Joe Boss

I have one large Rubbermaid pro series tackle box that I keep everything in that sits in my basement. I have several smaller tackle boxes that I fill with items from the large Rubbermaid box depending on what I am fishing for that day. I like to travel light, taking only what I need for the day instead of my whole collection. My favorite box is my Flambeau 1 tray with the little tool racks on the sides. The rack holds my pliers, forceps, scissors and knife so they are always in easy reach. Best invention ever!

I use a rag with plain old water. I just wipe off the surface dirt and the cork handle. It takes about a day for the cork to lose that fishy smell.

Same thing happened to me on a rod I purchased a month ago. It surprised me how easy the glue came off when I applied some pressure with my thumb nail.

I have my spinning 6730 president on a ML 6',6" St. Croix Premeir rod

I have the spinning Capricorn and it is one of my favorite reels. I saw the reel on sale last week at Dick's here in upstate NY for $59.99 same price I payed for it last year. They change their sale items every week so I can't promise it is at that price this week. Check out the Capricorn combos while you are there. They sell the Capricorn paired with a St. Croix Triumph for $130.00 discount price, on sale every so often for $119.00! Same price Spinning or Baitcaster. You got me stumped on what reel you saw. The only other Pflueger reel I know they carry is the Criterion but thats not all crome. Could it be The Quantum Escalade you saw?

Abu has a low profile Ambassadeur the 2005 model. I have one it has 5 bearings, wiffle spool and a flipping switch. Its pretty sweet deal at $50.00

I think you are talking about the Pflueger Echelon. http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2248720 I never buy anything at full price at Dick's. I always wait for the sale on their already reduced price. My Daiwa Capricorn lists online price of $139.99 Dick's has it at a reduced price of $79.99 and I got it on sale for $59.99. Same thing with my Daiwa Samurai back up combo, list price $39.99, reduced price $29.99 got it on sale for $19.99 If you wait around long enough the exclusive stuff always goes on sale.

I catch way more Smallmouth than I do Largemouth. It has to do with the area I fish. I catch them on Shiners and Worms when fishing with live bait and Senkos when fishing artificial. They like my Red Shad laminate and Watermelon Lemon laminate ones.

I agree 100% I learned fishing from my father and used his hand me down Ugly Stick and Mitchell 300 reel. When he realized that I was taking care of that rod and reel and not abusing it he took me to a bait store and let me buy a brand new set up with money I earned. It was a Quantum reel and a Ugly Stick, that I still have to this day. I learned my love of fishing and how to take care of my equipment from my dad. Now days we have graduated to St. Croix rods (I have a Premeir he has an Avid) and better reels (He has a Revo and I have a President) It always makes me laugh when I use my backup $19.99 Daiwa combo and catch more fish than his setup which costs about $300.00 My son is 4 years old soon to be 5 and he caught his first fish on a shakespeare superman spincast combo. When I see he doesn't treat the pole like a toy anymore I will give him one of my old favorites, a Mitchell 300X and a Berkley Lightning Rod. Someday I hope to take him to the local tackle shop to help him pick out his first rod and reel with money he earned just like my dad did.

I made a newbie fishing mistake the first time I cast an ultra-light split-shot rig into the wind

Daiwa for me. I love my Capricorn but I have a low end Samurai reel I take with me every trip as a back up. That reel can take some abuse and still land a ton of fish. As a matter of fact I was on a trip Friday and caught the biggest smallmouth of the day on it. I like Shimano's and Pflueger also, but I like Daiwa a little more.

I am in the 0-$25 range. Thats all I need to replenish my supplies (hooks, line, etc) and buy bait.

I have been "trying" to close the bail manually this year after reading that it prevents line twist and adds some life to the reel. Its been hard though, old habits die hard. Even when closing the bail manually I hate the free spinning rotor on the Sedona

I have a Shimano Sedona reel and a Shimano Slade reel. I normally use my Sedona on my Shimano Convergence rod and bring the Slade along as backup on a Berkley Lightning Rod. Lately I find I enjoy the Slade more. Its a cheaper reel with 2 less bearings then the Sedona. The problem I find with the Sedona is there is too much spin in the rotor. When I open the bail to cast it slides a lot of the time to a postion where I have to manually close the bail or really apply pressure on the handle to close it. The Slade doesn't do this. I did some reasearch and the only thing I could come up with is the Sedona has a floating shaft. Sedona FB reels have a Floating Shaft to reduce friction between the pinion gear and spool shaft for smoothness and durability. The Slade doesn't have this feature. Could this be the cause of the extra spin on the reel? Does anyone else have a problem with their Sedona's?

X2. Im pretty sure its illegal to put anything other than a Shimano on a Shimano . In all seriousness i would definitely go with a Shimano Symetre, i guarantee you will love it. I agree and I am not kidding. It's just a quirk with me I know but my crazy brain won't allow me to put anything but a Shimano reel on that Shimano rod. Like others have suggested the Symetre is a great choice.

I am just the opposite Aaron. I fish from shore with spinning reels. I like a long rod, 6'6" to 7'. I find the longest possible rod combined with the lightest possible line (6 or 8#) equals the farthest casting distance for me.

I have had the most luck with red shad laminate Senko's for smallmouth bass. Watermelon with green and red flake is a good choice.

I like to put a big old ball of worms on a hook (3 or 4 of them) for Catfish. Cast them out with a nice sinker to take them directly to the bottom and wait.

When I saw the red fishing line from Stren and Berkley I thought back to when I had my 55 gallon aquarium. I had an albino oscar and decided to buy him a tankmate. The fish I bought was a Driftwood Catfish. Nice looking fish but it hid all day long. When I went to my local aquarium supply store manager I asked about Driftwood Cats and he told me they are nocturnal and if I wanted to see him I should by a red bulb for my tank hood. I was curious and asked why. He told me something about the color red, fish don't see it. I didn't buy the bulb because I remember I had a flashlight with a red cover to it at home. I turned off the lights in my room that night waited a minute so I knew the Driftwood Cat would come out and shined the red flashlight in the tank. He was happily swimming about oblivious to the red light.I watched him swim for about half an hour, then I took the red cover off the flashlight flooding the tank with white light. The fish took off for cover and didn't come back out till after I put the red hood back on. Thats proof for me that fish, at least Driftwood Catfish, don't see red.

Most of my hooksets have been in the roof of the mouth or lip. I use the 5" Senko for dead sticking. I find that size works best so they don't swallow the bait.

I get skunked a few times a year. To keep from getting to bummed I make sure I catch something while I am out there. I might go on a trip for bass but I end up with perch, pumpkinseed sunfish, rock bass and an rare bullhead cat. I always carry an ultra light setup for sunfish if the bass aren't biting.

I live in Queensbury. I haven't been to Schroon lake this year only Lake George. The nights have been cool this spring, keeping the lake and bites pretty cold (for me at least)

I wonder if that method Micro posted will work on my Ambassadeur 2005 Low-Profile Baitcast Reel? Lately when I cast, it makes a screeching noise. Needs some oiling after to much backyard casting practice. I can't for the life of me figure out how to open it up.

Currently I have 14 rods.

Palomar is the best fishing knot ever!