J Francho

You're basically looking at a meticulously maintained Chevy Aveo with 300,000 miles on it. If you want that, then go for it. Its a mistake to buy that boat.

Since I had that rod, no. use the spinning gear, or get a medium/xfast rod for weightless Senkos.

No.

I'm speaking from experience - experience in breaking tips, LOL, ;D

All you would have to do to see that you are wrong is grab the rod tip and note the deflection, and then grab it further down the blank, noting the deflection. If you lop off the tip, the rod is going to be slower, especially on a fast rod. It might not make a difference on a parabolic rod.

I'm going to take a different approach here, and instead of recommending a specific bait, I recommend you examine just what you were doing on the water. You say you were fishing old docks, because that seemed like a good pattern. How so? The only pattern you established was not catching. Think about the times fishing old docks was good for you. Is there a pattern, or a common link to those successes? I bet sunny conditions prevailed, as I've always found that bright sun tends to concentrate fish in the shadows created by the docks. They use the darkness as an ambush point. Also, look for deeper water close by, and some main lake structure, like a windy point nearby. Why fish something ALL DAY, and come up with nothing? Perhaps location was the issue. I would have moved out, tried the inside weed line, outside weed line, fished main lake points, shallow weedy flats, creek mouths, etc. 99% of the game is finding the fish. You've got to do that first. Then you can go about figuring bait size/profile and color preference (if any). In the process of trying to locate fish, use a bait that covers ground. Tossing wacky worms is not a search bait, and while you may get bit, its more like dumb luck. Spinnerbaits, traps, cranks, flukes, topwater spooks, buzzbaits, etc. All cover lots of ground. Once you locate a few fish, then you can ply the area with slower, more horizontal baits, like t-rig creatures and worms, jigs, and even Senkos.

If you want to fish a Senko deep, try a drop shot rig with a 4' drop line. This expedites the bait to the "zone" and then delivers the free fall presentation that the fish love.

Photos? That's only a few oz. off the RI state record.

Checked out the pics too...ever hear the expression, "Big hat, no cattle"? Where are the Texas Toads?

A Lund will last a lifetime. A 15 year old entry level Nitro is on its last leg.

Follow along with the three videos. Works with 8/0 Owner SSW hooks as well. Once rigged, drop in weed pockets. Hop a couple of times, no fish, try the next hole. Set the hook HARD. http://www.burniehaney.com/blank.html

Daiwa Goldcast. Way better that the Omega.

http://www.hatterasoutfitters.com/ They are great for round Abu upgrades.

Try an experiment. Put a hook in a glass of water, and reply when its dissolved. Might be a while.... Get the hooks out. Seriously. This will help: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1128002349/22#22 Now that that's done.....Congrats!!! Some very nice fish!

$50 to $80, depending on condition.

If I could afford it, I'm sure there would be very little buyer's remorse, LOL.Seriously, I know times are tough, but man, its just money. If it doesn't break you, then buy what you want. I know guys that spend tens of thousands on camera gear, and don't even take it seriously. They just enjoy nice stuff.

Trophy Northern water usually = trophy bass water. **************************** Excellent catch, Dwight. Gotta love those German Shepherds with fins

Keep the Lund.

A friend of mine fishes Steez combos....nicest rod and reels I've ever held. Get a rod sock and a reel cover to protect your new toy; should run you about $12 total.

http://www.brooklynbillstackleshop.com/ http://www.japantackle.com/index.html http://ichibantackle.com/

You could be right. But how does Haemophilus piscium sound? LOL, the name means very little to me, but the picture in Textbook of Fish Health by George W. Post looks very close, as does the description: I wish I could show you the photo. Its a DEAD RINGER. The text says its common in trout. Makes me wonder if exposure to infected trout is why its prevalent with those bass. If there isn't any trout in the water, then I have no clue. Anyway, its weird that its only on the gill cover, and most would attack the flesh. Even if it was a lamprey, they fee on blood and flesh, and rarely kill their host. So, they usually attach to the body, and my own personal experience bears this to be true in trout in my waters. I think WRB has it nailed, though. Some parasite attacked the fish, possibly targeting the gill area, and the rest of that wound is a typical Aeromonous bacterial infection. That's about as far as I con go. Thanks for showing the picture.

A 5 pack of 3/0 Gammy EWG's are $2.99, whereas the same 5 pack of Owner Wide Gap Plus are 3.19. Does $.20 really make that much a diffrence? :-?

Sammy.

I figured you'd get a kick out of that one!

Here's a heavily customized version of Rauls fave: