Scott F

As long as you buy the correct adapter.

Was free shipping a better deal than having to pay the sales tax?

I keep an extendable boat hook on my boat. When I get a bait snagged along a shallow bank, I can get in too close for the trolling motor to operate and use the pole to push myself away from the shore. I also keep a "johnny" bottle for when I need to relieve myself. Safer than having to get too close to the edge of the boat.

Up at the St. Croix store in Park Falls WI, where the make the rods, there is a wall where the "B" stock rods are sold. B stock rods have some sort of cosmetic blemish that for the most part is un-noticeable. The price is reduced around 30% or so, they are marked often on the reel seat, with a B, and the warranty is reduced to one year. My point here, is that a blemish like the one you have is more pronounced than anything I've seen on the B stock rods. How did your rod get past quality control. Where did you buy the rod? I wonder if the seller replaced the rod tip for some reason before you got it and was sloppy in the way they secured the tip. If you have registered the rod with St Croix, and it was purchased new, I'm sure that if you wanted to go through the trouble, they'd take it back.

That "direct" movement is exactly why I ONLY use braid on my jerkbaits. Because so much of the action is imparted by moving the rod, I want the movement transferred to the bait and not eaten up by the stretch of the line. To each his own I guess. It looks like the myth that FC doesn't stretch much just won't die.

Why not call TW and ask them for their shipping costs?

Break Out Another Thousand. Just about ALL boats are a money pit. The trailers need maintenance like tires, brakes, bearings and lights. The boat needs batteries and upkeep. Something is always breaking. Plus annual fees for license plates, boat registrations, gas and oil. If you can do service yourself, you can save money, but paying someone else gets expensive too. Just be prepared to keep paying for the privilege of boat ownership.

I'm 61, and just had back surgery, but compared to you other old geezers, I feel like a teenager! I can see the limitations on my aging body so much so that I had to retire recently while I'm still relatively healthy. If I went back to work I'd soon be only able to fish from a lawn chair.

if the recipient of the gift is not an advanced fisherman, he will not appreciate a bait that costs $15 or more. Three $6 baits would be a better choice for most fishermen over one $18 lure, unless you knew for sure that the person getting it really wanted a $20 Megabass Pop Max. Most guys think buying expensive baits is crazy. Go for the quantity.

If I thought I needed to carry a gun to go fishing, I'd never fish again.

Used is probably the only way you'll any kind of craft you're looking for. A new 40hp jet is $6,000 by itself. Good luck on your search.

These days, it seems that there are as many car shows on TV as there used to be fishing shows. There is even an entire cable station, Velocity, devoted entirely to car shows. It's kind of funny that most have a pretty girl who is on the show, and there seems to always be some sort of deadline that has to be met. I never miss Fast & Loud or Jay Leno's Garage. I also like Wheeler Dealers. Which ones do you like?

You never did say exactly what "reasonably priced" means to you. I just purchased a boat I intend to run on shallow rocky rivers. Look up Towee boats. A new, 16' reinforced fiberglass hull, that draws 4 inches of water fully loaded runs around $5,000. Trailer, motor, and other options are extra. This boat is being used by river guys in Northern Wisconsin as well as the rocky rivers in Tennesee where they are built. It was designed just for these rivers. The empty hull only weighs 250 lbs. I'm putting a 40hp Yamaha jet on mine with a Terrova trolling motor. Other guys are using prop motors, a trolling motor or they row them like a drift boat. Just something else to consider.

I had a Quantum that had the same problem. I built up the area with epoxy, filed it smooth and never had another problem.

I was there several years ago. I live near Chicago and every few years, I take a trip South in April before things get warm up North. One year, I decided to try Bull Shoals. I could not get over how many boats were on the lake. There was a boat every 200 yards ALL the way around the lake every day. The marked, sunken brush piles each had 2 or 3 boats parked on them at all times. I'm used to fishing in Northern Minnesota or Wisconsin where I might go 2 or 3 days and not see another bass fisherman. That kind of pressure might be normal on Bull Shoals but I won't drive 8 or 10 hours again to get in line to fish. I was there in the spring, Is it always so crowded?

After you click on your name, click on "account settings" on the left side. There you'll see "signature". Click on that, and you're there.

At $115, I don't believe I'd ever own a pair to be able to give a review. My $12 Boomerang tool cuts just fine.

What difference does it make if you count the fish as landed or not? If you never weighed or measured it, you don't really know how much it weighed. The sad reality is that the only person that really cares is you. Because you have no proof of the fish, at least half the people you tell won't believe you even caught it. You know it's the biggest fish you ever got and you have a good story to go with it. Now go out and catch another one.

If you are new to fishing, and you choose to use braid, I would suggest not using a leader at least to start out. Those guys who use leaders all the time have gotten good at joining the lines. It takes some practice to get a good, solid, strong and small knot. Keep things simple and get some confidence in your ability to catch fish before advancing to more complicated techniques.

I just reorganized my tackle and was surprised at the number of suspending jerkbaits I have. I don't often use other diving crankbaits and I just started fishing the jerkbaits a few years ago. While I too have more plastics, dollar wise, my investment in the jerkbaits has to be higher than all the plastics combined. When one jerkbait costs about the same as 3 bags of plastics.... You know winter is here when I'm spending time counting baits instead of throwing them.

I am the very opposite. I will very seldom even leave the house to fish if I think fishing is going to be tough. I do a lot of road trips to fish so I plan my trips to be on the water during "prime time". During the summer, I fish rivers almost exclusively because I know the fishing will be much easier than lakes would be. I fish because I like catching. I spent a lot of money on boats and tackle to catch bass. Not catching isn't nearly as much fun.

Ice fishing rods are made of graphite and you don't hear about problems using them on the ice. I'm sure your rods will be fine in any weather you fish.

Just saw a fishing show today filmed in Northern Wisconsin just this past week. They were hammering the largemouth on Red Eye Shads, plastics and spinnerbaits in 40 degree water in 10 feet of water on the deep edge of weeds just before the depth went to 20 feet. If you are interested, here is a link to this weeks show. "John Gillespie's Waters and Woods" Warning, the host John Gillespie gets a little "enthusiastic". He films a new show every week, 52 weeks a year, most of them in Wisconsin, but always some where in the Midwest. http://www.gillespiefishing.com/this-weeks-show/

While fishing with a friend of mine, we came across a nearly new, #10 Rapala X-Rap in the "Hot Steel" color hanging from a tree. My partner tied it on and caught 8 smallies on 10 casts just off a small, un-named island. We now call that island, Hot Steel Island.

The teflon on bullets is there to protect the gun barrel from the bullets. It does not add anything to the armor piercing ability. The size of the hole is made by the hook. For the hole to be smaller, the hook has to be thinner. Again, teflon won't allow the hole to be smaller than the size of the wire hook.