Sam

I hate the trigger. I tried to remove it from one of my spinning reels and it was not productive so I put it back. In the future, all spinning reels WILL NOT have any trigger, no matter the size. What Reel Mechanic says is correct, as usual. Use your hand to throw the bail open and close and your spinning reels will last a long time without any problems. P.S. The 6 year boy I take fishing is always having trouble casting with the trigger reel. Drives me crazy as I have to stop and unwrap the line from the rod when this happens.

Live and learn. It only takes one time to find out what not to do. Be careful.

Super. And that pond in the background looks like a great place to fish all year. Keep fishing and posting those pictures. I would think you are one of the few people fishing that pond so have a good time.

Most golf courses are closed one day a week, like Mondays. Try to fish the ponds on the day the course is closed. There may be a few golfers out that day but for the most part you will have the course to yourself. Also, fish early in the AM or late in the PM. Good luck.

I now leave about a 1/8 inch of space between the top of the spool and the line. Less at times but usually not more than 1/8 of an inch from the top. It is so easy to allow the line to go to the top of the spool that you have to watch what you are doing when you spool your spinning reels. Ike's comment came from the Richmond, Virginia Bassarama seminar he did and it applied to using a larger spinning reel for finesse fishing and spooling the line to the top of the reel. You can hear what Ike's says in one of his DVDs. I think it is the Classic Pattern's Tactics for Tough Conditions. And then, maybe I have lost my mind and totally misunderstood him. Would not be the first time.

Dynamite. OK, not dynamite, just a suggestion. What types of fish are they? Carp? Mullet? White perch? If so, your chances of chatching the carp and mullet are from bad to worse. I would suggest doing the following: 1. Purchase a loaf of white bread and tear up some slices and throw them into the water. If the bream start to hit the bread slices then you have a good food base for the bass, crappie and catfish. 2. Using a small #6 gold hook and a bobber, try to catch the fish hitting the bread to see exactly what they are by rolling a small piece of white bread into a tight ball and putting it on your hook. Fish it about 12 to 18 inches deep. 3. If you catch bream then you can try your luck fishing for bass with the appropriate bait, like a white jig, wacky worm Senko, wacky worm Zoom finesse worm, crankbait, spinnerbait, Chatterbait, etc. 4. If no bass bites, then you can fish for catfish or the bluegills or bream or white pearch with the rest of your white bread or using catfish bait. Let us know what you find.

Suggestions for the winter months: 1. Read one or two fishing books. 2. Watch new DVDs or videos on different baits and techniques. 3. Organize your tackle. 4. Clean rods and reels. 5. Attend a seminar. Each winter I do at least four of the five. Attending a seminar is the most difficult if none are in your area. There are great bass books, DVDs and videos available and I watch my Ike and VanDam productions two or three times. The Woo Daves series is excellent. Jimmy Houston, Hank Parker, Zell Roland and Denny Brauer all have excellent books, DVDs and videos on the market. Bigmouth, Bigmouth Forever and The Feeding Habits of Bass are also three videos you need to view. And don't forget Bill Dance's bloopers. He is a riot even though he wears that dumb Tennessee cap. An LSU cap would give him more dignity and professionalism. And being from the frozen north, don't forget to watch Slapshot. One of the greatet films ever made if you like ice hockey. And Mafia starring Lloyd Bridges which is extremely funny. So you can do a lot during the winter months, other than shovel snow!

Virginia and North Carolina. My Virgnia license is for both fresh and saltwater and it is a "life" license. My North Carolina license is good for one year through September of 08.

Wow! Not good to do that. I can see why he has to go. I wonder if he was having anyone place bets for him n the side? If so, you neve could prove it. Maybe Tubby will be going to Aggie land. I hope not. He has a leg up on Saban with recruiting in Alabama and if he leaves for A&M then Saban will control the entire state and part of the southeastern US. Thanks for the info.

Great report. How about a photo of your kayak for us to see? I fished the swimming Senko only once and caught one about a pound. Never have tried it again but need to do so based on your results. Thanks for sharing.

Just be your sweet self and do the following: Dress nice. Some "older" people do not like nasty tee-shirts or tatoos, etc. Ask by being humble and polite and smile. Let them know where you live. Tell them you will not leave trash behind. Tell them you will release all fish. After they say "yes" and you fish a few times bring them a "thank you" gift of candy or a gift certificate to a local resturant. A little sweetness goes a long way. There are six families that have homes on the local pond near my house. Four have said I could fish off their docks. The fifth fishes the pond and I walked over and met her and if I want I could fish with her. The sixth are two guys living together and they are apprehensive about me fishing off their dock so I don't do it. Although I have been known to throw in a line as I stand next to their dock. Good luck.

Yes, but I wonder why you could not remove the hook from the top of the mouth. Maybe a heavier set of pliers would help. I purchased electrical pliers that are 8 inches long to get deep into the fish's mouth when necessary. I have also gone through the gills to remove hooks. But I have never had a problem removing a hook from the top of the mouth. Could you have pushed the hook through and then clipped the barb off and removed the barbless hook? And the only time I have had the hook on a jib break off was when I caught a Bowfin and he made a beautiful flip and the jig hook broke off. Jig hooks are usually strong and they should be removable with a good set of pliers.

My 2500 MgFA works great. Only problem is that Shimano does not include a second spool. Thanks guys. Now I am paranoid about the reel after reading the posts. Oh well, my wife always said I was nuts. ;D

Hey guys, College football is cyclical like almost everything else, including our weather patterns. Look at the top schools today and each school has had some years that were not productive. LSU crushed Southern Cal 23-3 in 1984 at USC. Alabama has fallen on tough times. Michigan has had its ups and downs. Florida went 0-10-1 one season. And enough said about Notre Dame. So you Nebraska fans - just stay calm. The Huskers will return. As will Texas and Texas A&M and a lot of other schools. But for now, let's just enjoy another crazy year of college football and wait for the NCAA to strip Southern Cal of all of its victories and its AP National Championship due to Reggie Bush's behavior. Now that will be fun. ;D

What is the newsletter incident? I did not hear about it. And do you all want Tubby from Auburn at A&M? A&M has such a proud tradition and clean program that I am wondering if Tubby from Auburn is the guy to turn the program around into an annual winner and BCS Bowl candidate? Time will tell. Send Fran to Auburn. That would really stick it to the Bama faithful. ;D

"Its not what you know but who you know." Treat people fairly and you will be rewarded. Congrats on your sponsors. Now do them proud!

Check with the Reel Mechanic on this site. He is a fountain of knowledge and I am sure he can help you or give you some suggestions to consider.

For fun I put on 6 pound Trileen XS test on my spinning reels. For tournaments I go up a notch to either 8 or 10 pounds XS line. Ike says to overspool your spinning reels but I have found that the lines twist off the spool and you have a mess on your hands when you overspool the spinning reel. So I do not overspool the reel and so far everything has worked great, even on my ultra light with the 4 pound test. Thanks to Roadwarrior for the YoZuri suggestion. I will give it a try.

One of the guys in my bass club uses Big Game and he loves it. I was with him when he caught a seven pound beauty in a tournament. So far he is in first place for "Big Fish" this year in the club. So I have no idea about the millimeter differences between the various line poundage; but it must work And the pricing is interesting to say the least. I'll have to check it out as I run out of my Trileen XS.

Many years ago at Watkins Landing on the upper James River west of Richmond there was a guy who drove his SUV onto the river's bank adjacent to the boat ramp heading east towards Richmond. I understand that he got stuck in the mud and had to abandon his vehicle. Today, about 100 yards downstream from the landing there is an upside down vehicle with the wheels poking out of the water. I always wondered if this was his SUV. Anyone out there know about this??????

Ike will be back. Don't fret. Ike will be back. The world will be safe with Ike on a roll next year. Triton9, shouldn't you be doing homework and not fooling around on this site during a school week? Or better, figuring out how to out-fish Basspro48??? ;D

Simon, There are two schools of thought on the use of trailer hooks, other than not using them. The first is to place the rubber tubing over the trailer hook's eye and then thread it onto your bait's hook. The second is to place the trailer hook on the bait's hook and then place the rubber tubing, with the open ends facing sideways, onto the bait's hook. In the first option, the trailer hook is secured and will not move. This means it can act as a "rudder" and cause your bait to run sideways. In the second option, the trialer hook does not have that much affect on the bait but some say that it reduces the hook-ups as the hook is free to move up, down and sideways as the bait is pulled through the water. You also have to double check the trailer hook as you fish using this method to make sure it does not slip down towards the bait's barb. If it does, just push it back in place. In all cases, try using a trailer hook that is one size smaller than the bait's hook. I use the second option and have not had any hook-up problems that I am aware. I use trailer hooks on buzzbaits, spinerbaits and Chatterbaits. I have been know to put one on a topwater frog, too, if the bass are missing the bait when they strike. NOTE OF IMPORTANCE: Be very careful when removing the bait's and trailer hooks. I have had a bass slam the trailer hook through my thumb and had to cut the barb and push the hook out. Secure the fish and then remove the hooks being mindful that the trailer hook is a danger if the fish is not secured properly.

Tubby from Aubun to A&M. Petrino from Falcons to Auburn. Coach Fran?????? Who knows but he will show up somewhere. Maybe Nebraska? ;D

Don't rush to judgement. With the drought making the lakes and rivers very low it could happen to anyone. Now, in Virginia, we have to make sure we do not back the truck off the ramp and into the soft mud at the end of the ramp. Of course, the shown incident being associated with a jet ski is totally appropriate and funny.

Be sure to let us know how it performs and if any rabbits chase you around the lake.