Micro

Amazing!

They are neat. BTW, Tackle Warerhouse doesn't carry them. I just put that decal on one.

Here's some of my hardbaits. I love these Special Mate boxes...

Okay. As long as we weren't espousing the Winch as a light-bait reel. Doing so would have been near he top of the "Suckingest Advice Ever Given On BR" list.

Check out the Shad-Cam at Bosher's dam. http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/shadcam/ Just checked it a second ago. Looks lik a few quillbacks and other stuff...

Opinions may vary, but IMO the lower Chick River itself sucks for bass fishing. Going back into the creeks, like Morris Creek, and further up the Chick is the way to go. When I fish the lower Chick, I always taste the water. If there is a hint of salt in it, I go to the back of Morris Creek. I don't even bother with the cypress stands on the main river. The lower Chick (and much of all of the Chick) is true brackish water. Salt can intrude all the way up to the dam. There are days when you can smell the salt and can catch croaker and speckled trout in the lower river and mouth of Morris Creek. I've seen kids catch croakers off the pier at Chickahominy Wildlife Management Area. If the water is too salty, the bass move to the backs of creeks or further up the river where the water is fresher.

The bass on my waters don't give a darn that the dogwoods are blooming. I see the vast majority of the beds, and big girls, in mid to late April, after the blooms are good and brown.

I've never had a break-off with Yo-Zuri Hybrid - except one. I tried to lift a big, blue catfish that had taken my jig and paca craw over the side of my boat. The line broke where is tied to the jig. The fish was well over the weight test of the line. Yo Zuri Hybrid is good stuff, indeed.

Fishohio, I certainly respect your ability to pitch 3/16oz jigs with a Winch. But just about any other bass reel out there is a better choice for pitching light baits like that. Can it be done? Certainly. Is it the best choice for pitching light baits? Hell no - not even close. I've used the Winch side by side with every other model of Revo, 200D and 200E Curados, Zillions, Fuegos and Sols, and all of them are better than the Winch for any kind of casting for light baits.

Instead of bombarding you with recommendations for a specific rod, I'll just tell you what I like in a flipping and pitching rod. IMO, pitching and flipping are best done with separate rods. The characteristics that make a rod ideal for flipping aren't the same characteristics that make it ideal for pitching. For a flipping rod, I like a 7'6" rod rated heavy with an extra fast tip - a virtual telephone pole. I think of a flipping rod as a sort of a crane. When I flip, my rod is rarely pointing much down past the a line parallel with the water surface, so length doesn't matter much, and a long rod comes in handy since your flips aren't very far from the rod tip. Flipping also doesn't load your rod much, if any, so a stiff rod doesn't hamper you. And a heavy, stiff rod will let you lift fish out of heavy cover. Pitching, on the other hand, is best done with a shorter rod. 7' is as long as I would go. I rod in the 6'8"+ range is very handy. I still want a heavy rod with a fast to extra fast tip, but I want a little more give in the rod so I can load it up a bit when I pitch. Pitching will load your rod more than flipping. When I pitch, my rod is pointed at the water more so than when I flip. Pitching with a 7'6" flipping rod is a pain. A shorter rod designed for pitching is a much better choice. You can flip or pitch with any rod. But if I were to buy one rod for both techniques, I would buy a 7' pitching rod. Flipping with a pitching rod is easier than pitching with a flipping rod.

The Winch's drag is very powerful and my experience is that is it very smooth, as well. But it is also overkill. It has a much greater strength than you will ever need for bass fishing. As far as casting performance, the reel excels with heavier baits - over 1/2 oz. My experience is that the Curado and Zillion High Power will cast lighter baits better (and heavier baits just as well). And in my experience, their drags have been more than sufficient for bass fishing.

If you want a Shimano for pitching and flipping, and want a virtual winch, consider the Castaic. The Castaic is a wee bit less expensive than the Curado. But it is built like a Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The side plates are graphite, but the brake case on the brake side (under the graphite sideplate) is thick aluminum and screws into the frame. The brake case is what supports the bearing on that side. The crank side frame that supports stuff on that side is thick aluminum. The drag is entirely sufficient. It has Shimano's flipping thumbar called Instagage II. It's a neat feature that allows you to engage and disengage the thumbar without cranking the handle. And it will cast the lightest baits very easily. I love mine.

My Shimano Calcutta 200GTB. Casts as well as any LP I have, and will outlast them all...

I don't care how bad it is. Even if it's horrible, it's better than the move I just saw... Monsters http://www.monstersthemovie.com/ Possibly the worst movie ---- EVER.

I think $130 is high for that rod. Some Elite Techs were good rods. But that particular one didn't strike me as any better than what I had. For $130 I'd pass. The HMG has a lifetime warranty. If you can't find one in stock at your store, I'd consider ordering one.

I've used one. Not bad. I agree they have a more moderate action. IMO, though, unless you can get one at a VERY deep discount, then I would recommend a Fenwick HMG. The Elite Tech retailed at $200. I don't think it's worth that. I've seen them on clearance locally for $79 which would be a good deal. The HMG GS 66M-MF retails for $99 but you can find it for less. It's a 6'6" spinning rod with a medium fast action. Nice grips and alconite guides. I don't think the Elite Tech is worth much more than the HMG.

Too bad. It's a nice gun. I certainly don't doubt that you've had problems. I do think happy owners are way under represented on the internet, though. I've never known anyone personally with an unreliable Kimber. In fact, the only problem I've ever actually seen was the feed-ramp issue I wrote about earlier. But the gun was relaible.

Believe it or not, that was the pistol I was considering buying instead of the Sig 1911 I did buy. Kimber (and Sig Sauer, too) had a few models with certain features that were troublesome when they were first introduced and those troubles were widely reported on the net and people formed strong opinions. But by and large, Kimber makes a top-shelf production pistol and they are among the finest available. A few months ago I had a Colt Commander customized by a gunsmith named Mario Ruffino, who was a top gunsmith in the '50s-'80s. He gave many of the current 1911 modification techniques to guys like Dick Hienie and Bill Wilson. He was also Abercrombie and Fitch's head gunsmith for many years. I asked him his favortite brand of 1911. He liked many of them. But he told me today he had very high regard for Kimbers and does a lot of work on them for customers. He holds them in high regard. That's high praise. I like Kimbers and would buy one in a heart beat. Not only are their pistols great, but their rear sites are fantastic. The only Kimbers (or any brand 1911) I would avoid are the alloy framed models wthout a barrel with integral feed ramp. (The Pro Carry II you mentioned HAS the barrel with the integral fee ramp.) The models that have the feed ramps built into the frame will, after awhile of rounds sliding over that alloy, will chew through the anodizing and dig into the soft aluminum. I've seen it in a friend's gun. Steel framed Kimbers, and alloy framed Kimbers with barrels with integral feed ramps are fantastic.

As much as I love 1911s, the Sig P220 is arguably one of the best .45 pistols ever developed. I have three and would trust my life to them. If the SHTF, I'd rather have a P220 in my hand than a 1911. I love the decocker, the trigger, the overall ergonomics. I'm just better with a P220 than a 1911. The P220 Stainless Elite in the photo is very nice. I will say it is significantly heavier then the standard P220 (pictured with the light). And it doesn't conceal as well. That upswept beavertail pokes me when carrying in a high-ride holster. I much prefer carrying my alloy framed P220s.

It's always a good time to buy a new .45. The good part is there are so many good manufacturers out there right now turning out outstanding guns. Sig, Kimber, Colt, Springfield... But I can see you wearing an Ed Brown http://www.edbrown.com/customhandguns.htm or a Wilson Combat http://www.wilsoncombat.com/.

is that a pellet gun? ive never seen sights like that before. The sights are unusual, but those vertical serrations scream "Colt." I bet that gun is dead-balls-on-accurate.

Here are my other Sig Sauers.

No. I actually ordered this two weeks ago and it came in yesterday. I was at the SGK Gun Show a few weeks ago in Hampton.

The 1911 pistol turned 100 this year, and I turn 45. 1911. 45. I think there is something poetic about that. Maybe not, but it was a good excuse to pick up a new .45.

Faith makes all things possible.... love makes all things easy. (Except for marriage and bass fishing.)