DogBone_384

I get my license every year. The hunting/fishing/salt water licenses cost about $70 depending on what endorsements you want. That's not even a tank of gas & not worth risking getting your gear confiscated in addition to fines. BTW - it's only about state revenue in most cases. Weigh the license cost versus potential penalties.

X2 - It's built well and isn't really heavy to keep on when casting either....

Was browsing Gander's website and found these Vendetta's on sale: http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Abu-Garcia-Vendetta-Casting-Rod-66-Medium&i=435885&aID=504AB2&merchID=4006

Pretty simple: keep fishing, keep trying different lures/techniques and read this forum until your wife makes you sleep on the couch. If it helps, write down what the weather was like, which lures you caught fish on, how deep, etc., that way you'll remember it better. Most of all, enjoy it.

It's getting cooler out: 50's @ night, higher 60's during the day. Can't say for sure, but I know the fish have disappeared from my usual pond. I've thrown Senkos, Zoom baits, spinner baits, and crank baits with nothing more than a Sunfish. Too bad hand grenades are illegal... That'd catch something .

How's it sleeping in your truck?

I agree with not having much luck @ Houghtons, and I'll support BHR being overfished. I had a great Spring there but August & September have been slow there. Granted I've only been shut out a couple of times this season, but sizes are down and the LMB I've caught lately are kind of skinny. BHR is a young pond too, the State finished their tanks there in '08 -'09, which may contribute to the current conditions.

I have 3 lumbar vertebrae going in different directions that present problems much like you describe. I manage quite well by stretching throughout the day and flipping upside down on an inversion table that my chiropractor recommended I use to keep everything aligned between visits. I'd check with your doctor before looking into an inversion table for your injury or whether or not movements involved in bank fishing can indeed aggravate your situation, but it can vouch for its worth: I've been using mine for 5 or 6 years now with great relief. Best of luck.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=636971&group_ID=675118&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog Give these a spin. No cutting abilities, but nail-clippers will do that for you. I've been buying Snap-On for about 25 years and often wonder why because some of their tools are excessively expensive, but after seeing $300+ for those Van Staals, I don't feel so bad. Add: I make money with my Snap-On tools too.

Nights & mornings are cool, but daytime temps are still in the 70+ range out here in Mass. My 'regular' reservoir is still pretty slow.

I'm still newish to bait casters, so when I know I'm going to be fishing after dark I bring along a spinning outfit as a backup because I also wouldn't see a backlash that well. I also have a light on my hat & a 90-degree light I can hang on my bag/coat. Fishing at night is pretty cool, but like Bill Cosby says - "10:00, that's when all the monsters come out!"

A+ You don't need to ask whether or not I'm a B's fan (), but good luck anyway!

Thanks. I'm still undecided on braided line. Now the big question (since I'm from Mass.): Are you a Yankee or Mets fan?

Which four brands?

Welcome. It's a great forum: tons of information to be had & the wife won't lose her mind when she glances over your shoulder to see what you're doing!

I joined this forum in June, but left my manners somewhere and didn't introduce myself. My name is Mike Casey, I'm 46, live in Quincy (pronounced Quin-zee up here), MA and have fished most of my life for fun. Now that my daughter is a teenager and wants nothing to do with Dad (unless she needs something) I decided to get back into fishing during the time I have between both jobs, though a little more seriously than before. SInce joining, I've found this forum absolutely invaluable and somewhat dangerous to my wallet. Thanks for all the great information and good fishing to all... Again, my apologies for my poor manners.

I just picked up a BPS Mirco Lite 7' ML 2-piece for light lures, and for $59 it's working out great. I like to have a couple of 2-piece rods to tie to my backpack so I can MTB and fish in the same day. Overall I don't find a sensitivity difference between my 1 & 2 piece rods. Good luck

I have two Vendetta's, a both 7' Mediums (one spinner and one baitcaster) and a 6'6" Medium baitcasting Veritas and really like all of them. I find the Vendettas are a little stiffer than the Veritas. Sensitivity is great on all three, but overall I'd give the Veritas a little bit of an advantage for just feeling good in my hands. Best of luck with your choice, either way Abu's are great rods. Just my 2-cents.

Is anyone going to question him? Until I reentered the fishing hobby seriously I had only one setup and fished whatever bait I cared without analyzing anything more than going fishing, as I'm sure many of you did when you were young.

From my experience entering the baitcasting pond the BPS Pro Qualifier reel is a great starter. I have three of them in different ratios sitting on different action rods and can say they all cast great without breaking the bank. I've not been able to rationalize/talk myself into diving into the big dollar end of the pool yet because the Pro Qualifiers' performance. Best of luck getting into baitcasting. I'm glad I did.

Great replies.... It sure looks like Shimano's & Gander Mountain's marketing departments are fishing too.... I wonder who bites!?!?!?!

I invited a friend with whom I went to college with nearly 30 years ago earlier this Summer. We both work two jobs and have daughters of similar age so once or twice a month we go fishing for a couple hours, have a beer or two, and appreciate how lucky we are.

In case anyone's interested, the 50MG7 is on sale @ Gander Mountain. http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Shimano-Core-Baitcast-Reel-50MG7&i=419948&aID=504AA2&merchID=4006

I didn't know 1" rod movement equated to a 6" bait movement... Might be my problem, thanks very much, I'll give it a try next time I'm out.

I have a Shakespeare Sigma/Ugly Stick combo I've had for 30+ years. I keep it as an extra setup for nephews or friends that go with me that don't fish a lot or can't throw a bait caster. I also have a pile of jitter bugs and assorted lures I've had most of my life. I suppose I keep them because I've just had them so long. I've never really thought much about it. I suppose that's also why I've had my Suzuki RF900 for 18 years too.