tholmes

I'm left-handed, so I naturally cast with my left arm and use right-handed baitcasting reels. When I graduated from a cane pole to a spincast reel, they were all right-hand retrieve so that's how I learned. It seemed odd to me to see people casting with their right hand and switching the rod to their left hand to retrieve. Tom

Very nice work, Shaggy! Those look great! Tom

Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street and Beggar's Banquet The Who - Who's next Jethro Tull - Stand Up Herb Ellis & Joe Pass - Two for the Road Norman Blake - Whiskey Before Breakfast and Fields of November Oh, you said ONE!? Sorry, I can't do it

Showroom stock '96 Dodge Dakota, 3.9L V-6, just turned over 90K miles. Nothin' fancy, but it's served me well for 10 years now. Tom

This summer, I've been using Lake Fork Tackle Live Magic Shad, both the 3-1/2" and 5-1/2". I use Eagle Claw swimbait hooks, 3/0, 1/8 oz. for the 3-1/2" and 5/0 3/16 oz.. for the 5-1/2". I've done pretty well with white in waters where there's a lot of shad, and watermelon seed where sunfish are abundant. Tom

X2^ Any very fine abrasive cleaner will work. The important part is to seal the surface of the blade after polishing. Without some sort of sealant, the blade will quickly tarnish again. Tom

What he said^ Fall, with the cooler temperatures and lower humidity is my favorite time of the year to be outdoors. Couple that with less fishing pressure and hungry bass and I'm in hog heaven. Tom

Now we're talking...One of those fly in trips to a remote part of Canada. X3. This has been a life-long dream of mine. Tom

Guitar playing (Probably my #1 hobby) Photography (and camera collecting) Astronomy Birding Gardening Tom

The plain ol' Crank-R will run about 4'. Don't know about the "Deep" version. Tom

Yes, it does ;D Tom

I've had success with a 1/2 oz. Kastmaster spoon. I always rig it with a ball-bearing swivel. It casts like a bullet, even in the wind and I've caught largemouth, smallmouth, white bass. wipers, and stripers on them. I like the chrome or blue/chrome with a dressed treble. One technique where the Kastmaster excels is casting beyond the feeding fish and bringing the spoon into the shad school and stopping, letting the spoon flutter down through the shad. Many times, there are fish lurking below the feeding frenzy to pick off injured shad that fall. Tom

Holy cow!! I wanna go to! Pleeeeeeze? :'( Tom

This^^ Tom

Go to the site and look in the "news" section Tom

I've tied my own bucktail jigs for smallies for years. They're my "go-to" smallie lure. Fish 'em pretty much as you would any jig. I like to bounce 'em along the bottom, or swim them anywhere from a few inches to a couple of feet off the bottom. I usually use a trailer, mostly small, soft plastic crawdad lookin' critters, curly tail grubs (single and double tail), etc. Hope this helps! Good fishin'! Tom

There's no closed season for bass here, but I won't fish when it's really cold. I spend those days catching up on my guitar playing. Tom

If I do, will I end up with a mouthful of treble hooks from trying to eat out of my tackle box? Catch and release. You can only eat a bass once. Tom

I have a few of those baits and, IIRC, they weigh in at 3/8 oz. They'll dive to about 4' or so, and they will catch fish. Tom

If I were traveling light, I could get by with three. 1.Tandem, Chartreuse/white skirt, chrome Colorado/ gold willowleaf. 2. Tandem, blue/black skirt, two chrome Colorado blades. 3. BIG (1/2 oz. minimum) single, black skirt, black "soup spoon" blade. These would adequately cover all of my spinnerbait needs. Tom

I'm fortunate in that, so far, the economic downturn hasn't had much of an effect on my job. My wife, however, had to take a 10% pay deferment here a couple of months ago, so money is a little tighter than usual. It's cut into my road trips, but I have three community lakes that are less than 10 minutes away. I've been hittin' them pretty hard. Tom

Cool! Side note: This guy is obviously a bachelor. ;D If I made those messes in the house, my wife would sentence me to death by slow torture. > Tom

1/2 ounce Kastnaster. Tom

Out on the lake - water or Gatorade G2 Relaxin' at home - Abbey Belgian-style ale (from the New Belgium Brewery) or Knob Creek Bourbon. Tom

Congrats, F&P!! Grandkids are the best! Tom