Darren.

Loyal to a point. Well, guess my Buffalo Bills loyalty is not to a point. I've been a fan ever since I was a kid. While they are my favorite, I do so enjoy NFL that I love watching quality players like Peyton Manning, Kap, Brady, Wilson, Spiller, Petersen, Larry Fitz, et al. (I have to say my hatred of the Patriots has been a long time calming down. *years* of angst. But Brady is so darn good, I can't hate forever ) On the NBA side of things, I tend to follow players more than teams now. I was a 76ers fan in the Dr. J days, hated the Lakers and Celtics, but in the 90s I became a big fan of the Mavs - and was really excited for Nowitski to win his first title. But I also like Kobe Bryant, so I root for the Lakers... College, not too much a fan. I'll watch big games, have no real rooting interest in any specific team.

I really start to feel it in my elbows if my gear is too tip heavy. I'd buy all super-light gear if I could, but in the mean time, I've got a single weight attached to my Chronarch (casting) setup to bring the balance right about where the reel is seated. Don't have any of my spinning rigs (currently) using balancing systems, although I've used them in the past. So for me, when I'm fishing wacky, TX, etc., I move my tip all the time, so the lighter it is, the better.

Until I bought my Lexa 100 and Chronarch 50e, all light stuff was via spinning gear. I've been able to dial in both the Lexa and 50e to cast weightless Zoom Finesse worms (4.75") wacky rigged on a 2, 1, or 1/0 wacky hook (Gammy, Owner) anywhere up to 30 yards +/-, conditions dependent (i.e., little to no wind, not into the wind). And I use shorter rods - Chronarch on a 6'3" M(H), and Lexa on a 6' MF rod. Weightless stick baits (Senkos, Stick-Os) are a breeze to cast. The Lexa is much easier to dial in for little to no backlashing, not so much the Chronarch, but a trained thumb pretty much resolves that. As well, after spooling my baitcasters, I put a casting plug on and cast as far as I can. I set the rod down, to the plug and pull it another 20 yards or so. Then I go back to my reel, cut a section of electrical tape and tape off the spool. Now if I do birdnest, it'll only screw up that section of line, not the entire spool. (Thanks to Bill Dance for that tip!) Now on my 2 Quantum Accurists, fugheddaboudit. In fact I rarely even pick those up anymore. One thing I continue to work on is skipping, or very low trajectory casting. Spinning continues to rule there.

Hey Jim, welcome aboard!

Nice....

Welcome aboard!

Welcome! Impressive resume Southern bass await your presence! Down here in VA, the fishing is great, but further south, Florida strain beasties are on my bucket list.

Very nice!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

You need to stop Photoshopping these dinks to make us believe you catch beasts!!

A fine knot, but not easy to tie, IMO. I experimented with it a couple weeks back.... I pretty much tie the Albright most of the time, the Alberto/mod'd Albright with lighter diameter lines, usually 7 or 8 wraps up, 4 back down. Uni-to-uni if I don't feel like Albright.

I, too, was in that market. I ended up building stabilizers out of lobster pot buoys that worked great and allowed me to stand. My trolling motor was an awesome addition to that. But since that time, I migrated over to a hybrid kayak which is exceedingly stable, powered by me (paddle) or motor. It is both canoe and kayak, but gunnels are lower to water (kayak) than a canoe. Anyhow, just FWIW.

Over the years I've found that some soft plastics out catch others, some by a significant margin. So I've narrowed down to carry those colors which do best on particular waters. That sort of thing takes time to determine. There are staple colors I always have with me no matter what, others don't make the trip. In fact, "others" wind up on the shelf at home. But there will always be "others". New colors are fun to experiment with. And like you said, not too expensive.

Awesome. Peacock Bass on my must-catch list.

Wait!! She's cheatin', got a glove on! Your man card has a warning point on it now, LOL. Congrats to your wife!

I target bass the vast majority of the time. On occasion I've been known to target panfish (bluegill, crappie) from the yak. Even taken nothing but a long pole or two (no reels) on the yak. From shore, my boys and I have taken all our long poles, even our 20 footer (both fresh and salt).

Welcome aboard!

Can't disagree on McNabb. But as for attitude, I'm sure y'all heard stuff in the local media we didn't hear in the broader media. Too bad (for us). But FWIW, I am more keen on Luck than I ever was on RGIII. The latter, to me, may end up a sad song in the NFL symphony. Something of a beautiful melody that didn't get to play due to brazenness and such. Whatev. I'm a Bills fan, so there!!! LOL

I know I couldn't help myself, but last night I was browsing japantackle.com and drooling commenced when looking at the JDM Shimano Aldeberan BFS (http://japantackle.com/Shimano/Shimano_Aldebaran_BFS.htm). 8.0:1 ratio and 2 gram casting weights?! Be still my beating heart! Thanks for the info, New. I looked at the gold CL reels, never bought. If money were no object, I'd have at least two of the Aldeberan BFS reels. Only thing I find lacking in my 50e is reeling speed. Prefer a 7.0:1 ratio...

Sure hope it isn't the media amplifying the "rip your coach" attitude. RGIII seems to be a legit dude with skills to back up his reputation... Now Manziel?..... but I digress. Either way, arrogance is irritating, and a humbling experience is often the key to bring it in to check. Hopefully that's the case here. If not, then he's gonna get seriously humbled in the pros as opposed to collegiate ranks.

Nice! Never owned an E series Curado... well, perhaps I do in the white E series Chronarch. Either way, great reel(s). My Lexa is pretty nice, too, but not on the level of the Chronarch, obviously.

Welcome aboard!