smlbass

I have found through my work in IT, google seems to be the best at putting things that are relevant and related near top of the search screen. When I don't know an answer or researching an issue, google is my first stop.

Can all the way... 1. Cools quicker. 2. Better taste. 3. Cheaper!!!

Makes me happy I don't have a secretary at work.... ;D

If the powers that be at bassresource see fit, I want to provide a method for members to communicate via Instant Messenger using Jabber for the server. Anyone interested? If it is acceptable to the owners, I will provide details to the board, otherwise, if you want to connect in real time with some of your board-buddies via instant messenger, drop me a PM. Tight Lines and CHECK YOUR DRAG!!!

Great Information!!! Thanks and bassresource comes through again! I know that starting this is going to bring the bait monkey on hard. Got a room ready for him in the basement. Still new to the idea of making my own baits, so I am sure I will be back again to ask some questions. Thanks Again!!

This winter, I am going to start making my own jigs. In searches through the forums and across the internet, there are so many choices of tools and methods that I have become sort of confused and indecisive about what to buy. What are your suggestions for tools and materials? I have several sites bookmarked and an order almost ready for both tools and materials. I do plan in the future to start pouring my own jigheads and trailers, but figured starting with painting and skirts to be the easiest route to take at first. What is the easiest path to take when getting into custom lures? I don't want to get started in something that will give to much frustration before it ever hits the water ;D Thanks folks for the suggestions!

The pic in my profile is a 20 lb cat caught on a shaky head worm down about 25 feet. It was a real fight using light spinning tackle and 8 lb test. At first, I thought I was hung on some brush under the water, until it started swimming diagonal from me!

I have only been fishing for a short while, but this is my story so far. I bought a St. Croix Premier Spinning Rod and played with it to get the feel before using it in a tournament. On the third cast during the tournament, I set the hook and the rod splintered between the reel seat and the first eye. I felt sick for a few minutes and then went the next day and replaced it with a Loomis IMX Spinning Rod. At least my mistake luck has given me the opportunity to upgrade. ;D

I live and fish there as well. Drop me a PM and maybe we can hook up over the weekend you are here. I have a boat and am willing to make an overnight adventure on the lake if you have the time. From past experience, the bigger fish are caught at night, but it really depends on where and what you are fishing. I have also found that if the fish aren't biting, it can be a VERY long night out there.

I bought my first boat this spring, a 2000 Nitro 640LX with a 50hp Mercury. After getting addicted to fishing, I see something much bigger/faster in my future.

I have a 50" plasma in the living room and a 19" LCD in the computer room and have had the same game console connected to both with HDMI. I can say that the plasma has a better picture with than the LCD, but I am comparing apples and oranges. The plasma is an LG and the LCD is a cheap Wal-Mart TV by Polaroid. The plasma will do 1080i and the LCD will only do 720p, so the degradation is understandable. I would suggest that you get the highest resolution you can afford whether it be LCD or plasma. The resolution that the set supports is the difference between an excellent HD experience and a "why did I bother" experience.

I know i wouldn't be able to concentrate with that as a co-angler. ;D That is one massive tow vehicle Skeet has in front of his boat!

I feel obligated to say this, but check out Smith Mountain Lake. It's located about 25 miles south of Roanoke, VA and has plenty places to stay on water, Sunset Cay - Indian Point come to mind real quick.

Welcome aboard. I know from personal experience, the nicest, most friendly group is on here. Enjoy!

I haven't found a partner yet, which is probably a good thing. My day off got moved a day up, so I am now off Thursday the 19th due to scheduling conflicts in the department. I moved my day since I didn't have anything planned except for fishing

Definitely a rain check. Lets hook up when your in the area.

Senior Network Engineer for a company that contracts with State Agencies for electronic toll collection. I am not good enough to fish full-time....

I have been in the local GM four times since it opened over a month ago. I have been a very dissatisfied customer all four times. I think I made one purchase in those trips. Customer Service has been very lacking. I don't think I have had one employee ever ask me if I needed any help. When I did have a question, I couldn't find anyone! We are fortunate enough to have a Sportsman's Warehouse also, and they do Customer Service right. It almost gets annoying having 5 different people ask you if you need any help while shopping in the same section. The selection at Sportsman's puts GM to shame also. I have been overwhelmed at times looking at the plastic wall that covers 1/2 of the store's back wall. They have dedicated 1/4 of the store to fishing supplies and they don't carry nearly as much clothing as GM. I was surprised when I went to GM that they had SO MUCH clothing. I hope other GM are different, but I only go to GM to see if they have something that Sportsman's doesn't have. As always, YMMV, but I have SO under impressed with GM and won't be using them as a primary supplier for my addiction to fishing.

Locally, we have Dicks, Gander Mountain and Sportsman's Warehouse in the big box retailers. Of those three, I prefer Sportsman's due to the HUGE fishing section, 1/4 of the store, and 1/2 of the back wall that is nothing but plastics. From what I have seen locally, Dicks has the smallest selection of fishing supplies. So don't be surprised that the fishing selection is limited to just a couple short isles of baits, I think ours has 6. Also, from what I have seen, the other retailers have a lower price on supplies than Dick's. When Gander opened, I did a price comparision of the three and Dick's was the highest and Sportsman and Gander being relatively close within a couple cents of each other. I sure hope your new Dick's has a bigger selection than what we have here in Roanoke, VA.

I scheduled a day off for June 20th and I am planning on fishing all day. Anybody interested in fishing Smith Mountain Lake or some other piece of water relatively close to SML? No boat, no problem! We can fish out of mine. All you have to do is show up at the launch we choose at the time we set. I have a burning desire to get on the water that day and would look forward to hooking up with someone new and wet a line together.

Welcome!

In a tournament, I have had a gut hook and just cut the line and left the hook in. In the most recent tournament, I had a fish with a gut hook and was bleeding very badly. I cut the line and left the hook in. I put some Rejunvenade in the livewell, as is my standard practice, with the fish after it stopped bleeding. This fish was weighed in as a live fish, three hours later, and the hook was gone from the gut. I hope it survived, but you can never be sure. What amazed me was the hook wasn't visible when looking in the mouth an hour later. The fish had actually gotten the hook down along with the string on the culling tag. I had to pull the string out of him after he had done whatever he had done while in the livewell. A dead fish is just an aspect of fishing. Sometimes its better to let nature takes its course and if they survive GREAT! if they don't, then it's a shame. I have been with my kids on the boat and cut the line to give the fish a chance at survival instead of ripping the hook out and definitely killing it.

NICE CATCH!!! That is truly a hog!

Very nice display! I keep all my tackle in the boat so my wife doesn't see it. If we take the kids out fishing, I just don't fish so she doesn't see it all, besides when the kids are on the boat, they are the primary focus. I would rather plant the seeds of angling than catch a hog when they are with me. That is until they want to go after bass and fish a tournament with me. At that point, all bets are off!

Gotta love it when rates go down. I was surprised how much it went down when I got married. As long as its going down, that is a good thing. I was pleasantly surprised when I insured the boat after purchase and it was a very reasonable 103 a year. And I will get 5% off after the boater safety course that Virginia is implementing.