Zel

Me, 6', I was taller but gravity sucks.

I always root for the AFC, but being a Jets fan there is no way I will root for the Pats this year. So mine is more of a hope than a prediction. NYG 24 NE 17

Those look great! I tie some flies myself. Your first one looks a lot like my favorite fly for bass, but yours looks much better than mine (only 2 months ehhh I guess I'm a slow learner). Here's how I use it. This is a spring technique for me. I take the back treble off a floating jerkbait or a suspending jerkbait. I then attach about 12 to 18 of 8lb test fluorocarbon and attach the fly to the line. It seems to work good in early spring for me. About 1/4 of my hookups come on the fly end of the rig. The only problem with the rig is that it often gets wrapped around the jerkbait on the cast.

During the cabin fever months, I modify several baits and have about 6 of each to try out when the weather breaks. Some of my modifications have worked in the past, some have bombed. So far I've come up with two modifications I'm going to make this season. One is cutting off the bottom section (1/4 of the body and the tentacles) of some of my old ripped Fat Ika's that I throw in a bag during the season, and gluing it to the top of my *** Trick Stiks. The other is a Fluke modification. I'm going to cut up some red Tube baits and melt/glue it to a Fluke to form gills (see pic below). Will the modifications be better... who knows and I'll never tell.

Yes, Alren Specter can be a bonehead. And yes, I vote for the asterisk *. And yup, I'm a Jets fan. (*) It's a fallacy that cheaters never win!

You're welcome muddy. More stuff to come. I know it will be put to good use, and will do more than just catch fish.

Here's how I order my coffee Give me some non-fuffy high-test coffee please. It's getting harder and harder to get it that way, and try and find some regular plain half-and-half to put in it. I don't want my coffee (or creamer) tasting like their serving it to me from some fancy French bordello. At home it's Chase and Sandborn the good stuff!

First off I'm not a fan of St. Croix. St. Peter and St. Andrew the Apostles are the Patron Saints of Fisherman. Also lesser saints associated with fishermen are St. Benno, St. Nicholas of Myra, St. Xeno of Verona, and Our Lady of Salambao. I don't believe St. Croix is even a real honest-to-goodness saint but least I digress. Last year Muddy Man gave me a St. Croix Triumph casting rod, and an Abu Garcia reel last year as a gift. After trying it out I've decided it would best fit my applications as a jigging spoon rod. But I should qualify that... I was using a faster high quality rod for my jigging spoons, and would have a tendency to rip the lure right out of the bass' mouth when setting the hook. Since the sensitivity is a little less on the Triumph, it fits my fishing style for jigging spoons, and I don't loose quite as many with the Triumph, but I have to focus more on feeling the hit with this rod. I wouldn't use it as an all around rod, but think it's a fine bass starter rod.

A question: Abu Garcia has come out with 911 commemorative reels. They are the round reels with 4 bearing and built on a 5600C4 framework. One reel is a red Firefighter's Special, the other is a blue Police Special. They come with a presentation wooden stand, factory numbered box and a special limited edition patch, warranty, letter of authenticity, instruction manual, parts guide and oil. The 1st editions will only have a total of 911 units made in each. I know where to get them for $130 (The regular Abu Garcia 5400C4 goes for around $89). So, do you think these would be good collector purchases, and do you think their value will increase?

Super Bowl III... the day that forever changed the NFL! (AFL) NY Jets 16 - (NFL) Baltimore Colts 7

So many wrong captions come to mind A new meaning to the term MuzzleLOADer. Burley's annual CRAP SHOOT. For when you don't get off a CLEAN SHOT. The redneck WAD.

I use a lipless crankbait as a search bait, but more importantly as a bass feeding activator. Rat'l'Trap calls the sound it makes "Liv-N-Sound," which is supposed to reproduce the life-like sound of a distressed baitfish. Studys show distressed baitfish activate bass into feeding. I remember reading once that the BSX Biosonix Fish Attractor Unit ($699) is based upon the sound of a Rat'l'Trap. So a lipless crankbait is my "poor man's Biosonix." I usually start out with a lipless crankbait in a new area. But when I pull up to an area, and I'm throwing a worm and nothing bites, I'll follow it up with a lipless crankbait for about 5 casts, and then go back to the worm again. It really works at times for me, and seems to activate the bass into feeding. Who knows, maybe I'm just overthinking the whole thing. :

It might be area specific, but for me (up in the northeast) I always have a panic box" along for tough situations, which includes: Jigging Spoons for when the bass aren't biting and I move to deep water, Original Rapala Floaters, Suspending Jerkbaits, Rat'L'Trap type baits, and 4 hand poured straight Worms (dark colors) with 1/8 ounce Slider Spider jigs.

I'm about as intimidating as Steve Urkel trying to gun down a Wells Fargo truck with a water pistol.

Man Avid, I guess me telling a story is like me telling a joke. I always end up having to explain it. : Problems not the fishing with the Duke of Mook, but rather charging through the darkness in a submerged boulder field like a Burley in a China shop, with nothing more than the light of Muddy's cell phone to guide the way. Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All into the valley of Boulders Rode the two Mooks. "Forward, the Fish'n'Ski! "Charge the bass!" he said. Into the gloom of the night Rode the two Mooks.

Alpster, Thanks! I'm fighting off a left knee replacement myself. I fractured the whole thing and need to be on crutches for 3 months, in order to give it enough time to heal. At 6 weeks the surgeon said it still was iffy whether I would need a replacement. 4 more weeks to go and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I look forward to getting the chance to fish together with you and Muddy this season. Have either of you ever fished Sholola Lake in Pike County PA? I've heard a lot of good things about it, and have been given some tips from friends, but have never fished it myself. It has little to no tournament pressure due to the severe requirements for holding tournaments. And it produces some real quality fish. I have an 18.5 ft Fish'n'Ski, and 3 anglers can comfortably fish out of it. Any interest guys? Info: Shohola Lake - limited to electric motors only. This 1000+ acre impoundment is shallow, stumpy, and weedy. The result is superb largemouth fishing with many fish in the 5 pound range caught each year. Dense brush with very shallow water near shore compounded with a mucky bottom that prevents wading, limits shore fishing to the three boat launch areas and the picnic grove. Boat fishing is the way to go.

Thanks muddy, but I don't know if I can attain the high level of standards necessary for membership into the LEAGUE OF CLIQUEY OLD MEN. But if accepted I resolve to persevere, and pay homage by making a pilgrimage within my lifetime to Los Angles, CA, birthplace of Angelina Joli.

Alpster, I was only having a little fun at your expense. Now I feel lower than a snakes belly in a wagon wheel rut. I've got arthritis in my neck, shoulder, back, spine, and just about every joint but at least it's not Rheumatiod arthritis. Your pain has got to be 100 times worse. Have you heard about that new medicine that is supposed to do wonders, but is available only in Europe, as it isn't approved yet in the US by the FDA? My mother found out about it from a recent doctor's visit for Rheumatiod arthritis.

Alpster, Sounds fine to me since you're new water challenged LOL. Mine was only one suggestion, and it was more of an angler versus the lake, rather than angler versus angler type of thing. The challenge I described was seeing how each angler makes choices about a lake they know nothing about. And then seeing the results of their decisions. But what I'm really impressed about is you having little new water to fish. New Jersey is not that big, and you live in the center of the state. I estimate NJ has almost 350 bass lakes. Man I've got to pick your brain when I head into Jersey. (just funnin with ya). http://njbassanglers.com/places.php

The member challenges on BR in the past were interesting and made for some good reading, but are there other type of challenges that might peak membership interest when cabin fever ends? How about kicking around some ideas. Here's mine: A-Day-On-The-Lake/River with ______________ and ______________. A challenge where two BassResource members fish together at a lake/river that neither has ever fished before. Fishing from either a boat or bank is allowed. Chronicle and report decisions and results on the first 4 hours only of the trip, and pics are required. Any format allowed as long as it's agreed upon by the two anglers in advance, and one angler makes fishing location choices for 2 hours and the other makes choices for 2 hours. Winner of each challenge is the total weight of best 5 bass (or less) utilizing any of the following: 1. A hand held weight scale; 2. Length and Girth using the BassResource fishcalculator (see link below); 3. A length only conversion table (see link below below). No money, just BR bragging rights, in order to keep the challenge light and fun. http://bassresource.com/bassfishing/fishcalculator.html http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i282/zelmonster/MEASUREandRELEASE.jpg

Looking over several of the 2007 reminiscent posts got me remembering about one particular outing. So I got to thinking, how about posting some bonehead fshing stories from 2007. You know the ones I'm talking about, the ones we say to ourselves Man, I'll never do that again! Mine was a night trip fishing with the Muddy Man. I was cruising up the lake at top speed on the trolling motor, in the dark, in about 6-7 feet of water. It was an area filled with boulders larger than Studebakers, and I well knew it. I hit one boulder good and solid, first the trolling motor and then the hull. Well, we barely limped back to the dock at about .000001 mph. Come this spring I might have to replace that supposedly indestructible TM shaft, and I'll have to do a little hull work. Man, I'll never do that again!

VAbasser, I haven't noticed the wax on rod guides causing a significant difference in catches, due to a smell rubbing off on the line. Here is my analysis: 1. I wax my guides over the winter when I clean, lube and respool my reels (well before my first outing in spring anyway). Usually my first 2-3 outings are without my boat, just to cure myself of cabin fever. Therefore these outings are bank fishing trips. I use a particular 7' spinning combo with 8 lb test line to get the distance I need to hit rocks and breaklines that I know exist in my usual bank fishing areas. My usual lures this time of the year involve a 1/8 ounce Slider jig with either a grub or 4 worm. Also, a suspending jerkbait is often utilized. 2. I had trouble reaching the specific areas listed above before utilizing the guide wax technique. After utilizing the wax I had little problem hitting the target distance (without a wind blowing). I estimate an additional 10 to 20 feet of casting distance is obtained by waxing guides. 3. I've done this for the last 3 years. So I've looked back now at the last 5 years of my notes (for my first two annual outings), and based my analysis on the results. 4. The average early season daily bank fish caught prior to waxing was 2.342674, and 4.113587 after waxing the guides. Therefore I attribute a 75.6% increases in catches. But it is key to note several factors influence the results, including but not limited to temperature, weather conditions, time of day, and different brand lines, grubs, worms and jerkbaits utilized over the 5 year period. I weight these circumstance heavily and calculate these differences out to derive a +- 25% standard deviation. This results in a conservative estimate that the waxing of the guides produces me with a 50% increase in catches in the first day outing scenario and in the conditions specified, and therefore any wax line smell to be of little consequence. 5. And finally, I never let facts or the truth interfere with a good fishing story.

I've come across a few good tips I thought I'd share Rusty Hooks Next time you open a box or package, look for those little packets of oxygen-absorbing silica gel. Put these packets in your tackle box to help keep your hooks rust free. Roll-On Sent Applicator Worried about spilling scents and getting it all over your carpet or cloths. Use a Ban Roll on bottle. Make sure you clean it really well. You have to take the ball out, which isn't really that hard. Fill it with your favorite fish scent. Put the ball back in, screw the top back on and you have it. It won't spill all over the boats carpet, or the gelcoat. All you have to do is rub it on your bait. Polishing Spinnerbait Blades Take a damp rag, or damp paper towel, and put cigarette ashes on it and rub it on your spinner bait blades, they shine like you used metal polish. The more ashes the better, but keep it wet. Cast Even Farther To make your rod cast even farther, apply a liquid car wax to all of the insides of the rod guides, wait for the wax to dry, and then buff off the excess. It puts a nice slippery finish on the guides, which increases your rods casting distance. Bring your own T.P. when fishing with Low_Budget_Hookers A picture is worth a thousand words

I once had a VP who swore by Orvis Briefcases (he fancied himself the outdoorsy type). They did look pretty cool. http://www.orvis.com/store/product_directory_showcase3.asp?dir%5Fid=11379&group%5Fid=11385&cat%5Fid=5415&subcat%5Fid=6450 Me, I get whatever's on sale at Staples.

The beat goes on, and the beat goes on Chains keep pounding a thumpin' to the brain La de da de de, la de da de da Long Mike reads a post he just can't dismiss Stews about the English language goin' amiss Blames his tirade on sippin' some cheap ol' wine And types out "hey buddy, that spellin' is quite a crime" The beat goes on, and the beat goes on Chains keep pounding a thumpin' to the brain La de da de de, la de da de da