Dwight Hottle

Not the blank you asked about but I had a custom built on a MHX-TR844.5-3 blank for crankbaits & topwater uses. It has held up well and made a great travel rod for treble hook baits up to 1.5 ounces.

Same bait but in 3/4 ounce size. 9-4lbs

Great news!

Welcome to the club Mike. If you don't find it sounds like a good excuse to get a new outfit.

At least you still have your sense of humor. Speedy recovery.

A sports icon. RIP John Madden. I was reading a recap of his life this morning while drinking my coffee. His Oakland Raiders broke through with a loaded team in 1976 that won it all. That team had Kenny Stabler at quarterback; Fred Biletnikoff and Cliff Branch at wide receiver; tight end Dave Casper; Hall of Fame offensive lineman Gene Upshaw and Art Shell; and a defense that included Willie Brown, Ted Hendricks, Jack Tatum, John Matuszak, Otis Sistrunk & George Atkinson. Reading those names brought back lots of memories.

Well for fishing braid I use a MHM. The moderate action rod puts some give in the system when using non stretch braid to keep fish hooked up. If using mono or flouro which adds stretch to the system you can go with fast action or even xtra fast action if that's your thing. You need the MH power if using 3/4 or 1 ounce baits which I frequently do. If your only using 1/2 or 5/8 baits a medium action rod would suffice. Just remember when using treble hook baits you need some kind of give in the system to keep from pulling hooks out whether it be drag, rod flex or line stretch.

If it makes you feel any better I did not buy my first boat until I was in my late 50's. Working 6 days a week & figured I didn't really have time for boat ownership until nearing retirement. Rentals, guide boats & friend's boat allowed me to boat fish when I had the opportunity.

I'll go out on a limb and forecast Michigan takes it all.

I throw a lot of 3/4 oz & 1 oz jerk baits for bass so I think it should be fine.

Congrats on the new PB.

Keep hanging on it will get better. I'm sure we all appreciate you more than you appreciate us because you have given so much.

X2 and their fried chicken isn't bad either.

I'm both. But when I'm fishing for mrs big it's usually a slow presentation even if I'm using a moving bait technique. I had a fishing buddy who taped a sign on his tackle box SLOW DOWN as a reminder.

I have experienced the the opposite. Catching 7 or 8 bass on the same lure in 10 casts. Other experiences of catching schooling bass feeding on shad near the surface for over an hour on almost every cast. It does happen.

No I never fished that area except in the salt.

Roland is guiding over at Headwaters near Fellsmere.

My answer is you can get a really good quality rod or reel in the retail price range of $300-350. After that the law of diminishing returns starts to kick in. There are a few exceptions above that level that I feel are worth the price based on personal satisfaction but not necessarily form or function.

Congrats on the new PB! Congrats on the new PB.

I'll bite. Most of the time fishing in FL when they are not biting they are not in the space your targeting. I think our strike ratio is between 50-60%.

Happy birthday to both @Catt & @jbsoonerfan

Brad from a conspiracy viewpoint exterminator is the correct term for two legged animals.

Remarkable to have two over 15lbs in the same year in the same state from public waters.

So does anyone else question Glenn's motive in hiring an exterminator to moderate his web site?

I have always understood the personal liability with a debit card is greater than a credit card. Read the following link. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/credit-card-vs-debit-card-safer-online-purchases