SudburyBasser

I almost wish I hadn't bought the two reels I have this year -- though the BPS Extreme baitcaster was on sale and I doubt the price will improve during the spring sale. Honestly, I hope for nothing. I'm pretty much as stocked up as I need to be, particularly since that son of a gun bait monkey got me again today with some more plastics and spinnerbaits. But hey, they were on sale.

I never quite understood why when people start using baitcasters that they run away from spinning gear. As others have said in this thread, spinning gear is absolutely ideal for finesse presentations. You'd have to take away my Shimano Compre worm and jig spinning rod after a very bloody fight. I'd keep the rod and get a nice reel for it and go finesse crazy.

Up here in Canada the C&R ethos isn't the religion that it turned into down there. I would wager that most people keep the worthwhile fish they catch. Myself, I tend to C&R most of the bass I catch but I do bring some home occasionally for eating. Personally, I rather like the taste of bass. Tastiest of fish? No, but they aren't bad eating at all. On a slightly related note we had a debate about this a few months back after I posed the question.

I have the Bass Pro Shop Extreme Qualifier 370 tackle bag. Holds five 360 or 370s in the main compartment and the side compartments could hold enough plastics to keep you fishing over a year. $39 in camo or $35 in red. If that's too big you can buy the 360 bag.

BPS is having their President's Day Sale. Bag of Senkos for about 6.50 in 4" to 7" sizes. Not much of a deal but better than nothing.

Count me in with the 5" Senko crew in watermelon. I do occasionally use longer ones but I find I do best with the 5".

If he isn't real someone will have to explain why I drove in the middle of a severe winter storm warning last Wednesday to buy a new rod that won't be used until June and a reel I didn't need. Then on Saturday drove back to buy another new rod for that reel. Then on Sunday drove back to buy some PPro for that reel. And some plastic. And a lipless crank. He's no myth.

Spring? The day bass closes I begin a five month process of organizing and reorganizing everything. It ultimately ends with respooling and getting back out there. Takes the edge off from having to wait so long :-)

Braid on spinning gear all the time and no leader. Never noticed a difference in hook-up when I did use leaders so now I save myself the aggravation.

My Shimano Compre worm and jig rod.

The level of brand prostitution in the fishing world is epic. I pay no attention to whatever brand a pro is pushing and as soon as I hear them say a brand name I usually check their jersey to look for a crest. When they talk strategies and tactics, I'm all ears. When it's the wonders of Lure X, which they spent years designing and is the best thing since bacon, I tune them out immediately. There's only one thing that's the best thing since bacon and that's more bacon.

I like the Shimano Compre as well.

The best thing I did was in the past year -- moving from general purpose rods to technique specific set ups. So I suppose the Shimano Compre worm and jig rod I bought last year would be it. Opened up a new world for me and I now have several technique specific rods.

I have some luck. My barber offered to take it off my hands so he could use it as a trolling rod for pickerel and other similar stuff. As long as I never have to see it again, it's his. No charge.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. What's personally embarrassing for me is that I wasn't some kid buying his first rod after saving his paper route money, I was an otherwise educated 38 year old (three years ago) and I bought an Ugly Stik. To this day I still can't understand what my reasoning was.

I don't think I've ever appreciated Shaw Grigsby's incredible ability to name check a sponsor in every single sentence he utters. Now that's a team player. At any rate, I'm going for Ish for the final, though I won't be upset if Grigsby or Kreit win.

My friend, I have not fished since October and bass doesn't open until June here. The only way I've been able not to go crazy is to organize, reorganize and then reorganize my gear. Buy new reels and rods. Imagine what I'll do with the two dozen or so hard baits and few dozen bags of plastics I've gotten since November. Watch fishing DVDs. Watch MLF. Be constantly on bass forums And it's barely keeping the insanity away. I'm breaking down and going for trout and northern pike this year since the seasons open earlier but it won't be the same until I'm catching those bass again. 4 months and 22 days and counting. 142 days. 12,268,800 seconds.

At the risk of joining the LGMouthGambler school of Shimano pimping, Shimano's Compre has a 6'8" M/F for a mere $99 and it is light with a short butt. Why? I have to admit that I own two Compre rods and I love them. Are they the best? Personal preference. Are they pretty good for the money? In my humble opinion, yes.

Triplets apparently. Most of the lakes I fish are fairly clear and I've never had a problem using braid. There are occasions I'll use a flouro leader but spooling up flouro? I doubt I'll ever do so. That said, there are plenty of cats who swear by it so there probably isn't a right answer. Just your preference.

Yup x 5

I've hardly surveyed the world of digital scales but in my experience -- whether it's weighing fish or my overweight hump -- I haven't seen any digital scales that are consistent in their measurements. Part of that is obviously that you're rarely measuring an object the exact same way twice but some of the variances I've seen have clued me in that the Berkley digital scale I use is an approximate. Weigh three times and you'll probably get two of the same answer...and that might be the right answer. That's why I was a little surprised to see that MLF was using them.

Let's hope we treat them better than the old threads I was reading about Mike Iaconelli.

I'm sure there's some mention of fishing somewhere in Enter the Wu-Tang, ha ha. The game of fishing is like a sword fight You must think first before you move...

On the drive to the lake I'll usually hammer some early to mid-90s era Wu Tang Clan. Not lucky per se, just the habit I've gotten into.

That furry wretch bit again today -- though I think LgMouthGambler will appreciate this. Boss called today and said not to come in for work because of an extreme weather alert. Second time this week. So of course I jump in my Jeep and drive across town to the local outdoor store because I had bought a BPS reel for a dedicated crankbait setup and needed a rod. I ended up buying a Compre because my worm and jig rod from that lineup did a fantastic job last summer. Almost bought a Crucial but couldn't justify it at this point. Pass by the counter and see Shimano Caius baitcasters on sale. Yeah, they aren't Chronarchs or Curados but it was a 6.5:1 reel that would do decently as part of a top water setup. Ended up picking that up and a Shimano reel cover (If you're going to be a brand *****, might as well go all the way). Hell, they even slapped on Suffix 832 braid for free. So now I have a reel sitting on my desk which is screaming for a dedicated topwater rod. Guess I'll be going next week to get another Compre. Sigh. On the positive side, I passed by a table of half-price River2Sea and Live Target lures and not buying anything so I suppose I did win...kind of.