Red

when you say flatten, are you talking about totally deleting(formatting) your hard drive and starting fresh? if so, you need to have the disks for your operating system(windows) if you dont have these then i wouldnt format the hard drive...unless you want to go buy a new copy of windows? are you having a problem of some sort or you just want to start fresh? Cliff

went out again today...nothing was biting on the tiki sticks so i was trying to try some other stuff....threw out my pointer DD78 and nailed about a 2lber or so....then i put on my Fat BDS and got another about the same size...guess i am going to have to buy a couple more...ya know...gotta have a good assortment of styles and colors...right? Cliff

i was thinkin that might be a good idea after the last couple nights fishing....trying to "walk the dog" from shore with a 6'6" rod proves to be difficult....it is hard to get the downward snaps when your standing almost level with the water....and having tall grass and such in the area....so i am thinking a 5'6" M for top waters and a 7' M for cranks and spinnerbaits....then i can use the rods i have currently (M and MH) for t-rigs/jigs and weightless applications...also one of these spinning rigs will be used by my wife when she goes with me...thanks for the input guys, really helped alot! Cliff

yeah i kinda figured it was operator error...maybe i will wear some briefs next time ;D

that was probebly it! i have had that hook on there for a long time...and i cought about12-15 fish on it the day before..that will be the first thing i do when i get home today..and i will rig it like you said also....man i love this site, i post a question and in no time i have a bunch of responses...this place rules! thanks guys Cliff

first off this question is about rod power and action and length, not about a particular brand name or anything like that.... i have 2 set ups as of now...6' MH with abu 5501 spooled with 12lb XT...i use this mainly for all worm applications, jigs, c-rig etc etc next is a 6'6" M with abu 5501 spooled with 8lb XT...i use this for cranks, topwaters, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits etc etc i have 2 abu cardinal 101 spinning reels at home with no rods for them...both are spooled with 8lb XT....i would like to purchase 2 rods to expand my arsenal and cut down on having to cut and retie so often when i am fishing. what would you recommend for this? maybe the same rods i have on the casting reels but spinning? what would be a good rod for topwaters? idealy i would like to have tied on at all times....t-rig, weightless worm, topwater, spinnerbait/crank....i feel i can work a topwater better with a spinning rod....any help you can offer is much appreciated! thanks Cliff

lol i was using a senko and wasnt catching any so i switched i have never heard of daiichi shimano? used to use power pro, switched to XT and started catching fish no boxers, no briefs, i was goin commando ;D seriously tho....when something like that happens, what are the chances the fish will bite the same bait again? after that happened i threw the same bait a few more times, then i changed color, then tried a couple different topwaters....i cant really wacky rig cuz it is pretty weedy...maybe i will try a bigger hook.....i also had about 3-4 other lost fish the same way but nothing with any size...anyway other than that it was a great outing, didnt catch as many as last night but the few we did catch were btter sized fish...and we plan on going for the next 3 days so i am pumped! thanks for the input guys! Cliff

so i am out fishing with a watermelon tiki stick this afternoon t-rigged weightless...caught a few smaller ones...i lift my rod one time just to continue my retrieve and it is kinda heavy, so i set the hook as hard as i can...fish on..and a big fat one too...fought it for a sec and i saw the thing right at my feet in the water.....then it was gone! my tiki stick was curled down on the hook and the hook point was bearly through the worm. i was using a 3/0 gammy EWG on a 5 inch tiki stick, abu 5501 MH 6' rod 12lb XT....did i do something wrong or did the fish just not have the hook in its mouth? from the quick look i got of the fish my guess would be 24" at least, it was huge! and heavy! i was so mad, i spent the next hour or so trying other stuff to get her to bite again...no luck...the guy i was with said his uncle caught and released an 8lber in there 3-4 years ago...was just wondering if i maybe had something rigged wrong or if i just plain ol missed it Thanks Cliff

right above this section it says "member challenge sign up"

good...its an abu...i have 2 cardinals and i love them...dont know about the maxxar but mine were 33 bucks each at walmart

there was a nice combo at the walmart here i noticed..it was an abu garcia cardinal on a fenwick rod...about 55 bucks i think..the cardinal's go for about 33 bucks by themselves and there is several rods for around 20 bucks too

i didnt notice the casting rod thing till you said it..lol...i do have a scale, but i think its a tad off...it told me the one neil caught was only a pound....it measured almost 20 inches....so i think i need to invest in a better one ;D Cliff

see the outings section for the results!

went to a private pond tonight with some relatives...man what a good time! between the 4 of us we probably caught 50 plus bass....i caught 18 on spinnerbait, pop R and most of them came on a watermelon kinami senko, which i now only have 2 left...this was my best fish....i didnt weigh it or measure it cuz i had to go half way around the pond to get the pic so i just let her go...probably a dink by texas standards but it was the biggest i have caught i am now a fan of the senko...i will be getting plenty more of them since i used up most of the ones i have...i gave some to everyone else and they all caught fish on them...it was retrieved every way possible....the one above i caught on a senko running it on top water...also this one completed my may challenge, a few days late...anyway it was great time and we plan to go again friday...here is a few of the others we caught neil amanda kyle thanks for looking!! Cliff

thanks, i knew i could count on you guys for some quick tips...i will let you know how i do! Cliff

my parents would eat them all the time if i caught them back in NY, but i have also heard that they got a bad rap from being full of worms, but i never saw any while cleaning them

ok first off let me say i am very excited cuz i get to get on the water again tomorrow...it has been almost 2 weeks now since everything is flooded..lake waco is completely shut down....anyway i have the opportunity tomorrow afternoon to fish in some golf course ponds....its a friend of a friend of the in laws type of thing and totally legal....i have never seen the ponds, dont know how big they are, dont know how much fishing is done on them...but i do know there is bass in them...soooo...with all that great information....what would you recommend i start off with? i will be bringing my only two rod/reel rigs with me...both are abu 5501...one is a MH one is a Med...the MH had 12lb the other 8lb....i have one ready to go for weightless plastics the other with a 1/4 oz white spinnerbait...i have recently purchased some kinami senkos in watermelon and some jigs blue/black, PBJ with mathing craw trailers...but i have a few cranks and several other plastics and a couple topwaters....the weather is showing for bright sun and 93 degrees....i know that isnt good info not have seen the ponds before, but i dont get to fish these often and want to make the most of this trip...any advice or tips would be much appreciated!! Thanks Cliff

it says all the "max" series reels have all the same features the only difference is bearing count...but i dont think the "max" series reels are the same as the "premeir"

the walmart here sells pinnacle reels for about 50 bucks..as well as some abu's, shimano, and diawa...if you look in the glass case at the sporting goods counter that is where they keep the higher end reels Cliff

sweet! anyone know when these will be available? i hope they will offer the "max" series with left hand retreive or i will be sad Cliff

good luck man, stay safe come home soon!! Cliff

was fishing a small pond years ago with a buddy, i was using a big pop R...the pond had a weed mat from the bank about 10 feet out..so when my lure got close to the weeds i whipped it over the weeds back to shore...well one time it went over my head and got stuck in the tall grass behind me....instead of going back and getting it out...i yanked my rod forward as hard as i could...it popped lose and stuck me right in the back of my shoulder (sleeveless shirt)...i couldnt see it so asked my buddy to see how bad it was....one of the trebles was burried right up to the belly of the bait....i was young and didnt know what to do....so i went to see my mom at work...she works at the school...so here i am walking through the school halls with a big lure hanging from my shoulder....having 4 kids my mom has seen it all..she took a quick look and sent me to the family doctor...he tried to push it out and cut the barb..too deep....he tried to back it out...too deep....he ended up having to give me a novicane shot and cut it out with a scalpal Cliff

Welcome! keep reading there is tons of stuff to learn on here Cliff

Welcome! Cliff

Welcome! Cliff