flippin and pitchin

Shop, shop and shop ! I managed to get an in store special last year on Shimano Soros 3000's for 97.00 each. They just had a two day deal with Symetre 2500's in a clam pack for 59.97, limit of two per customer. The new 2011 models are just now out so there should be some 2010 models at great prices available.

A 5/16 Oz. Eakins finesse jig will round out your selection. You will be dialed. Good luck.

Is any part of the paperwork in Finnish ?

Carbon fiber or graphite is and has been used for reel frames for some time. Check out he lower end reel on Pflueger's web site. I would be hard pressed to buy any casting reel that has a frame from anything other than aircraft grade aluminum or better. I know nothing of the material Shimano uses in the c-14. The reel gets high praise from all who own it. Will it work on a BC, i'm not so sure. The stress issues are different. Delaware Tackle may need to set me straight on this topic.

I vacuum pack them to keep in the freshness. Just kidding. Combos intact, drags off and upright. Soft cloth covers the rack system to keep them dust free.

Luhr Jensen Speed Trap in Bluegill pattern.

What memories. That's funny. There's a tube color I like from a west coast outlet called buzzard snot. It's another hot deal. It mimics the early spring color of dads in the Columbia.

The GYB Hula Grub is a must have. 4 inch and 5 inch. At least one guy on the forum swears by the 6 inch. The color depends on what you have for crawfish in your area. Out here in Washington the 176 color rules. I like 1/4and 3/8 football heads with exposed hooks. I will have to check that Cabin Creek brand. Good tip.

Right on Cliff. I lean toward a beaver style bait over an actual craw though. BTW, It's still snowing.

What ever you do LET IT HEAL properly and the rehab it. If you don't, you risk long term issues. I was a smart alec kid and bucked my way though a severe ankle sprain when I was seventeen. Twenty eight more sprains later, I realized how stupid I was. My stupidity doesn't end there though. I have many more years of stupid choices behind me. ;)

Lots of big events won with plastics. Last FLW championship, Robo worm. Clauson won in Florida on a worm. Larry Nixon won on the Ohio River with a Gator Tail worm. Lots of elite events won with the RI Sweet Beaver. The Delta event was dominated with beaver style baits. Robert Lee won on the Delta with a tube and a Zipper worm. Too many to recall.

I made that adjustment last year and it's not that hard to get used to, even after 30 years of R/H only.

LC Pointer and X Raps for sure. Try something with some flash and something subdued. Vary the cadence and pauses. Good luck !

Everything posted so far is great advice. Pertaining to color, this last fall I fished a crankbait on a three day trip and wacked them on the first color I threw. I broke it off on a fish and was sick. I only had one of that color. I tied on a much different version of the same bait and continued the same presentation and actually did a bit better. Depth, speed, vibration are far more important than color I think. A two bait horizontal and two bait verticle system is a great way to figure them out.

I agree 100%. 5.4 to 1. Large double willow baits just wear me out on a higher ratio.

My first real bass boat was a 1973 Terry Basser. It was 14 feet long with a 50 HP Evenrude. I was jazzed because it had a bow mount hand controlled battery operated trolling motor and zoomed around the lake with 17 pounds of thrust. That boat has been the first boat for about 6 or 7 others and currently sits in a field and is covered with blackberry vines. I fished my first club event with a single black Bomber Bushwacker spinnerbait. That's all I had. I still have three fiberglass Lews Speedsticks, the hot rods of the day. It's no different than motocross. In " the day" having a Maico, CZ or Husky made you a god and if you had leathers, good heaven. Look at it now. It's all fun, just a different kind of fun.

I want a KVD square bill daddy!! I want one and I want it nooooowwww !!!! Verucha, sweet heart, darling. Sorry, i'm bored.

Not everyone. Many maybe.

They had one on display at the Fort Clatsop museum in Oregon. This is one of the best interpretive centers I have seen and really brings the Lewis and Clark stay on the Columbia to light. Amazing stuff.

Went to the local Wal Mart with the thrifty wife and stumbled on a couple of Rapala Crankin Raps. I have not seen this bait while catalog surfing. Two color only and at a little over 5 bucks it seemed like a bait worth trying. Model CRR-5, 1/2 oz., single internal rattle, VMC hooks and is rated 4 to 5 foot depth. It actually looks like a decent bait. Melon shad and Helsinki shad only. Worth a look.

It's 29 degrees and spitting snow as I type. This is getting very old very fast. How many steelhead have you got this year?

I went on a rafting trip, trout trip combo years ago. Camp was closed and one of my buddies was dying for some bean so he took a pop can, filled it with river water and grounds and set it in the fire. He used the bottom of his shirt to strain it into a cup and slurrped that swill down. That's coffee. He's much more refined now. He enjoys a cup of French pressed Sumatran blend and an orange zest scone.

7'3" is a good length. Good casting and length to move a fish and the 5 power is a beef stick for heavy cover. Not too long for working the bait tip down. That's the set up I use but in a different brand. Go for it and enjoy your trip !!!

Smithwick Rogue in chrome and still made. Made me think on that one.

Wow, you know what biscotti is. : But it ain't a pastry, that's for sure. It's a cookie. Biscotti: also known as canuticcini or biscotti di Prato is a "twice baked cake " and originated in the village of Prato Italy. But I will concede it's eaten like a cookie. What ever you do don't eat them topped with sausage gravy.