senile1

That's some fun kayak fishing. That is a very nice healthy smallie too.

Very nice. I'm happy for you and your son.

Hey FishinDaddy, Does this need to be pinned for the duration of the contest? Also, will you be starting a thread for the recording of our "conquests" or will we just use this one? I PM'd you also.

First scratch? That sounds more like a near-disaster. I was going to respond that you will get a lot of scratches on the bottom of your boat but a two foot gash is serious business. But then, maybe your definition of a gash is different than mine. I'm glad your boat still floats and you are well.

Great! That sounds like enough bass to create another bass fishing addict.

Congratulations on your new PB! Very nice fish.

Yeah, casting competitions are a completely different world.

Paul, you should wright a book. When I was a teenager I had a book about upland bird hunting. In fact, I think the title was something to that effect. It contained stories about hunting upland birds, but with an eye for detail like you provide for your fishing excursions. I love reading hunting and fishing stories in that vein.

I'm superstitious. I always put my lucky stopper in my boat. Anytime I fail to do that is a bad day.

Good point. "Freshwater food restaurant" or "pond food restaurant" just doesn't seem to have the right ring to it.

Thanks, I figured you were using backing but I thought I would throw that out there. And 00 Mod's suggestion is awesome. I've seen his idea floating around on a couple of threads lately.

I believe 100 - 120 feet is not uncommon for casts and that is measured. Thirty yards is a bit short. I have copied a thread below that discussed this very subject here on Bass Resource. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/85092-casting-distance/

I may be misunderstanding this statement, but you still should fill your spool to within an 1/8 inch or so of the edge. If you only use 50 yards and aren't attaching it to backing to fill the spool your inches per turn of line pickup will be less and you won't be getting the full benefit of your reel's gear ratio. As for distance it depends on the size of the lure. I've never truly measured it. I only estimate. I think I can fling a zara spook at least 50 yards but that is a guess. As stated in a post above that may have been wind-aided.

I can imagine. I don't know much about it but I've had two trips of inshore sea fishing in the last 3 years and I love it. We fished Baffin Bay,Texas in 2009 and Mobile bay and out past Dauphin Island last summer. I could fish for redfish every day. It's like a tank on the end of your rod. And hook one over 30 inches and you're going to be playing it for over 30 minutes on regular bass gear. We caught some sea trout on both trips but they were all fairly small on the first trip. Last year I landed one that was around 5 lbs and it pulled like a tank as well. The strength of a bass just doesn't compare to these fish. I'm sure the fish we were catching probably can't compare to others in the sea, but they were awesome on our gear.

Yep, I have to limit my intake too. All indications are that I am healthy as a horse but my Mom's side of the family is genetically predisposed to have high cholesterol and I am one of the unlucky family members. It's the only medication I have to take. My older sister has this problem too. She is a vegetarian and she still has high cholesterol.

Everything goes to the backburner except for work. I have found that as my load of responsibilities has grown with age, I have less time for multiple hobbies and I have narrowed my hobbies down to the two I love the most - fishing and guitar. But, man, do I miss riding like a banshee through the woods and hills on a dirt bike. It's better to miss that than fishing though.

Bacon. Without bacon the end of all life on planet earth is an extreme likelihood. Without bacon, there is no reason for living. Without bacon this world as we know it would cease to exist. Period.

I fish some muddy lakes too. I have the most success with pitchin' and flippin' jigs and plastics as close to cover as possible. I use dark green pumpkin and black/blue colors the most for these lakes.

The housing association for my neighborhood does not allow boats in the driveway for any length of time and we keep our vehicles in the garage, so I keep my boat at a storage facility that uses high chain link fences and barbed wire around the entire facility including a locked main gate. Also, different sections within the facility are fenced and gated as well. Covered storage and outdoor storage are available. I pay for outdoor storage which is $25 monthly, and $137.50 if paid 6 months at a time. No other storage facility in the area comes close to that price, though they have nicer indoor facilities. I have a heavy duty cover that I had custom made for my boat to keep out the elements.

I've been using Powell rods since they came out with the Max line in 2006 (or somewhere in that time frame) and I currently have 6 of them. I think they are one of the better rods in their price range.

I've kind of felt that way about Hook n' Look from the beginning. I've still watched many of the shows and the underwater sections can be quite interesting. I know the hosts of fishing shows have to come across as personable but sometimes I think they try so hard it seems less than authentic. Of course, it is easy to criticize when I'm not the one in those shoes.

How can one not be impressed with Clay Dyer. What an amazing person! When I first read about him a couple of years ago I was completely blown away. He is not only an inspiration to bass fishermen but to everyone in any line of endeavor.

Don't sell yourself short. I'm sure you can do just as well as some of the other writers here. Give it a whirl.

Generally, I go when I get the chance, but if you have a choice, my guess would be that the better day would be Sunday since Saturday is only one day after the cold front that dropped the temperatures on Friday. However, you never know. Sometimes the bass don't follow our guidelines. Personally, I would go out both days if I could.

Very nice. That first one is a bit of a toad, isn't she? Did you get a weight on her?