.ghoti.

I have two. I've said it before; they're the best bang for the buck out there. They are just what the name says; light and tough. The goofy looking is handle is very comfortable and secure in my hands. For someone with small hands, I'd recommend trying one before you buy it. The reel seat is far superior to anything Fuji has. Try one for a day, and when you pick up a rod with the Fuji seat, it will feel like something from an earlier time. There are a lot of rods in this middle of the road price range, and this is the best of the lot, for my money. Cheers, GK

Since Long Mike started it: I'm 110111 ( in binary ) or 0101 0101 ( in BCD ) or 37 ( hexadecimal ) or 67 ( in octal ) or "the old man" ( in wife-speak )

Hey Quinn, I'll tell you what I did a few weeks ago. I'd finished upgrading two of my Millionaire reels. Extra bearings, new TD-Z handles, polished all moving parts, etc. And I couldn't stand it. Went out to my favorite little lake, tied on a 5/0 EWG hook, rigged a Senko knock-off, and started casting it accross the ice. Had to make about a dozen casts with each reel. Was just waiting for some funny guy to come along and ask if I had any bites. Not a numb skull either. Had my hat on. Cheers, GK

Quinn, you are one dedicated numbskull. ;D ;D ;D Practicing casting in the sleet. That's a new one, my friend. I'd do it too, if i had a new reel to play with.

Good luck, Robert. Nice touch, keeping the family tradition alive. When you get the online thing going, I want some. Not the $400 a bottle stuff, but something better than my old friend Jose C. Cheers, GK

Great pics, Lee. Thanks I took about 20, and they all sucked.

Thanks for the tip RM. I have the two IAR's that I screwed up, stashed away in the junk drawer. I ordered new ones to replace those. So now that I know what to do to make them work properly, I'll have a couple of spares. Have I said before that it's really nice to have somebody here who truly knows what they're doing? Thanks for being here. Cheers, GK

1- 5" Senko, weightless, Texposed 2- Fat Ika, weightless, reversed Texposed 3- Swim Senko, texposed, weighted and weightless 4- Big Kahuna Cuttail worm, T-rigged 5- GYCB Hula grub, on a jighead 6- Super FLuke, weightless, texposed 7- Berkley Power ribbon worm, T-rigged, or on a jighead 8- 1/4oz single willow spinnerbait 9- Shad Rap 10- Zoom tube, texposed, weighted internally

I'll take a stab at this, and Reel mechanic can come along and correct me if I'm wrong. The lube in the IAR ( instant anti-reverse ) bearing is stiffening up under the extreme cold conditions. This prevents the rollers from moving properly in their slots, which prevents them from engaging when reversed. Not much you can do about that. My advice is, don't mess with it. I've taken an IAR bearing apart to clean and relube twice, and screwed it up, twice. I won't be making that mistake again. Proper operation of this part is very dependent upon the correct amount of the correct lube, and I don't seem to be able to get one or the other correct. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Until RM comes along and sets me straight, that is.

Look at BPS for the Kinami Palm Tree. Same bait, different packaging.

The GYCB Swin Senko is on my "must have" list. So are the original 5" Senko and the Fat Ika. And one more; the Big Kahuna Cut-Tail worm. When I want to throw a T-rig, it's the first bait I try. I only carry two colors; watermelon and junebug. I never hear about the Big Kahuna anywhere. Maybe I should be quiet about it too. Hey, RW, George W. uses a Chug Bug, not a Pop-R. He gave me a whole new appreciation for that old bait. I have a bunch of "em I got on clearance years ago, and stopped carrying them around. They're back in my box now. And, so too, will be the Rattle Trap. I'd quit carrying them around too. I still have to go dig through the garage and find all of the traps I have stashed, and see how many are still good to go. I bet I've got a bunch of rusty hooks that will need to be replaced.

Take a look at these. http://www.rodsbyairrus.com/rods.html Check out the Spectra, Co-Matrix and Ultra XL. All in your target price range. I have one Airrus rod, and would buy more, if I needed any more rods. I personally like the EVA and Hypalon handles more than cork. I have two Team Daiwa rods that I bought in the mid-90's that have black foam grips. The look as good and feel as good now as they did when I bought them. Can't say that about any of the cork grips I have that are anywhere near that age. Not all the high end rods have cork grips. Take a look at any of the JDM stuff. CHeers, GK

Check this out. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat21404-cat21406-cat21436&id=0043146121914a&navCount=1&podId=0043146&parentId=cat21436&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=7IS&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat21436&hasJS=true They're usually a buck apiece. These are half that. 36 for 18 bucks. Plus a box. I just ordered five boxes. Better jump on it while they still have some left. Cheers, GK

COme on, you gotta call it the "Skirt Chaser"

Now lead it by about 250 miles, and you'll hit it every time. ;D ;D ;D Yeah, right That is amazing That should make anyone who wants to take a shot at the USA reconsider their options.

it cleared up nicely here, and I got to see it. i was in the middle of my hour+ drive home when the middle of eclipse occured. i had to pull over and watch for a bit. Got home just as the total part was ending and tried to get some pics. They sucked so bad I deleted them. Sorry guys. I had perfectly clear skies, a great view of the moon and a few bright starts framed by a big pine tree. Thought I had it sacked. But none of the pics looked anything like what I was seeing. Apparently there's a bit more to this astronomical photography than meets the eye. Maybe next time around, eh? Thanks guys for the GOOD pics. Cheers, GK

NICE, Blaine. It's overcast here, and doesn't look like clearing anytime soon. I'm gonna miss it. Looking forward to your pics.

Check out this site. You can find a map, with times, for your time zone. In the central zone, the center of the eclipse is at 9:26 PM. the total last from 9:01 through 9:51. http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2008Feb21/TLE2008Feb21.html The next one is not until the end of 2010

Gear ratio too high Don't look at the ratio, look at the inches retrieved per turn of the crank (IPC). You'll discover that Calcutta 50 is one of the slower reels out there. I'm going from memory, but I believe it's only 16" per crank. The small spool, you know?

Don't use one and don't like them. Hitting it by accident won't hurt anything, until the next cast, when you don't realize it's engaged until it's too late. It's good way to get a face full of hooks. Doesn't do the reel much good either. Also, when you tear the reel down for cleaaning, it's one, or two, more springs you have to go look for when they go flying off into the ether. None of the reels I've bought in the last several years has one, and I intend to keep it that way.

I had two of them, a long time ago. One had "slip rings" that were always coming loose and had to be fiddled with all the time. The other had nothing; I had to tape the reel in place. never found a tape that wouldn't get gooey when it got hot. Plus, it looked like I was too cheap to buy a real rod. Hated both of "em, and gave them away.

Thanks for the tip Ryan. I didn't know that. I think I'll be going to dark colors for fishing the pads. Cheers, GK See, even us old farts can learn something new here.

Ditto on the big thermos of coffee. Unless it's over 95 degrees.

fishin' food: jerky, fruit, water, sometimes cheese. Late night food; real men eat pizza and drink beer.

Hey Speedbead, when you jump in, give us some warning. I want a pic too. ;D ;D ;D Got my beer ordered for the trip. One of my kids is in the Air Force, staioned at the St Louis base, and will pick some up for me at the base exchange. I'm ready to fish. And I'm ready for the beer swap.