Fishing Doug

Any costs involved other than shipping?

X2. Or, if this will be for lighter cranks, the CBR903 loads up really well. FD

Thanks, Glenn.

I am having the same issue.

Natural, Any specific reason(s) why you got rid of your Steez? Thinking about replacing the TD-Z's with them this year and would be interested to hear if you had any negative feedback. FD My Steez 103's were fine, and I only sold them because I didn't need them. I wasn't a fan of my Steez 100's though...I just couldn't get them dialed in. Significant Professional overruns occurred. I have 6 TD-Z's and they remain my favorite reel I have ever owned. I am in the process of overhauling them with new paint and bearings. I'll post them up when I'm done, but I'm taking my sweet time and haven't worked on them in weeks. Thanks for the reply. I am interested to hear how much the upgrade in bearings increases the performance of the reel.

Natural, Any specific reason(s) why you got rid of your Steez? Thinking about replacing the TD-Z's with them this year and would be interested to hear if you had any negative feedback. FD

We just saw it-two thumbs up.

Simp, I do not fish that specific lake, but I do fish two power plant lakes in So. Illinois-Coffeen and Baldwin. In my experience on both of these lakes is that it isn't necessarily key to fish the warm end of the lake. Fishing activity around the warm water discharges seems to be determined by current (if they are running water) more than the actually water temp. We have had success on both lakes I mentioned in Feb not even remotely close to the hot water discharge, and in 10-12 degree cooler water. FD

Agreed-a bit slow. But with that being said, I think this season has potential. Looking forward to tonight's show-I think the 'twist' could get interesting. FD

Did you order them online? I've never walked out of a store with a reel I didn't test out in the store. Kinda simple, huh? 8-) Bought them online.

I bought 2 this year-the 2500 had bail issues and the 1000 sounded and felt like a meat grinder. Could both issues be resolved, yes. Should I have issues with 2 out of 2 new products, no. FD

My luck recently with Rat-l-Traps has not been good. Bad paint, bad hooks, split on the bottom..you name it. I officially put them on my 'do not buy' list. Not to highjack this thread, but wasn't Bill Lewis Lures coming out with a new model with tungsten rattles? Does this sound familiar to anyone? Just wondering if any has used these... FD

I had the opportunity to visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on my latest trip to D.C. It is an absolutely amazing thing to see in person. The day we were there it was over 100 degrees and the soldiers where in full dress and appeared as if it was a 'comfortable' day. Highly recommend visiting this when/if you are in D.C.

Yo-zuri Ratl-n-vibe. I have always been a big lipless crank fan but I added this to my arsenal in '08 and all others have stayed in the tackle box.

This is my best producing bait. IMO, the chance of getting this bait to run less than 4 ft is going to be tough. Fishing from the bank in 2-3 ft. sounds like trouble. Not sure what size Rat-L-trap you are fishing but this bait is going to run deeper that the 1/2 oz trap. In short-yeah, I think you are going to have trouble with this bait from the bank in shallow water. FD

I have to agree with the majority and say CCI. I actually just got back from the farm for Christmas and we shot 400-500 rounds of CCI through various 22's and no misfires or jams at all.

Thanks for the list, Catt, and thanks to everyone else for the input. For those that have mentioned over/unders and side by sides-what is the attraction there? I see either as limiting due to capacity. Is there a significant difference in accuracy, reliability, etc.?

GMAN, The only clays will be random shooting with the guys, nothing major.

Gun guys, The gun monkey has a grip that just won't let go so I have another question for you guys. Just wondering if you guys have a preference on pump vs. semi-auto?? I am in the market to replace my existing Mossberg 835 (never was big fan of this gun). This gun will be used as an 'all purpose' gun for everything from clays to turkeys. Thanks in advance, FD

All, Thanks for the input so far. Flechero, You bring up a good point. Very slim chance that this gun will ever be used for bigger game, however, it may be used for varmits. 270 certainly has the advantage there.

Question for the gun guys: I am going to get a new rifle for Whitetail Deer and am trying to decide between the 270 and 30-06. Anyone have a strong opinion of one over the other? They seem to be very comparable in velocity and ammunition for both calibers is readily available and relatively inexpensive. Seems like a coin toss. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks in advance, FD

I'm an Investment Advisor. You can imagine how my life has been the past 12 months. > Redline, keep us posted on the tequila company. If you can ship out of state, you have one more customer.

Good stuff, Redline. How about this one?

Texas/OK State & OSU/Penn State should be good games. Both definitely have National Championship Implications. I am heading out in a few minutes for the Mizzou/Colorado game. There are 150 of us Mizzou grads leaving STL for Columbia to tailgate so it will be a good time even if it isn't a good game! My Tigers need to get things headed in the right direction if we still want to win the North. Hopefully Texas Tech will take care of business in KS.

True story: She sends me an email earlier this week with a link to a dress she wants to buy and asks "can I get it?". My response "I don't know, have you earned it?"....then the fight started. I was kidding with her....but she did not interpret it that way over email.... FD