NateFollmer

good stuff ben. Thanks for the info. I found a lumber store that carries Azek. I'm going to see if they have any scrap first, if not, I'll just buy a board. I got some mahogany from my paps shop. I figured I can make the testing crankbaits out of pvc, then replicate them and use the mahogany for some too. I've never been a good drawer/painter (unless is on the computer ha) so I'm thinking I'll have nice looking bodies with terrible paint jobs

I thought about that. Any suggestions on where to get PVC board cheap? The CNC guy was holding out on me. He told me today he has a replicator that he hasn't used since he got the cnc and is letting me borrow it

Looks pretty toxic from what I have heard. Although some guys use a microwave to heat their plastics so it can't be that bad? I wouldn't be pouring in a house without a direct vent to the outside

I don't know much they owe yet after all their other loans, but even with working a full time job and going to school part time, I was basically working just to get to school. I had no money left for bills. Flechero - I know slone didn't mean it like it sounded. He meant he didn't want to screw up his son's loans by signing for his step daughter.

When you run into this kind of situation, throw something completely crazy. Find a crank or soft plastic in a really odd color (like a hot pink or very bright color). You want to give the fish a target to see and try and make it something they haven't seen before.

Confidence is key, but watch out... There are some pretty talented youngsters out there! Also, you can't fish with nightcrawlers in tournaments (most anyway) so start trying some new techniques

I never removed any hooks and left them off, but I do usually remove the 'default' hooks and replace them with ones that are 1 size bigger. I'll even go 1 size bigger on the back and up too 2 or 3 sizes bigger on the belly (depends on the crank). I don't really think removing either hook is going to keep grass off your crank. Switch to a soft swimbait and rig it weedless. It will slide right through the grass.

Nice. I think I got this pretty well under control now. I just need to decide on what wood I want to try. I was thinking basswood, but I think I want something a little harder since I don't have to worry about carving... I think I need to take a trip to my pap's shop and steal some wood

Very nice! I need to get up to some Erie tribs. once they hit those. I want to fly fish for them like you wouldn't believe Maybe next run... Too busy this season.

Another question I just thought of Can you mix colors? Like say I wanted a green, could I mix yellow and blue or doesn't that normally turn out very good?

Sounds like a good place to start. If you get the stuff and you hate it (you won't), people are selling molds all the time and they seem to go quick! Edit: What completely blew me away is that it only takes 1 oz. of plastic to make 4, 5" senkos... I still don't see how that's right haha

Oh they would still find him... They are pretty hardcore about their pizza I must say though, New York style pizza is amazing with a whole bottle of hot sauce on top

Oh good, I actually have some flower shots: Flowers 1 by nate.follmer, on Flickr

I'm surprised that guy doesn't get death threats from the 'Yorkers... They love their cardboard pizza!

Sounds good! Thanks BobP. I was reading some of you're other advice here and over on TU - good stuff! I'll agree with you on the Createx palette. I love some of the Auto Air colors, but I think I'll keep it simple to start I don't want to buy a ton of colors and then completely suck at this.. I'm sure you'd all buy my stash up though

Nope, going to try my hand at the Bassmaster's Opens in 2011 though... Even if I lose, it's worth it to me to pay $300 to fish with a pro

This is a conspiracy guys! That's just plain spooky... Great pics though haha

I usually fish Walker, Faylor, Raystown and Colyer Lakes. I'm almost always fishing the Juniata River though. The only time I'm not at any of these places is in the winter and then I'll be on one of the creeks for trout

Try to use a tripod whenever you can, but if the objects are moving it isn't going to help much. I try and use a tripod with any shot that the shutter is set to 1/20 or slower. I get pampered with having Steady Shot in my camera I usually turn it off though because when you use a tripod, it can actually make things a little less sharp.

Haven't been there yet. I usually fish in the central part of the state. Another good smallie/walleye technique is get the air injected earthworms. They seem to be more active. I know some people that use earthworms that were dipped in green glow paint, they work awesome for walleye. A few places around here used to sell them, but I can't find them anymore (have to dip them yourself ).

That 75-300mm isn't working? I have a Minolta 75-300mm F4-5.6 and I use it for wildlife and some faster moving objects. I usually run my ISO (indoors) at 400 and try and keep the aperture open as far as I can (lower F stop means bigger opening). Getting a longer lens at a low F stop is going to get costly. I haven't priced Canon lenses, but I know something like that for my Alpha would probably run about $600 for a cheap one. I did some quick looking on B&H Photo and about the cheapest telephoto at F2.1 was going to run you about $370 (and that was only 100mm). Look on ebay or craigslist for used ones. I have a few used lenses from ebay that look and work like a new lens.

They only get you so far. Those loans only covered about half of my schooling. I had to come up with the rest myself I should probably try to get back in school since I have a kid (and 1 on the way). I have like 3 months of classes left and I'm done! Scholarships? Or gasp!! They could go to work... I know, heaven forbid todays babies actually working for something that mommy or daddy could just give them.... just saying, there are plenty of options available that don't involve a parent putting their credit on the line for a child. That's not really something I'd want to do, that's for sure. Let's not even go there... I have been working full time since I left high school and have been doing my schooling myself. I never asked my parents for help, if I did, I'd be finished by now. It's not as easy as it was a few years ago to get money for school, they have really been cracking down. Scholarships are about a joke anymore too. Unless you play a sport, you're lucky to get anything that will help. Out of the countless scholarships I applied for, I think I received maybe 1 or 2 and those were only about $400 (which is equal to about 1 credit hour). I'm not trying to sound ungrateful, but that still isn't enough to cover the costs.

Graves At National Cemetery by nate.follmer, on Flickr

They only get you so far. Those loans only covered about half of my schooling. I had to come up with the rest myself I should probably try to get back in school since I have a kid (and 1 on the way). I have like 3 months of classes left and I'm done!

Heck a clean xp install with all it's updates can be almost 15 gigs (if you just to auto update and don't control what updates you take). I have 1.5 TB and with all my 3d models, textures and reference images I almost have it full. My point is, you'll never have enough space I would get an external and offload whatever you can. I like to get Windows it's own hard drive, I install programs on another and have all my files on the third drive.