand. "What's the matter, honey?" I asked her Still staring blankly at her fingers, she replied: "What happened to my bugger?"

If you want to not only learn a new technique, but gain confidence in it, you can do one of two things; Leave everything else at home and just fish it all day until you know exactly what it feels like and looks like when retrieved, let settle, picked up a weed, bumped a stump (you get the idea). The other way is to wait until you're on a good bite with your confidence bait and then switch to the new technique. The downside of the first is when you don't catch anything, the frustration may turn you off and with the second, your confidence bait may produce better and give you reason to choose it over the new one for future outings. The best advice I can give, however, is to stick with one bait when trying out a new technique. Concentrate on learning the bait and not so much on catching fish.(the first suggestion) It's like the muscle memory a golfer develops.

Hey Tom, What if I haven't caught one yet? Can I do the same thing to my cold hearted fishing partner? How long would I have to keep him submerged?

I just wanted to jump in and welcome you to the forums. Don't be a stranger. It sounds like you are a fairly versatile angler when it comes to different lures and presentations. If you haven't already learned this lesson, take note: 'The fish will tell you what they want and what they don't want. You just need to learn how to listen.' Don't beat yourself up attempting to get bit on what you want to catch them on. If it isn't working, find something that is. Your enjoyment of the sport will increase and your frustration from not getting bit will decrease.

What I've done I consider 'drift trolling.' Most of the waters I fish are natural, north>south lakes and a good breeze will move my boat at a good speed for working a worm down or over a weed line. A bump now and then on the TM keeps me where I want. I've attempted trolling on windless days, but those are the days when the bass tend to not want to chase a bait, so it isn't the best presentation.

Throw in a rod build or two and this will work until sometime in Feb. Then I start thinking about driving 300-400mi. to wet a line and the bait monkey hasn't been fed in months, so by April 1st, I'm out of reloading supplies because I've spent everything at fishing shows.

I like your choice of optics dtux. My next purchase will be a Vortex with the zero set. What the magnification on that one? Now, Way2slow is the kind of shooter that really knows how to get the most out of his weapons. What is it they say? A good gun will shoot well no matter the shooter, but it takes a good shooter to determine what is a good gun.

After six weeks of trial and error, I believe I've finally found the Rx for my rifle. Brass is LC, TTL 1.750, 68gr Hornady Match BTHP, 23.5g Varget and the length from the ogive is 1.770 Using H4895 produced a slightly larger group with two rounds almost touching, but the Varget was most consistent. Temp. was 58 and there was little to no wind. Rifle is a Savage Model 25 Lightweight Varmint 1.9 twist 24in. barrel and the scope is a Weaver 6X24X50mm (I think). From a bench with a sandbag rest. Of the three groups, 11/16in. was the best.15/16in. the worst and the third was a shade under 3/4in. Needless to say, I'm a little pumped! If anyone has a recipe they'd like to share, please do. Now I just need to figure out how to attach a pic

I've attempted to repair both a SS Jr and a Super Spook, both of which cracked above the line tie. For some reason, super glue sealed the cracked area, but the body began separating along the seam above the repair. I don't know if there was some interaction between it and whatever glue was used when making them. I ended up using rod building two part epoxy finish on the entire lure. No more leaking.

I've already started reorganizing some of my tackle and was surprised to learn that the one style of bait I have the most of are crankbaits. Between, wake baits, shallow medium and deep runners, flat sided and fat bodied, not to mention suspending and silent versions, they outnumber all my other hard baits combined. I half expected my jig collection to come out on top, but the only baits that come close in numbers are my tubes, only because I don't count them individually, but by the bags. As you can easily guess, I have a lot of tubes. So what lure type dominates your tackle? If it's a soft plastic, what type (worms, craws, frogs, etc.)?

I just recently started using duolock snaps with my cranks for the same reason Goose does, but I've been removing the split ring on the baits. Not that I'm lazy (truth be told, I am), but I don't have bi-focal sunglasses and retying requires removing them. I constantly check my line and knots. My only regret is that I didn't use them in my tourney days as I likely wasted 20-30min. over the course of a day, cutting off and tying on different cranks.

Most of the lures I've found have been entangled on one of mine when I retrieved it. My telescopic lure retriever has not only saved me many times its cost, but added a good number of cranks to my collection.

One of the many joys in my life that I can repeat on a regular basis, is to see a child"s face light up with joy. Seeing their face light up when they catch their first fish is one way I can do that.

My favorite Spook, for most of the last decade, was a Super Spook Jr that was one of the few I've owned that would walk easily with a feathered treble on the back. It was one of those 'one in a hundred' lures that just seemed to out catch other identical ones I have. I was fishing the downwind side of a cut between two islands and had just released my second brute in five minutes. In my haste to get that puppy back out there, I never checked my line. The knot popped just as I released and that awesome lure sailed over the tree line of the island never to be seen. I even offered a reward for anyone finding and returning it.

I'm done fishing for the year, put the boat away until next March. Depending on the season and time of day when I'm after numbersI'll either work shallow to deep, or deep to shallow. Where I begin is determined prior to launching. Once I contact fish, I'll stick to whatever structure I'm on until the bite dies and then search deeper/shallower. On lakes having pike and Muskie, I may start mid depth. I learned this lesson a long time ago; Never abandon active fish. I rarely run my T/M constantly the only exception is in the early pre-spawn and fall migration periods when the fish are on the move,

I like a bait that gets through the canopy easily, but offers a slower fall without appendages that, although slow the fall, tend to catch the vegetation. For that reason a creature tube like Big Bite Baits is what I reach for. That, or just a big tube. There's not a lot of plastic to hinder a good hook set either.

Just a heads up. High modulus blanks on sale for 75% off. Just in time for my birthday.It's awesome when you can pick out your own gifts........I ordered two

I would say; Forget the large mouth and target the smallies for the same reason WIGuide mentioned. Low and slow if you do go after the LM. I'm assuming you'll be targeting a natural lake, so look for faster tapering drop offs. The smallies should be suspending just off the drop and the LM most likely will be close to the base along the drop.

My order came yesterday. Faygo1979 was right, the trim rings appear to be on par with other suppliers. The reel handle looks awesome, but then I'm a sucker for bling. It's a little heavier than I anticipated, but I chalk that up to the burl wood knobs and the four bearings. BTW, it does measure 85mm which is how they listed it. Not overly impressed with price (plus shipping) and quality of the trim rings, the only thing that made it appealing was the free shipping they offered me. Unless you're ordering quantities, the long wait isn't worth saving a few pennies.

If it works, these are the trim rings I have ordered; They combine shipping on multiple items. The bottom link is for a carbon reel handle that I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rodcraft-Winding-Check-for-Rear-Grip-W-26M-Rod-Building-/191895335958?var=&hash=item2cadda7416:m:m1snqQsc-nnJ3CiqGhXuQfw http://www.ebay.com/itm/191833385826?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&var=490869401984&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

About the only two times I use a plastic trailer are in the spring to both slow the bait down and add bulk/size to the bait and when targeting pike and muskie for the same reasons. For bass in the spring my number one pick is a Kalin's Lunker Grub and for those toothy gals, it's a Fat Swing Impact or BPS Squirmin Shad. BTW, these are also my favorites for a swim jig trailer.

Just wondering if anyone has used any of their components? They're based in South Korea and have a large assortment of components for sale on the auction site. I ordered a number of winding checks and was happy with them.

If you only plan on changing out one or the other and the deepest crank you'll be throwing is a DT-16, it's a toss up IMO. A H/Mod. Fast composite rod will take some of the strain off as will a lower gear ratio reel. If you do go with changing out the rod, get one with a long handle that you can tuck under your arm. That will all but take your wrist out of the equation. I didn't use my deep cranking reel once this year after I started cranking this way.