Sam

They are identical. Will look into if I am using the same browser. Thanks a million. This is a great start. Yes. Yahoo on both.

Release at 11:25 AM on Wednesday, January 10th. I realize this is unconfirmed but here it is. BREAKING - FLW has received unconfirmed reports that a body has been recovered from Lake Okeechobee. We are working to confirm the details and will share any available news as soon as we can

Computer guys, plus everyone else on the Forum, I have a dumb computer question. I have Yahoo as my home page on my home and office Dell computers. You know, the page that shows up when you go on the Internet and then you pull down your favorites list or type in your search words. My question is simple: Why do I have two different home page formats? The computers are the same age and the Yahoo home pages were installed a day apart. I would think they would be the same. Just wondering if you know what can I do if I want to make them the same. Thanks in advance for your input.

Be sure to let us know how it performs.

Frog, boat and motor manufacturers promote their products to go fast on the water. This is why the Bullet and now other bass boats have motors that will power them to go into the 60's and faster. I went with a friend in November on the Chickahominy River in his Ranger with a 275 HP Mercury and we were cruising smoothly on the river going 71 MPH. No other boats out on the day we went; no wind; no surface disturbances. However, when he blasts off for a tournament you can bet he is going as fast as he can to get to his secret spots before the other guys get to his secret spots.

Bass Pro Shops' Bionic Blade 6-foot medium heavy rod with fast tip for spinning and the Bionic Blade 6-foot medium heavy baitcasting rods should be what you are seeking. $79.00 Check out the Bionic Blade BIB60MHS and the BIB60MHT. They may be on sale later this month when BPS has their winter sale. Good luck.

If you make your kayak camouflaged you won't be able to find it. Keep it red.

Totally on target. X2!!!

Unless the tournament director made the southern end of the lake off-limits, it was open to anyone who wished to venture into the area.

Tom, a number of years ago my club had a Virginia state trooper as our tournament director. He is a great guy and a pleasure having him in our bass club. Since he has to give his commander his days off and vacation requests in January, he would not change the dates of any tournaments no matter the weather conditions. If he did, he would miss the tournaments and lose his day off. I remember driving in southwest Virginia the Friday before the Saturday tournament and calling the guys in the club asking them to ask our tournament director to postpone the Lake Gaston tournament as the weather guys were calling for high winds and heavy rain in the South Hill area on Saturday. No, was the reply. Since our tournament director had taken Saturday as an off day and he could not replace it if he lost it, our tournament director made a decision to have the tournament on Saturday and then stay overnight in South Hill and have our Buggs Island tournament on Sunday. And the guys had motel rooms for Friday and Saturday nights and they wanted to fish both days. The weather could not be that bad they told me. I refused to fish the Saturday tournament and went as a nonboater on Sunday. When I got to the Eastland Creek ramp Sunday morning the guys were huddled up discussing who was going to fish with who, which had me confused since we had already had the draw at our last club meeting. Seems the lake turned into heavy waves due to the wind on Saturday. A number of boats were damaged on Saturday and one of these boats was a constructive total loss as the water pulled the transom off the hull. One of the guys told us that he hit a wave in his Ranger and the water lifted the front pedestal and seat and threw it back at him. The seat and pedestal hit right next to his left. Had it been a foot to the right, he could have been seriously injured or killed. Who won the tournament? A guy who was trying to get back to the ramp in the early afternoon when he pulled into a quiet cove to rest and safety. Since he had nothing to do and was bored waiting for a break in the weather, he started to fish and caught his five bass limit. I have trailered my boat due to weather conditions in tournaments and waited to weigh-in in the parking lot. Better to be safe than sorry. But some guys are just hard headed about tournaments and want to fish no matter the weather conditions. It is a miracle that more guys are not injured in tournaments.

South Florida, there are no speed limits in club or professional bass tournaments. Guys race to their first spot as fast as they can and move around the lakes and rivers as fast as possible during tournaments. In Virginia, each lake has either a speed limit or no speed limit. Virginia rivers have only "wake zones" in some places. Otherwise, it is like the wild wild west when we blast off. The faster the better.

Let's hope so. But the surface of water is like concrete. When you hit it you know you hit it. Still keeping the hope alive.

Not so fast, K_Mac. With the refs missing the two Bamasux calls it looks like they will be earning their money in the second half from the Bamasux supporters. Stay tuned. Remember, LSU was down by 20 against Awbunn and came back to outscore the War Eagles/Tigers/Plainsmen/Whatevers 27 to 3 in the second half.

Planned obsolescence. Used for years in the automobile industry. Rod manufactures always have "something better or different" each year so we will buy their new products. As Tom said above, the research and development departments never stop. It is their responsibility to produce new rods, reels, lines, baits, boats, trailers, motors, pumps, PFD's, flares, and you name it to continue interest and sales in their company's products. Don't worry about it. Just go out and buy some new rods. You need them. And you will make the Bait Monkey happy, too. Happy New Year!

Wow! What replies. Just match the diameter of the fluorocarbon or mono line with the diameter of the braid. Keep it simple, please.

Keep looking and collecting. Sooner or later you will have some interesting antiques.

Let's Geaux Saints!!!!!!!

All types of boats are headed to the area to help with the search. I read that the cadaver dogs are also on their way. Terrible situation. Wakeup call for us all.

One step closer! Of course, I would be surprised if the Saints can knock off the Vikings. But we are one step, closer. Get your favorite dress and wig ready for a parade, and we are only 39 days away from Mardi Gras, so a parade makes sense.

Robert, try to make time. As you get older your responsibilities will become greater with a wife, kids and career. So go out there and have some fun while you can.

Gamma Edge. The choice of many pros.

Hey guys. Hope you two meet to do some fishing later this year. As for fishing for stripers out of Ancarrows, I suggest you both scout out the place so you will know how to get there; the problem crossing the railroad tracks when the trains stop; where to park; practicing hiding everything in your vehicle or taking it out before you go and locking the vehicle and trailer; the nice ramp they have; and the water that you will be fishing. Ancarrows is elbow to elbow guys fishing for stripers. In fact, it is so packed you can probable walk across the Historic James River by jumping from boat to boat only to have the fishermen along the bank holler at you to get out of their territory. When launching and trailering your kayaks please have one of you stay with the boats as the other gets his vehicle and trailer. Have fun; get some shad darts at Green Top; use light line and spinning gear or fly fishing stuff; and wear your PFD and have some fun. And by the way, as an unnecessary reminder, please have your Virginia fresh water fishing license with you. Hit the Richmond Fishing Expo this month up in Doswell and ask the guys at the DG&IF about Ancarrows along with the kayak guys who will be there. Happy New Year!

Thanks, Grumpy. Corrected the error. Mike, please look at the line and bait paramaters on your rods and be sure to stay within them. In fact, going half on the line test is the best application and reel performance. In other words, if the line test is between 10 - 20 pounds, go with a 15-pound test. Let us know what you guys do.

Mike, to be truthful, there are so many ways to rig each setup that it is impossible to give you all of them. Or even one. Of course, you will receive a lot of suggestions and I will give you some, but you need to figure out the line, baits and techniques you have the most confidence and then use them on each setup. That is the fun part of bass fishing. Sometimes the setups are fantastic and other times they aren't. It is a matter of trial and error. And it changes by the hour and the day. Now, for spinning rigs the pros are going to braid, more and more. Some with a leader and others tie direct to the bait. They are using 8 pound braid for plastics. Braid has excellent transmission properties and less line twist. You can use some mono as a backing on your spinning reels to keep the braid from slipping. As for techniques, you can try shaky head, drop shot, Texas rigs, MOJO, Ned Rig, Jika Rig, the Biffle Bug and any other technique you wish to try. Search these techniques on the Forum and on YouTube. As for baits, trick worms, finesse worms, brush hogs, lizards, flukes, Senkos, YUM Dingers, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, crankbaits (Shad Raps are great for spinning rigs) frogs, toads, Z-Bombs in any color of your choice. Just understand that there are three basic colors depending on water clarity: watermelon for clear; green pumpkin for stained; and Junebug for stained and dirty water. Then there are the offshoots of these basic colors like watermelon candy, green pumpkin with black flake, grape, etc. You can drive yourself nuts with all of the available colors. As for hooks, you may want to go with a jig head (1/8 ounce to 1/4 ounce) to use for your shaky head; a light weight hook for the drop shot; and any hook of your choice for the rest of the plastics' presentations. For Texas Rigs, use a tungsten bullet weight. The lightest weight necessary to get the bait to the bottom. For Senkos and YUM Dingers, learn how to rig them "wacky style" so you can catch multiple fish on them. Now hang on. You will be getting some excellent suggestions for each rig from the guys and gals on the Forum. Just remember to experiment until you find what you have the most confidence in using. Good luck and the Bait Monkey loves you!

AQ, my suggestions and comments on your situation: 1. Hooksets are free. Go ahead and set the hook anytime you feel a hit. 2. Go to a shaky head presentation on 8-pound braid using a Zoom Trick Worm in the Junebug color. Tie braid directly to the 1/8 ounce jig head you need to use for this presentation. 3. Use a spinning rig for the shaky head presentation. 4. Always keep a finger on your line. You will feel the taps better. 5. Always keep the line somewhat tight. Very little slack. 6. Keep rod tip up, around 11 o'clock. 7. Fish the shaky head slow. Cast out. Let sit on bottom for 20 seconds, then start your slow retrieve in sections. Sit, move a little, sit, move a little, sit. Remember for every one inch you move your rod tip the bait can move up to six inches on the bottom. Then do it again until the bait returns to you. 8. Use a "fan" pattern. Start on your left against the bank, then move the bait a little out and then in small steps move it to your right. When you get the bait to your right, do it all over again in the opposite direction. 9. Always watch your line. If it moves a bass has picked up your bait. And keep concentrating on your line transmission with your finger. 10. You can use a Zoon finesse worm, too, in lieu of a trick worm. But a shaky head or Swamp Crawler (smaller than a trick worm) may be substituted. 11. If you can see the bass the bass can see you. Try to stay out of sight. You can use the "fan" technique for a drop shot or Texas rig or any bait of your choice. Now, let's talk about the fish looking at your bait and not hitting it. Change colors. Go from watermelon to Junebug to green pumpkin. For some unknown reason, the bass are looking at your presentation but are not interested in killing or eating it. So there is a problem and the first step to try is changing colors. After changing colors, you need to change techniques. Use a scent on your plastics. Although the verdict on scents has not been finalized, JJ's Magic, MegaStrike or the scent of your choice will work. Your homework is to work at colors, baits and presentations. Something is wrong and you will have to figure it out. And don't be too upset. This happens to all of us, especially when throwing crankbaits. The bass will run to the crankbait and then turn away because they don't like the color, the speed, they saw the line, or who knows why? Good luck and let us know what color, bait and technique works.