Sam

When you get your wife to use your Bass Pro Shop VISA card so you can score on the rebate points and she has no idea. ;D

Funny. ;D

Ever think about a stress test? Lost a good friend to a massive heart attack at age 61 and he was the picutre of health. Ole college buddy #1 had single bypass surgery last year and he is an avid tennis player and is skinny as a rail. Ole college buddy #2 watches his weight and diet as he has diabetes and he had quardruple bypass surgery in September. Glad you are working out. I need to get back in the pool and walk before I blow up like an elephant. Be Thin - Be Happy!

I think the colors are for us, the fishermen. A shad color is a shad color even though there are many shad colors. And many variations of the other colors depending on the manufacturer. But I agree, we all have too many colors which can confuse the daylights out of us. The only winner in the color game is the Bait Monkey! ;D

Part 2... I just thought of some other items to share with you. Work in the industry or at a store that does the same thing you want to do. Friend worked at a florist shop before he started his florist store. He now has a chain. His wife used to sit in her car outside different florist shops and write down the names of the delivery trucks to find out where they got their flowers. He and she are both University of Richmond graduates. I worked for an insuance consulting firm for eight years and started my company based on what I had learned. So far, so good. Take business courses in college. Speak with your professors about the retail business. And get to know people. You will find out that it is not what you know but who you know. And don't be in a hurry. You have lots of time to decide what to do and to raise the capital to do it. But once you get married it is a whole new ball game. So plan accordingly. Get that degree. It is a door opener and no telling where it will lead you. Good luck.

Boett43, The guys have some outstanding advice for you to consider. Please let me add my two cents. 1. The retail business is tough. Long hours; working over the holidays; lots of paperwork; overhead can be a killer; taxes suck; landlords are a pain in the fanny; insurance is not expensive but if it is not written correctly you could suffer a serious financial loss; lots of stress on self and family. 2. Do your research regarding the location. Location, location, location. The secret to a successful business. And put into the location formula the distance from your home to your store. You will be traveling to the store in very bad weather to make sure your live stock of minnows and gold fish are OK. 3. Service. Small tackle shops offer service and advice you cannot get at Bass Pro Shop, Cabella's or Gander Mountain. Staff has to be friendly and knowledgable. That is why I go to the smaller tackle shops - to purchase what I need and to talk to the sales staff about what others are buying and the body of water I will be fishing. And employees are your worst nightmare. Attracting and retaining valued employees is the greatest challenge to all businesses. 4. Money. You can make a lot of money in the retail business. However, be ready to share it with your employees and the tax collectors. 5. Banking. You will need financial support. Shop banks for the start up money. Be ready to put your house up as collateral. Be ready to have your wife sign the papers, too. Have a written business plan. You can see them on the web to get an idea of how to put one together for your bank. Overall, I would love to start a high level tackle shop featuring only the high end fishing products. But as I think about it I really do not want to give up my time and put myself and family under the added stress of starting a business. But follow your heart, with some input from your brain and from others in the business, from those who have their own retail store and your family. Always remember that owning your own business is very gratifying. The gratification comes with some baggage. If you are ready to accept and address this baggage then go for it. Good luck.

The Curado 100 and 200 are excellent choices. My Castic's are very good reels, too. I would suggest getting the Chronarch. I doubt you would go wrong with the Chronarch.

I use them all. Even have used bullet weights tied on when needed. I don't think the weight makes that much difference. If you use the ones where the line can be pulled out you can save your line and hook. In Ike's DVD, he ties a knot on the end of the line when fishing the bell shaped weights. That surprised me as I just pull the line through the wire loop without any knot. I wonder if you could add a rattle by the weight to add to its attraction?

Pictures Avid, Pictures. Do we take bets of how long before the canoe turns over with you in it????????

I like all of my BPS rods. Even the Woo Daves rods are OK. The higher end rods are even better. Try a Kistler or a G. Loomis and you can see and feel the difference.

Avid, you may have a point. I don't T-Rig jigs and I am wondering if the skirt would be any different with a jig than a Texas Rigged setup. Good question. Let's see what the guys have to offer.

P.S. For all you Gulp! users. Put your Gulp! worm in a wet wash cloth or paper hand towel to keep it supple while fishing. Of course, at the end of the day you will have to throw it back into the water for the turtles and catfish.

Powerbait is very good. With the new Gulp! tubs you can now save your bait for another day. I put Mega Strike on my plastics and hard baits. Fish seem to like it. Read what Dr. Keith Jones has to say about attracants in his book and you may change your mind about scents. I have Dr. Jones' secret formula for plastics and will be using it on the Pamunkey River next month. Yummy!!!!!

I have seen bream and small bass look at my line. Turtles will also look at your line. If you think this is a problem may I suggest experimenting with different line colors? Clear, green, blue, red, braid, etc. Lines come in a variety of colors to try to mask their appearance so you may want to experiment. Consider reading Homer Circle's book that addresses line colors or read what Dr. Keith Jones has to say about colors in his book.

Sounds good to me but I live in Virginia and do not do much, if any, saltwater fishing. I know that this is stripper time in the Garden State so have fun catching those beautiful big fish.

Fantastic. Great. Super. Terrific. Sensational. Outstanding. Unbelievable. Above all expectations. Should I say more? Congrats. Thanks for sharing and we are all proud of you and your accomplishment.

Man I hate when that happens. I would summarize that the other boater knew of the brushpile and he was going to fish it no matter if anyone else was fishing it or not. You did the right thing by moving away. No telling if the guy had a gun or was just a nasty person. Now the big question for you: "After the adventure with the other boater running you off your spot, would you render him help if he needed it later that day?" Easy question - difficult answer. I would think my hearing and eyesight would have taken a rapid turn for the worse as I made distance between us. What is your take?

Then it's true. They are here and they have visited earth. They are among us. They are on this forum. They are coming out on Halloween. They may even be running for President. ;D

And don't forget that Nebraska will be looking for a new coach, as will A&M. So you may lose your coach if he continues to do well. KU is a great story this season. They should defeat Nebraska but A&M and Okie State could be problems. Now, when does basketball season start?????????

Have fun now, for on November 3rd Bama is going down. Again. To LSU. I have my "Saban is a ******" tee shirt and bumper sticker ready to go. And then Bama will have two patsies and then its the sixth, or seventh, consecutive loss to Auburn. Roll Tide Roll, around the bowl and down the hole, Roll Tide Roll. Isn't college football fun?????? Vandy beats Spurrier. Tennessee gets anilated by Bama. LSU outsmarts Auburn. Georgia is Dr. Jeckye and then Mr. Hyde the next week. Kentucky now knows what a ball that is not round and bounces can do. The SEC West is up for grabs with 5 of the 6 teams having two losses. And Tulane continues it's losing tradition. Man, what a fun season. I can't wait for November 3rd to get here!!!! P.S. The Indy Bowl is not a bad bowl. You will like Shreveport and Bossier City on a cold December night.

Don't quote me on this but I think KU had a good football team back in the 40s.

Chatterbaits are fun to throw, especially if you like the vibrations. They still produce in ponds and the local Virginia rivers. The blue/black color seems to do the best although chartruse has been productive. Only problem I have with the original Chatterbait is that the hooks are not as sharp as I would like to have them so I sharpen the hooks before using them.

Wow! And I thought there were only dead bodies in the Surekill along with a lot of chemicals. Good job.

That's why your dad is a smart person. How was the ramp? Water levels OK? Any crankbait action? Best I did today was a 14 incher at my favorite pond on a scum frog. Missed one on the buzzbait right at the shoreline as I was pulling the bait out of the water. Glad you all caught some on the Pamunkey.

Man, did you have me concerned. A 6 pound, 13 ounce bass from One Fish Anna is amazing. Of course, your newborn is also amazing. Not as amazing as a 6 pound, 13 ounce bass from One Fish Anna, but amazing just the same. Congrats to you and your wife. Have you started the fishing tackle collection for him/her?????