Goose52

Wenonah makes a good boat for sure. Is yours the standard kevlar or the ultra-light? The Wenonah web site shows the standard at 53lbs and the ultralight at 42lbs... Outstanding if you have to portage. My canoe is only 34lbs, but it's also only 11'6", with aluminum so thin it will bend if you give it a mean look ;D Not a river boat at all but great for the small lakes that I fish. Are you going to fish from yours or just use it for trips?

Sure - you're fishing the bait where the fish are... ;D I think the message you get out of this thread though is that you can catch fish on them... 8-) Now, do you catch as many fish on these as on a $6 spinnerbait? Maybe not, but they're certainly cost effective !

Try a few Wiggle Warts, too! X2 - I've had some good days with Wiggle Warts the last couple months... 8-)

I always thought that you had to be at least 60 to be considered an old fart... but since you, me, Catt, and probably others are all 58, perhaps we can get a "group waiver" and they'll let us into the club a few years early... ;D

The left-hand version of the Carbonlite has been available in BPS stores for a while now but I just noticed today that they finally have it available on-line. For those of you that have been waiting for the LH version, and are not near a BPS store, here's your chance! Of course, sometime in the next 2 or 3 months they may be on sale so it may pay to wait a little longer ... :

At least for today - the cold. Water temp was 38, air temp was 26, rod guides icing up, BC reel line guide icing up, fingers icing up, not fun at all... :-/

At least for today - the cold. Water temp was 38, air temp was 26, rod guides icing up, BC reel line guide icing up, fingers icing up, not fun at all... :-/

At least for today - the cold. Water temp was 38, air temp was 26, rod guides icing up, BC reel line guide icing up, fingers icing up, not fun at all... :-/

Just got home from fishing and for sure have discovered the "floor" for the Seirus gloves. Air temp was 26 and no wind or rain (water temp was 38 btw). 10-15 minutes only until the fingertips started stinging, even with an outer glove on the left (rod) hand). Just the Seirus glove on the right (cranking) hand. Kept fishing for a total of about 30-35 minutes and had to give up. Fingers stinging really bad, rod guides icing up (dunked rod in water after every second cast), and BC reel line guide icing up (had to keep exhaling on the guide to "de-ice" it). Not much fun and no bites. It's clear that this winter I will only be going out when the air temps are above 32 for sure :-/

A-Jay - this is from my tackle box...

I was thinking about this thread earlier today and the comments about having tournaments limited to this back-to-basics type of gear. Then I related that to automotive spec racing and wondered where a fishing "spec class" would go. Can you imagine "supertuned" Zebco 202s? Rod handles removed and special resins applied inside the blank to improve sensitivity (is that possible?). Buying hundreds of the spec lure(s) to select the best ones. Hook hangers and line ties on the spec lures removed and drilling or weighting performed to make the bait run better or to alter the character of the bait. Weighing/measuring/pull testing the spec line to select those batches with superior performance. And on and on....! Once all of that happened, then the organizers would through their hands up in the air and just buy all the stock "spec" equipment and issue it to the competitors just prior to the tournament ... ;D

I was thinking about this thread earlier today and the comments about having tournaments limited to this back-to-basics type of gear. Then I related that to automotive spec racing and wondered where a fishing "spec class" would go. Can you imagine "supertuned" Zebco 202s? Rod handles removed and special resins applied inside the blank to improve sensitivity (is that possible?). Buying hundreds of the spec lure(s) to select the best ones. Hook hangers and line ties on the spec lures removed and drilling or weighting performed to make the bait run better or to alter the character of the bait. Weighing/measuring/pull testing the spec line to select those batches with superior performance. And on and on....! Once all of that happened, then the organizers would through their hands up in the air and just buy all the stock "spec" equipment and issue it to the competitors just prior to the tournament ... ;D

I was thinking about this thread earlier today and the comments about having tournaments limited to this back-to-basics type of gear. Then I related that to automotive spec racing and wondered where a fishing "spec class" would go. Can you imagine "supertuned" Zebco 202s? Rod handles removed and special resins applied inside the blank to improve sensitivity (is that possible?). Buying hundreds of the spec lure(s) to select the best ones. Hook hangers and line ties on the spec lures removed and drilling or weighting performed to make the bait run better or to alter the character of the bait. Weighing/measuring/pull testing the spec line to select those batches with superior performance. And on and on....! Once all of that happened, then the organizers would through their hands up in the air and just buy all the stock "spec" equipment and issue it to the competitors just prior to the tournament ... ;D

Thanks Eric - keep up the reports ! I have only used Yo-Zuri on my deep-cranking rod - some 10lb that I snagged out of the bargain bin at Gander Mountain last year. After our earlier posts, I found that I had some of that 10lb left - perhaps as much as 70-80 yards - enough (with some backing) to fill the reel on my worm rod. So, it looks like I might be giving it a try-out as well. Gonna be at or below freezing here for a few days but maybe next week I can get it in the water.

K_Mac and I are birds of a feather. My "modern" reels are BPS baitcasting and Pflueger spinning. I do have a vintage Shimano BC reel in-service and a whole bunch of mid-80s vintage Shakespeare Sigma 2200 spinning reels still in front-line service.

X2 X3

Great decision. I wear an auto-inflatable PFD at all times when on the water. I fish alone and am not going to take any chances.... As you said, Mustang is a known brand so I don't think you can go wrong. The unit you're looking at has 35lb of buoyancy which is a step up from the 22-25lbs of the entry level unit. As for auto vs. manual, I got an automatic - when I end up in the water, it may be because I got conked on the head or had some sort of stroke or seizure and may not be able to pull the inflate handle. Some people have complained that the bobbin-type auto-inflatables are prone to inflating in high humidity (like when stored in a boat locker) or in the rain. Others have had no problem. The answer to that is to move up to the hydrostatic actuation models that activate on water pressure...but those are still quite a bit pricier than the bobbin-type units. Whatever you chose, make sure you wear it. I sometimes want to take mine off when I'm fishing on really hot days, BUT, it's just like a car seat belt - you really can't predict in advance when you need it so you better have it buckled :

Check out: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1147567893 Basically, the bait monkey just sits on your shoulder, and whispers in your ear that you NEED and HAVE TO HAVE that new rod, new reel, many more baits, the latest gadget or widget, or that new boat (although that's usually called the boat monkey!), etc. It's practically like they take over your body and MAKE you purchase whatever they whisper in your ear. Winter is a particularly active time for the bait monkey. Many folks have hard water, cabin fever, new catalogs, and/or on-line sales (like TWs) and just HAVE to buy something, especially since they can't fish.... I.....can.....resist.....the.....bait.....monkey.

I just got in a TW order I placed during their Black Friday sale. I have all the rods/reels I can possibly use. I've already inventoried and ordered replacement baits for next year. I am immune to the bait monkey and to the TW 12 Days ads. I think..................................

Good luck on your goals! It's nice to have the capability to be on the water, but I still fish more from the bank. The canoe is an all-day kinda thing that I manage once a week, twice a week at best. The other days, I'm still making the short drive to one or more of my 11 local lakes and fishing from the bank for a few hours. Score so far this year? 425 fish (all species) from the boat, 733 from the bank...

Good luck on your goals! It's nice to have the capability to be on the water, but I still fish more from the bank. The canoe is an all-day kinda thing that I manage once a week, twice a week at best. The other days, I'm still making the short drive to one or more of my 11 local lakes and fishing from the bank for a few hours. Score so far this year? 425 fish (all species) from the boat, 733 from the bank...

Good luck on your goals! It's nice to have the capability to be on the water, but I still fish more from the bank. The canoe is an all-day kinda thing that I manage once a week, twice a week at best. The other days, I'm still making the short drive to one or more of my 11 local lakes and fishing from the bank for a few hours. Score so far this year? 425 fish (all species) from the boat, 733 from the bank...

Shyster - perhaps this very one, which I've had since the early 1960s...

A couple of my fish were on the white skirt/blue head, but with a single willow blade. I've only got one of those left and my WalMart is out-of-stock; I'll grab some more whenever they get them in...

If you mean their color code GSGL (Ghost Bluegill) I have one of those - it's still NIB - I'll get around to fishing it someday