DixieAngler

How much of an initial investment for soft plastics?

Man, if you can afford it...I wouldn't sweat it too much. I doubt you'll have any regrets, 'cause I've heard nothing but good.

Per Glenn's recommendation, here's some resume tips tailored to the angler seeking sponsorship. In no particular order of importance: 1. If you or a friend are capable of using anything more advanced than Microsoft Word, that's what you should make your printed and emailed resume in. It should be something that can save into a PDF format. The reasoning behind this is that Word documents have become primitive looking to the eye, especially if held side by side to a well designed document. 2. Regardless of what you may think, a good resume needs some design elements, rather than just being a bulleted list of your accomplishments. Throw in some lines, make definitive margins; it will make your resume stand out. 3. All throughout our careers, we've been told by career consultants and resume builders to always put the most recent thing in a list of jobs or activities. This is simply not true and is not what is really important to employers or sponsors. What should come first on a list is an accomplishment or job that you feel supports your case the best. So if you finished first in a tournament in 1996 but just had a third place finish in a tournament last week, put the 1996 tourney win first. This is so especially true for getting sponsorships. 4. For people looking for sponsorships, as most reading this likely are, think of your resume as not a resume but a fact sheet. Depart from the traditional and stereotypical resume look and go for something that looks more like a business proposal. Essentially seeking a sponsorship is the same thing as an entrepreneur seeking investors. Keep that mindset when you're creating your resume. 5. If you can afford the fee for a graphic designer, invest in one. Most can create you a resume that is eye catching and professional. Most won't charge you too much for a design fee. For flat rates you're looking at maybe up to around 300 dollars and as low as 25. Hourly you can be looking at around 25 dollars/hour. 6. This is a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised. Grammar, grammar, grammar. Spelling, spelling, spelling. Punctuation, punctuation, punctuation. Screwing these three fundamentals up is the quickest route from the printer to the trash can. Some don't believe me, but I see the most horrendous violations of these principles on a daily basis. There's many other tips and critiques I can give if you show me a copy of your resume. I'm also in the process of designing a sample that is tailored to anglers seeking sponsorships. I'll post it on this thread once it's done for all of you to look at.

I'm just like you...nice and subtle, definitely not flashy. If I do go with a more colorful reel it would be a muted crimson/red with silver.

Other than cost saving and customization, what other advantages are there?

Not a bad idea, Glenn. I'll start working on that and probably make it a seperate thread.

I've always wanted to know how many folks out there really make and use their own bait and tackle. A (old old) guy that used to live next door to me made just about 100% of his tackle in his garage..probably because he had the time. Curious to see how you guys poll.

A lot of auto parts places, especially those situated near boating areas, carry marine parts at a considerably cheaper price than a marine-specific dealer. I'd check out Sears too; my dad's been buying marine batteries from them for years. They might have what you're looking for.

I fished all over East Texas when I was growing up...what neck of the woods were y'all in? Nice looking fish btw.

All of my reels have the typical aluminum look with a brass color here and there. I don't really care what mine looks like as long as it gets the job done! My rods all have dark blues/greens.

I bought one about a month ago, and I'll ditto what just about everyone else has been saying. Mechanically and performance-wise, it's a good reel for the price. However, I don't expect it to outlast a revo. Basically, it's been doing the trick and getting the job done but once I expand my budget I'll definitely be making it my low end reel.

Not gonna go into the different categories and stuff; I use multiple rods for multiple things depending on my mood and how I'm feeling about my chances. So I'll just go ahead and list the rigs I take on the boat with me when I'm going bassin'. -Shakespeare 7' Ugly Stik Lite Pro SP 1170 2M/4 bearing Lite Pro spinning reel 10lb/120 /Trilene 6# 100% fluoro This is a cheap (obviously) combo I bought about six years ago; the rod is still in the Shakespeare catalog, but the reel's model number faded away long ago and I can't find a model in the catalog that matches the description so I guess it's not made anymore. While it's a cheap rig, it's been one of the best combos in my arsenal, especially for finesse work; it's surprisingly sensitive for such a basic rod. -Abu SORON 40/7'6" Okuma GS 761 M/Trilene 8# 100% fluoro -Abu PROMAX/7'6" Okuma GS 761 MH/Trilene green 12# 100% fluoro That's my list... Simple and sweet, the way I like it. I may be one of the most simple anglers out there, in part due to budget...but it works just fine for me!

I'd say I use my spinning reel 90% of the time. I find it more versatile and I'm more comfortable using it. I prefer to finesse fish and use the lightest possible tackle when I can, so usually my spinning reel gets the job done for me. If I'm dealing with real heavy cover and need that extra power, I'll grab my baitcaster.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks!

Well I guess inherently almost any lake bigger than a couple hundred acres is gonna have it's large share of recreational boaters and people zooming around on PWCs. I'll be up there for about five days so I will try my luck before the crowd swarms in. And fortunately, the parts of the water I usually like to fish are the parts the recreational folks stay away from ;D