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Some of you guys have some really nice bass as your PBs. I'm jealous. I feel like I'm fishing for dinks up here.

I had one, the 7' medium, moderate action. It was a pretty good rod for the money, but it was too soft for my liking. I had a hard time ripping crankbaits free of weeds. They have a really soft action compared to some other moderate action rods.

You can find new Citicas for under $100 on eBay.

I don't like using KVD on a flyline, but I do use it on my leaders. I've tried KVD a couple times on the line, and it gives the line a bit of a dry, tacky feel and it reduces the shooting distance through the guides and through your hands. Like Alpster said, warm water, dish soap, and a good dressing are all you need. I use SA or Glide dressing. They both are good products. My line is about 10 years old and aside from a few nicks from being stepped on, it handles as good as new.

Recently, Secret Weapon Lures stopped selling the Assassinator line of spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. Now they're being sold under the Assassinator Baits brands and the price went down from $7 to $5. The "Pro 1 Assassinators" are the best spinnerbaits I've ever used, and the "Pro 2 Clackers" aren't too shabby either. At $5 they can't be beat. http://assassinatorbaits.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=8

I like to stab a can of cat food with a flathead screwdriver a few times and use that in a minnow/crawfish trap. A few filleted panfish carcasses work well but it's more messy and smelly than cat food.

Strange. The video of the sad yellow lab that got into the cat treats was wayyyyy better.

My PB was a bedding female that I crept up on while wading and flyfishing a small private lake. It took about an hour to catch it because it was very spooky and bedding in 12" of crystal clear water. I spooked it numerous times and I had to take a knee in the lake for 5 minutes a couple times so the bass would come back to the bed and relax. I was using a series of divers and streamers and I eventually caught it on an short olive Dahlberg diver. Unfortunately, I was never able to scale it, but my flyrod has measurements marked on it with a Sharpie. It measured 23" and it's gut was about as fat as a 2 liter bottle of soda. I'm guessing on it's weight, but I think it was at least 6.5+ lbs.

He might have a year or two left in him. I'm thinking more along the lines of McNabb for next year.

I still care, but I think they're going to play next season. The Vikes had a decent draft. I really like their 2nd rd pick, Kyle Rudolph/TE/Notre Dame. They must be in love with Ponder because they really reached on him. It sounds like they've had their eye on him going back to the Senior Bowl. They've been pretty good at drafting offense, so I'll give them the benefit of doubt and keep my fingers crossed that they finally found their franchise QB. I'm really sick and tired of them dragging out these old retread QBs and trying to catch lightning in a bottle with them.

WOW, that's nasty. Gotta be about 6'. Did that area flood like this last year? How's the Bass Pro in Nashville doing? That's the one that flooded last year, right?

If you want to be able to use 12# fluoro on a spinning reel, you'll have to use braid with a 12# leader. Any time I've put fluoro over 8# on a spinning reel, I've had some issue with twist, memory, and birdnests. Even soft 10# fluoro is too heavy, IMO. More trouble than it's worth. Have you tried Yo Zuri Hybrid Ultrasoft? 4-8# test work very well on spinning tackle and the line is very strong. The 6# is just about perfect.

I use a 12" piece of wooden dowel in a drill. I can strip a bunch of reels with just one piece. I've been using the same piece for over a year. I want to see how big I can get it. I've used pencils before, too, like SirSnookalot mentioned.

Good thread. This will be interesting. Last year at this time, the bass were beginning to spawn and the females were up on the beds. This year, the lakes are still ice cold and it's very chilly outside. There's been lots of cold rain lately and it's snowing flurries right now. I bet the spawn will be delayed be at least a full month this year. It's going to be interesting.

Standard gray putty, not the Rapid Set stuff in a tube.

No problem. I love that site. That was a great line. Joe Rogan is a really funny guy and a great asset to the UFC, despite some of the earlier stuff he's done in his career, like Fear Factor. He's actually an accomplished martial artist in Taekwondo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. From a bio: "Within two years, Rogan had earned a black belt and went on to become the Massachusetts Full Contact Tae Kwon Do champion four consecutive times. At the age of 19, he won the US Open Tae Kwon Do Championships and, as the lightweight champ, went on beat both the middle and heavy weight title holders to take home the Grand Championship."

I've only seen the two fights I posted. I'm gonna watch them all at some point today before the vids are taken down.

Forgetting to trim the motor up when trailering and dragging my skeg across the slabs at the landing. The last 1/2" of my skeg is now flat on the bottom.

Disappointing title fight. The Machida/Couture fight was one of the best finishes in years. It's a must see. Looked just like The Karate Kid. For those that haven't seen it, here they are. http://www.mmatko.com/georges-st-pierre-vs-jake-shields-fight-video-ufc-129/#comments http://www.mmatko.com/randy-couture-vs-lyoto-machida-fight-video-ufc-129/

What Sam pointed out is super important with fluorocarbon lines. Even good flouro lines will snap if you burn them even a little bit. I think a person should spend about 10 seconds cinching down a fluoro knot and wet them until they're almost dripping with spit to reduce friction. I don't think I've had any break offs since I began tying knots more patiently like this, but I had plenty of them before.

In cool conditions, how long before it can be submerged? I ask because I have a repair that I need to make soon. It's a scratch that was caused by a screw at the top of the wheel well bunk. The boat slid down against this screw and it caused a pretty nasty gouge that isn't quite deep enough to reach the glass, but it's close. The scratch is an inch below the waterline, and I can't reach it to make repairs with the boat on the trailer. I plan on beaching the boat sideways for a few days on the soft sand of a friend's beach so I can do the repair, then I'll cover the Marine Tex with cellophane while it cures. I'm just wondering how long I have to keep the boat there. It's been really windy at times lately and I'm worried about the boat grinding on the beach. Thanks

Welcome. Where do you live/fish?

The Stren fluoro is marked down. Usually it's about $17-20. Co-poly costs much less than fluoro. It's a great value, IMO.

Because hundreds of people have died lately from tornados. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42813800/ns/weather/

Bass Resource Rig. Those Owner Beast hooks are great. I use those and the Owner 5123 weighted hooks. Try a Sweet Beaver on a 4/0, 1/8 oz hook. It's heavy enough to get it to the bottom, but light enough that it doesn't fall straight down. Since the Beaver is flat and the weighted hook keeps the Beaver horizontal, it doesn't fall consistently, sometimes it falls to one side and then you twitch it, and it falls to the other side, etc. It's erratic and it even spirals once in a while, like a tube jig. Same reason I like those flat Beavers for swimjigs.