J Francho

Shouldn't that read,"I bought this rod and broke it yesterday." :-?

Troutperch? Maybe. Seems way too laterally compressed for that. Also note, there is a big chunk missing from that baitfish's face.

LMAO, 7-2. Probably around 2.75 - 3.

Yep, Crown Point, and head north!

Lowe = Tracker.

Nice work...green trout kept me from hitting the run this year. been into the chrome, though.

Get a G3 or an Xpress

An oldie, but goodie... Eddie Nebula and The Plague:

One guy gives you a hard time, and its "Freakin' Cops." I'm selling.... This one is gone. We're not into insulting LEO.

Depends on who is holding the rod.

[movedhere] General Bass Fishing Forum [move by] J Francho.

No, line twist is a major factor with wind knots.

Got out with Perry yesterday, on his favorite water. He threw cranks, and I tossed jerkbaits and drop shot worms in deeper water. No real pattern, other than scattered smallies, perch, and a bonus green fish. Some of the better fish:

It says "Tracker" on the side.... This is the 5th report of Tracker hulls coming apart I've heard this year. My buddy Jim experienced this with his Tournament 18. His solution was a 20' Bullet.

That sucks. I was surprised I didn't get any northerns on Sunday's outing as well.

No, but if you nose hook them on a 1/0 drop shot hook you'll have a better hookup ratio.

[movedhere] General Bass Fishing Forum [move by] J Francho.

Alewife, I think. That upturned mouth says alewife to me. Looked A LOT like a sexy shad in the sun, LOL.

Uhhhhh....you could just go fishing. That'swhat we did today. High, blue skies, air temps started at 30* in the morning. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1289699768

Another title could be "Bloody Fish Butts and Sticky Slime," but I think I'll leave it with these two quotes by Noel: "Dude, that fish is bleeding from it's butt!" "I though that was fishing line, but it was a big stringy booger coming off that fish!" I don't have any explanation for all the gross things that happened to me today, but it was all worth it. Even the bad case of the dropsies I had early in the day. Noel Good called me yesterday to invite me for a day on Erie. It took all of 3 milliseconds to make the arrangements. The weather was perfect, light chop on the water receding to glass, and bugs everywhere. ERIE! I love this place. Reminds me so much of my home waters on Lake Ontario, but way better structure and much bigger fish. We started with jigging spoons,with Noel boating a few fish fairly quickly. I had a few on, but kept losing them. I discovered a bent hook, then realized I was using my 6-8 m/XF jerk bait rod, not the slower, beefier 7' MH/M that suits my style better. Get a 3X treble on the spoon, attached to the right rod, and I was hooking up. The fish we marked stopped responding to the spoons, so we both switched to drop shot rigs. This is where we really started picking the fish off. Action was fairly slow, but with flourishes of catches. Many of the fish we caught we're spotted on the graph, and we would watch them come up to the baits, and then we'd really sell the bait. Sometimes two or three fish came right up to the bait. Most fish the came up off the bottom to the bait ended up on the hook. Had I caught all my bites, we'd easily had a 50 fish day. I had plenty of technical issues, but was having a ball. Deep fishing in open water is one of my favorite ways to fish. Hook them, and Hang on! Size wasn't all there, but we had two significant fish. Noel had a nice fish that was about 4 lbs.,and I set a new personal record for smallies that has stood since the mid 90s. I really didn't think it was a PB, until I got it on the scale, and the numbers kept going up and up, LOL. "Noel, you just put me on a PB smallmouth!" Erie smallmouth are like a different species of fish. Heavy, surly, and thick. Even their mouths are strong as hell. I bent hooks trying to get them unbuttoned for a quick release back to the depths. Gear: Spoons, St. Croix Avid AVC70MHM, Daiwa Alphas, 10 lb. Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon. Drop shot, St. Croix Avid AVS63MLXF, Shimano Stradic CI4, 6lb. Seaguar InvisX. Thanks to Smooth Drags Carbontex replacement washers for controlling those beasts! Now the part you're all waiting for.....pics! A decent fish finally, after fixing my "technical issues." Noel with a pretty little chunk. Look at the belly on this fish! Here's what they were eating. They are never ready to come in boat. Noel: "This is the type of fish we want more of!" 5 lbs. 12 oz. Awesome fish, but I'm gunning for a 6 now!. Another view of that fish. Another great day on the water with a great host. Noel is a VERY good stick, and an even better host. Thanks for the great day!

I have SCIII and SCIV rods and they are far lighter and more sensitive than any rod I've owned with a "IM" designation.

Backorder eh? Might be my fault, LOL. I replaced a bunch on a stable of saltwater rigs for a buddy. Nothing locked up, but some surface oxidation, so we replaced the whole roller stack.

Jaws of Life:

PB Blaster would get it out, but you already sent it out. I've replaced complete roller assemblies, and parts can't be much more than $25. Its a 15 minute fix, so labor isn't an issue. USPS Priority Mail for one reel is $4.80 to almost anywhere, if you use click and ship.

All my cranking sticks are 7'. I could see an advantage in a 7-10, but I just can't justify a fifth one trick pony cranking rod.