Pencil Pusher

I think he is talking about the Aberdeen or O'Shaugnesy (sp?) hooks that are straight shanked but the point is offset slightly to the side from the bottom of the hook. These hooks are for live bait not artificials.

Well Bud, if you look at the Jarden Corporation (the company that acquired Pure) Web page, in a news release October 16, Stren is still listed as one of their brands. Now I didn't have dinner with any body but I do know how to read information that is published by a Public corporation that is related to stockhoder information. In addition, there is nothing in the Corporation SEC filings indicating that they sold Stren.

Stren is not owned by Vicious, which is owned by JBS Fishing, Stren IS owned by Pure Fishing.

This is the perfect time of the year to get some real bargains in reels (unless you just gotta have a Shimano). BPS has a bunch of their reels on sale and our local big sporting good stores have some big markdowns on reels which are probably being discontinued or updated for next year. I recently picked up two Daiwa TD Advantage HST's which were regular priced at $139 for $69.

It is very possible that the Crucial is comparable to the GL3 considering that the GL3 is made in USA and the Crucial is made in China; the difference in cost would likely be labor. Also, Shimano acquired Loomis in 1998 (from the Loomis catalog), not a couple of years ago.

Spend another five bucks and get an Ugly Stick. You can find them any where and they are the only rod I know of the is guaranteed against breakage for any reason as stated in the warranty; all the other rods are guaranteed against defects.

I knew I would have to explain the pistol grip part further. It is a six foot rod, instead of the straight handle that the split grip rods have now, this rod has a pistol grip handle, the blank extends through the back of the handle with a couple of inches of bare blank and and then there is a knob on the end of the blank. So, it is the same basic construction except instead of a straight grip behin the reel seat, the grip is a pitol grip. I also have six and a half foot one that does have a straight handle like the new ones.

Split grips aren't that new. I have three Berkley Series One rods from the mid 1980's, when they were the latest thing and were top line rods. They all have split grips, even the pistol grip rod is split.

I have two Midas baitcsters and like them. BPS licenses the Browning name for fishing Reels, Rods and accessories. I also have reels made by Shimano, Daiwa, Quantum and Abu. I wouldn't pay the regular price of $149 for the Browning but I bought mine early this year on sale for $99 and at that price point I think it is a good reel for the money. I'm not a fan of the Citica at its price point.

I bought two of these several years ago at my local Academy. They were on close out for $189 ( $10 more than the regular 250). They're still unused and in the case.