Fishing Rhino

Mr. Twister original curly tail grub 3" or 4". Started out using the three inch version. It worked well. Tried the four inch version and it worked better. Color preference, chartreuse with flake, pumpkin, and purple, in that order. Was it due to the larger size, or a different day? Don't know, but I've stayed with the larger size. Having said that, when fishing resumes around here, I'm going to try stepping up to the six inch version.

I'm thinking you'd get fewer as the water gets clearer. My reasoning, and I'll acknowledge it may be flawed, is that in clear water, a fish can see a bait much further away, and has more time to "study" it before it is upon him/her. They can make a determination, even if it's by instinct, that the thing poses a threat or not. But if it suddenly appears, whatever thought they are capable of does not have the luxury of time to consider all factors, and thus are more likely to react. Probably the best way of putting it is they are less likely to be startled by something if they can see it long before it gets into their territory. I'm thinking about how our dogs react. If they are watching us, we can walk up to them, reach out and touch them, and they don't so much as twitch, except for their tails. But, if they are dozing, or their attention is elsewhere, and you touch them they jerk to attention because they are startled. Some skittish dogs will nip or make a nipping or biting motion instinctively though they may stop short of following through. That's what I consider to be a "reaction". On the other hand, if the bass are bedding, they will instinctively and intuitively respond to anything that enters their territory no matter how soon they can see it. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I've overcast into the emergent vegetation, and when I pull the lure free, a bass grabs it instantly before I can pull in the slack line. Just my observations, and conclusions.

Don't need to. Our refrigerator makes enough to keep us supplied. Sorry, the devil made me do it. :

April, unless I pack up and head south with my gear before then. Don't expect much until May, however. That was the best fishing years ago. But, and it's a big but, back then the pond I fish regularly now has only largemouth of the bass species. Back then it was smallmouth. Don't know if the spawn takes place at the same time for both. Anyway, this will be my first full year back on the sweet water, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm not suffering cabin fever, but suspect it will strike on sometime in March if we have a warm spell.

What did you use for a nail? I'm thinking a stainless steel ring shanked/annular thread nail should not react with the plastic, nor should it fall out, unless the plastic is quite fragile or delicate .

Where is it being held? Don't know if I want to go and have to deal with the temptation, also known as the bait monkey.

Do you remember the Carling brewery that was in Natick or Framingham? They had a tv ad which started, "From the shores of Lake Cochituate" with an Indian paddling a canoe on the lake. What you didn't see was that if the Indian had continued on another 50 or 60 feet, he'd have been in the middle of Route 9, which was just out of the camera's field of vision. That would have been in the mid to late 60s when we lived in Holliston.

You guys are cruel. ;D

Spot on!!!!!! It seems that all of a sudden we are concerned about buying American. The "outsourcing" started long before many on here were born. Most of the electronic manufacturing departed this country decades ago. Shoes? The same thing. Brockton, the home of Rocky Marciano, was once the shoe capital of the world. Today, it is a shell of what it once was. Fall River, New Bedford, Haverhill, Lowell, Lawrence, once major textile centers turned from boom towns to ghost towns when the textile mills moved to the South, beginning in the early 1900s, or early middle of the 1900s. My maternal grandfather was a mill superintendent in a Fall River mill. The mill moved to Georgia in the '30s. He could have kept his job, but it would have necessitated him moving to Georgia. He agreed to go to Georgia to help get the mill up and running, but once operational, he would retire to his home in Mass. He was a widower, and took one of his daughters with him. She met, and married a good ol' Georgia boy. A year later, I was born. Furniture sold in the Hickory, NC area used to be made there. Most of those factories are now closed, and the furniture is being made outside of the country, a lot of it in China. Our Drexel House dining room set came from China. These and other businesses were outsourced long before there was even a mention of Gatt, NAFTA and all the other trade agreements. Heck, my 2007 GMC pickup was assembled in Mexico. What provides more jobs for Americans? Me buying an "American product" made in Mexico, or buying a "foreign product" made in the states? While I do not like these events, it is reality. It is easier for an American company to move its operations overseas today than it was for the textile mills of the Northeast to move to the South decades ago. Consider, those mills moved to the South for the exact same reasons companies move their manufacturing overseas today, to remain competitive in the marketplace.

Apparently you're not living up to your name. If you were, nothing would last that long in your hands. ;D

Bummer. I was about to suggest we get together for a round. For me, Titlest driver Ping fairway metals Ping G5 irons 4 - SW Titleist Vokey 60 degree lob wedge Odessey two ball putter Play at Newport National

I'm on a golf kick at the moment. This thread reminds me of the "What's in the bag" article in golf magazines that tell what a pro golfer usually carries in his bag. Here's mine. I doubt it will change much since I have much to learn before I spend more on weapons. Three Extreme spinning rods, two medium heavy, one medium, with Shimano Saros spinning reels. All 6' 6". One Johnny Morris signature spinning rod and reel combo, medium heavy, 6' 6". Bought because it was 70 dollars off the 229.00 regular price. Five baitcasting rod combos. Two Nitros. One extra heavy that can handle lures to 6 oz, and 40 pound test line. For tossing wake baits. 7' 10" The other a 7" heavy action used mostly for 4 - 6 inch soft plastic swimbaits. Three extreme combos. All with 7.1:1 reels. I figure it's easier for me to slow down my retrieve than to really speed it up when necessary. Two 6' 6", one 6'. A 7' 10" heavy Two six foot medium heavy rods. Two of the three extreme combos were 99 bucks, the other 129. The Nitros were 199 and 209, bought on sale from the regular 229. As an aside, the Nitros are either much easier to adjust or more forgiving when it comes to preventing backlashes. Backlashes with either are very rare now. I'd like to think some of it is due to my improvement as well. I've got a total of about $1400 invested in 9 combos.

I was a successful commercial lobsterman. I had a boat that was a "slab", an old Novie lobsterboat that had seen better days. As boats went, it was in the bottom 10% of boats that fished out of Westport. Yet, I consistently outfished everyone else fishing the same waters. A good friend once told me, "Tom, you do all right with that old boat." My response to him was, "Milt it's the man in the boat, not the boat the man is in, that counts." His reply, "Ouch!" Remembering my late friend, among other things, I'll remember him for this. He was having problems with another fisherman setting trawls over his, and they got into a heated "discussion". At some point the other guy said, "I know karate." Milton asked him, "Are you faster than a speeding bullet?" End of discussion.

While my "experience" doesn't qualify me to state it as you did, that has been my impression since I started fishing again, and buying equipment to do same.

You hit the nail on the head. Here are a couple of photos which show my first combo. The front grip on the pictured rod is an elongated football shape. Mine was straight. Other than that, the color of the rod and eye wrapping is identical. The reel is the same model however. There is a reason early spinning reels were known as coffee grinders. In spite of being crude by today's standards, I managed to catch a lot of nice fish on two and four pound test line. I also lost several who were able to make a run into the vegetation or rocks. http://fishingcollectables.com/images/r223.jpg http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Pflueger-Freespool-Spinning-Reel-NR_W0QQitemZ120319943780QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Fishing?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116#ebayphotohosting

It was only this past June that I resumed fresh water fishing. Since it was in my budget, I decided to upgrade my equipment, a single spinning rod that is nearly 50 years old, and in dire need of reconditioning. All my gear falls into the less than one year old category.

LOL. One of my buddies uses this expression when he buys a new set of clubs. "I'm trying to buy a game." Most of us do the same when it comes to fishing. A new rod, a better boat, cutting edge electronics, all bought with the dream that we will become better fishermen as a result. I cannot find fault with your rationale. I too succumb to the latest and greatest syndrome. I "rediscovered" the joy of fresh water fishing after a nearly 40 year hiatus. In late June, I purchased two spinning combos and a baitcasting combo. What prompted that, was a canoe I bought my wife for her birthday. She has yet to set foot in it. I had been considering taking up fishing again as something I could do in my retirement years. With a small private pond, only a few hundred yards from our home, and, having access, I decided the time had come. It was my favorite pond in my youth, and the intervening forty years have done nothing to it to change my opinion. Back then, it was prime habitat for small mouth bass, and I was astonished when I hauled in a largemouth on my first trip back to my old haunts. The smallies are now gone. Apparently someone introduced some largemouths into the pond, and they took over. I'm not going to complain. It is now easier to catch greater numbers of larger fish. Having said that, I do miss the aerial acrobatics and fighting ability of the smallies.

I've seen some threads on here the past couple of days about which rod is best for what. I find myself chuckling, because it reminds me of another of my passions, golf. Which golf club is the best? Hmmmmm, the best golfer in the world, Tiger Woods, uses Nike clubs. Is it because they are the best, or they offered him a number he could not refuse to play them. By the way, he does not use a Nike putter. He uses a Titleist, Scotty Cameron model. Tells you how much more critical the putting game is than all the other shots. I doubt there's enough money to separate him from that club. There are clubs for every purpose and situation. And, so it is with fishing rods. Anyway, it comes to mind that once upon a time, I only owned one rod, a Shakespeare Wonder Rod, seven feet long and as flexible as a buggy whip. I still have that rod, and with a little wrist action, I can make it spin like a lasso, without the loop. That rod has caught a 7 lb 14 oz largemouth, several 5 - 6 pound small mouths, a 36 inch chain pickerel, my first Striped Bass on a Striper Strike topwater plug, and stripers up to 12 pounds, plus panfish. Heck, I've even trolled seaworms for stripers in the Westport River and the ocean with that rod. I'll admit I was, and still am ignorant of the specific uses for the many types of rods available today. One thing I know for sure, I had many a great time with that old rod. It bears the scars and evidence of the abuse it endured. Some of the eyes are held in place with adhesive tape, others bandaids. Nonetheless, it survived, and together, we created many happy memories. What's the best rod? The best rod is not any particular brand or model. It's the rod you hold in your hands and brings enjoyment to you.

Try bending the arms a bit closer together. Won't work with titanium versions. It needs to be bent where you tie the line on so the arms stay straight. Bend in slight increments rather than over-bending. Use pliers or forceps.

Call them before you go. It's an hour's drive for me. If I'm going for a particular item, I call to see if they have it, or them if it's more than one item. They'll put your name on it and hold it for a day or so. No deposit required. I've done it for a fish finder, a couple of combo rods and even a particular plastic worm in a specific color. They had five packages of the item I wanted, and they put them aside for me. Once in a while you may run into an employee who is reluctant to do it. But, it's been my experience that when you tell them you've done it before, or ask to speak to their supervisor, they will comply. We lived in Eastham for just over three years, from '69 - 72.

I watched the videos. One thing's for sure. Before I wet a line this year, I'm going to get some of those baits.

In New England, hard shell clams are also known as quahogs. Your product gives a whole new meaning to "stuffed quahogs". Stuffies as we know 'em around here.

Funny thing. I read the clear your cache post a few days ago, and I did just that. I used disk cleanup which I believe does the same thing. A few days later, I got the banned message, and wondered what I had said. Duhhhh, I did not link that with the cache problem. Fortunately I have Low Budget Hooker's email address. Thank goodness for that. I remember reading in the rules, no warning, no discussion, you're gone. I was pretty much resigned to my fate. Once the forum does not recognize you, there's no way to contact anyone through the forum. I'm wondering if it's possible to send an email to members regarding the banning/cache problem. Some might give up if they get that message.

Here's one of my favorite sites when looking for new waters. Some of the reports may be out of date, and it doesn't include all the fresh water ponds and lakes, but you may find it helpful when looking for a change of scenery. http://www.boatma.com/pondsonline.html Here's a page for Lake Cochituate. It shows depth lines, access points, types of fish, bottom composition, structure, vegetation and other pertinent info. This one is ten years old. http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/maps/ponds/pdf/dfwcoch.pdf

Piano hinges will work well. You may have to glue a strip of wood to the bottom of your door and frame so that you can affix the hinge to the edge of those pieces with the hinged edge flush with the surface. Keep in mind, this coniguration will not allow the doors to open much past 90 degrees. However, it does add inherent stiffness to the assembly. You can also recess the pieces to surface mount the hinge, flush with the surface. Install with the hinge pin down. This will allow the doors to open a bit more than the edge mount method.