Flukeman

Yeah, i've got a whole bag of them I have picked up over the years when picking up others trash. I guess I see why they throw them away. I have a whole bag and don't use them, I guess they didn't either.

Dude Really?? If that's the biggest gripe ya got in life, consider yourself lucky. You obviously are there often enough to spend a bunch of money there, so just get a rain check...besides, they will be happy to sell their products to the rest of us rational people

Does not matter what the reel looks like, but they are supposed to work because they get donated to kids groups.

I believe they tell you they need to be a working reel and rod because they donate them to kids groups.

Got my flyer today and it has some stuff I need on sale this time around. I am going to be getting a Carbonlite Rod with the rod trade in. Then I'll get some tungsten, line, XTS Rod socks,and some Kermy's! I am sure I will find something else while I'm walking around.

I did a bunch of research on glasses recently and had my mind made up to go with the 580G green mirror. Then I had to go to an OSHA training and learned glass vs polycarbonate impact rating was 60mph vs 380mph. So I ended up with the 580P in amber. I travel in my boat at speeds greater than 60 mph and have no idea what speed those bullet weights fly back at you when flipping. But thats just me. The green mirrors work better for my eyes. It is possible that your eyes would do better with the gray base. So you should try to wear both kinds before buying and compare what your eye is actually seeing. And then it is just a matter of finding frames that are going to be comfortable on your face with the extra weight of glass. That seemed to be the number one complaint I found out there. The other big suggestion was to get a pair of croakies or sunglass strap for around your neck. When the glasses are dropped from about waist hieght they tend to shatter or chip. That was the other complaint, but I would think most people would be using some kind of strap with a pair of $200 and up pair of glasses.

I love Fireline up to 20#. After that poundage I liked the properties of Power Pro better. That said I have never had anything break my 20# no matter how knarly the snag the fish is in. For the poundages less than 20 I have always liked it's properties better than Power Pro. I also like the Original better than the Crystal, but they made improvements to the Crystal since first introduced. I also find the Fireline cuts through vegetation that we have here better than the Power Pro. I use the 14# most of the time bass fishing. But I have used the lesser diameters for pan fishing to steelhead fishing.

Iwas going to say, this concept was around a couple years ago. I can never get the scrounger head to act like the disc does. I've tried various head weights and still do not realize the action of the disc.

Thanks for the input guys, as soon as the ice melts I am going to give them a try.

Picked a couple of these up today to try. I usually am pitching the older Yozuri Rattlin Vibes. Anyone use these Xcalibers? Can you let me know what you think of them? (well made, cheaply made, do they work etc) Thanks

it's funny, we yearn for those baits we used to crush the fish on, and it is probably our fault they are gone. We kept it too secret,lol. Sales went down and now they are gone

I tried this past year doing the same thing and was not pleased with how that light of a line handled on a baitcaster. I will not go below 8# test from now on, big difference. I put the 6# on my spinning reels.

Not sure what fused line you used, the original only comes in 4, 6, 8, 10, 14, 20, and 30 pound ratings.

I Great description. I have used the original and the crystal since they have come out and like it better than braid. I use 14# which has I believe a 6# diameter ,most of the time. I can pull fish out of the thickest nastiest stuff side by side with guys using 65# braid and have no problems. The line slices thru vegitation like a knife. The line casts a mile, is slick, super sensitive, and is a flat (ribbon type) line. I have tried going up to 30# and thought it sucked for casting any distance, seems like 20# is the heavest I like to use. But like I said 90% of the time I am using 14# with no problems pulling 4 - 6 pound bass out of water chestnuts, millfoil, coontail, reeds, cattails, and heavily scummed over floating weeds. The "crystal" is white in color but I do not find it to be invisible under water like some people say. Maybe it is to a bass, but I can see it under the water. The "original" comes in chartruese and smoke colors. The line fades over time just like braid and can be used for years without replacing. It will start to fray eventually and then you just reverse it on another spool. I usually go 4 years, then reverse it and I fish over 200 days a year. You can attach leaders to it, but I have seldom needed to. When I do, I use the "Albright" knot usually. We have a lot of clear water up here, so if there is no wind to break up outlines I will use a leader. It has no strech so you need to set your gear up according. If you do not you will either pull the lips off your fish or explode your rod. I am not a braid guy, just do not like the way it handles compared to the fused lines. I did try the Fireline braid and felt it was just like the other braids to me that I have used (powerpro, spiderwire). Just not my cup of tea. I also have used this line salmon/steelhead fishing, pan fishing, and ice fishing in the very small diameters. It is just a very mangable line with no memory and good castability. I use it on baitcasters and spinning outfits. Just my experience, I think it just comes down to personal preferences and what you are used to using.

In that $100 price range you can't beat the BPS Pro Qualifier. During the classic you can get them for $80, during the "reel trade in" during the classic I think it is another $10 off if I remember correctly. If you search for posts by Goose52 on here, he has been doing a 5 or 6 year review on how this reel is performing over time. If you ever have any issues BPS will do a full exchange within a year, $18.95 and they will service one for you, and if you are handy they have all the parts you will ever need. also some of the upgraded parts from higher end reels are interchangable. I just upgraded the handles on some of mine to carbon fiber and they took the time to go through the savage pile vs new so I could have them for $4 a piece and then sent two different styles of knobs to put on the handles. So I can not comlain about their service either.

I do not own a carbonlite rod yet, but my fishing partner has several. His are paired with Revo's and they are a dream to fish. It feels like you are fishing with nothing the combo is so light. I had a last minute chance to steelhead fish one day and had no rod with me. I took his 7 foot bc set up and was landing 10 -16 lb steelhead on it with no problem. If you wait until BPS's Spring Fishing Classic, I think you can do the rod trade in and get them for $69.

Not sure if the white river gloves people are reffering to are the fleece gloves they sell.But I bought a pair of fingerless and full finger fleece gloves from BPS. My hands have never been cold since, they were on sale for 3.99 or 4.99 a pair last year when I got them. Even wet your hands stay warm. I also have a couple of pairs of neoprene gloves, but just don't like them.

1: The equipment has absolutely nothing to do with it, lots of weekend fishermen have the same electronics, gear, and boats. Some of my friends have even bought their boats. 2: Working a day job and winning weekend tournaments even at the open level, is nothing compared to knowing you have to shell out $100,000 to even participate for the year and knowing your family is counting on you. 3: Then comes the physical part. Once you have spent some time on the water with these guys you realize 99% of weekend anglers would be laying flat on the back deck after a 15 hour day of practice. The effort they expense and the presicion they have 99% of you can't even come close. Your arms will fall off and your back would revolt (that includes mine). Everything they do is so effortless. The next time you are watching KVD on TV and they cover him for a solid minute, count how many times he casts. Then go try and do that just for an 8 hour time period like a tournament day would be. And then ask yourself how you would feel doing just that for 250 -260 days a year. 4: Those few things don't even take into account the time away from the home most of us enjoy. Or the years we would have to put in paying the dues to be at the knowledge level of the top 25 guys. Just seems easier and more enjoyable just having a day job and fishing when I want too, instead of when I have too. Just my observations,

I only use them (stickbaits) to skip under docks . But most people I know who use them often have switched to various other stick baits instead of senko's since they went to $8.29 a bag around here. Some of the stalwarts wait for Dicks to have their $5.50 a bag sale.

I can give you an idea of what happened here in NY. The demographic here pointed to the blue collar class as the largest group of fishing people. Over the last 20 years we have probably lost 100,000 manufacturing jobs all across upstate NY. That is a lot of people and their families fleeing a state to make a life for themselves. So each year our DEC reports a drop in the fishing/hunting license sales. On top of that this state is always trying to make a money grab, and keeps raising the prices of a license or raising the age for a senior license. Many of the people who are left here are just fed up and leave the sport all together. Now I have no idea if these transplants buy a license in their new states.

Almost all of the stuff at ours had yellow or red clearance tickets removed, leaving the original manufacturers tags. I told our guy at the first one I went to that they were way high on the hand priced Rapala's compared to the other stores. He told me they were told what they were supposed to mark them. The other stores were also marked the same way(except one store was red marker,same prices), so I did not question what he said.

We have three Ollie's near us and they are all insane. Rapala lures are all marked $11.99. You can buy these at BPS, Dicks, and Walmart for $8 or $9. About 80% of the items are over priced like that, and some of it is even worse. They had some Plano tackle boxes I just looked at BPS for $11.99, Ollie's price was $19.99. they need a 75% off sale to even call it a sale after the mark ups they have put on everything..

I started doing that 6 years ago and donated all the rest to my junior bassmaster group. I have 4 main colors, and choose the brand of the type of bait I like best. I am not wed to any one company, but instead I use the bait that has the motion I am looking for from that style(worm, creature, etc). I do have some special colors for certain locations also.

The SA around here did away with the fishing departments all together. I see Ollie's bought 4.2 million dollars of inventory from SA and are running it at 33% off. You have to watch the prices though, they have raised some above BPS prices, so the discount is more like 15% on a lot of items.

Really, I don't sweat the small stuff. If I don't like the hook keeper, I have a guy who will change it for 5 bucks. And his work is so nice it looks better than original. I want a rod with a certain feel, the hook keeper never caught any fish for me!