tholmes

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-PKS-******-SCATTER-SHAD-GUIDO-HIBDON-5-PRETTY-/330535304977 Tom

That's the right part, but it's in England. Here ya go! http://cgi.ebay.com/ABU-GARCIA-AMBASSADEUR-ANTI-REVERSE-DOG-CLIP-NEW-/380321302651?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588cea887b Tom

Most productive in the waters I fish: 1. Lipless crankbait, chrome/blue, shad or brown craw. 2. T-rigged ribbon-tail worm. Purple or tequila sunrise, green pumpkin, black. 3. Jig w/trailer. Blue/black, green/brown. Of course there are times when spinnerbaits, diving crankbaits, Spooks, Jitterbugs, jerkbaits, etc. are the ticket, but the three I've listed are my "try it first" baits. Tom

Nobody. Not even myself. I fish for the sheer fun of it, and have no desire to be "pushed" in any way. That doesn't mean that I don't want to learn new techniques or improve my skills, I just don't want pressure of any kind to interfere with my enjoyment of fishing. I get more than enough pressure at work, thanks. Tom

I know where you're comin' from, Chris. Another lefty here. When I was first starting school, I had a teacher who took it upon herself to convert me to righty, but my parents (thankfully) put that plan to rest in a hurry. I do almost everything left-handed. Write, throw. kick...definitely left eye dominant. The only things I do right-handed are bat and play guitar. The only reason that I play guitar righty is that when I started (self-taught) I didn't know that there was any other way. Everyone I saw playing, played right-handed. As far as fishing, after I graduated from a cane pole and bobber to a spincast reel, it just seemed natural to cast left, reel right. Baitcasters seemed to me to be designed for lefties. Back then, lefty spinning reels were pretty much limited to Mitchells, and it was tough to find the lefty versions in stores out in the southwest corner of Kansas where I grew up. Because of that, I was proficient with a baitcaster long before I ever picked up a spinning rig. Tom

Combos stay together during the season in a vertical rod rack I got at Cabela's. During the winter, reels are removed from the rods (rods stay in the rack), drags backed off and spool tensions loosened. Reels are stored in cloth bags for the winter. Tom

Me too. Tom

Yes, there is. Since I fish almost exclusively from the bank, I carry only three combos with me when I'm targeting bass. A medium baitcaster, a medium heavy baitcaster and a light spinning combo. These three cover a lot of territory. Tom

Whoa! That's a beauty, J. I think I've got reel ***. Tom

Yes, it was. Tom

For maximum effectiveness, you must throw the new bait with the special KVD square-billed crankbait rod and reel. Tom

The Raiders have fans??? Who knew? Tom

X2. The beauty of the Lansy's system is that it keeps the angle consistent. I've used one of these for 20 years or more and always got great results. Tom

Some colors, especially flourescent colors like chartreuse and the "hot" pinks and oranges appear brighter as a flat finish. This is because the glossy topcoat reflects a bit of light. These flat finish colors would be brighter underwater also as the glossy topcoat would still reflect some of the available light. But I don't think the fish would notice. Tom

Great work! I KNOW that the shad wiggle wart (the top one) would kill 'em around here. Tom

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/fishing/2011/02/state-record-alligator-gar-pulled-red-river-oklahoma I don't think that wading in that river would be a good idea. Tom

Welcome from a fellow Kansan! There's a lot to be learned on this site. Be sure to check out the "fishing articles" section. Tom

Here in Kansas, it's $20.50 for a license, $12.50 for a trout stamp, $6.50 for a 3rd pole permit. Annual State Park permit is $24.70. Tom

Got turtles? Tom

Not me, there's 6 to 8 inches of ice on all of the lakes around here, and I'm NOT an ice fisherman. Tom

Must be something to that, it's one of my favorite trout lures too. The white Rooster Tail works well also. Tom

I'll be praying for the family and friends. What a tragedy. Tom

Great things were created in 1952 Tom

RW, y'all must be experiencing the same storm that rolled through here on Tuesday and Wednesday. We're digging out from under 12+ inches of snow, and temps for the last couple of days haven't made it out of single digits, with wind chills at -25 or so. Today is better though, the sun is out and it's in the upper 20s. Spring can't get here soon enough. Tom