senile1

How you is?

Welcome, Mike.

How can I top that? Well, let's see . . . . Who's your Daddy?

Jake, there is a recent thread on this subject. (See link below.) Powell rods are excellent at their price point. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1212364556

@#$% the Cubs. They've now won nine in a row. Somebody needs to beat these guys.

I think I would have to choose some master hawgers rather than professional tournament fishermen. My choices would be two people from these forums. Randall and fourbizz I would want to fish where they normally catch their hawgs.

I have my house, cars, and boat all covered by American Family. The prices are competitive and every claim we've ever made has been handled nicely. (Example: Two years ago, hail damaged our roof, which wasn't obvious to anyone unless you climbed up and took a close look. We received a complete roof replacement with no problems. My next door neighbor uses State Farm and they only approved minor repairs to his roof.) Our auto claims have been handled nicely as well. I have never had any boat problems to make a claim on. That's not to say that American Family is perfect. I would bet that all of the insurance companies turn into enemies when you have a situation that includes large medical claims, long-term disability, or death and dismemberment. But for the regular stuff, American Family has served me well for 27 years.

. . . . or a T-rigged Tube. If you are serious about having never used the t-rig, you absolutely have to add this to your techniques.

I know what you mean, Catt. I grew up on a farm and now I live in Kansas City. I'm still a good 13 - 15 years from retirement but my wife and I have agreed that we want to get out of town and closer to a nice lake when we retire. I hope she doesn't change her mind.

Thanks Senile! It's way more luck than skill (and of course access to some great ponds). It's been a fun spring, I just hope it continues. Give me a holler if you're ever down this way visiting. You don't give yourself enough credit. I'll have to take you up on your offer. My parents still live in Sikeston, but my kids are up here with me now. The next time I'm going down there I'll give you some notice. Tight lines.

For you guys that are using Allstate, they have really received some bad press over the last year or so. Have you guys heard about their Powerpoint training slide entitled, "From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves?" There is enough smoke to believe there is a fire somewhere. Check out the links below. The second link is a site for Allstate agents and almost every listing on the site is for some legal issue they are experiencing. Most of the complaints begin when you have to file a claim with them. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/5174420.html http://www.napaausa.org/news.asp

I just sold my old boat with a livewell in the front and this is the same thing I did. It does make for a great cooler. For smaller boats with smaller motors, I don't like the idea of having a full livewell in the front. I believe it causes problems getting up on plane.

Daniel-son, you're on a roll, Dude. This fish is only about a week after your 7 lb plus PB!!! Wax-on, wax-off, wax-on, wax-off.

I've had some luck at Smithville with Senko-type worms, but I usually don't use them when the water is muddy. You're right about Smithville. It gets tremendous pressure. Usually, if you can put together 7 or 8 hours on the lake, you'll catch a few though. There's still some 6 - 8 lb'ers caught there every year.

RW stated: RW, you and I are inhabiting alternate universes this year. This has been my worst Spring in a long time, mainly due to weather, my work schedule, and fishing the lake from hell, Smithville Lake. I have been lucky to get out once a week, and usually I can't put together more than two or three hours. You fish when you can and it seems every time I can get out the weather isn't cooperating. In March and April we had nothing but cold, muddy water and I was skunked three of my first five trips. I have fished muddy water in all but one of my trips I've taken this Spring but I haven't had success with the lures I usually use in muddy water. Spinnerbaits, traps, cranks, and dark jigs with rattles have been very hit and miss. Of course, when you are limited to two or three hours you are generally just figuring them out when you have to leave. Fish have been very tight to cover and very tight-lipped. Sight fishing has been out of the question. My go-to lures in the mud have been some older Strike King KVD tubes in Watermelon with chartreuse skirt and t-rigged. Go figure. Watermelon has never been a great color for me in the mud but I guess the fish can see the lively chartreuse skirt. I have to be spot on with my pitching to get a bite. But things have improved the last few trips, so hopefully the post-spawn bite will be good. Our bass spawned a month late this year, due to the weather, and the spawn is just finishing up. Or maybe I should say there could be a couple of more weeks of spawning left. Temperatures weren't close to right for spawning until mid-May.

I have not tried them though I have received some of their literature in the mail a couple of times. I was a bit wary. Usually when you read something that sounds too good to be true it usually is. It sounds like you like these rods. That's good.

I think it's a sharp-looking reel, including the green color. 8-) I'll wait until I can read a test or hear some info from real-world experiences with the reel before I pass judgment on it. Until then, it's a Shimano, so I'm excited.

The Cardinals are playing good ball but they just haven't been able to catch the Cubbies. The Cubs are the best team in baseball at this moment.

Dude, I don't know what to say. If I were near you I'd take you fishing every chance I get. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER OREGON MEMBERS???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Step up and help out BassChump.

Good choice!!! You're the man, CJ! Congratulations!

Good review and informative, ww2farmer. We need more people on the forum to review the rods they've actually used.

Micro, go to powelco.com to check out Powell rods. I have four of them and I think they are some of the best rods in the $160 - $200 price range. At $130 dollars you can't beat 'em. I own the following: 683CEF - Casting rod, Medium-heavy, extra-fast tip 684CEF - Casting rod, Heavy, extra-fast tip 703MEF - Spinning rod, Medium, extra-fast tip 684CB - Casting rod, Medium, Moderate fast, (Crankbait rod) The only one of these rods that I don't love is the crankbait rod. It's not bad, but it's a little soft for my tastes, even as a crankbait rod.

You're touching on something here that I was wondering about when I made the original post: Does an extra ounce or two in the reel decrease the vibrations we feel from the fish?

How could I forget the green monster?!

Thanks for the responses. I can understand that when one has shoulder or wrist problems (compounded by aging ) that a lighter reel could possibly make a difference. I want to see what some of the younger guys say, as I have seen posts from all ages that favor the lighter reels.