Kana

finernail clippers, on the retractable reels. hangs out of the way when youre not using it! but second is the configuration of waist packs that i have rigged to hold my tackle, sine i bank beat. think of it as a tactical fishing gear!

sweet now i actually have a reason to use the computer. i was having withdrawls bad, you know the twitching, shaking and coo-coo eyes. thanks for the new additions glenn!

awesome! way to keep your heads up and prevail. best of luck to your brother.

i love fishing with my dad, but being we havent lived close enough to fish together in 5 years, it is a little too long. but soon im going to take some time away and catch up on missed time (when i move back to the states). it nice just to be able to talk about any and everything, share stories just hang out. i dont mind fishng alone either, as i get to take soem time out, enjoy some music and let my mind cruise.

recreational, but i have my sights on joining a club and having fun with a little competition. nothing too serious as i agree with danno 100%. keep it reel keep it fun!

BR.C Larry Landers!

LBH sweet idea for EVERYONE, and in the end the kids benefit, and thats spectacular! and not to mention some good time fishin'! keep us posted all of us here are so anxcious (bad spelling sorry) to see it go thrugh and see our boys win!!!!!!!! graet way to step up russ.

since i bank beat, im looking for areas that if i was a fish, i would stick to. meaning cover and structure. whether it be docks, grass lines, timber, overhangs, riprap, or vegitation. weather (wind and air/water temp) dictates where i would start to work these points that have jumped out at me. i most often rely on what i can see, and experiences that would tell me what i have commomly found in other areas like those i seek out. after checking the spot, i either start with a crank, worm, c-rig or jig that would give me some clue to what is beneath the water that im not able to see. also i look for areas that look similar to my home waters of areas i have fished before. if im looking at a large lake or body of water i break it down in sections ruling out the center since im bank bound then look for "familiar" looking areas. a topo map helps but in japan are tough to find. so thats how i approach new water.

sweet deal avid! how did plastics fair? what was the top producer? hehehehe.....

nothing has been working for me, uder the same conditions, so i tied on the trusty mini ratl trap in chrome and blue and i was able to catch a few, casting in a nd around baitfish breaking the surface. but i found that a straight retrieve gets less action than killing the lure mid-retreive, or adding erattic jerks. just another option for you.

this will be the first year i will really commit myself to fishing throughout the fall and winter seasons. this thread was like a gold mine, now that im trying to find all i can on seasonal patterns. thanks!

Sweet, nice reward for time spent chasing that fish! Congrats.

Wicked! glenn, i thik yo madea great choice in selecting new moderators. Russ, and Chris, congrats boys! the best site just got better!

awareness to your surroundings! its number 1 in my book. but time on the water follows a close #2. i could go on about the areas in which i need to improve, but ill leave PRACTICE for #3 (apparently there seems to be no one thing that makes us better, but a combination of skills in which we put forth in locating, selecting lures and presentations, and catching fish.)

too have recently moved over to removing hooks, through the gill plate (very carefully) a while back RW posted a link to an artical that desribed in deatail this very post. after reading that post i was enlightened to the pros and cons, thus deciding to remove hooks if possible, instead of leaving them. forgive me for being too lazy to find the link, but its here. good topic for dicussion!

Sweet!!!!!!!!!! things like that are the reason so many gerat people stay at this forum and share with others, a bond like ive never seen on any forum! Thanks to Glenn, and to every other member that makes this site what it is, GREAT!

rw, ive fished the columbia many times when i lived in oregon. im with powerfish, there are some big girls but their numbers are pretty low compared to more smaller fish in sourrounding areas. Im not surprised the columbia made the list, its a great palce to fish!

jake i feel your pain. i left louisiana lakes for oregon lakes (big change, and the trout fishing in winter was nice when the bass were too cold to catch) but i got to try out riverfishing for LM ans SM, which in turn has prepared me for fishing rivers here in japan, which are by far more abundant for the angler looking to fish without having to pay! i too bought a fishing guide (for oregon) and found tons of places with great details that i would have never found by myself, it was an invaluable time saver! as for rivers look for structure as SM relate to structure more than cover. current is also a plus. when i go out on a river im looking for laydowns, rock piles/riprap, or man made/placed structure. as other have said roadwarrior has the best advise on SM fishing, awesome resource! welcome and good luck!

the monkey once jumped on my butt and bit it until i grabbed that new rod i was drooling over, and paid for it after an hour of playing with it. wait that was saturday, and I disagree still hurts! good thing the wife didnt kick it when i brandished my new rod. all i got was a "do you really need that, you only have two hands?" and the reply was "you only have 2 feet but you have 20 pairs of shoes!" we usually end on that note and just laugh!

ittler and chris thanks for sharing, i would have never got that on my own. i appreciate it.

yeah!!!!!!!!! thanks for the tips on tuning, ive been trial and erroring mine. how do you tune to get the erratic action you spoke of? is it possible to tune erractic-style on shallow, mid and deep divers? thanks for any advise you can throw my way!

looking forward to that! thanks for all the info you share!

sweet guys! i thought i had a pretty good handle on cranking, but i just added a ton of knowledge to what i already know, thank you. i love cranks and fish them whenever possible, so this post was AWESOME! thanks.

time to revisit the cranks, and vibration style blade baits. that is until it gets cold! but that wont be froa nother month or so, then looking forward to some jig action, and t-rig worms. maybe even SLOW-SLOW-SLOW rolling a spinnerbait witha fat colo blade.

stay strong. all thats bad, dosent stay bad forever. glad to hear youre not quitting, but using the time to bond and teach your little brother, he will never forget it and when hes older i thnk hell appreciate it more than you can imagine!