Marty

Life does have a way of throwing curve balls our way. Hang in there. I know it's easy for me to say, but don't get too down on yourself and channel all that anger and frustration into the energy needed to find that next job and being the best that you can be. Best of luck.

Good luck, hope it works out well for you.

I've used duolock snaps for years, but use swivels only when using inline spinners. If snaps reduce action, I haven't been sharp enough to notice it.

I usually see those adjectives reversed. That is, moderate is usually applied to action and medium applied to power. In very general terms, conventional wisdom has a moderate-to-slower acttion for crankbaits so the bait is not pulled away from the fish's mouth too soon. For soft baits, a fast action is generally recommended so the energy generated by the hookset goes towards driving the hook home rather than flexing the rod. So the answer to your question is that a moderate action rod is more closely suited to cranks than soft baits. However, I've caught fish with soft baits on flexible rods and caught fish with cranks on stiff rods, even though those rods weren't the ideal for the application.

Try this: RAP-uh-luh is the correct pronunciation. ruh-PAH-luh is the way I've pronounced it for 37 years and I've having a hard time kicking the habit. The correct pronunciation just sounds wrong to me, even though it's right, if that makes any sense.

Tim Tucker sells stuff along the lines of what you're interested in. http://www.timtuckeroutdoors.com/

Yes. Polarized will cut glare and help you see into the water. I don't know a fisherman who uses glasses that doesn't use polarized. I didn't click on your link and can't recommend a brand, but there are many out there which have their advocates. I'm not being critical, but you ought to turn off your Caps Lock key in accordance with Internet etiquette and the fact that it's harder to read.

Were the Jawbreakers failing you in areas that held fish, that is, areas where you caught fish on other lures but nothing on the Jawbreakers? I used to use them and some other brands of spoons some years back and used to catch fish in the lily pads where I most often used them. However, I haven't used spoons in years as I now much prefer various soft plastics when I need to go weedless.

I don't use baitcasting anymore. The majority of my bass fishing is done with combos like yours, spinning, 6'6" medium, and they have served me well used with a wide variety of lures and techniques. You will probably get many reasons to use BC, but there's one that stands out as far as I'm concerned. And that would be if you want to use heavier line for such things as flipping or other techniques in heavy cover. Baitcasting generally handles heavier and stiffer line much better than spinning.

That would go 7-5, based on the New York length-weight charts, assuming you're talking largemouth. Those charts are for "average" fish, and it's not easy to determine what's average. In my experience, it doesn't have to be a football, but does have to have a protruding belly. It varies due to time of year and other factors. I've seen a number of fish that looked good but weighed too little for their length, so it's hard to say for sure. However, a 23" fish is an outstanding fish, regardless.

I have one rod whose handle I cut and capped and am thinking about another. I also know a guy from another forum who builds rods who shortened a handle because it interfered with fishing from a kayak. I'm like you, I dislike the long handles that are found on most rods.

Congratulations. That's quite an accomplishment. I've been off them for a number of years, but it wasn't easy. It's been said, but I don't know one way or the other, that nicotine is as addictive as some of the strong illegal drugs.

Yes, it's insane. I caught my first pickerel perhaps 35 years ago and I've always thought they fight better than largemouth. Very nice fish.

OK, you got me going. TWO BLONDES Two blondes living in Oklahoma were sitting on a bench talking. And one blonde says to the other, "Which do you think is farther away, Florida or the moon?" The other blonde turns and says "Helloooooooooo, can you see Florida?" CAR TROUBLE A blonde pushes her BMW into a gas station. She tells the mechanic it died. After he works on it for a few minutes, it is idling smoothly. She says, "What's the story?" He replies, "Just crap in the carburetor." She asks, "How often do I have to do that?" SPEEDING TICKET A police officer stops a blonde for speeding and asks her very nicely if he could see her license. She replied in a huff, "I wish you guys would get your act together. Just yesterday you take away my license and then today you expect me to show it to you!" RIVER WALK There's this blonde out for a walk. She comes to a river and sees another blonde on the opposite bank."Yoo-hoo!" she shouts, "How can I get to the other side?" The second blonde looks up the river then down the river and shouts back, "You ARE on the other side!" AT THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE A gorgeous young redhead goes into the doctor's office and said that her body hurt wherever she touched it. "Impossible!" says the doctor. "Show me."The redhead took her finger, pushed on her left hand and screamed; then she pushed her elbow and screamed even more. She pushed her knee and screamed; likewise she pushed her ankle and screamed. Everywhere she touched made her scream. The doctor said, "You're not really a redhead, are you?" "Well, no" she said, "I'm actually a blonde." "I thought so," the doctor said. "Your finger is broken." KNITTING A highway patrolman pulled alongside a speeding car on the freeway. Glancing at the car, he was astounded to see that the blonde behind the wheel was knitting! Realizing that she was oblivious to his flashing lights and siren, the trooper cranked down his window, turned on his bullhorn and yelled, "PULL OVER!" "NO!" the blonde yelled back; "IT'S A SCARF!" IN A VACUUM A blonde was playing Trivial Pursuit one night. It was her turn. She rolled the dice and she landed on Science & Nature. Her question was, "If you are in a vacuum and someone calls your name, can you hear it?" She thought for a time and then asked, "Is it on or off?" FINALLY, THE BLONDE JOKE TO END ALL BLONDE JOKES! A girl was visiting her blonde friend, who had acquired two new dogs, and asked her what their names were. The blonde responded by saying that one was named Rolex and one was named Timex. Her friend said, "Whoever heard of someone naming dogs like that?" "Hellooooooooo......," answered the blond. "They're watch dogs.

A pond whose opposite bank is within casting distance hardly qualifies as a serious body of water for bass fishing. I catch most of my fish on fast-moving baits, such as crankbaits and topwaters. There are ponds where I never catch a bass more than 20' from the bank, but there are others where bass are caught farther out. You just have to fish a pond enough to learn which type it is.

Lily pads are one of my very favorite types of cover. However, there's a reason they don't grow in that water and I wouldn't introduce them into it.

I have no idea, but I would notify my DNR.

What follows is a letter to the editor (for your pleasure or pain, whatever side you're on) that appeared today in the Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle. I have deleted the writer's last name. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fishing spirit lost in tournaments There is a downside to the world of competitive bass fishing not pointed out in the Oct. 22 article on the topic. The conversion of a recreational hobby into a competitive sports business has led to unsportsmanlike behavior, crowding of lakes and boat ramps, and noise pollution. While trying to fish peacefully, friends and I have been repeatedly buzzed and nearly swamped by bass tournament boats screaming by only 30 yards away at 30 to 40 mph. On the first morning of a long-anticipated vacation at a quiet, little-populated lake in the Adirondacks, I was rudely awakened at 6 a.m. by 19 high-powered bass boats roaring past my cottage at full throttle as they began their tournament. So much for relaxation. A friend wanting to fish with his family arrived at Conesus Lake's boat ramp on a tournament day to find it crowded with literally dozens of boats, postponing his launch for hours. He drove to another lake. Fishing is an activity that has as its goals relaxation and the enjoyment of nature. Much of that is lost in the high-speed, competitive, big-dollar bass tournament business. FRED ______ GREECE

I am neither a Houston fan nor a detractor. However, I think you're being too harsh on him. He's certainly not a top competitive angler, but he's 62 and has seen better days. He has won some tournaments, had 68 top-20 finishes and qualified for 15 Classics. And despite the fact that he might have finished last, just being qualified for the Elite series puts him in a very tiny fraternity of bass anglers. He's been around the block quite a few times and his current competitive woes should not detract from his knowledge of fishing or his ability to teach others.

"in your expert opinion" Just a disclaimer, my opinion is light years from "expert." I fished a pond for a few years and of 300+ bass caught, only two were bigger than 14". I think it was reasonable to assume that there were not many larger bass in there. I believe that you'll catch some larger bass, if they're present, in the normal course of fishing, even if you're not specifically targeting larger ones. At least that's been my personal experience. So if you catch enough fish and don't have anything large to show for it, that pond could be like the one I talked about. Of course, you want to make sure that you've fished it under good conditions, such as low light, pre-spawn, etc.

This is from the Minnesota DNR: "What is meant by "lake turnover"? How and why do lakes do this in autumn and spring? * The key to this question is how water density varies with water temperature. Water is most dense (heaviest) at 39º F (4º C) and as temperature increases or decreases from 39º F, it becomes increasingly less dense (lighter). In summer and winter, lakes are maintained by climate in what is called a stratified condition. Less dense water is at the surface and more dense water is near the bottom. * During late summer and autumn, air temperatures cool the surface water causing its density to increase. The heavier water sinks, forcing the lighter, less dense water to the surface. This continues until the water temperature at all depths reaches approximately 39º F. Because there is very little difference in density at this stage, the waters are easily mixed by the wind. The sinking action and mixing of the water by the wind results in the exchange of surface and bottom waters which is called "turnover." * During spring, the process reverses itself. This time ice melts, and surface waters warm and sink until the water temperature at all depths reaches approximately 39º F. The sinking combined with wind mixing causes spring "turnover." * This describes the general principle; however, other factors (including climate and lake depth variations) can cause certain lakes to act differently. A more detailed description of the physical characteristics of lakes, including temporal and density interactions, can be found at the Water on the Web site, sponsored by the University of Minnesota - Duluth and funded by the National Science Foundation."

My area for fall fishing is a pond with submerged weeds all over. Shallow crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and inline spinners all have worked down to a water temperature of about 45°.

They dangle a low price for new members hoping to lure them in and hope they stay around for lots of $25 renewals. Somewhat analagous to the razors and blades marketing practices. Gillette (and others) will sell you a razor dirt cheap so you'll keep using it and buying hellishly expensive replacement cartridges.

Jason gave you one of the methods. The other is to just slip the trailer hook eye over the main hook, then put a piece of tubing on the main hook to keep the trailer hook from coming off. I prefer the latter method, but not everyone does. It's up to you: do your want your trailer hook to stay in a fixed position (sort of) or do you want it to swing freely?

Pickerel can be both pesky and fun to catch. Not everyone agrees, but I've always felt that they fight better than largemouth.