buzzed bait

well sounds like practice will make perfect here. i actually like the results on the one or two positive knots i tied on with the improved albright, but couldn't replicate the results with any consistency.

thanks Mike! that helps! i think i may have the roller clutch inner tube in backwards or not in all the way. when i get home i'm going to tinker with it some more. it may ultimately end up getting sent to you along with those curado 51e's after christmas if i can't figure it out/fix the sticky thumb bar situation

that's a cool picture clayton! nice fishing too.....

welcome and good luck getting your school club going!

for some reason, i'm just having an abnormally difficult time with the albright. once i go to start tightening them down, the knot goes all to h**l.... i know practice makes perfect, but i can't even get off the ground with the albright knot.

i have been fishing straight braid for a while, but would like to start throwing a leader on there when the situation calls for it. I'm struggling on finding an easy to tie knot that will work for me. I'm connecting 30, 40 and 50lb braid to a flouro leader between 8 and 15 pounds. so far, i've found the double uni to be the easier one to tie and with less failure. i've also tried the alberto and albright knots, but have had them failing more than working. is the double uni a dependable knot if i can perfect it and do you have any suggestions on an easier/more reliable knot for connecting the 2 lines? thanks.

So I thought i would be able to break down my reel, clean it and hopefully fix a sticky thumb bar that was bothering me. Well, it went horribly wrong as i really should have expected. I am the world's worst engineer/mechanic and really should have left this to a professional. Now i'm having an issue after putting it back together! The drag star just doesn't seem to be working at all, no loosening or tightening at all and doesn't appear to be "seated" properly. in other words, i can see the drag washers through the crack. i'm hoping to find some schematics on the reel, but no luck thus far. could anyone point me in the right area for finding the reel schematics and perhaps also offer any insight on where in the world i went wrong (aside from everything)? thanks!

thanks for the heads up Hootie, just snagged me 1 square bill and 3 deep divers, shipped to the house for $29. that's a deal!

grass as already mentioned and the road beds are good producers this time of year

mine is in transit and i can't wait til christmas!! the wife and i both had specific things we wanted this year and agreed we would just buy those, mine went as follows: lew's bb1 *** black casting rod few crankbaits and packs of worms and i bought myself: about 10 more siebert jigs should be here any day now! lew's tournament pro 600 yd yo-zuri hybrid

i love mountain island lake. it can get a little busy when it starts to warm up, but you go out there during the winter time and it's pretty open. biggest fish i caught on there was on a jerkbait, it was about a 3.5-4lb spot.

I actually went to the school where those books originated. Rabun Gap Nachoochee School in North GA. Although I've never read them, I've heard quite a bit about them and it's always positive comments on the series.

trust me, i made sure i had the bases covered this time around. she's been dropping hints for a few weeks now so i had a good list to pick from this time around.

Looking for a new line for the spinnerbait/buzzbait/chatterbait setup. Would 12lb yo-zuri hybrid be a good option? Has a nearly 20lb breaking strength so was hoping to get away with the smaller line diameter. Currently using 17lb trilene XL with no problems, but would like to get the line diameter down a bit. Any experience/opinions appreciated. Thanks.

Even though I'm getting sick and would rather be in bed than work today, it's still a good day!! The wife unit just checkedout on TW with my christmas cart and I bought myself a christmas present as well! Goes a little like this: From the wife: *** *** black 6'10"M/fast casting rod (for worms/plastics) Lew's BB1SHZL (7.1:1 for spinnerbaits/buzzbaits/chatterbaits) TW hat Two TW shirts Three Strike King 5xds 3 bags of netbait super t mac worms and with 20% off, plus the reel was on sale you can't go wrong...... after that i was on such a high that i decided today was the day to pull the trigger on the top tier reel i've been wanting. i've been back and forth between the Lew's Tournament Pro and the Curado I. I'm so indecisive it's sickening, but pulled the trigger on the Lew's TP this morning on the bay for a super solid price at $150. Felt good about the savings so i threw a lucky craft 78sp american shad jerkbait into the cart for good measure. Needless to say the bait monkey is taking a nap being exhausted from all this excitement this morning!

all day everyday.... either 1/8 or 1/4oz and it will tear them up. if you get tired of catching them like that, switch to a yellow, with red spots and a gold blade, not as many trout bites as the black, but catches a few more smallmouth along the way....

the PB is my fattest to date for sure. caught some longer ones than this one, but none fatter. it was 20" long and right at 5.5lbs.

up in western nc, i've had a lot of luck catching some stocker rainbows on smaller jerkbaits. they will absolutely crush them too. the smaller water native trout are really spooky though. they're more easily caught on a panther martin spinner or live crickets. the natives do a lot more walking on the water than the stockers do too, makes for a lot of fun and a lot of frustration when they get off!

also, would say that the work landscape has changed drastically since i was a kid (not that long ago). In elementary school, i remember word per minute programs, floppy disks and the oregon trail were all the rage in the computer world!!! now, almost every job interacts with a computer in one form or another. would have been hard to even imagine some of the jobs that people get paid for right now!

i would be LESS focused on how they are rigged/what color they are and MORE focused on them having the proper features for paddling (good seat, solid body construction, reputable brand, COMFORT). I can assure you that the fish will not mind what color the yak is! once you get the yak, you can begin to rig/outfit the thing as you see fit. a lot of the ones that are "rigged for fishing" have the upgrades, but they may be in the worst spot imaginable on the kayak. best to find a floatable unit that is COMFORTABLE and then begin the rigging process. after a while i found that the less is more approach was the way to go on rigging my unit. either way good luck, and make certain you have $ set aside for a decent paddle and a quality PFD that you will actually wear.

that's a new one, but an instant classic......

retiredbosn is right on. weather is great (hot and humid in the dead of summer though, but that's the south). people will be as accepting as anywhere you will find in the southeast as there are truly a lot of transplants in the charlotte area. cost of living is somewhat low compared to other metro areas (especially compared to Atlanta). If those are the only things holding you back, then go ahead and make the move. you won't regret it. best part of charlotte is you are 3-4 hours from the sweet@ss mountains in western NC and if the beach is your scene, you can be there within 4 hours. great place to live, great place to raise a family.

nothing but good thoughts for his family and those closest to him.... i hope you find some peace while at work today, likely better than sitting around thinking about it though. i know i would prefer to just keep busy.

memes? yeah i don't get them either.....

still don't know what i want to do long term, but never really had a job that i wanted to do as a kid.