fish-fighting-illini

Illinois is erratic but not chump change. They seem to play with anyone but they can't beat anyone. One week they can score and no D, next week they play D but don't score. Oh well it beats 1W-15L or whatever it was recently Missouri and Penn State had to earn their wins

Don't forget in #2 she will catch it on a Zebco 202 with a $2 rod thereby complaining about you spending so much time with the baitmokey. Thus your budget will get cut by 3/4 ths lol FFI - AKA Matt Crum

1st base: Have to think on this one 2nd base: Ryne Sandberg 3rd; Brooks Robinson or George Brett ss Cal Ripken jr Catcher : Johnny Bench Pitchers: The one and only Bob Gibson!,,Kofax Outfielders, Micky Mantel, Clemente, Babe Ruth, Lou Brock Muddy only you would have come up with the Mookie/ mook angle that was priceless! FFI - AKA Matt Crum

The sad part is the guy is not much better than Michael Irvin and Irvin is practicaly hailed as a saint. The fact they are both Cowboys doesn't matter one way or the other to me I don't have a bias. That they are both Cowboys probably does point to a big picture issue though.

Smart move Muddy. A true scholar is not always the one with the right answers but the one who can adapt to and outsmart the overall situation.

Thanks for taking the time RW. Good stuff

I'd have to look it up but what most of you are describing as "beltways" are called "bypasses". IE they "bypass" the inner art of a city and go around it. Perhaps they are one in the same? FFI - AKA Matt Crum

Depending on people's location maybe when it gets cold we could do a meet and greet in St Louis at BPS in St Charles? There is also a very new Cabela's quite close to the BPS. I saw several central IL. Perhaps we could meet part way and carpool some. Perhaps Daniel my B and Cart& could even make the trek? If more northern interest then we could meet at Bolingbrook in Chicago. Just food for thought FFI - AKA Matt Crum

Send it to Reel Mechanic it would be worth it in the long run

1) A long time ago someone mentioned the typical good times of day to fish ( early am and early pm ). At the time you mentioned one or 2 other times of the day that you thought were under utilized and very good producers. I've had some success recently at a couple of odd times of day. Can you tell me what they were again? 2) You mentioned once to never set the hook more than once. What's your overall logic for this? does it enlarge the hole that the hook made? or just risk ripping it out altogether? Or are you worried that most will create slack to do it? ( I'm worried about the times that I don't think I got a good hook set ) Thanks, FFi - AKA Matt Crum

Order the spring and if cheap enough order 2 in case it ever breaks or if they discontinue the series.

Some questions Do you know what rod and reel he presently fishes with? ( include brand and part# for the reel, brand, series and specs for the rod Example: 1/4-3/8oz M 6'6" ( some might say M fast or extra fast ) If you don't know do you know if he fishes with spinning gear or casting gear? What would be your total budget for the 2 items combined? ( keep in mind a decent casting reel can be $100 - $300, spinning $60-250, rods can go from $75-$350 ) Will he only want a specific brand(s)? Enlist his dad's help if you don't know how to get the info. If the items that get recommended turn out to not fit the budget just get a rod or a reel. He can always save up for the other. If you can give us the basic info we can help

I realise this is probably how it has to be done. I've read this same thing in a couple of other threads. This just sounds like a really bad design? With all the fuss about backing off drags when not in use, "locking down" the drag to remove the handle just sounds like a future drag problem waiting to happen.

That explains why you are a pretty good guy but close enough to the line to not quite be totaly normal! LOL

Hook per our pm congrats again on the hard work and the scholarship. B ased on your " spider response" I've come up with a recommended class schedule for your first college sememster. 1) how to take a joke 100 ( for freshman ) 2) reading comprehension 101 ( how to understand the meaning of what you read! lol 3) philosophy 001 ( how to anticipate other theories on what something might mean ( Feud stuff ) 4) Freshman orientaion tour - the really briallant minds like Einstein get so involved in thought that they can't remember where the cafeteria is Looks like you are a couple of classes short. I'm sure a BassResource.com reader or 2 will make a suggestion ( pretty much can count on it ) All above suggestions are in jest of course congrats again on the scholarship and the excellent work to date OK members have at him errr it I mean FFI - AKA Matt Crum

Great to see this question asked and with such an open mind is even better. Pflueger President $59 or less Pflueger Medalist $79 max Shimano Symetre $79 or less No experience but some of the Cardinals seem to have come a long way and are very affordable ( Tin loves some of the Cardinal series ) Gander Mountain GST series ( 30 or 35 size ) These are virtual clones to the Medalist and can be had often for $20 + ship Offer I have a GST40 size that I will sell for $20 + shipping Here's the catch He doesn't pay for the reel up front 1) he or you has to write a review ( good or bad doesn't matter, can be short ) If he likes it he buys it if he doesn't like it.... 2) one of you must know a deserving youngster and you give the kid the reel ( nobody pays, not even shipping) If no youngster in need he pays to ship the reel to Muddy for his program 3) if he likes the reel and money is an issue he doesn't pay Kind of a whacky offer Let me know if interested FFI - AKA Matt Crum PS hey Keith / Flech when is the big day?

Farmpond1 AKA ( Jeff ) was pretty kind in the thread. He failed to mentioned that in the LG bass perspect he spanked both his buddy and I. It was a great day for weather, a small BassResource.com member get together and a general all around god time. I'm thinking of starting a guide service as a result. " Hey lets go fish over there; you'll catch fish. I won't but somebody will" lol I'm still planning on being in town on Wed night Jeff. Thanks again for the boat ride!

I'm thinking " The itsy bitsy spider" ranks right up there with you?

Hey Reds, You are smart to start out with something relatively inexpensive. Why spend a ton if you aren't going to stick with it? As far as line ratings on reels. Usualy they have 2 or 3 ratings but only one rating maybe on inexpensive ones. It is a kind of a guide for what is the maximum size line that the reel can handle. 115yds - 20lb means that a maximum of 115yds of 20lb line will fit on the spool. You've got what is called a spincaster for a reel. The problem you are going to have is when you do catch a fish. The very low end reels are going to be tough to handle a fish of much size. They often don't last long and have fairly bad line on them. Fish what you enjoy and can afford though. Their is no wrong answer by the way people often refer to the rod as a pole. It probably comes from the days of cane poles. Don't worry about the semantics call it whatever you want and forget about what others think. For inexspensive I'd go with spinning rod and spinning reel. Wallyworld sells a Shakespere Excursion rod ( make sure you get spinning) for $15 and you won't have to pay shipping. It won't win any awards but it will be a start. Or by an inexpensive Gander mountain rod. Gander makes a very inexpensive spinning reel that imitates a much more expensive reel. It is the GST series. When you save a little money you can pick up a reel or a rod /reel combo. I'm not sure what the combo or the reel price is at the store. You can pick up the reel ( get the GST30 or 35 or 40 size ) on Ebay often for $20 or less in great shape. I will be selling a GST40 for $20 plus shipping. Let me know if you want it. The reel is like new and I will put some decent line on it for you. This is a slightly larger reel but would make for a good all around bass and catfish reel. I can give you some names of guys on this site as a reference. I'm not sure why someone said that worms were not a bass bait. The same people probably fish plastic worms a bunch. What do you think the plastic is imitating? Real worms of course! If you have a Gander Mountain store by you they seem to do pretty well at taking time with ustomers. Chat with them and they can guide you a little. They are salespeople though so be careful. Some rods have 2 ratings on them one is power ( medium for instance ) the other is action ( fast is an example). The lower priced rods often won't have both ratings probably just M ( for mediium ), ML for medium light, Just start with a medium 6'6" or a 7' Try to find an uncle or a buddy or a buddies dad that can give you some pointers. Feel free to pm me if I can offer any more advice. FFI - AKA Matt Crum

me too, I live down the street from Central grade school on Bobolink Also I think the lack of Illinois members on this section is the group of states we are lumped in with. We would all consider ourselves central US and associate with that group of states. Perhaps I will mention to Glen one of these days. FFI AKA-Matt Crum

I don't think it has made a difference so far but that Sox wild card playoff deal was a joke. You are penalizing a team for winning the division. They should have just had a tie breaker plan in place. Head to head or runs scored against or something. Making them go 2 days after everyone else isn't right. Heck it doesn't matter who it was but in theory it could have been a team that had the best rcord in baseball.

Trust me, it can't get any worse than this spider bite. :-X A good proctologist can take care of that for you. I think there is one up in your part of the country. He is kind a a thin guy, has really spiked hair and and drives a UPS truck part time! His doctors outfit is brown not white. Brown kind of makes sense for a proctologist! LOL

$3.30 here today down from $3.89 just a week or so ago

Because I'm assuming you don't want to run-around with a Unicorn horn sticking out of your orifice! That's why! LOL

On a side note I knew of 2 or 3 people who tried Chantix. It worked well but they had some side effects that could have been considerd borderline dangerous. Just keep your eyes open for problems. Have someone keep an eye on you as well. Let me know if you need more info. Continued well wishes to you.