tholmes

I use beeswax. Just rub it on the male end of the ferrule and push it together. It has a higher melting point than parrafin, and doesn't soften in the heat as readily. Tom

Kansas and Colorado. That's not likely to change this year. Tom

I use these from Jann's http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/fishing-reel-lube/038866170469.aspx Tom

I store all of my fishing rods in an unheated shed with temps as low as -5*F and have never had any problems. Tom

I'm also a shore angler and have the need for 6' casting rods as that's the longest rod that will fit in the cab of my truck. I carry a couple of rods to work with me so I can fish during my lunch break, and need to keep them locked in the cab while my truck is in the parking lot. Check BPS, they offer several 6' casting rods in their house brands. Tom oops, Sam beat me to it!

The Secret Life of Pets. With two of my great-grandsons. Fun times. Tom

I've had exactly the same thing happen on two different spinning reels. Both were relatively inexpensive reels, one Mitchell Avocet and one Okuma Avenger. Out of curiousity, I disassembled another Okuma reel of a different size, same model, as the one with the problem and sure enough, that little plastic collar had some "flashing" on the end that goes into the reel body. I trimmed it up with an X-acto knife and it's never given me any problems. You'd think that even the most rudimentary QC inspection would've caught this. Tom

Too add to the confusion, Shakespeare doesn't put a reccommended lure weight on the Ugly Stiks, just a line weight. I have a 7' Ugly Stik casting rod that's labeled "medium" but it fishes more like a medium heavy with moderate to slow action. Tom

There are no hard and fast guidelines re: rod ratings. One manufacturer's "medium" might not be the same as other manufacturers. In my (somewhat limited) experience, Ugly Stiks generally fish a little heavier than other maker's rods of the same rating. Don't put too much stock in what it says on the rod, go by how it feels to you. Tom

Buy and fish whatever spins your fan. I don't own any "high end" fishing gear, but I enjoy fishing with what I have, and don't second guess what others use. Many people would ask me why I would spend 2K+ on a guitar when a $250 guitar will do the same thing. Everybody has different priorities and different means. Doesn't make them right or wrong, just different. Tom

I've been playing guitar for over 50 years. Mostly acoustic these days, since I quit gigging, but there are a couple of electrics and amps gathering dust in my music room. I can find my way around a keyboard, but I'm not really a player. Same with banjo and mandolin. Tom

The BEST one! Tom

Another vote for the Pflueger Trion. I have an ultralight Trion that has seen pretty heavy use over the last 7 years and it just keeps going. Tom

I tie hair and feather jigs in sizes from 1/80 to 1oz. I pour all of my heads and get most of my materials from Barlow's, Jann's Netcraft and Lure Parts Online. If you're going to buy your jigheads, pay attention to the hooks that are used. Cheap jigheads often have crappy hooks. Tom

Back to the OP's original question - AFAIK, the crank was on the right-hand side on the earliest baitcasters. I've heard several theories as to why this was the case, the most convincing one is that the early reels had no drag system, therefore the fish was controlled with the crank (by back-reeling) and the crank should be in the strong hand. Since most people are right-handed, that's the way the reels were designed. I know from experience that you don't want to let go of the crank on those old timers when there's a fish of any size on the line. I'm pretty sure that's where the term "knucklebuster" originated. Tom

Baitcasters have been around for a long time, for sure. The early ones weren't nearly as sophisticated as today's reels. My first baitcaster was a Shakespeare 1920 Wondereel made sometime in the early '50s. No free spool, zero bearings, retrieve ratio of about 2.4:1, all this on a 5' steel rod, but I still caught fish with it. Today's baitcasters are mechanical marvels in comparison. Tom

Life is easier when you're nice to people, even the ones who aren't nice to you. Tom

It's not over for me, but it's slowed way down, at least as far as LMB are concerned. The end of Daylight Savings Time really puts an end to my evening fishing, and the holiday-related activities take up a lot of weekend time. I still go out when I can, though. I've been catching a few wipers, and got into some pretty good crappie last week. But as the weather gets colder, I won't be doing much fishing. Time to service reels, pour some jigs and blade baits and re-stock my tackle supply. Spring will be here before you know it! Tom

This, along with the Bandit square bill in splatter-back. Tom

My personal favorite is an ABU 4600C3 w/12# Big Game or a 5500C3 w/15# Big Game. Yeah, I'm old school. Or just plain old. Tom

The obvious answer is...but all 3! Got all your bases covered that way. Tom

I use the $20 ones that Wally World sells. They have side shields and brow shields, 100% UVa and UVB protection and are cheap enough that I don't lose any sleep over dropping them in the water. They make me look like some kind of alien insect overlord but, at my age, I don't really care. Tom

I like the ceramic tube bobbins as they won't fray the thread as easily as the steel tube ones. I use this one http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/fly-tying-bobbins/042044500009.aspx To save yourself a little aggravation, get a bobbin threader if you don't already have one. Tom

I've used size D rod wrapping thread to tie everything from 1/80 oz. feather jigs to 1 oz. bucktail jigs for stripers for years. It works just fine. Visit Jann's Netcraft to find tools and materials. If you don't already have one, a high quality pair of scissors is essential. I use embroidery scissors. Invest in a good bobbin also. And, like islandbass said, whip finishing is way easier to do by hand. Have fun! Tom

I avoid anything sweet. Even most granola bars have too much sugar. I usually snack on salted peanuts, jerky, crackers, and Powerade Zero. Tom