Hawgin

I guess I will look into those. Like I said I've never thought I would want a dedicated crankbait rod so I've never done a lot of research on them.

I've never had a rod dedicated just to crankbaits, but after using a friends recently I think I am going to pick one up to use with traps, spinnerbaits, cranks, and maybe jerkbaits. I am looking to stay inexpensive at least at first just in case I don't like it. With that being said, I'm considering either the BPS Crankin Stick or I see BPS has the KVD Quantum crankbait series rods on sale. Anyone have experience with either of these, or can you suggest other options in the under $100 range?

I know I have read that KVD uses the XPS flouro. I'm not sure if that is the same type you are talking about or not. I think it was one of the lines tested by tackle tour in there flouro tests. Might want to check that out to see how it compares to other brands.

Good morning of fishing KU. And then to top it off you get to see Meche absolutely DOMINATE the Red Sox. I know we are going to struggle badly at times this year, but I'm more excited for this team than any in recent memory.

Senile1- I thought you were smart enough to not be a Cardinals fan. Oh well, at least when Carpenter struggles you can look to Kip Wells and Braden Looper to pick up the slack ;D...........I almost typed that without laughing.

I have had a lot of success with the Cordell Super Spots (cheaper than rat-l-traps and you don't have to change hooks.) I also really like the new Strike King red eye shad.

KU- Enjoy the day and watching the R's kick off their season while I will stuck behind my desk at work. I will have the game on the radio, and will probably have the gamecast open in a small window on my desktop. It's okay though, I already have Thursday off, and tickets purchased to watch Greinke outduel Dice-K in his major league debut. It's supposed to be a great spring like 50 degrees that day.

I have to throw my hat in the ring here for the Fenwick Techna AV. I own a few of them and my fishing partner uses only GLX's. He has told me he thinks the Techna is just as sensitive, but just a tiny bit heavier than a GLX.

I would definitely stick with the Shimano reels. The lower end (priced) reels are better quality than the competitors. You might be best served with a Shimano Symetre for $80. As for the rod, I would personally go for a 6'6" medium power rod. A couple of good ones in your range are the St. Croix Premier for $90 or the Fenwick HMX for $80. Either of those combined with the above reel would give you a good, light, sensitive combo that should last you for a long time, without breaking the bank.

Dwight D. Eisenhower. The strategic military commander and politician. Sounds about right.

I figured after spending time in a bus with Alpster and the Mooks, he had enough and wanted out.

I just got a heavy action flippin rod for this upcoming season because it was a steal on clearance. But for the past several years I have been fishing jigs on a MH rod.

I am a diehard Fenwick fan, but I agree with this. If I'm spending $200 plus, I'm going with either a Loomis or possibly a Kistler.

I see that you are right. That's very strange that Fenwick raised their prices. About two weeks ago the Techna AV's were $159 on their website, and now they are $209. Very dissappointing turn of events.

That is strange luck for you. I have two Citica 200D's and one 100DSV and they are as smooth and nice as anything I have used. I hate to see you have the problems with Shimano reels. I will also say that while I haven't had bad service at Cabela's, I haven't had the best service either. Now that I have one BPS open within 40 minutes drive, and another being built that's 20 minutes away, I doubt I will be spending much time or money at Cabelas.

I have one and I have mixed feelings on it. I like that it keeps the jigs seperated so that went I want to tie on a new jig I don't have to untangle the hooks and stuff, but I don't like the fact that it has no place to store trailers, which I like to keep in the same box with my jigs. I have found a workaround for this by pre-rigging my jigs with trailers, and I also left one row open with no jigs in it, and I have filled it up with trailers.

I'm somewhere between 5'6" and 5'8", and I use mostly 7 foot rods. I started out using 6'6" rods because I thought they would be easier for me to handle, but honestly I have no problem with 7 footers. The increase in casting distance is well worth it. The only time a 6'6" is really an advantage is if you are fishing from the bank and you have a lot of trees overhead.

Sherriff? No offense to RW, but that might qaulify him to be Marshall, or a Texas Ranger, or maybe the Mayor.

I will third the Techna AV. I have a couple of them, and I don't plan on buying anything else going forward.

Seriously between you, Supermat, and Fish Chris you guys need to stop posting pictures(ok not really but...). My wife is really getting irritated with me constantly trying to justify to her why we should pack up and move out to Cali.

I'm usually a cash only person so my change adds up fast. Last time I took it in I had around $500, over a two year period. I have a bowl at home that is full right now. I usually cash it in when I need to buy a new reel or rod. The problem I have with putting in a savings account is then my wife knows exactly how much is in there, and it usually ends up going towards new furniture, or christmas presents or something. My change jar doesn't have a running balance counter.

Ownership is a problem, but I am developing a lot of confidence in our new GM Dayton Moore. I have some reservations about the Meche signing, but the $11 million he gave Meche basically washes with Sweeney's salary, and he is in the final year of his contract. I would gladly trade Sweeney right now for an major league average pitcher, and in essence that is what the R's have done. Besides when you look at the market, Zito and Schmidt were not coming to KC, so we basically paid the same amount of money this year that Ted Lilly, Vicente Padilla, Jeff Suppan, and Jason Marquis got. Out of that group, I'll roll the dice with Meche.

I was really suprised that the Mets didn't go after more pitching this offseason. I think Maine could be a solid, but unspectacular pitcher, and I can't believe they are actually counting on Oliver Perez to produce. As for Wright, that guy is one heck of a player. He's probably my favorite third basemen in the game right now (until this year gets rolling and Alex Gordon takes off.) I could see him truly making a run at the MVP, although lets be honest, if he doesn't get hurt Pujols should have that award locked up for the next 5 years. However, as someone who has watched Beltran shy away from pressure situations, he will contine to be a very good player, but I don't think he has it in him to up his game to an MVP type level. One other guy who could put up the big time numbers though is Delgado.

Black and blue 1/2 oz jig with a paca craw trailer.

Somehow I missed this whole thread last summer, but if you fellas don't mind I'm going to jump in. Now, about them Royals. No illusions of granduer this year, but I'm pumped to see how/if these guys develop this year. I hope Teahan recovers and continues to contribute like he did last year, Ryan Shealy could be a nice breakout player, Greinke should be over his "issues" and has really been bringing it in spring training, and of course Alex Gordon should challenge for R.O.Y. and be our all-star rep for many years to come. And before the Gil Meche cracks start, just realize the Yanks are starting Pavano, and he's making the same jack as Meche. Who would you rather have?