n2ratfishin

I use an Ardent C600, 50 pound Spider Wire, 7.5 foot heavy fast taper flipping stick for both. I fish a bunch of grass so timing is everything with the hookset. If you can't turn that head in the grass once you set the hook you're going to get yer heart broke.

Goose, If you have an Essex near you in TN keep an eye out in that store for Cabela's inflatable PFD's. You have to catch them in there and if you do you can get SCREAMING deals (like 40 bucks). Ardent Reels has a national 1st quarter sales promotion going on. If a consumer purchases an F500, F700 or C400 they will get a Professional Parts Cleaner free. There should be point of purchase in the stores and tear pads that they must complete and send in with proof of purchase to Ardent. They will then ship a free Parts Cleaner. Great reels and products made in the USA with a three year warranty. They are trying to staff the BPS Spring Flings where possible for folks who are interested in reel cleaning info or specific Ardent Reels.

I have a sister in law that graduated Summa Cum Laude from Vanderbilt with a Chemical Engineering degree two years ago. She is currently worried about the job she HATES at Eastman because she cannot get an interview for another job and just bought a house. I am currently working with a certified Civil Engineer from Clemson, graduated Magna Cum Laude and is working as a bank teller because of the job market. We just hired an Admin Assistant that is working on a Doctorate Degree, they could have found a better paying job but was tired of getting laid off and went for something that would allow them to finish their current degree with some stability. My brother in law owned an Outback two years ago with a degree from a highly rated school. He is selling insurance today. There is a thread on another page tonight from a young pilot looking to switch careers because he is making 21,000 a year in a pay range that tops out at 25,500. On the other end of the spectrum the CEO of Lockheed Martin Robert Stevens ranked 17th in pay from Forbes has an undergrad from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, he majored in Psychology. I am hoping my son will finish his GIS degree. He attends a smaller school. The degree and certification will be all that matters as he enters the workforce. If he is smart he will use his Kappa Sig network to it's fullest to get some inside traction. Indeed there is a need for technical skills in the aeronautical field, though a math major, electrical engineer, and many science fields will be competing for those jobs as well. Cuts in NASA and our government buying Air Force planes from Airbus are not going to do the field much good in the near future. Should I go on??? The degree is like a resume. It opens a door that someone else may not have opened. That's ALL it does. Once again, best of luck at VPI. I know it's a good school. I actually had a couple of their engineers qualify to apply to be Air Force Officers on our Air Force Officers Qualifying Test when I gave it on that campus.

How many of your peers do you figure have ever heard of Hampden Sydney College a few hours from VPI? I assure you their graduates are not concerned about the degree they earn "meaning as much" as any other undergrad degree in the state of VA. There are tons of smaller schools out there that are VERY highly ranked in education instead of football!!! I put this up for those that are interested in help with money, love fishing, and want a good future (IE education). There seems to be a bunch of young folks on this page that fit that description. Maybe I just stumbled on the wrong forum? I wish you all the best at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, they have some great programs.

http://www.bethelu.edu/news/home/2010/2/4/new-bass-fishing-team-featured-in-bass-master-magazine If you do well in high school this college offers a scholarship to join their fishing team. Now that's sponsorship at it's finest!

How hard did you look for their contact information??? You may want to send your info to Fish Harder Companies , it appears that either Tim Norman or the man himself Dan Vesuvio are the decsion makers from the five minutes it took me to look up the information. If someone has some inside information that will be even better. Just don't send your cover letter and resume "To whom it may concern" Good Luck

Give me a face to face and I'll leave my resume behind as I thank them for their valuable time.

Reese rod is HEAVY. Check out the Cat rods on their website. Limited actions but great rods for the budget. Of course Basscat doesn't make rods, the people that make them are in the USA. HMMMM who could that be??? Falcon, Avid, St Croix would be other choices if you are buying off the rack.

Suffix and Vicious both are cost effective. I can use backing and change my line every other trip if I like and not break the bank. KVD Line Treatment is one I've found really works for stiffer lines. Put some on a rag and hold it in-between your fingers as you hold tension on the line when spooling. That way you'll coat the new line with conditioner as it goes on the reel.

I hear ya. ;D Ike is a great guy in person, and has done alot for the sport. I was working a show recently and a person walked up to me and asked doesn't _______ use that brand of reel. I answered "I use them what would you like to know"? Once again the person asked, does ______ use that brand of reel? So I finally told him yes and once again asked him what he was looking for in a reel. Basically he was looking to buy the reel ________used.

I do light cleaning and lubes on mine. When it comes time for the big tear down and cleaning it goes to a pro. Ardents little reel cleaning kit has most everything you'll need for general cleaning.

You keep the work ethic strong Tommy. I am currently helping my spouse with her DBA and the paper will be something along the lines of the differences of management styles when dealing with the ME Generation. There is little published on this subject right now, but its coming. In reality with America's aging population it has to come. Lead by example, your peers will listen to you WAY before us old farts.

When talking Shimano It's tough to beat the old green Curado's. I see you are in Clarksville. We can't live more than 30min's apart and I have two of the old five bearing Citica DSV's. One is NIB, and my wife used one last summer. I have switched almost all my reels over to Ardent. The five bearing Citica DSV's were supposed to be the same as the old green Curado's but I don't think they quite hit the mark. I'll take 120.00 for both of them if you are interested. Both are 6.2 gear ratio.

I've thrown my favorite soft body frog a small Scum Frog popper on an old Falcon flipping stick for so many years I've lost count. It's not like it needs to be sensitive for frog fishing. If throwing smaller frogs get a fast taper so you can use the tip to get it out there. If you want a good rod for a great price keep an eye out on the auction sites for the David Vance Lake Fork rods. They are not the best on the water but I got five of them last year shipped to the door for less than 100.00 each bidding wisely. My wife has a Dobyns, it's OK. Once again I don't go all out on a frog rod.

I started typing advice on sponsor resumes when I realized someone has a 13 page deal going on that already. I didn't make it through all the pages. I saw one 17 year old that is good in sales. Here is an idea SALE and buy your own stuff if you are that good. I saw another who's dad was an Operations Exec, here is an idea. Dad do you have some extra chores I can do to earn some money for my first boat? I'm new to this board but suspect there are several here from other forums that like me started with one or two cheap rods, a used 14' tin boat with a little tiller steer motor on it. Now before you go off on me about "I can't compete out of that......The FOM Regional on the Red River several years ago was won out of a boat just like that and that team had won the points championship for the state of Texas. I have a 23 year old. He had a fishing rod the day he was born, still has a ton of them in the garage. If he ever graduates college I hope to help him with a used small tin rig to get him started. I could afford to get him a new boat today, he has the know how, I have the connections to help him with some team deals. I want him concentrating on school. I like those odds better than the odds of becoming a pro angler. If he gets through school and wants to pursue being a pro angler I'll support that 110% percent because he has something to fall back on. Working a job and going to college is no fun but it's teaching him life lessons. I don't mind helping out with resume's. Before you ask you should put yourself in the company's shoes you are sending this document too. They are not raking in the cash as you might imagine. They MUST make a profit to stay in business, your winning a local tournament doesn't help them turn a profit. I like it that so many young folks here have goals! If still want help with a resume have it targeted to a certain company and try to have what you can do for them in your draft. Good Luck!!!

My old tournament partner and I don't get to fish much as a team any longer. He never understood why I always managed to as he said "fall into these sweet deals" while he could never get a break. I'd tell him to keep a fresh shirt in the rod locker for weigh in, skip the beer after weigh in, mingle before and weigh in with a smile on his face and a hand shake. I can't count the miles nor dollars I've spent helping dealers, vendors, etc... over the years. Then again my boat never sits in the shop over a day or so even when I've managed to blow up an engine. I've helped grow small dealers into huge dealers. I can put dollar figures or percentages to almost every team I've ever joined. I'm far from a pro, don't fish BFL, FLW, etc... I may fish one local club a year and a few opens. The #1 RULE, NEVER, NEVER....DID I MENTION NEVER sell out your integrity for some free or discounted stuff. If you don't believe in it 100% do yourself a favor and stay away. Your integrity should never be for sale.

"would be a very worth a wild investment" Wild is the right word here. Why would wrapping your truck and boat be a good investment for them? How many miles do you drive? How many people travel those roads with you? What is the demographics of the areas you typically travel? These are the questions that come right off the top of my head. Like others have said WAY to wordy. The days of free stuff to get the word out are pretty much over in this market. Outside of fishing the tournaments and doing well what did you do at the events? Have you volunteered time to work boat shows, hang banners at events etc... If so what was the outcome of your help? You should have a resume targeted to each prospective "sponsor" letting them know exactly what you can do for them based on your history. Are you in a debate club or another school function that would lend itself to public speaking? I ask because public speaking, heck how you represent them in general matters. There Is a lot more to it than driving around looking cool with a wrap. As a rule today folks look at a resume five to seven seconds on the initial glance. If interested they make take up to two minutes to read the entire document. I don't mean to dash your goals. I offer this advice to help you obtain them.

I have a flex fuel Chevy. My owners manual would ask me to run down the tank before filling with the greater than 10% ethanol. BTW: That engine is about a 700.00 option over the standard engine. If it wasn't on the truck no way would I had it in there. You will lose serious MPG. NO WAY on the outboard. I don't know of one set up to run over 10% ethanol. Once again your owners manual should tell you the max. I am lucky and have a station near that sells non ethanol regular gas for a nickel a gallon MORE and I gladly pay it for my boat gas.

#1 Because I like to go fast as long as it's safe. #2 See #1 #3 For the first time buyer without lessons it can be very dangerous. I wish more dealers would take the time to teach their buyers how to handle the product, and make boaters safety courses mandatory.

I am a new member to this site but a LONG time member to several fishing forums. I see this one is pretty much the same as any other, that being love the one your with (or own at the time). If you want a story from an Ardent Owner here goes, kick back grab a cold one. I have some vintage 1995 Green Curado's that have been re-worked to the point that I've been told they need new gear sets. I've got some new Citica's and some newer Curado's. In years past I've owned Diawa and still have some old round ABU reels, though those are used for plug knocker line winders now. When my Green Curado's starting going bad I wanted to try something different so about 15 months ago I bought my first Ardent XS1000 from a guy who needed the money. It was in the box, I didn't ask many questions if you know what I mean. I read Triton Mikes old review on Ardent before buying and figured one would do for testing. It lasted maybe three months before I broke it. They fixed it for free even though I told them I got it used. The second time it lasted maybe a month. This time they asked several questions on what was happening as I was not a happy camper. I took it on a trip to Florida and on the second day it chit the bed. By now the folks at Ardent and I are getting pretty close and I am trying to describe what keeps breaking, & my not being happy with the sideplate coming loose under pressure. I WANT to buy American but for near 300 clams I'm going to buy the best product. They sent me the new 2009 improved reel free of charge late last spring, I hooked it on the rod I use the most that time of year and slung traps until my arms hurt with it. PERFECTION!!! I was impressed enough I wanted to see if I could help out getting the word out on the improvements and worked out a way to order several more reels to put too use (I needed new ones anyway). I used two 600's and two 1000's all season and have yet to have one hiccup. I've had them at my club meetings, a couple of small boat shows etc.... and the ONLY suggested improvement was on the new 2500 spinning reel still did not have the right "feel" for it's price point. I've only had that one on the water twice, time will tell if I really like it as much as my old Shimano spinning reels. Once again, I WILL NOT buy an American product for the sake of "Buying American", but if it may help save your or your family members job I'll darn sure buy it when it makes sense. The Ardent line is new and I feel like they finally have it right. For the record I still fish with some Shimano's as I have not replaced ALL my reels as of yet. The Ardents will spoil you when you pick it up and it's not freezing cold yet when you pick up that new Curado your hand feels like you just picked up a block of ice. Both good reels, it's your money so buy the reel your heart and head tells YOU is best.

They sell them direct off the basscat website. You may want to pose your question on that owners board to since the owners tend to buy products if BCB has them on their site. I own a few of the regular BCB branded rods, some of the best on the market in the 100.00ish range.