flechero

Buy a boat based on what you do (or plan to) fish regularly... and the conditions.... buying a boat based on some what if's will probably prove to be a bad decision. I fish big water 90% of the time, but couple that with canyon lake winds and my 19' Champion is as small as I want to go. I used to live on a 80 acre lake but back then I always had an additional person or two with me so the bigger boat still made sense. Sure gas money adds up but I get to spend many days fishing that I would pass on if I had a smaller more economical boat. To me it's worth a few bucks more to get the extra days on the lake. But justifying the money is a decision that only you can answer for yourself. Fish Chris- great looking boat!

Bizzo, good advice already posted. I would suggest a little reading and then post with any specific questions to suit your needs. There are a handful of us here that would be happy to help out once you narrow down what you are looking to do. Also, look back through the older threads, there are lots of threads on building and each individual aspect of it. One caution... it is a full blown addiction!

I've purchased 5-6 new reels from the ebay stores in the past 2 years and I couldn't be happier. I paid $205 for 50MG's with no tax and free shipping. (bought 3 at that price) The funny thing is that the only "trouble" i have had this year are on reels that came from BPS and Cabela's.

Perfect line, Carl, just what muddy would have said if the roles were reversed!! ...lol Muddy, I think the C3 "Classic" series are the ones with the 6 pin brake. Sounds like you got a "regular" C3. (the funny thing is that all these years, there were no 6 pin brakes on the C3's so they name the new style reel "Classic" go figure. :-? ) You don't need it, just use the tension cap and fire away. (just avoid real light lures on that reel)

That depends... do you immediatly loose drag? (you have voice mail, right?) ...lol I'm kidding if Mrs. flechero reads this, I wouldn't have gone fishing with her being 8.5 months pregnant!

We addressed this with the Miller Lite 32 oz. cans... we are now 2.66 times less likely to get bit while reaching into the cooler. ;D But since it still happens, I hold rod in left, fetch beverage with right, do not set a casted rod down. All is well.

Well, law or no law, if people quit paying taxes, we will have to quit offering full benifits packages to millions of illegal aliens. We'd go from welfare to farewell

Big T, Just in case you didn't know, yo-zuri #6 and #8 are same strength and different diameter.... yes I thought it was a typo in the chart also but emailed them about it for confirmation. So if you aren't fishing tons of trees or rocks, you might actually get better performance from the #6, at least better casting. My experience was that the #6 was great on my spinning reel but the #8 was a little wirey for my taste.

Barlow's, Sportsman's Warehouse, Cabela's, Bass Pro, I'm sure the list goes on.

I have always been told that real skin mounts shrink and (no disrespect meant to taxidermists) most do stink and begin to rot in only a few years. I can't remember a single fish mount that is real and over 10 yrs. old that looks good still. Besides, the cost of a replica is as cheap or cheaper, looks better IMO, and will not rot. All reasons to get a replica and not mount a real fish. And if none of that works for you... ask Fish Chris how many of the giant Cali fish have been positively ID'd as one previously caught and released. Which gave multiple anglers a fish of a lifetime.

There are 2 schools of though on this... some people want high velocity and some prefer a larger caliber (diameter) bullet. I guess the 3rd school would be some blend of the two. Anyway, the 9mm is a great round, so are the .40 and .45 calibers. My personal fear on the 9mm is that the energy won't be absorbed and the bullet will overpenetrate (pass through and keep going), thus wasting energy and lessening the chance of stopping a threat on the spot (and endangering anyone/thing else in it's path). Since I also carry outside of the home and live in a world of civil lawsuits, here are my considerations: I want to live, stop the threat, lessen the chances of hurting any innocent bystanders and not get sued... in that order. I feel most comfortable with a .45 accomplishing those objectives. Plus the 1911 platform is a very slim pistol and conceals VERY well, even on "thin boned" people. If you saw above, I also carry a .357 sometimes which I don't like as much but the 2" bbl reduces the velocity enough that I don't worry about overpenetration with that particular gun/ammo combo. There are lots of decisions you need to make, and be comfortable with, before carrying a weapon. Because the truth of the matter is that your life and future may very well rest on a decision you made some time ago.

I feel for anyone who get inconvenienced by the passport delay but remember one thing... it has always taken a long time - even in the days before 9/11/01. I got my passport in early 2001, after a 10 week wait... which I was told was standard for a passport, by each person I talked to in the passport office. The system was broken then and now it's overwhelmed and still broken.

largemouthslayer, a very generous offer, thank you, but it's not neccessary. I need to take at least 51% of the blame for this... after all, I did challenge your original post. As no one here could know, I've had a few rough days which NO DOUBT played into my responses. I will ocasionally call people out but 99% of the time it's on fact, not me taking shots at your charactor. I am sorry for making it personal. I'l follow up in a PM but wanted to publicly right the wrong. I'll be deleting my above posts, because they add nothing to the thread.

I rarely watch my line. Since I live in central Tx, wind is almost always a factor. If you'll learn to fish by feel, you can fish just as effectively at night as you do in the day or in the wind. My advice would be to watch line when you can but try to learn to fish by feel so you aren't limited in wind or at night.

If I spent some time in CA fishing for those farm bred exotics I would say I'd have a better than average chance. Those bass are not a wild native species from anywhere, they are like transplanted lab rats. The real ? should be if he could catch a trophy fish anywhere else other than CA. I'll invite him down here to FL anytime to try his skill at real wild FL strain bass and take him to any lake in FL for free to do it. He may tear them up or he may not. Surely you are kidding!! If it were as easy as you suggest, there would be a lot of people in Ca. catching fish that big, and the FACT is that there is not. He is an accomplished trophy hunter in many different species... In a head to head compitition he would drop you like a badhabit. I'll put $100 on Chris.

KB, I don't build pistol grips but I do have the 6 rpm dryer... the rubber hole will strech a bunch so pretty much any handle or rod end will fit. (on small stuff I have to build up a masking tape swell to give it a good grip) I bought it about 6 years ago to use as an epoxy head fly dryer - all that to say it has lasted pretty well with nealry year round use. They are a bit pricey but if you have the money, they are great. -keith

Don't worry about birdnesting... the matt lures bluegill is plenty heavy that you can set the reel's brake tight enough not to ever backlash and still get good distance. Accuracy will come with some practice. As for snags... if you fish a swimbait in cover, it doesn't matter if it's on spinning or casting gear, it will hang up. Go with whichever you think makes the most sense. I'm not familiar with your spinning reel but the Abu 5500 will work fine if you decide to go with baitcasting gear. I think the casting gear makes more sense but that is only my opinion.

The experiment itself was good and proved that you and fluoro get along well. It was also a cool story. Even though you don't feel any problems but the knot has withstood over 30 hooksets and who knows how many snags. You have already proven to yourself that it is great stuff... I would hate to see you lose a big one for no reason now. I'm off the box now. ...lol

I have a bunch of handguns but there are only 2 that I CC on any regular basis. Taurus titanuim 5 shot .357 (J-frame size) http://www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?id=270&category=Revolver and a Kimber Ultra CDP II in .45 http://www.kimberamerica.com/pistols/cdp/ The Taurus gets carried in foul weather and in the boat or fishing trips. The Kimber gets carried in most of the everyday life situations. (when wearing jeans or slacks) I'll say this though, if I had it to do over again, I would have gotten the 4" bbl on the Kimber... the extra inch is nothing in an IWB holster but the ballistics are way better. If I didn't have so much invested in the gun and extra stuff, I would go buy the 4" model. Spend the money on a good belt & holster and you will actually carry it instead of leaving it at home. Most importantly, get some formal training beyond whatever the state requires... it you state is anything like Tx, it's TOO easy to get the permit. Another thing to consider... any semi auto that will be carried for self defense needs to have a reliability job done on it and needs to be proven on the range with the specific ammo you plan to carry, regardless of brand or model. There are lots of good carry guns out there, those 2 just happen to be ones I like and use.

First and foremost you need to be fishing where bigger fish are. Seems like most of the big fish around here get caught on t-rigs, jigs and swimbaits, in that order... the first two are not "big" baits but the key is that they are fished slow and usually deeper. (hint hint) If you want to try swimbaits w/o getting into a bunch of money and needing any new equipment, check out the Hud. shad: http://www.huddlestondeluxe.com/generic65.html Expensive by storm's standards but cheap by swimbait standards... and you'll get a bait that runs true and looks much better. Mattlures is also coming out with a shad that looks great from the pics but it's not out yet.

You'll have better luck using one size larger hook or going to hvy wire from regular, than you will trying to use fluoro as a sink tip. If you need more depth than that, use a "Duper Fluke" from ***, it sinks faster than a Zoom.

It sounds like you have already proved your point... And that sounds like the precursor to next week's thread: "I lost my PB due to an experiment." I would call it a success and retie.

There are several GOOD Shimano and Daiwa reels in that price range... and if you want a lighter weight reel, the Stradic MG might be a fit for you.

Muddy, I used mostly 2nd hand Abu 4600's and Berkley Lightning rods & Series One rods back in the day. The average combo costed about $60-$70. My preferences have changed as my disposable income has changed... but I caught lots of fish on a budget... no reason you or anyone else couldn't do the same. (and FYI - one of my favorite rods is built on a $12 blank! )

This should give you a good idea of what many of us do... http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1120348381