Alpster

MEE TOOOOO!!! I didn't know that bikes were allowed. Here's my pride and joy. GL1800 Goldwing Ronnie

You can count on it. By then, I will be fishing with all my own builds. Only thing is, they will all have them nasty old Shimano reels on them. ;D Ronnie

I just finished wrapping a 7' 1 piece 'Lamiglas' 4 wt fly rod with spinning guides and a seat to fit my 1000 shimano spinning reel for ultra light fishing and techniques such as this. Ronnie

I use a good trout net. It is small easy to store and handle. I have netted 10 lb hybrids with it. JMHO Ronnie

This is the car I would drive if I could drive anything I wanted. 71 Hemi Cuda. I love muscle cars. Ronnie

CF, It's not so much that one is better than the other, it's just a different presentation. If your just comparing a lead head jig with a worm trailer to the same worm T-rigged and pegged, then there's not a lot of difference. However if your jig has a skirt and the worm is a trailer, it will be altogether different. Spot removers, shakey head jigs, big football jigs, all are a different presentation and will catch fish all over the place. You should experiment will as many as you can. Sometimes taking that worm off of the T-rig and putting it on a spot remover or charlie brewer jig will load the boat. JMHO Ronnie

Well, I reckon if your a cookin' I'm a eatin' Thank you kindly Mr. Alpster. I'm much obliged. Are you kidding? The only thing I like better than cooking, is eating. My moto is, always look for a fat cook. . And hey, muddy_man is talking some trash about making some sort of Italian delicacy, we will see what he's got going on. I am also thinking if we accidently snag a couple of crappie, catfish, or whatever, a light fish fry just might be in order. Like the boy scouts say "be prepared". Are we there yet? It's gonna be a long winter waiting for the trip in the spring. Ronnie

Hey Jim, I am glad we all don't think alike and everyone likes their own style. I have been fly fishing for bass for over 30 years. I am sure Peter is a fine angler and catches a lot of fish with his 9 wt flyrod and I don't want to start a big debate about the proper size fly rod for bass fishing. However, my opinion is, that you have the perfect rig in a 7 wt rod & Orvis Battenkill LA reel. I use a 9wt rod in the surf for big stripers & my experience is, a 9 wt is a much bigger rod than I would perefer for freshwater bass. There's no bass in Maryland that you can't catch with a 7wt rod properly rigged. Also if you want to go a little deeper for smallies when it's cold, consider a sinking line or a sinking tip line and use some tiny split shot on your tippet to get your bug down a little deeper. I hope this is helpfull. Ronnie

I have a Stella and YES, if you can afford it, it's worth it. JMHO Ronnie

Don't worry RW, they will come around. It just takes time. (official member of the "Shimano Posse") Ronnie

WELCOME! We are glad you are here! Ronnie

Use warm (not hot) water with a mild soap, a couple of drops of dish washing liquid. Make a lather of bubbles on top of the water and pick up the bubbles with a warm wet cloth or paper towell. Wipe the soap off of the screen with another wet towel and let the screen air dry. Don't use chemicals, windex, fantastik or 409. Don't ever wipe a dry screen, it will scratch. Ronnie

I would try a suspending crankbait and let it pause for a long time between motion. Ronnie

I have never had a problem with spilt shot, however the kinds of rigs I use with split shot get changed pretty often anyway. Ronnie

I was told that the eyes will begin to get cloudy from lack of oxygen when they are on the way out. You could never tell this from a picture. That is some amazing fish, blows away the record in my state. Ronnie

A little over 6 lbs on a dark blue 1/2 oz Arkie jig with a 'Uncle Josh' black widow eel trailer. Ronnie

My kids can sleep in the garage, the fishing stuff stays inside. Ronnie

WELCOME! It's always nice to show up with a fish in your hand. Ronnie

Got my BassResource.com tornament shirt today and it is awesome! Thanks for the sale Glen! Ronnie

Just as flechero has stated, they all make good blanks. Choosing a blank for a custom build is tough because there are so many out there. I would look for the fishing characteristics that I want rather than a paticular blank company. I think I understand your question and my answer is....Narrow your criteria to what you want to fish with (ex. 6' 6" med heavy, extra fast, etc.) and find almost any of the blanks that flechero listed in his post on sale and get the one that meets your specs. A bad build can screw up the finest rod blank and a middle of the road blank can become magic to fish with if it's built properly. JMHO PS I have recently built a couple of Lamiglas rods. I have one on the wrapper now and one waiting. I am very impressed with the quality. Mud Hole has them on sale for cheap, but not much of a selection. Hope this helps. Ronnie

Steve, Braided line by itself will not hurt quality guides, but it has more of a tendency to pick up and carry sand & other grit that will scratch your guides over time. Just wipe the crap off the first 75' of your line every other trip and you won't have any problems with braid. Us old guys can remember when braid was about all there was to fish with, especially in salt water. Rods lasted for many years in a salt water environment way before the guides were made of the hard materials of today. Clean and maintain your gear and have no worries. JMHO Ronnie

Hey WM, The holes in the spool are to make it lighter. I get the best accuracy from side arm casts and the most distance from overhead casting. It's mostly a matter of what feels good to you and where you are casting. I side arm cast more than not, because I am alway trying to get under something, a dock, overhanging bushes, lay down, etc. I would start with short side arm casting with the heavier of the two rods, so you don't have to take the flex of the rod so much into consideration and 17 to 20 lb mono will work for starters (a heavier line wil behave a little better). Start with heavier plugs and short casts with more brakes until you build some confidence, then work your way to lighter and longer casts as you experiment with the cast controls and teach your thumb to cooperate. Check out this thread from this site... http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1151590913 Congrats on the new reel and I hope my input is helpfull. Ronnie

Hey ronnie, I don't want to hijack bitman's thread but I recently built myself a spiral wrapped 7' 6" Loomis FS904X IMX 'Flippin Stick' blank and it is a joy to fish with. Ronnie

Hey KB, If your thinking of a new rod, try to find a fishing buddy who has one you might like and try it. Also look around for a mom & pop fishing store (not BPS, Dicks, etc.) and ask them to let you try one. I have a local store that will put a spooled reel on any rod they have and take you out to the parking lot and let you cast it with a practice plug. You sometimes have to pay a little more than the big stores, but you know more about what your getting. At the end of the day, whatever keeps you on the water fishing all day is what you should use. It don't matter what it costs. JMHO Ronnie

What senile1 said is good advice and will certainly get the job done. 7 1/2' improves the experience for me. If you get a dedicated flippin stick, try to get your hands on a longer one and try it. Ronnie