Big Tom

Maybe you should invest in a plug knocker/bait grabber. It has saved me a bunch of money and you won't have to worry about altering the business ends of your cranks.

Really friggin sharp ones, for sure! I don't think I can handle a Lucky Craft without getting stuck.

I really love how fast they are about orders. Like I mentioned before, I ordered a Powell around 12:00 pm on Monday. It was already on its way to me before the day was done and I should have it in my possession by Friday. And the shipping was free. I will gladly display that sticker for sure. Bass Pro cannot match this at all. I have placed orders on their website that took two days to process. There is no reason for that in my opinion.

I looks bent to me too. At the same time, the bends have the same uniformity. And it also seems that it would be really hard to bend a guide in that manner without breaking one or both of the feet. Its really hard to tell and it would be interesting to see a couple more pictures from different angles.

A Tackle Warehouse hat?!?!?! And combine that with free shipping?!?!?!? I gotta start ordering stuff from there more often.

I am getting my first (of many I am sure) sticker Friday with my new Powell. That place is way too awesome for my wallet. I got 60 bucks I know I should save but I just keep thinking about all the combinations of different baits that would fill my cart. I also need to stock up on P-Line too....so maybe I will have myself a 3,000 yard spool sent my way....

The Core is the only Shimano that has ever really gotten my attention. That reel is nothing short of sexy!!

Had some bad winds down this way too. A bunch of the trees that were weakened from the ice storm are on the ground now. My power was out for five whole minutes so I can't complain too much.

I am no politician. I'm just a cynical college kid that reads too much. I didn't mean to come off in a way that seemed to crap on your opinion. I apologize if it seemed that way. I think we can find commonality in that the current system ain't cutting it.

Muddy, you are nuts. ;D

The main problem I have with this is that I do not feel like alternatives are being researched as much or taken as seriously as they need to be. I feel like some (those in charge) would rather make more money off of the exploitation of people and resources now. It seems to me like we sometimes lose track of the fact we are not the only people that will be here. I think overall, we should start taking some responsibility so this earth is still a decent place for those that come after us.

I am not any good at it and I do not fish tourneys. This means I don't do it either.

I just really never understood why Baseball players are starting to have such a high reputation for using illicit performance enhancing substances. Seriously, its baseball. Maybe I am wrong but it seems to me that there are much more physically demanding sports out there. I am not knocking baseball at all...its just the nature of the game.

That is the best looking Shimano by far in my opinion. Let us know how you like it.

You could probably open up a can of worms with this one. I will say that I think it sucks to separate a bass from its eggs so I guess I could see the problem with keeping them for weigh-ins and then letting them loose far away from their nest. I will say that bedding bass do not usually make good tourney targets. While you may find huge fish, there is no guarantee that you can make that fish bite in an acceptable time frame. Maybe after you get a limit you can try but those fish are too unpredictable to count on in a tournament setting. But honestly, and as far as targeting spawning fish, I do not think its that big a deal. All of the bass do not spawn at the same time so as long as they are not getting hammered real hard throughout the entire spawning season I do not think the overall population will suffer enough to even show a difference. I am no expert though and this is only my somewhat uneducated opinion on the matter.

One of my fishin' buddies loves red hooks but I prefer good ol' nickel or black coating on mine. Some days he catches more and other days I catch the majority. If they give you more confidence then use them. When I am buying replacement hooks, I will never purchase red. I just don't like the way they look. If a bait already comes with a high quality red hook I will leave it there until its time to switch..but it has to be high quality. I personally do not think they work any better overall.

Burley, this is awesome!!! I look forward to the next installment.

It is alright. I said it half jokingly anyhow.

If nothing else, we are on a finite system as is. It may not run out in our lifetime but it is coming and its better to be preventative and still have the option then to deplete completely and HAVE to find another way. Its within our ability to come up with alternative methods too. The few guys on top with our policy makers in their pockets are the ones keeping progress for happening. Its obvious most people want something different.

I mostly feel hurt for the individual family members. Although daredevils put their life on the line often, its still a rarity that they go out in such a fashion. I get what you are saying in that you are not surprised when news of a daredevil passes but you got to feel something for them in that they usually go out at a young age. It just seems harder to lose young people. At least they die doing what they love and not spending their last remaining years regressing.

Yeah, that does make the decision a hard one. Maybe you can go to a place that has both and see which one feels the best on the rod you want to use it on. I don't think you will regret either purchase. The Skeet Reese Revo is neat looking reel too. It looks awesome and is really light too. It could be a little too flashy for some though...it is a really bright yellow. http://www.***.com/descpageRLCABUGAR-AGSRR.html Its close to the same price as the other two you are looking at.

I have felt like I have been played for quite a while now anyway. There sure has been a few people get ridiculously rich off of the gas 'crisis'. :

It would be neat to do this again but with Fluorocarbon. Not very cost efficient but I bet the weight increase would be pretty significant on this small scale. Neat test!

I though this was going to be another "one and done" threads where someone has one bad experience with a product and swears it off without really trying to do much about it. You have consistently had bad experiences with this unit. The customer service doesn't sound to shabby but they definitely have production issues. Thanks for the heads up.

The Magnesium series is a really nice rod. I have used one on several different occasions and it is light, strong and sensitive. The 7' Heavy model is the one I recommend. Its pretty versatile.