J Francho

Why not try finding him through his sponsors?

I use 4/0 Owner Wide Gap Plus hooks. I had trouble with them at first, but if you really lay it to the fish, you hook up just fine. I don't count to three, wait, I just feel for the weight of the fish, reel down, and set the hook.

All is fair, I suppose. No one fixed the blown calls at first, earlier in the series. Neither did they take back all the balls that Scott Kasmir threw early, that suddenly became strikes when Napoli was asked to get lower, Pena style, when catching. I don't think umps should take it upon themselves to "fix" their mistakes. Will they fix the error with Cano and Posada both on 3rd tomorrow night? They were both out. No harm, no foul there, but it affected pitch count - not that that mattered. I realize there is instant replay for the fans, but as far as reaching a decision about a call, instant replay is only part of the game if a team appeals on a fair/foul ball over the home run. I'm not the only one that has noticed atrocious post season officiating. In the post game show, on the YES Network, Kenny Singleton relayed a conversation he and Joe Morgen had while watching the game. They basically concurred with what I'm saying. While mistakes happen, and its only human, this post series has more blown calls than recent memory serves.

My friend Paul is a minor league ump, and per him, that isn't the home plate umps call with a crew that size. He shouldn't be looking back at Swisher, he watches the ball being caught, and keeps the bag, with the runners foot in his periphery.

Forget that....get it right. Period. Three SIMPLE calls that were simply blown. Wait until this happens in a close game, and a World Championship is on the line. Inexcusable. And it hasn't just been this series, its been for all the playoffs, and throughout the regular season. Its as if the umps actually want to go to instant replay.

Slide a small, 6mm colored bead on the mainline, and tie a swivel on. The bead will stop you from reeling the swivel through the guides. Then attach a leader, about 18" and tie the fluke hook to that. No more snarls, and its a very cool looking presentation - bait chasing something.

They seem to do a good job with their smaller, finesse hooks, like the Wide Gap Finesse and Split Shot/Drop Shot hooks. The bigger worm hooks are terrible. I bend them, break them, and frequently have the point roll over in cover. The trebles are a no-no with most baits due to the eye to hook alignment. One hook should be perpendicular to the hook eye.

LMAO...http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/mariano-rivera-spits/ Get a life, haters!!!!

Snap swivels suck. use a split ring, and a barrel swivel, like this:

Here you go Matt, fresh snow, and cold steel. From last winter, though. And a more "artsy" picture:

I had an older Series One Accuflex spinning rod. I loved it. Was eaten by a ceiling fan. Sad part, it wasn't even on. That rod had a really great grip:

I've seen this first hand as well at "lunchtime pond." I think its important to note that while I have had HUGE success with frogs this year, I don't fish them the way most others do. I don't dead stick the thing, with a twitch here and a twitch there, I use a super fast jerk bait retrieve. The only reason I use a frog, is due to the cover. Bass eat them for the same reason they eat a spook bait: something edible and catchable is nearby. I've written before about my correlation between dragon/damsel fly activity and toad style baits as well. I really think we're imitating a bug, not a frog. But, I have seen fish eat frogs. I've even seen frogs eat frogs, LOL. Perhaps hunger overrides flavor? Oh, and Paul, this one's for you Not to go too off topic (crap, Paul and I are posting in the same thread ), but unless the photo is showing the fish clearly with some reference and/or measuring device, it serves no purpose to prove anything about the size of the fish. Therefore, I like to make a picture that captures the excitement and pride of the angler, in their moment of glory. In this way, it more an environmental portrait, not a document of the catch.

I can tell you as fact that they eat them. Our next door neighbors on Port Bay, had a pond with three big largemouth in it. As kids, we would catch leopard frogs, and feed the bass. They would actually follow us around the edge, waiting for us to chuck them in. They did not spit them out.

I don't see that issue, but I retreat after each trip, per the instructions. I have a suspicion that what you are seeing is dried debris from the water. I used to see this even before using KVD L&L, especially on fluoro. I pretreat the filler spools before spooling up the reels, and some are at least a year old, adn they look as good as the day after I treated them.

If its BRAND NEW, take it back!!! I have a couple of older IR3s that squeal like a banshee. Its definitely the brake shoes making the noise. This will sound uncharacteristically low tech coming from me, but I've found that spitting on the shoes quiets it in a pinch, LOL. When you get home, take a Q-top loaded with a drop of high quality reel oil, and swab the metal ring in the brake case.

D.A.M. reels were the shizzlenit. I wonder why reel manus abandoned the wormdrive. That's another topic for another day.... And great answer, Paul.

No, but I usually trolled slower than that. Depends on the bait. Slower with deep divers, but with shallow divers, traps, and stick baits, you can vary the speed. More speed, incidentally, and you may draw strikes from toothy fish, so beware, if they are present in your water.

That's phase just after the spins. Drink through the "spins," and you get the "leans." Sad and hilarious all at once.

Not really, 18" is all you need, though I use one that is 6-12'. This prevents the braid from wrapping at the tip, and lets you retie several times. Alberto knot for the braid to leader connection.

They actually back up on the pause, making them great for running through cover. Most floating baits spiral up.

I like their Enticer football jigs. Other oddball items, like lure wraps, reel covers represent decent values. Their XPS Fluorocarbon is another good product. I used their Bionic Blades for years, not the greatest, but when on sale, they are great value.

If you are worried about braid spooking the fish, just use a fluorocarbon leader. I have good success with P-Line CFX leader material.

It depends on the size bait you are using, but for most 4-6" finesse style worms, the Gammy #4 Dropshot/Split Shot hook or Owner straight eye Mosquito hook. For weedless, the Owner Downshot hook is great in 1/0. For fatter baits, like a 5" Senko, I like the Gammy Wide Gap Finesse in 1/0.

If you are into skipping docks or working tight quarters, there was another rod that i liked very much, too. This time a spinner, LOL, AVS63MXF. Same rod, 5" shorter, but about half that was in the handle, not the tip. Cool rod for underhand, snap casts under docks and cover.