.ghoti.

DVT, polishing the drum is one of the best things you can do to a reel with centrifugal brakes. I did several of mine; when I had such reels. After polishing, you can usually go down one setting. If you normally used three brakes, you can go down to two, get smoother braking and better distance. If you have such a reel yourself, try it. You'll like it, I promise you. For you Quantum PT owners, this will reduce the brake noise by at least 50%. I know; I had several 600 and 700 series PT's, and the brake whine really annoyed me. Polishing the drum made them much quieter. I used to have a pair of E7 Curados. Polishing the brake drum improved them also. Ditto Johhny Morris reels. Ditto Patriarchs. Every reel I did this to benefited from the effort. DO NOT use sandpaper of any kind. Use a Dremel, soft felt wheel and ultra-fine polishing compound. The red stuff that comes with the Dremel polishing kit works nicely. Keep a cold, soaked paper towel handy. The drum will get too hot to handle without it.

last 20: graphite rods last 10: GPS last 5: side scan / down scan

I get several gift cards for Christmas every year. They are ALWAYS appreciated. Nobody knows what's in my arsenal but me, so nobody knows exactly what I want or need. A gift card is the best way to go. BPS, Cabelas or ***. TW would be my first choice. They have free shipping on orders over $50. http://www.***.com/giftcards.html?page=giftcards

Oh yeah. These: http://www.flyshack.com/DisplayItem.aspx?ItemID=101937

OK, you get Mrs Long Mike to ask Mrs Ghoti, and we'll make it happen.

How would you know that? You've never asked her.

We'll be there, for another installment of the infamous Saturday Night Wine & Cheese Soiree. Everybody's invited. When the time gets closer, please PM me and let me know if you plan to be there Saturday evening.

Now, that's funny right there.

I bought some a couple of years ago, from FFO thinking they might be a good alternative to the Senko. They are not.

I haven't been buying the craws. I buy lobsters and baby craws. Looks like I'll have to start buying craws. Like I need an excuse the buy more baits. :D

I still have a few of them. I use "em for muskie. I've never caught a bass on one. Or a striper for that matter; no stripers where I muskie fish.

Will we be seeing these new, cool colors in the Lobster line-up soon? Or better yet, Space Monkeys?

That was amazing. Hey slone, thanks for the tip. I've never seen this guy.

I made a call Long Mike last week to pass on a warning. The FBI was looking for two men; one bad-arse s.o.b, and one retard. I had to tell Mike that I had been apprehended and he needed to get his crayons and helmet and get out of Dodge. He posted this, so he must have managed to sneak away.

Had some home-made tortellini the other night. Deelish! I had one left one my plate and couldn't decide what to call it. Tortellinus? Tortellinum?

Well Santa, since you asked, I will take on of these, PLEASE! http://www.japantackle.com/Daiwa_reels/Megabass_Carrozzeria_limited_Racing_Milano.htm

If you can get the Ito for $150, go for it. That choice is a no-brainer. Be aware that the clear plastic side plate on that Ito will require tender loving care. So does the unfinished aluminum frame. I've always thought the unfinished frame on that reel was a real brain fart on the designer's part. Why would anybody with half a brain specify unfinished aluminum for a fishing reel frame; something that is going to exposed to the elements during normal use? It makes no sense to me. But, if you can get one at that price, go for it, and take extra care with it. The Alphas are my favorite reels. I have a 103, two 103F's and an R Edition. Your choice of rod for those baits is going to be at least as critical as choice of reel. Not many baitcast rods will load properly with baits that light. I only have one rod I would recommend; a St Croix LTB 6'9" ML-XF. There may be others available that would be suitable; I just don't have any experience with them. Just a question for you; why not a good spinning combo for the baits you listed?

How can you go wrong with bourbon and bacon? I mean, that's two of the major food groups.

Christmas Cookie Recipe 1 cup of water 1 tsp baking soda 1 cup of sugar 1 tsp salt 1 cup of brown sugar Lemon juice 4 large eggs 1 cup nuts 2 cups of dried fruit 1 bottle Crown Royal Sample the Crown Royal to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the Crown Royal again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the Crown Royal is still OK, try another cup.. Just in case. Turn off the mixer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Pick the frigging fruit off floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a Dewscriver. Sample the Crown Royal to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt, or something.. Who giveshz a sheet. Check the Crown Royal. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of AR, or somefink.. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window. Finish the bottle of Crown Royal. Make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher. Cherry Mistmas

I'm not interested in that rod, just in the idea that more rods will be forthcoming. I've been playing around with rod building; just practising with el cheapo components to get up to speed. I'd already decided that when I think I'm ready to build a "real" rod for myself, I'll be building it on an NFC blank.

http://www.edgerods.com/

I gotta tell ya folks; this is the best magazine I've seen in a long, long time. Over the years I've subscribed to every fishing mag out there. The only one I've continued to renew is In-Fisherman. If subsequent issues are up to the very high standard set by the first BAM I received, this is one I will continue to renew. It is printed on heavy, glossy paper. It feels much more substantial than any other mag I've ever seen. Lots of good articles, by well know fishermen, really good pics, and not that much advertising. What I cal the info-to-propaganda ratio is very high. The amount of information in the one issue I've received so far is about what you'll get from a whole year of Bassmaster mag. BAM blows Bassmaster completely out of the water. You owe it to yourselves to try this out. If you think it's a lemon, well, convince me, and I'll post a vid of me eating a lemon.

I have one of each. I'll give you my thought, for what they're worth. The two rods are so different, it is hard to compare them. The Dobyns Champion is a 7'6" heavy power fast action rod, listed as a c-rig, light jig rod. It's not a broomstick. Has a nice soft tip which I like. I almost never throw a c-rig, but I do use a light jig a lot. The rod is not what I'd call a light jig rod. Way to much rod for light jigs, but that may be a case of different definitions of the term. For some, a light jig is 3/8oz. For me, that's the heaviest jig I use. A light jig is 3/16oz, and this rod is too much rod for that. I use it for frogs, buzzbaits and paddle-tails. Not the intended usage, but it works well for those apps. I have to say, that for a 7'6" heavy power rod, it is very light, and very sensitive. It seems to be very well built, and I have no complaints at all. Not sure it's worth the MSRP, but for what I paid for it, the rod is excellent. The Kistler Helium LTA is on the other end of the spectrum, being a 7' med-light power rod. The action is not given, but it's what I'd call a mod-fast action. I think this rod is intended for cranks, but I have a better crankbait rod. I use this for flukes and houdini shads, and for almost nothing else. This rod is very, very light and the sensitivity is about as good as it gets. This also seems to be very well built. I really like the composite grip. It is very comfortabel and feels extra secure when in the hand. Very different rods, and difficult to compare, being so far apart in power, action and application. Since we're on Bass Resource, I'll talk about bass tackle. I have 15 baitcast combos I use for bass fishing. I terms of favorites, the Kistler is in the top three, and the Dobyns is in the bottom three. And that probably tells you more about me than it does the rods. To answer the original question, I prefer my LTA over the Champion. When making the comparison between and LTA and a Savvy, for me it would be a no-brainer. The LTA wins that one, hands down.

One thing to keep in mind while waking a spinnerbait, or any other speed/depth retrieve, is to break it up. Do not just chunk and wind. Speed it up, slow it down, stop it, jerk it, change rod position, etc. If there's something to bump the bait into, by all means ram it. Anything to make it more erratic. Experiment and let the fish tell you how they like it. Also, while waking, speed it up enough to make the blades pop out of the water occasionally. This works nicely with willow leaf blades.

Depends on where and when, but most of the time I'm in the Big-O camp and all rods are rigged with plastics and jigs. Sometimes one spinnerbait and/or one jerkbait.