NavyToad

7’ M/H. Dobyns Heavy (4 power) is considered M/H by most people I know. Take your pick - cork or EVA foam grip? Both are good choices in that price range.

Everyone’s different. Spending money to “save” money rarely works for me. Unfortunately I have my share of stuff layin’ around collecting dust that I saved a bundle on. At 64 years old I guess you could say that I was a slow learner.

Left for spinning and baitcasting. I like the rod in my right/dominant hand.

I’d love to see Holliday make it up this year and do well. Does Mateo need a tick test? We’re makin’ some noise!!

Another vote for Lews. The consensus seems to be Lews, Daiwa, or Shimano. Time to get busy doing some research.

Last year a slow start kept us out of the playoffs. There's nothing better than seein' the O's playin' good ball.

Sounds like a crapshoot to me. The Japanese consider it to be butchery. I have a ruptured disc and I’ll choose laser surgery if I ever need it. Maybe if I had stenosis my choice would be different. I hope your problems have been permanently solved. Tiger Woods has had how many surgeries? His surgeons were the best in the world.

When Elias came over from Houston I was cautiously optimistic. He’s putting a competitive team together and with some decent pitching we’d be contenders. It’s still early.

I suffered sciatica from a ruptured disc in 2006, but I’m one of the lucky ones - never had surgery. My chiropractor had a bad back and told me that if surgey ever became necessary for him, he’d go with laser surgey above any other surgical option. One back surgery almost inevitably leads to more surgery in the future - it’s a dirty road. How many people do you know who had back surgery and 5 years later were back under the knife? I don’t see a chiropractor anymore, and I haven’t had any problems for over 15 years. I think my experience is kind of a fluke, but man, I’m convinced that back surgery is the absolutely last resort. I was knocked out of work and on my back for 2 months - this wasn’t just a sore back. I felt like someone hit me in the leg with a baseball bat. I’m ramblin’. It’s a bad situation and you might end up having to make some tough decisions. An orthopaedist will give you one option and a chiropractor will tell you something else, and don’t leave out the acupuncturist. Laser is what I’m doing if it ever comes to it.

Forever!

I have the xp735c and it is a 5 power (heavy) using Dobyns ratings IMO. I have the xp734 to compare it to and I don’t know why they describe the 735 as a M/H. I’d go with the rating number rather than the description in this case. The 735 works good in light/medium cover - it’s a pretty stout rod, but no broomstick by any measure. If you’re trying to drag them out of heavy cover you might consider the 736. The 735 is definitely more versatile than the 736. Call Dobyns - 1 (903) 919-8028.

The O’s are back! By that I mean they’ll probably break .500 and if their pitching picks up the playoffs are in reach. O’s fan since ‘65. If Henderson and Holliday pan out we’re lookin’ good, just need some pitching.

Swans make geese look like lambs.

I’ve had a pair of Cudas going on 2 years and they’ve dulled. They’re like most scissors - they cut great at first but they need to be replaced often.

Thanks. I have another model already, but I can always use another pair because I’ve yet to find a pair that stay sharp for much more than one season. At $4ea I bought 2 of them.

The treble on a short leader attached to the hook eye works on flukes too.

The hellraiser has a chatterbait blade and clacker on the back. I haven’t thrown it enough to say whether it’s any good. It’s a cool idea either way.

Mostly German with some Irish. I keep looking for the European-American box on my Background Check application, but I’m stuck checking the White box.

I have 9 or 10 Lews and 3 Daiwas. I prefer Lews and my favorite rods all have Lews attached. It’s not about money, I just like Lews. I was tempted by the JDM $239 Zillions but bought a couple $200+ Lews instead. No doubt Daiwa makes a good reel, so does Lews. I stay away from that company that makes bicycle parts.

That’s the only one that I know of.

In 1983 they changed the way the inflation rate is calculated. There are several sources of info on the subject, this is just one of them. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/24/technology/inflation-measure-cpi-accuracy.html

I think you’re right. Pretty hard to enforce - are they going to tap phones and monitor emails? In either case, I think it’s logical that several pros could/would at times end up using the same bait.

Info. from locals and fishing certain bodies multiple times informs them on what will/might work on a particular lake. There’s bound to be overlap in their choice of potential baits to throw. I don’t think it’s odd that many of them would come to the same conclusion that a spinnerbait, fluke, chatterbait etc.. is what is working the best during particular tournament. I’ve seen tournaments when they were all catching fish using a wide variety of baits/techniques.

I hooked my biggest smallmouth of my life on the Potomac 20+ years ago. Threw a spinnerbait out about 30-40 yards and let it sink trying to slow roll along the bottom. On the way down something didn’t feel right and I set the hook. Problem is I was using mono and a fairly moderate action rod. Between rod action and mono stretch I didn’t get a very good hookset. I got him all the way to the boat and when my brother went to net him, he jumped over the net and swam away free as a bird. I’d love to have captured the moment when that fish jumped over the net. My brother and I still talk about it.

You’re a riot!