Micro

they are completely different baits. One has nothing to do with the other. You miss the point. What I'm getting at is that the frog's and toad's manner and method are pretty much the same. I've found the toad more versatile, more weedless, and easier to get a hook-set with. I rarely fish frogs anymore because the toad is so much more productive for me.

Thanks, it's a 1968 Mustang Cobra Jet. Anyways back to the important stuff.... Looks like a '71 Ford Torino (with a 428 cu in Cobra Jet). Now, to the important stuff. The only application where I use braid is pitching, and frogs/toads in heavy cover. Otherwise, I pretty much rely on mono for al other applications.

Jitterbugs. I have a bunch of them and never catch a d**n thing with them.

In my opinion, if you haven't fished frogs before, then I would recommend starting out with plastic toads instead. It's my favorite lure when bass are in the thick stuff. I think they are more productive, easier to fish, with easier hookups than frogs. Personally, I like the Zoom Horny Toad. They come in a package of 5 for less than 1 Spro Bronzeye. I T-rig them on a Gamakatsu EWG 5/0 worm hook (among others). T-rigged on that hook they are very weedless, sink slowly, and can be buzzed thru the water. They are much more productive lures for me than frogs.

I just ordered two. I used the above banner.

They have the magnetic brake, right? I think they are basically red SXs, not Ss. The S has a centrifugal brake I think.

The biggest Atlantic croaker ever caught was landed today by Norman Jenkins of Portsmouth. Flounder fishing off New Point Light near Mathews County, Jenkins landed an 8-pound, 11-ounce croaker that shattered both the state and world record for the species. The International Game Fish Association all-tackle record for the species a member of the drum family weighed 5-8 and was caught in 2000 off the Alabama coast. The Virginia mark of 5-13 was caught by Jim Mitchem in 1982 at the Cell, not too far from where Jenkins caught his fish. The Virginia record fish was caught before the IGFA began keeping records on the species. My fishing buddy, Sammy Brooks, netted it and he thought it was a small black drum," Jenkins said. "Then it croaked. We measured it and said that if it really was a croaker, it was some kind of record. "It's a croaker." The fish was certified by Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament representative Jerry Thrash of Queen's Creek Outfitters in Matthews. Jenkins is giving the fish to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science for study, and having a reproduction mount made.

That's some crazy stuff. I mean, look at the arrows painted on the 3rd aisle from the bottom. The d**n things are directing oncoming traffic into each other. And waht about those curved parking spaces. Holy cow.

Hey, right up my ally. I'm an insurance adjuster. I investigate liability and handle damages. My specialty is serious bodily injury. I'm licensed in several states (not Florida), but I do understand liability. I believe Florida has a pure comparitive negligence law. That means you can collect for your damage to the extent of the other guy's negligence. He can collect for any damages to the extent of YOUR negligence (if he has any damage). This means that if you are 80% at fault and he is 20% at fault, you can collect 20% of your damages. Liability is another issue. Establishing "how much" negligence he has can be tricky. You say he was riding a bike on a sidewalk? At night? With no light? Your locality may have a law prohibiting bikes on a sidewalk. Your state may prohibit the operation of a bike after sunset without a front and rear light. The more rules he violated, the more negligent he is. Get it? I recommend you report the loss to your insurance company. Don't let someone tell you not to do this "because your rates will go up." There are important reasons to report all AUTO ACCIDENTS to your insurer. 1) You have a contractual obligation to report accidents. 2) Your insurance company MAY deny coverage later if you fail to report the accident now. 3) If this guy sees enough TV attorney adds and decides to sue you for bodily injury, then you report the accident to your insurer, they may deny coverage due to a "failure to report in a timely manner" leaving you to pay the claim out-of-pocket. Report the accident, even if the cost of the damage is below your deductible. You probably won't be surcharged (rates increased) since your insurer didn't pay anything. And you've satisfied the requirement to report all accidents in a timely manner.

Now here is the parking lot at the bull-fighting ring just south of the border in Tijuana, Mexico. Moral of this story is --- don't drink tequilla then try to paint parking lot lines:

This is a 2 part post. Here is an areial view of a typical parking lot in San Diego:

Actually, I admire the young man. I don't think he'll get any bites here. But his optimistic naivety may come across as, shall we say, charming? Good luck, Casanova.

I catch a fair amount of bass on them. But pickerel and northern pike tear them up (literally) in the spring. Silver, gold, whie, perch, green, clown (had to look up this color), and hot steel all produce very well. In fact, I haven't found one to be any better then another.

The French firm Giat used to own FN Herstal, Browning and US Repeating Arms (Winchester). Giat sold that group to the Herstal Group. The Herstal Group now owns FN Herstal, which in turn owns US Repeating Arms, Browning USA, and FN USA - among others. Browning guns are made in a number of plants - Herstal Belgium's FN plant (the traditional "Browning" plant), FN-USA in South Carolina, or Miroku in Japan (which manufactures guns under its own name and the name Charles Daly). Browning is it's own company - owned by FN Herstal. BPS does not own Browning. But BPS apparently is the exclusive distributorship for Browning Fishing products. BPS may very well license Browning's name - a good mutual agreement in that BPS gets a great name to market, and Browning gets its name out there on good products. There may be some agreement that BPS conducts the direction of Browning Fishing and manages its name and the products it goes on. It can be very complicated and NO ONE outside the companies really knows what's going on. What is for sure is that Browning does not make it own reels. There is no "Browning Plant" churning out fishing reels. Pinnacle is known as the OEM nanufacturer of store-brand reels for the largest fishing catalog/e-tailer. That's BPS. Pinnacle make BPS and Browning reels.

$79.99. Wow!

My son and I catch them on little shad-colored plugs. This one caught on a Strike King Bitsy Pond Minnow.

I'm going to give the frayed-rope-thing a try. I'm going to make some of my own jigs and see how they do.

Silstar = Pinnacle. Pinnacle makes Browning and BPS. I didn't know they made Pflueger, but I never asked my sources about Pflueger.

Actually, I believe Pinnacle is the OEM manufacturer of BPS and Browning reels . Pinnacle competes against itself in this respect. Pinnacle manufactures more OEM store-branded reels than it makes under its own name. Due to confidentiality agreements, you won't hear much about it. But this can clue you in a bit: http://www.tackletour.com/reviewpinnacle2007reelpreview.html Browning doesn't make much that's Browning - even Browning guns. That's the ways its always been. European Browning guns are made by Fabrique Nationale with plants in Belgium and Portugal. Brownings marked "Made in Japan" are made by Miroku. US made Brownings are made by FN in South Carolina. Browning is a great names, but has never really built anything for itself. When John Browning designed something, he went to other manufacturers to produce it - Colt, Winchester, FN, etc. That's the way it is now, too.

I use them, a lot. My favorite for bass in clear water is the #3 Black Fury in chartreuse with chartreuse tail, and white with white tail. I like to troll them in spring. I catch plenty of bass with them. Pickerel love them.

Silver is best for me. Followed by bluegill, perch and red craw.

For me, it's a toss up between original Stren and Trilene XL. Handling wise, I really can't tell a difference. I like original Stren in the fluorescent blue/clear. Lately I've been using Stren Magnathin in 6# and 10# on a light and medium spinning rod, respectively. It's the best handling mono I've tried to date.

watermelon, pumpkin, red and purple

Pinnacle, I believe.

I understand that Pinnacle makes BPS and Browning reels. Silstar makes some low-end stuff (many makers, including Shimano, does too). But Pinnacle also makes some very highly regarded reels. Many BPS branded reels are extremely well regarded. I don't see that one can critisize Browning without also critisizing Pinnacle and BPS. I own two Browning spinning reels (and rods) and like them very much. I've had both for several years and they are my most used spinning outfits. I have a Browning Medallion and a Browning Citori spinning reels and they give up nothing to Shimanos in the same price range. In fact, they are smoother than some of my Shimanos that cost more. And they get used - hard - without problems. I agree - Shimano seems to have a cult following. But my experience is that I've found reels as good for less $, and better for the same $ in a couple of cases.