flechero

Kent's keyboard has the Tilde (~) key replaced with one that says "Y-Z" on it ;D Good thing LBH started working more, I remember when he was the post monster and led by a wide margin! ...lol

I pack a lot of gear when I travel to a lake... if I had to be prepared for several tourneys in different water types I'd need a bigger truck. Having lockable storage in the trailer would be great... think about the multi week or multi month trips across country... hitting all sorts of lakes and river systems. Having the room to pack all your tackle would be huge.

I'd be interested to hear some detail on these statements. -what "newest" technology? -100% made in the USA? Did you mean blanks? or rods? made or assembled? if all "made" here, what components are being used?

The question is way to vague... which model and what applications are you wanting it for?

The SJR series is a very different blank... look at the ratings on the Loomis site. The written descriptions say it all: the sr782 "Makes a great deep-water ultra-light crappie rod." sjr782 "A good choice for fishing minnow baits like the Long-A and Rapala, and the preferred rod for split-shotting worms and grubs. If your preference for bass is spin over cast, this is a good-no, make that great rod."

Neither side has a "perfect explanation" that we all can understand and both explanations require some faith (in science or God) but either way I think the answer to your question is no, it's not a safe assumption. I heard a guest speaker give a stand in discussion at church a couple years ago when our Pastor was off... he presented both the scientific arguments and the Genesis explanations to that question. He discussed the science and lack of science in each aspect. Some of it was very surprising. He is not a Pastor/Preacher. look at the first one all the way at the bottom, from 1/7/2007 http://www.templebiblechurch.org/sermons/sermons.asp I hope this doesn't get deleted, as this post does NOT promote, endorse or sponsor faith (or science) but something I hope anyone interested in the "facts" of the arguments, will make up their own minds after hearing the facts of each side presented.

I bet none of them ever took a "performance enhancing" drug either... "Oh, those weren't Flintstones vitamins?" ;D ;D

Hmm... no doors on my trailer.

Moby, we must be related!! I was embarrassed at first because I assumed it wasn't legitimate... I thought my whole family was white and overweight. : My kid has a chance after all... we have marathoners in our bloodline somewhere! ;D ;D

I'm surprised this hasn't been locked yet... every time the banjo minnow comes up it gets locked. My younger brother bought them years ago and caught the heck out of the LM bass at our old pond.

I'm certainly no expert but on the (swim) baits I have and have changed hooks on, the Owner ST-36 or ST-41. (depending on the bait) For your bait in question, a 1/0 or 2/0 depending on the how and where it attaches would be my guess. And yes, they are a little more but everyone I know would gladly pay an extra buck or two per bait to get decent hooks.

Respectfully asked... shouldn't you be hooking up your son?

I peg when I am fishing in or through stuff... brush, weeds, timber, etc., which is most of the time.

I know exactly what you are saying... as I put on my old, dry rotted, almost flat spare, I felt naked knowing that there was no 2nd spare and I was in the middle of nowhere at night!

I see what muddy is saying, and I know that on the lighter lines you see much less benefit. I know he's not using #17 XT so he's not having "trouble" that needs fixing. He is ahead of most, he's found a combination of line and equipment that agrees with his fishing and casting style and doesn't need to further tame the line. It's kind of like adding 100 horsepower to a downtown commuter car. It might be faster but while doing 20mph on the highway, or sitting in rush hour traffic, you don't actually get anything more out of it.

with some tackle money to spare!

Hard to argue there... but my threshold for weather has changed a little. I pulled the boat out at 10a on my last trip due to winds that really were dangerous... drift sock and trolling motor on high and still going backwards I had to approach from 90 degrees to the trailer and when I turned I rode a swell over the wheel well and into the bunks. It took some effort to time it just right.

Matt, If we ever meet, you can fish with a couple of custom Loomis rods.

De-odorant Arm and Hammer stick- unscented Thanks, they are already out down here. Now if I could just get on some big fish and rub it in a little!

Unfortunately this is an area that is so misunderstood and mis-spoken about that it's almost not worth going into over. Actually by definition... the faster the action the closer to the tip it bends. So the faster the action the softer the tip is in relation to the rest of the rod. If you look at a moderate action rod with a little bend in it, the tip flexes very little while the mid section is actually doing the bending. In a fast or extra fast, the rod starts to flex more near the tip so it is actually the "softer" tip. What you feel in fighting a fish or setting a hook is NOT the tip, it's the mid and butt sections. And the tip of a rod never ripped out a treble hook, it's the mid and butt sections. Which is why a mod or mod-fast is so popular with treble hooked lures. (it's also less fatiguing to the angler since there is less effective leverage on the lure's resistance) *** So when most people around here talk about a soft tip they are usually talking about a moderate action.

Thanks everyone! I also needed this as a reminder to carry and keep said equipment in the truck's toolbox. Someone mentioned greasing hubs every spring, but I think that's not often enough. I have bearing buddys and shoot them about every 4th or 5th time out, just making sure they remain "out" and under the spring pressure. Definitely get a spare. As you can see from the photo, nothing short of a new tire (and possibly rim) would help this time. So while fix-a-flat and a plugging kit might help out sometimes, I would have been stranded with them. Russ, We had 20+ MPH winds and freezing temps behind a nasty front... we caught, but nothing over about 4lbs. These days, I can't say no to a trip- unless the weather is dangerous, because "mom" doesn't like being left on the weekends right now.

Or hope for a raise!!

2 things happen when you shorten a blank from the tip... the action slows and the power increases. How much change depends on the original taper and number of inches lost. almost every time people say worse. The reason is that we had a rod we liked, now it's a different power and action... still might be fine but it's not what we wanted out of that particular rod so it's hard to like it.

I used to have one of them... use it for anything you like... don't let the name discourage you, it's a great all purpose rod. maybe not crankbaits though, unless just the ML.

I went on a trip Saturday to a lake about 2.5 hours away and had a little excitement... I had a trailer tire blow at highway speed. The bad part is that I didn't have a lug wrench, trailer jack or way to air the spare. I was caught, totally unprepared! I'll save the details, but thanks to the Good Lord for a little help in being resourceful enough to improvise with what we had to get it changed. Since most of my fishing is within a mile of where I keep the boat, I rarely do things like check my spare, etc. This is a reminder to all of you that pull a trailer (especially to those who have stored them all winter) to check the following items: air in spare trailer jack (not the tongue jack) lug wrench spare hub and tools to change Mods- This could probably go in the outings or trip section but I figured as a warning that the most traffic would see it in the general forum. Here is what was left of it: