Masshole Mike

i'll definitely be bringing my digital camera. i can take up to a half hour of video i believe so that should make for some decent clips.

just watched ocean's thirteen and thought it was pretty good. a little bit different than the other two which was nice, i don't think i could have watched another "heist" movie in that series.

at least you're getting red x's, i'm not getting anything... and good usage of "pwn" chaddy.

i finally sat down and uploaded pics from my camera, just thought i'd share a few. this one i caught on my birthday after trudging 15 minutes through the woods only to have it start pouring out. i didn't catch a single other fish all day and i landed this one as we were leaving. the "one last cast...." deal. my buddy caught this one late in the season, she weighed in an ounce shy of 6lbs even. just a couple pics i snapped while on the water...

thanks for the input everyone, looks like LBH is going to let me borrow his bazooka pro for the trip which i appreciate immensely. i'll only be bringing 4 rods with me and i'll have a rod sock for each one, and i've been given the advice to pack smaller articles of clothing in with the rods not only to conserve space in my other luggage but also to provide more cushion for the rods.

it'll be a cold one in hell if the packers manage to beat the pats. i don't see it happening this year, better luck to favre next year or the year after, or the year after, or the one after that...

i had thought of that, but i'm not sure if i have that much trust in the USPS. not that they'd be any worse than the baggage handlers at any given airport. i'll have to weight my options and figure out what's the easiest/safest/cheapest route to go.

even though the trip is still 2 months off, i'm starting to stock up on gear i'll need for the trip. most of my fishing is done with a t-rigged 5" senko or other soft plastic bait, but i do have a couple buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, deep and shallow cranks, an x-rap and jointed shad-rap, about 8 jigs in various sizes (1/4 - 1/2oz) and colors (browns, greens, black and blue), pop'rs and jit-r-bugs, and a bag or two of storm swimbaits. are there any other baits i should be picking up or should what i have suffice? like i said most of my time is spent throwing senko's, hence the small amount of other baits in my arsenal. from what i've been reading about g'ville in march, spinnerbaits and shallow running cranks are the way to go since most bass are roaming the shallows or 4-8' drop offs, so i guess i should try to have at least a few of each. any other suggestions are more than welcome. also if there's anything else i'll need for the trip but will probably forget or not think to bring at all, please let me know. i just picked up rain gear today, but i'm sure there's going to be a few other simple things that i'll totally forget about (sunglasses, sunscreen, etc.). thanks guys. -mike

if i make my own i'll probably pad both ends with foam and try to line the inside of the pipe if at all possible. i'm also going to get rod socks from BPS to protect my investments further. i like the carriage bolt idea used in the link that slomoe posted, it's a sturdy and secure locking mechanism. just slide the bolt through, slip the lock on and go. zelmo, how sturdy is the plano airliner? if i buy one my choices are either that or the pro bazuka that RW recommended. i just want to have the most rigid case possible so that when it's getting bashed around and packed under suitcases during loading it doesn't crumple or dent. a reviewer on cabela's said that he usually has to pop the dent out of the top of his bazuka case after a flight due to rough handling by baggage people.

It's alway's best to contact the actual carrier you will be using, but as long as it's properly labled with name, address, ect... there should be no issues. They'll X-ray it so they will know EXACTLY what is in it, no issues with that. If your going to hand it over to the airline, I would make sure that both caps are secured with either glue or some type of pin or lock so they don't come off. i guess i'll have to call the airline and hopefully save a few bucks by making my own. thanks for the info everyone.

is a home-made PVC (ABS) rod case going to be airline approved though? i'd rather not show up at the gate to have them tell me i can't check it for whatever reasons.

i need to pick up a hardshell travel case for my rods for the g'ville trip, anyone have any suggestions on some decent ones? i'm not even sure how much they go for, but i'd like to stay under the $150 mark.

being a lifetime pats fan i'll agree that it doesn't mean anything if they don't go 19-0, but there's still a lot to be said for a perfect regular season.

if i'm backing fluoro i'll usually go about half and half, but if i'm backing braid i'll only use as much braid as my estimated longest cast would be, plus a few yards for extra measure. i'm about as un-scientific as possible about it, but i'm still saving money by not running almost-full spools of expensive braid or fluoro. i generally use cheap mono as a backing, but if i've got a little bit of fluoro left on a spool and it's not worth saving i'll use it as backing. a uni-to-uni knot is pretty good for line to line knots, or a blood knot like RW said. http://www.animatedknots.com/indexfishing.php that site is good for learning knots, they're animated with color coded lines for most knots you'll need to learn for fishing.

i saw patrick duffy at disneyworld back when i was in high school. i think that's the closest i've ever come to a celebrity sighting.

that's what i'm talking about! not to mention the record-smashing season brady's been having. he just broke phil simms' post-season single game completion % record on saturday.

thanks for the info. i just bought it because i'm a fenwick fan and thought the rod looked awesome, but that's even cooler that it's a custom rod.

MA fishing license is $28 and the sporting license (hunting & fishing combined) is a little bit more, maybe $45 or so.

congrats ronnie! we've yet to meet, but march 23rd isn't too far off!

romo is a decent QB, i just think he needs a few more games under his belt, and along with some more playoff experience he'll be stepping up his game in seasons to come. and RW, the fat lady hasn't sung yet for the chargers, but she's been warming up the vocal cords and is walking out on stage as we speak. GO PATS! 19-0 here we come.

when my twin brother got married we rented a party bus, packed a cooler full of beer (literally packed it, we couldn't even get the top closed) and drove to a casino and spent most of the night hanging out playing table games and poker.

haha, nah i got it, hence the "i'd assume so" comment. rarely do my eyes wander that far north to investigate, but every once in a while.

She has shoulders? :-? i'm going to assume so. i'd say "something has to hold her head up" but it's pretty obvious all the air inside is doing that.

YES! i can't tell you how many times i've watched that movie. i rented "28 weeks later" the other night and thought it was pretty gnarly. same basic storyline as before but a little bit better this time.

at least he's got jessica simpson's shoulder to go cry on.