Felix77

I made the mistake once of turning a hobby/passion into a "business". Soon the business overtook the fun parts and it burned me out big time. Won't be making that mistake again. I just enjoy the chance to make them over the winter and use them all year long. One goal for 2014 is to catch bass on a jig that I made ... along with using jigs much more often!

Own 2 Orra SX 30's and one 20. Love them. Great reel for the price.

First mistake was admiring the lunker and letting it dangle. I'm with Grizzin ... Need to upsize the equipment to an extra heavy.

It took me all of 15-20 minutes to browse the entire fishing section (Saltwater and Fresh). It's a very small selection. A sampling of key things they sell at a regular bass pro. Us Albany people have some home. Dicks Sporting Goods is moving into the new Latham Circle Mall. The old store in Latham Farms is rumored to become a Field and Stream store. Essentially Dicks' competitor store to Bass Pro. The first opened in PA. http://www.fieldandstreamshop.com/

It's called BassPro Shops Outpost really big up front. When you go in you quickly realize you are in an essentials only shop. Check it out for yourself. Like I said it's worth it for a quick trip but if you have been to Auburn or especially Foxboro and expect that you will be disappointed.

Thanks ... more of a hobby/kill the winter blues kind of thing. If I buy it by the lb I might have enough to start Felix Outdoors. Not my intent.

I am looking into painting my own jigs over the winter. What powder paints would you recommend? There seems to be soo many out there.

Very very sad ... smh.

I take two approaches to this depending on the situation. 1 - If I can get the bait to the bottom (sparse cover, rocky bottom etc.) I make my first cast and let it sink to the bottom. I count at an even pace until I hit bottom. That tells me my max count. If I divide it by 2 and count my bait down to that number I am fishing roughly the middle of the water column. You can vary it from there. 2 - If I am fishing something over/through weeds (example: Fishing in 10 FOW with weeds maxing out at 6-7 feet). My first cast is a one second drop and reel. My second is a 2 second drop/reel etc. I keep the count going up until I can consistently tick the weeds. I like these because there are too many variables when it comes to sink rate. These methods take the conditions you have and simplifies the process for me. Some variation of either should help. The key is being consistent and finding a technique which work for you. Good luck.

x2 ... sprinkle in the occasional Gander or Cableas if there is one nearby but those are my go-to spots.

x2

Decided to stop on by today with my daughter. The place is certainly tiny and I probably won't be back there unless I am so bored during the winter that I am compelled to kill a day browsing for boats I cannot afford. I went to get a deal on 2 baitcasters which retail for $79 to 99 which I got for $59 each. It was the older Orra SX but it was still worth the trip to at least walk out with two of those.

The Giants are paying for years of neglect at the O and D-Line. They never had depth there. The two Superbowl season they were blessed with a healthy (for the most part) and consistent lines. Now that they are plagued with injuries everything else falls apart. It's no excuse for the amount of pics Eli has thrown but it certainly doesn't help. Aw well .... looks like I get to find a new hobby ... making jigs, lures etc. while I cheer on the best game of the week. If the G-Men pull off a win so be it but I don't have any hope for this season. Better luck next year.

You are a brave man. I lived in Philly for 3 years. It was dangerous walking around with Giants gear. LOL

One of my good friends is a Bills fan and has already tried to recruit me. LOL I have seen some bad Giant teams but this one takes the cake!.

This is the worst Giants team I have ever seen. They just seem to be so inconsistent. I can usually suffer through the winters knowing that my team has a fighting chance to be competitive in their division. Not this year. I need something else to keep me from crawling into a dying hole and die this winter. Those with kids or kids at heart might get the "dying hole" comment.

Cast it out, let it sink and do a very slow drag with them. Occasional hops to get the appendages moving a bit. The slower the better works for me. Maybe downsizing them might work. Good luck

My "everything" rod is a 6'6" MH F Spinning setup. 10 lb braid with a 8-10lb FC leader depending on what I am trying to do. I have tried everything on this setup and it works for me. Some examples Zara Spook - Tie to braid directly. Frog - Tie to braid directly Mojo Rig - 8lb FC leader Drop Shot - 8lb FC leader Weightless senko (wacky or trig) - 8lb FC leader Crankbaits/Lipless - 10lb FC Jig - Either directly to braid OR a 10lb leader. It all boils down to comfort and practice IMO but this works for me. Good luck.

This is about 90 minutes from me. I have a friend who works for Cisco and he had to do a delivery around there. Apparently yesterday it was a mob scene vs. The Wed opening. It is 1/2 the size of the Auburn store so I don't have high expectations.

All my baitcasters are fluoro (Seaguar Invizx) with the exception of one topwater rod which gets P-Line. My spinning gear is all the same ... 10 lb Braid (PowerPro) with an 8lb FC leader. Tied with a double uni. FWIW ... This sounds like a knot issue. There should be no reason you have that much inconsistency with those many lines. If the knots you are using might be the problem try mastering another one to see if it helps. I tie on a trilene knot 90% of the time. The other 5% is a snell knot and/or a palomar when needed. Hope this helps.

Awesome ... congrats! Maybe we should start a dadsresource.com site. I know I can use it! LOL

On average I agree with this 100%. One caveat is that those 3 days are stable/consistent days.

Tournament or not I am always happy to catch fish. I don't consider it a downer when targeting bass and get into a Pike or otherwise. I always like to think that I am getting close to the "Big One".

Drop Shot and Mojo Rig. The Mojo Rig became my go to technique this year! Learned a ton about that rig.

You have come to the right place grasshopper! Welsome Check out Gene's vids. Ton of information out here.