SirSnookalot

Bilgerat maybe right purity was not the best choice of words. This I do know, Great Lakes water makes wonderful baked goods, the ethnic bakeries up there make goods that I've never tasted anywhere else. Growing up in Detroit bottled water was never a thought until we visited other areas of the country. Just basing that on the taste itself, not the content, Florida water tastes like sheeeeetttt.

Those aren't real bagels.........not even made the way a proper bagel is, nothing but bread dough. The same can be said for Dunkin Donuts, Einstein's or any other place that doesn't boil them in water first, then bake. The key to bagels and other bread items is the water purity, the best come from Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland, NYC is just so- so, Florida bagels stink, haven't had a decent bagel or kaiser roll since I left Detroit.

I've pretty much resigned myself that I won't be using Lotus 1.2.3 spreadsheets, not that I won't be trying like hell to use it. Excel is ok, I'll just get used to it, luckily I'm not longer in business and my usage is not near what it once was.

My new computer will be windows 7 64 bit. I have already converted my files to .xls and saved them to disk. I will have to get office suite 10 which contains excel.

Been there and done that with symphony both 3.0 version and 1.3, no go. I like my lotus spreadsheets and prefer to stick with it. I also have Corel spreadsheets that I have in case of lotus failure for back up, it's very very similar to excel so I have some basic knowledge. The plan is this, as everything I want is already in Corel, I can save each file as a .xls file (which I have already done and loaded on to a disk). I have been able to open those files using excel viewer so I'm fairly confident I can paste the data into excel, that's the plan at least. Yes a shame I didn't upgrade to professional win 7 to use the xp mode, but being totally unfamilar with windows 7 I'm not sure how to utilize it. As my unit hasn't been shipped I may call and see if they can still upgrade me, it would save me a lot of time. Hours of google research has led me to believe there many people that feel the same as I do about Lotus 1.2.3 and are trying to get around this. Ain't no doubt in my mind I'll get it solved.

My kind of fishing does not require a very sensitive rod, although I think the line(braid) makes a world of difference. I need backbone as my fish rip the rod out of your hands and don't want to give it back, Hurricane Redbone. I use a light bone and med bone for my freshwater fishing, not much around here I can't with those guys.

Things are always changing, I'm now into Penn (conquer), class of the field in it's price range IMO.

During the recent slowdown in access to the BR site I took the opportunity to research then order a new computer and backing up my data. What is annoying me to end me is how windows 7 will not allow the use of older spreadsheets (lotus 1.2.3), I've got my entire personal and business life on them. It's seems hundreds of people have the same complaint, or so I've read on line trying to get around this problem. I have read many fixes that don't really work, at least not to my satisfaction, like openoffice.org and lotus symphony. I do believe I have found a way around the problem but very time consuming. Had I realized that win 7 home does not support virtual xp mode, I will have to use Zintsall and or buy office suite or excel 2010. A slim chance that one of my present programs will work (I give myself a 1 out of 10 shot). A big thumbs down to Microsoft for creating a situation for so many people that should have been avoided.

Great fish, great trip !......A shame some many people have no interest in these majestic fish. At my age I'm done with fights that last over an hour.

Any reel with a small crank handle, round and especially made out of foam does not even get consideration from me, I don't care how well the reel performs and super lite is not as enticing as it once was for me. Just about any of the major brands make a reel that will do the job more than adequately. I own reels from about 6 different companies and I like them all, many recommendations are based on ownership of 1 brand name or 1 model. In today's world it's hard to make a mistake buying a new reel, they are all pretty good.

Most smaller saltwater reels (4000 series)have similar max drag ratings,and depending on what you call large fish should hold enough line, especially if it's braid, I've been spooled a number of times using larger spinning reels. Once you get into 5000 reels the weight does jump up,and so does line capacity and drag. I'd be more concerned in how that reel matches up with the rod, the drags and performance of those reels are pretty close. I have my favorites, doesn't make them the best just makes them the ones I like, I'm in to Penn Conquer these days. Where I'm going to use that reel would have a lot to do with what I'd pick, I have different choices for inshore and offshore.

Well done but way over the top. I would never do business with anyone like that. I'd only be interested in the merchandise for sale, not an appraisal of a domestic situation.

I would use 10# braid on that sahara and mount it on a calico jack med 8/17 rod I've caught larger bass on that rod not mention snook that were even bigger.

Always.........I see no reason for me to use a scale and do the the math to set my drag, I know what I want, it's like riding bike, you don't forget. Not unusual to adjust the drag as I'm fighting a fish, especially the saltwater species, usually by palming the spinning spool, sometimes manual adjusting.

I only fish spinning gear and being mostly a saltwater fisherman I do own rods rated for 2 oz lures. A number of companies make inshore rods that would work fine, they come in all price ranges.

Real world and drags are always set by feel.

I always thought Michigan was humid, until I moved to South Florida, then I discovered what high humidity is about. In Michigan the weather changes, hot days then cooler days, in Florida and other parts of the south it's hot and humid everyday without a break.

First of all......WELL SAID LUND ! Whomever said that one of the problems is system abuse is right, here is the abuse as I hear it. Florida Governor Rick Scott's wife owns the majority of the company that is doing the testing($62million in ownership). Rick Scott moved his shares in Solantic into the Frances Anne Scott Revocable Trust, prior to moving the shares into his wife's name he was involved in running the business. Welfare recipiants must pay up front for the testing, money that they probably don't have. Columbia/HCA (Rick Scott)was involved in one of the countries largest medicare fraud cases, Columbia settled. This law has absolutely nothing to do with the poor abusing the system, it has everything to do with lining the pockets of the already wealthy.

I'm not in favor of drug testing for welfare recepients. It targets people that may be as law biding as anyone else, just because a citizen may look like a marginal character does not mean that they are one. Sure there are some abusers and I agree it's not right.

Strictly my own preference, only time I use soft jerk baits is when I have to contend with weeds and other obstructions where weedless is the way to go. My choice is the hard bait, better hookups and easier to set the hook, especially with braid.

SoFlaBass gave a pretty good answer. IMO Floro leaders are one of the biggest con games going, I use those leaders very sparingly now. The only time I use it is when I'm offshore fishing for Kingfish, but in reality I get no more bites than I do with Ande mono leaders. I always use leaders and for the majority of my fishing (freshwater & inshore) I just cut my leaders from Ande or Big Game mono. I only use specific leader material when I'm offshore. I only use loop, clinch, improved clinch double wrapped(braid only), I have no need for any other knots, tie them right and they hold.

The wedding band was a giveaway. I fish a lot of plastics, mostly DOA or Mirror lure, Bass Assasin and Zoom used for my bass, snook and tarpon. All 3 fish pretty much strike the same way by inhaling the bait, they have no teeth. Some baits last but a fish, others I catch many fish before they need to be thrown away. Baits, hooks and jig heads are cheap, preservation is of no importance to me, catching is all that matters.

I don't have a bass addiction, I have fishing addiction. I fish for a wide range of species in many different venues, bass are a part of that addiction....as long as my rod is bending I'm happy. A nice benefit being in Florida, something is always hot.

Can't remember seeing fish weighed on TV programs, I personally don't think it would add much to the telecast. Many saltwater shows unhook the fish in the water never taking them aboard, they don't weigh either.

I've been retired about 10 years, fish nearly every morning. I'm up no later than 1:00am, leave the house about 3 or 4 and head to the ICW or beach,for me nothing beats fishing the beach just before and after sunrise. I reserve my afternoons for some bass fishing, in the cooler months. All in all I get a lot of fishing time in and fish for a wide variety of species. Good luck in your retirement, just go fish, I meet up with lots of people I know before sunrise.