gr8outdoorz

After being out of fishing for the past 7 months, due to torn tendons in my casting arm, I will finally have my surgery tomorrow morning to repair them. Since last November, I have undergone procedure after procedure, rehab, injections, & everything we could think of to repair the tendons. Nothing has worked, so we decided the surgery was the only option left. As much as I hate going under the knife, I am actually excited to finally be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. As long as there are no serious complications, I should be able to sling a rod by the middle of June...Just in time for my 2 week fly fishing trip to Montana & Wyoming in July! I can't believe it has been 7 months since I last fished...too long!! Jeff (00 mod), if you read this, have your frog & jig rods ready. As soon as I am able, we are hitting Glenn Springs Lake for some lunker hunting!! Carlton

Bieng in the field of research I am in, i feel waking up breathing every day is an epic success. I have seen way too many children leave this earth too soon. Its all relative.

Welcome to the forum! It would take way too much typing to discuss the how, when, where, & why of all those techniques. Your best bet is to check out the 'Articles' section first. All of your questions about those techniques are answered in them and they are well organized & easy to find. If you still have questions after that, then the kind people on this forum will be happy to help you out. This whole website is a wealth of information. Take advantage! I will say though, your first bit of reading should be about the seasonal habits of bass. You gotta know where bass are gonna be if you want to catch them.

If you really want to become a better angler, in the beginning, spend a large amount of your 'study' time on learning the behaviors of your prey. Bass can be caught on MANY different lures, lines, rods, and reels. However, you can't catch what you can't find. Learn how to find your prey...then learn how to catch your prey.

1) jet skiers 2) jet skiers 3) jet skiers

I'll probably swing by this weekend to see it. This is how awesome my wife is, when she heard they were going to have a hotel inside, she made a reservation...jus so we could spend the night in a Bass Pro! Hahaha! Man my wallet is gonna hurt after that weekend.

Yep...this past year you were!

Blasphemy!

Now all you need to do is paint it Crimson & White and you are good to go!

Nice brookie!!! Fun fight wasn't it! Big trout are my love. Congrats on the nice catch!

"Glad we don't live in the South"

Best of luck on your surgery Tom! I hope you have a speedy recovery!

My first career was as a chef. After 12 years in kitchens, I went back to school to change careers. Received my undergrad degree in Medical Science then specialized in Immunology in grad school. I've been doing research in Pediatric Immunology since.

It's hard to tell without casting the rod. They all have their 'sweet spot' in relation to grain weight. My 'general' rule of thumb is: For fast action rods; 150gr/5wt, 200gr/6wt, 250gr/7wt, etc... For moderate action- subtract 10-20gr. These are only general guidelines. Every rod is different and only time & experience with that rod and different weight lines will tell you what weight it throws best. Between those two grain weight, if i had to choose, i would go with the 165gr. If it's slightly too heavy for the rod, just don't get all of the head outside the rod tip when casting. That will keep the weight you are casting down.

It's funny that you say that. When I was growing up, my military father always said the 'early bird' saying. My response was 'but the early worm gets eaten by the bird'. Yea...he didn't like that too much. Got a few beat downs for that one. Thanks for the memories ghoti!

Depends on the day...and my mood! Hahaha! Most of the time though, I start off with a frog or mouse on top of the mats. If I am not getting any action there, I will start punching the mats. When punching, I will start looking for timber first as bluegill like to stack up around timber. I will also look for any irregularities in/around the mat. I also like to throw unweighted senko's in holes in the mat or ones I have created by punching.

This right here has saved the day MANY times on my home lake! Starting mid-summer, I have days where all I will do is move from mat to mat listening for the "popping" sound. When I find one, I sit back to let the noise calm down then start slaying them.

That was pretty awesome of him!!

Unfortunately the old Martins won't fetch you a bunch of $$$, but they are a classic for those of us that used to use them. Now if it were a vintage Hardy...I would be begging you for it!!

Get the Heavy. I have both & while the MH will handle 3/8 & 1/2 oz jigs well. If you even have the remote possibility of throwing frogs or jigs in slop, you will want the extra power to pull the fish out fast. I use my 7'MH for open water/ light cover jigs & t-rigs and the 7'H for jigs/t-rigs/frogs in slop.

Rio Mainstream is a good line for the price as is the Cortland 444. You should take a look also at Scientific Anglers Lefty Kreh's fly line. One of the limpest lines at that price point. The problem with inexpensive lines is the coating on them . It tends to peel & crack when used in less than ideal conditions (ie. too hot or cold). Before I started using high end lines, I had numerous rods lined with Rio Mainstream and SA Lefty Kreh lines. The Rio was good but just a hare stiff in cold weather and tended to coil bad when temps dipped below 40°. I really liked the Lefty Kreh lines though. They remained supple in both hot & cold environments. If you don't want to spend $$$ on lines, do as flyfisher said. That is a good place for good lines at good prices when they go on sale. Also check out steepandcheap.com. When the have their fly fishing sections, they offer big discounts on lines.

My favorite cover to fish is cover that holds bass...don't care what it's made of.

Don't buy a boat...

Thanks for your insight guys! Btw i do use 10lb fluoro for the deep ones. I'll take every bit of help getting them down as I can! Hahaha!

That's exactly what I needed to know. Thanks a bunch papajoe!! One more question. Where on the bill should the line tie be for a steep dive angle?