.ghoti.

Precisely!

ROFLMAO! I just had to spit out a bite of my lunch to keep from choking. Thanks a lot Chris.

How about the buffs / head-wraps / bandannas, or whatever you call them?

This is really simple. Look at the angle the line forms with respect to the handle of the rod. DO NOT allow it to become less than 90 degrees.

I really like Ish's Phat Frog. I will be buying more of those for sure. Thanks for the samples.

good ones a recipe for kidneys. cook the whiz out of "em.

100% deet is the only thing I've ever found to be effective. I spray down ankles, socks, pants cuffs and shoes. The taller the grass, weeds brush, etc is the higher you go when spraying your pants/shorts/legs.

I had 7 PT reels, and every one had grease on the drum and in the brake blocks. I got it all cleaned up, then lubed the drum using one drop of oil on a q-tip. Open it up and take a look. Over-lubing is typical and easy to spot, and correct.

Since this thread got resurrected I have a couple of thoughts. I'm glad somebody brought up the fact that the fingers are one the body's most sensitive areas. This was the basis for my initial hypothesis. I started with the idea that all signals were processed through the fingers, and wanted to determine which of the fingers was the most sensitive. The short back-story is; I have a new reel seat design I've been working on, and thought I might modify the design to provide more blank access to the minor digits; if they indeed proved to be the best parts for the job. That did not prove to be the case, so it's back to the drawing board. But not before some additional research. My new hypothesis is the wrist's ability to detect movement is the true basis for what we refer to as sensitivity, in this application. I'm going to test that this year.

OUCH! There's no denying accidents happen. I broken a few in my time, and not one of them was due to a manufacturing defect. Every one was my fault entirely. Glad to hear you have the Mickey Mouse Plan John. LOL Seriously, I brought this up because I see a trend. Loomishimano took a ton of flack when they modified their expiditor program. We all heard a lot of people say they'd never buy another Loomis rod. Next on the bandwagon was Kistler. They went even farther, and took even more grief about their new policy. Lately Powell came out with a budget line of rods with no replacement policy at all. Just a short term, defect only replacement policy, and no insurance program. And they would decide what was a defect and what wasn't. Their marketing baldly stated that this was to get the price point down. This didn't cause much of a stir at all, compared to what happened when Loomis and Kistler got real. Granted, this is a budget priced line of rods, but I think we can all see where this is going. I think we're in for a lot more. And we'd best get used to idea, because it's not going away. I would be willing to bet that, in the very near future, only the highest end rod lines will feature an insurance policy.

Stupid answer time, John. I like them. I like them a lot. I have several Avid and LTB rods, and will no doubt buy more before I'm through.

Sorry Mike. I had to pay you back for trying to drown me Sunday. LOL I had a great RoadTrip, except for the catching part. I was only there until Tuesday morning. I left before the weather became civilized. The SNW&CS was pretty good this year. Had a good turn-out, and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves. I need to thank zip pow for the deluxe fruit tray, and for his peach flavored "corn wine". Thank you Brandon. I had to force myself to stay away from whatever that cheese dish was in the middle. It was top shelf. If you can get me a recipe, I'd be in your debt. Actually, we are all in debt to Brandon. he did a lot of legwork making this trip happen. Thank you, sir. Thanks to WMD. He brought some good wine and some munchies to add to the spread. Thanks Mike. Thanks to 00mod. He contributed a large bottle of chard. That made Keri's trip better. He also hooked me up with a case of my wife's favorite wine, at a nice discount. Thanks Jeff. I owe you one. Made some new friends this trip too. Ick was my room-mate while I was there. What a lousy name for one of the good guys. We have a surprising amount of stuff in common. I'll see you again Jim. 00mod. I know I'll see you again too. Maybe on the White River with Hotdawg. Chris at Tech. Didn't get to fish with this guy, but we did have dinner together. Another one of the good guys. Hope to see you next time. Scorcher214 I got to fish with him and Glenn. Good times and good company. Andrew, I expected to meet somebody older. That's a compliment young man. See ya next year. Traveler2586 Nice meeting you Eric. Next time maybe we'll wet a line together. Riskkid2 Not a new friend, but an old one I thought was gone. Great to see you again Carl. Don't disappear again on us. As usual, I neglected my duties as a photographer. Not a real loss, as I am one the worst picture takers in existence. I'll forward the few pics I took, just as soon as I find my camera, that is. When's the next trip? Can we all get together again; next week maybe?

And I would prefer to pay less. Actually, I would prefer to not pay for somebody else's mistakes. I know I am not going to: run 80 pound line on a rod rated for 17. high-stick while fighting a fish. use the rod to get free of a snag. use a bait heavier than the rod's rating. throw the rod into the back of a pickup truck. "set" my reel's drag with a pair of pliers. lift a fish into the boat with the rod. put 18 rods in a rod locker made for 8. etc, etc, etc, ....... All the above constitutes abuse. Why should I have to pay for something I will never do?

Right on the money John. The quote is from Gary Loomis. I'd say he knows a thing or two about the rod business. Kent, yours is a story with a happy ending. What I wanted to point out is the other side of the story. Every person who buys a St Croix LE pays something extra to cover the cost of replacement for whoever breaks a rod. It's insurance, not a warranty. I think we will see this practice go away in the very near future. What I would like to see is this type of coverage offered as an option, not as it is now; a built in cost to everybody.

I have a bunch of rods and reels. I can't say which would be my numero uno, but the following four always go with me. Loomis GLX 7'1" M-XF Setyr Response 7' M-F St Croix LTB 7' M-F St Croix Avid 6'8" M-XF

I've posted below a quote, from a reputable company, giving the manufacturer's view of rod warranty. This is a quote. I've changed only the company name, at the end of the quote, to XYZ. We often get the question of what warranty do you have on our rods. We want to take a moment to explain the facts about warranties, and draw a clear line between warranty and insurance. Imagine two guys buy an identical rod. Jason treats his rod like his first born son. It has a special case and never goes anywhere without being in the case. He catches hundreds of fish a year, never over lines the rod and knows how to get the most out of the stick. He cleans it with furniture polish, and washes the cork. Jack throws his rod in the back of his pick up. He overlines and throws a lure double the rod’s rating. He also catches a ton of fish, but he high sticks them and tries to lift his fish in the boat like he’s on the bass tour. Jason will be able to pass his rod down to his son. Jack will be back asking for a new rod in the first six months. Jason and Jack pay the same for the rod. For a company that offers an unconditional warranty to stay in business, it has to charge enough to both Jason and Jack to cover Jack’s return. Jason should be ticked off at Jack because Jack is costing him money. Rather than raise the price of an already serious investment to cover an angler like Jack, we offer a warranty for manufacturing defects only. Most rod companies offer the same language, but don’t tell you what “manufacturing defect” means. Manufacturing defect means a guide ring pops out, a guide comes loose, a tip top comes off, a handle breaks free, a part of the reel seat breaks or a blank breaks on the first couple of outings. Manufacturing defect does not mean: slamming the rod in a car door, house door, cabin door, etc.; jamming the rod tip into the ground or other large, immobile object; cracking the rod over a tree limb, gunwale, overly excited dog, etc.; using the rod as a step to enter or exit a boat, float plane, helicopter, etc.; high-sticking or reefing on the rod while hung up, on a sounded fish, and so on; and any other abuses, as well as normal “wear and tear.” What most anglers want is insurance. No one after getting into a car accident calls up Ford, Chevy or Dodge to ask why they don’t warranty a dented quarter panel. Yet the first thing that people do after a rod accident is call the maker and ask for warranty replacement. Now accidents happen to most of us, even to guys like Jason. Accidents, while not the fault of the rod, must be handled in a way that makes anglers happy yet keeps us in business. The key is to work together and be honest. I can tell you that it is easy to work with the guy that says, I broke this rod, it was my fault, I love your products and I’m just sick about what happened, what can you do to help me out? We want to help this guy get back on the water. This guy has integrity and we want this guy to use our rods. Last fall I had a guy call and ask me to replace a rod made by XYZ. He told me it was a defective rod and that we should stand behind it. XYZ was four companies and 20 years ago. It’s hard to want to help this guy. In most cases, we work with the angler to repair the rod at a cost that covers shipping, materials, and labor. If you break a tip, you’re probably looking at $50-$75 plus shipping. If you break a handle, it might be $75-100 plus shipping.

Hey Mike, what vintage was that wine? Wednesday or Thursday?

AH MAN ROFLMAO How did I miss that one? And, just for the record; our CONVICTED governor.

FAMILY TREE OF VINCENT VAN GOGH His dizzy aunt ----------------------------------------------- Verti Gogh The brother who ate prunes------------------------------- Gotta Gogh The brother who worked at a convenience store ------ Stop N Gogh The grandfather from Yugoslavia ----------------------------- U Gogh His magician uncle -------------------------------- Where-diddy Gogh His Mexican cousin ---------------------------------------- A Mee Gogh The Mexican cousin's American half-brother ------------ Gring Gogh The nephew who drove a stage coach --------------- Wells-far Gogh The constipated uncle --------------------------------------- Can't Gogh The ballroom dancing aunt --------------------------------- Tang Gogh The bird lover uncle --------------------------------------- Flamin Gogh An aunt who taught positive thinking ------------------ Way-to-Gogh The little bouncy nephew ------------------------------------ Poe Gogh A sister who loved disco -------------------------------------- Go Gogh The brother with low back pain-------------------------Lum Bay Gogh And his niece who travels the country in an RV --- Winnie Bay Gogh I saw you smiling . . .. there ya Gogh

24. Life isn't like a box of chocolates . It's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow. LMAO!! Just brought home some chinese take-out, and tried eating rice with two toothpicks. Apperently, chinese babies are more coordinated than me.

A St Croix MHF rod is a very powerful stick. Keep that in mind. If you really want to add spinnerbaits to the mix, I'd go with the 6'6" M. There's also much to said for buying exactly what you want the first time. It's usually cheaper in the long run.

I have two rods with recoils, and don't notice the difference. St Croix's medium power rods do fish like most others MH rods. I don't feel any difference between rods with split grips and rods with full grips. In my opinion, it's a purely aesthetic difference. I have both, and like them both. What application did you have in mind?

According to Bill Engvall, dork-fish love corn-dogs.

Try something unconventional. I did by accident and solved this particular problem. Was on a decent deep crank bite when I backlashed the reel on my deep crank rod so badly that when I managed to cut off the snarl there wasn't enough line left to make a decent cast. Rather than swap reels I picked up a Dobyns Champion 7'6" H-F jig rod and tied on a DD22. That rod works great for banging a DD22 in rocks and rippin it out of weeds. I say this was an accident because I had the Dobyns with me to give it one more shot before getting rid of it. The rod would be perfect if the handle weren't so long. I'm still going to get rid of it, but I'm now looking for a rod just like it, in terms of power and action, with at least 6" less handle. So, before you drop any cash on a moderate action crankbait rod, try one of your jig or plastics rods for weed rippin and rock bangin. If you have a MH, or even heavy power fast action rod with a softer tip, try that one first. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Big-O had fish swimming around in his boat that day. Some of us, deciding that excretion being the bitter part of valor, remained ashore. We got "soaked" as well.