Steveo-1969

Best concert? Of the dozens of bands I've seen there have been a couple "bests". As a hardcore Doors fan that is too young to have seen Jim perform live (I was not quite 2 years old when he died) my favorite concerts were seeing Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger with different singers. (John Densmore wasn't with them - he was too busy whining and suing them). I saw them with Ian Astbury on vocals in PA and again with Brett Scallions in VA. Awesome... I also saw Type O Negative twice before Peter Steele died. RIP Pete!! And of course let's not forget Neil Diamond. I've seen him 4 times. Eclectic musical tastes? CHECK!!!

I was saying the same thing 5 short years ago. I saw a $100 Carrot Stik in a tackle shop and said "There's no way I would pay $100 for a fishing rod!". Now I own an NRX and have discovered what a pleasure it is to fish with a rod of this high quality. I may not catch more fish, but I enjoy the act of fishing more with this rod. I own a Dodge Charger and love it. But I bet a Ferrari would be even more fun to drive.

Welcome to BR! Unfortunately you will find lots of fellow Packer fans on the site.

I don't have any experience with 17# Invizx, but this year I switched from 30# braid to 12# Invizx, fished on a 7'5" MHXF. The heaviest bait I've used is a 1/2 ounce jig (plus trailer). The stretch took some getting used to after using braid, but I have no complaints about the line. I was concerned about the stretch on hooksets, but had no problem getting good hook penetration on the hookset in 20 feet of water with the jig. I would guess 17# would stretch less than 12#.

Totally agree, MLF is my favorite tournament fishing show. Ultimate Match Fishing is kind of cool, having 2 pros fishing together out of the same boat. They don't know each other's exact weights but can see every fish the opponent catches and have a pretty good idea. And they know exactly where and how they are catching fish. In UMF though, I can't stand Fish Fishburne (Joe Thomas is alright, but certainly no Marty Stone) and the referee is just obnoxious. And they get to practice ahead of time. And I cringe every time these guys flip a bass in. Totally legal as long as it's flopping around on their side of the boat. Ugh...

Another vote for Strike King S11s, which are about $40. I bought gray lenses and then a year later also amber lenses. I now wear the amber lenses for all light conditions and love them.

Yup! Whenever I have one tied on.........

I believe "bucket fishermen" (or "the bucket brigade") refers to bank fishermen who keep every fish they catch regardless of size, species or legality. Someone please correct me if I'm way off here.

Wow, lots of great advice already. Welcome to Bass Resource! As you can see, lots of helpful and knowledgeable members here. I would help if you gave us some more info on how you like to fish, where you fish, what baits and techniques you use. spinning or baitcasting, etc. For me personally, the location I fish and the types of baits I fish I can use a spinning rod 99% of the time. So after years of upgrading rods/reels I finally decided to buy a REALLY NICE spinning rod/reel. And I couldn't be happier with just that one rod. But I really enjoy fishing with a baitcasting rod also, so I saved my pennies and also bought a REALLY NICE baitcast rod/reel. I guess what I'm saying is if I had $400 to spend I would first decide (based on how I fish, where, what, etc.) how many rods I thought I needed.

While I suggested the Fishin Buddy I do agree with Mr. Choporoz. It's good for depth changes and surface temp but that's about it. I've used one for the past 5 years on vacation with a rental boat, but all I'm using it for is to find ledges.

Google "Humminbird Fishin' Buddy".

I've never fished the Mag 2, but FWIW the 10.5" Ol' Monster in Plum color was our #2 fish producer during our annual vacation on KY Lake last month.

Dang, good for you Mike! I'm SO jealous!!!!!! I'm curious to see how Kevin White looks. With Brandon gone he'll need to be ready, not worried about Alshon. Also curious to see how Jimmy Clausen looks too. I don't think Fox will hesitate to bench Cutler mid-season if he isn't getting it done. With switching to a 3-4, the defense is also a huge question mark... Steve

This year on my river it's been 4" t-rigged YUM Dinger and 3" or 4" curly-tail grub on 1/8 ounce ball head. Honorable mention: 3/16 ounce SK Bitsy Bug jig with Baby Rage Craw trailer.

Guys Guys GUYS!!! Da Bears are going to win the Superbowl. Moderators - please lock this thread. We are done here.

I thought this was a joke! Below the video it says go to their website for more information, but there's no information there about this line welder. And I can't find any information about "Professional Fisherman - JC Flaherty" either. I assumed this wasn't a real product but a commercial from an old SNL show... ha-ha

X2

Ha-ha. Raul is one of our resident "wanna be comedians". I'm assuming he has another source of income.

I would love to quit my job and fish every day, but for that to be possible I need to win the lottery.

What about a shaky head?

I feel the same way about the 3" YUM Mighty Bug. I love that bait and only have a couple left.

I had this exact same thing happen to me on Saturday afternoon fishing from the bank. I had just looked behind me and made a mental note about how close a tree was to me. What I didn't notice was the big plant to my right. On my next side-arm cast my bait caught the plant and... I lost so much line cutting out that birds nest that I had to retire that rod for the day. And because it was the only rod I brought with me I had to stop fishing for the day. SMH.........

That chain pickerel knows it's Shark Week.

I use the Rapala braid scissors I can get at Walmart. They last about a year before getting dull but they only cost $3.

Most favorite: Jig or t-rigged plastic. Least favorite: Crankbait or topwater (aversion to treble hooks). HA!!!!!