Alpster

I have 5 50Mgs, but my longest casting reel is a Calcutta 200DC. Ronnie

Yo Gary, I am bummed I can't be there as I have a mandatory stop on the way. I will be there mid-day on Monday and the party can really get started. Please have a voice recorder handy as there is usually some pretty good blackmail stuff that goes down at the Soire. Last year I started to re-tell a couple of Roadwarrior's stories later in the week and he started giving me these awesome Seihbert jigs to keep a lid on it. Something about what happens at Guntersville stays at Guntersville. Ronnie

When the New "Super WalMart" opened in my town and the little dinky Walmart moved all their stuff to the new store they tried to sell everything they didn't want to move. They had a rack of Ranger, Gamakastsu, and Rapala baseball caps that were usually $8 bucks apiece marked down to 50 cents. I bought all they had as I go through them pretty fast. I have fished in a couple of Ranger boats, but I can't afford to own one. I wear the hats proudly. Not a poser, just love them free hats. FWIW I have a half dozen G. Loomis rods, but no hats or stickers. I must be doing it wrong. Oh well..... Ronnie

If you have 10 odds & ends on a table and one falls off, is it an odd or an end? Ronnie

This is amazingly painless. It took about 3 minutes to have my licence for the week printed and ready to go. Ronnie

I have several "perfect setups", but the one I fish with the most is Loomis MBR844C w/Chronarch 50Mg. Jigs, worms, creature baits, it's my go to rig. Ronnie

An older fellow was on his death bed and had only a short time to live. He wanted to clear his consience about an issue so he asked her to go into the closet and retrieve a metal box. In the box was 3 golf balls and $28,000 in cash. She hurried back to his bed and said "I don't understand". He said honey, I have to tell you that I have been unfaithful to you and every time I did so I put a golf ball in that box. She said through her tears, Oh honey, there are only 3 golf balls in the box and we have been maried for more than 40 years, I can forgive you for that, but where did all the money come from?..........................................He said, every time I had a dozen golf balls, I sold them. He died the next moment. Ronnie

Inside, in a an upright tod rack.

Very nice work! Ronnie

Palomar is the easiest to tie in the wind, with gloves, etc. and won't slip with braid. Ronnie

Get yourself a backlsh picking tool http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Baitcast-Pic/product/13376/46316 Ronnie

I have a 1000FB and it's far & away the sweetest spinning reel I've ever fished with. I also have a "Twin Power" (JDM Sustain) and a cople of "Straidics". They are nice but don't compare with the stella. Like RW, I only paid $300 for mine NIB on ebay. Ronnie

This is my choice also. I actually have this setup TE 200 DC. I use it on a Loomis MBR844C spiral wrapped custom. Ronnie

Look what the wind blew in! Hey Carl, glad you are on board! We both have new wives since I saw you last. Can't wait to see you! Ronnie

Maybe another way to considder the statistics..... I too, have caught a 1/2 dozen 5lb + bass and my PB is 6.5. As I look at my personal statistics (and they are only estimates as I haven't documented every fish) I have spent 45 or so years fishing and have caught a lot of fish in that time, the number of 5+ bass are almost none as a percentage of total bass caught. I grew up in the South (Louisiana) where all but two of my 5lbers were caught. I have been in New Jersey for 26 years and have one 5lber and my PB. So for me, I have caught one 5+ bass on average, every 7 1/2 years. As to RW's question, small bass are relatively easy to catch and 95% catch them. Larger bass are not so plentiful and I don't find the 5% statistic hard to believe. I have known and fished with tounament pros, and some of the best bass fishermen in the country, including many members here. Methinks some of the guys who claim to catch dozens of 5+ fish a year would not if a good scale were involved (see Ghotti's post above). JMHO Ronnie

Pre-paid gift cards. Only way to buy online and completely protect your idenity and finances. My 14 year old does not have a credit card, so her only option is to use her pre-paid "Itunes" gift card (Apple's own invention BTW). What's the point of a gift card if you can't use it on their site? I have never had an ounce of trouble using a BPS, Cabellas, Walmart, JC Penny, Sears, you name it gift card on their respective websites. None of the aforementioned retailers ever insisted I have a CC on file with them to use their gift cards. I was finally able to use the gift card to download songs, but not before a rediculous 45 minute wait on hold and a another 45 minutes argueing with the phone rep. What part of "no I won't give you a CC number do you not understand? Waaaayyy more trouble than it should be to redeem a gift card. JMHO Ronnie

That's what I was thinking. My stepdaughter got an "Ipod touch" from her aunt for Christmas. I spent 2 hours on the computer and phone, just to get it to download music with an account set up to use an "Itunes Gift Card". Seems that Apple RRREEEAAALLYY doesn't like to give you any options other than a credit card they can debit. It all just reinforces my disdain for Apple and their preditory practices. Sorry for the rant. Didn't mean to hijack the thread. Ronnie

If you have a large capacity spool, you can put some heavy braided dacron/nylon line on as a backing to keep coiling down. You want the spool to be full when reeled up. You can get the ready made tapered leaders from Cabelas, BPS, Dick's, Academy, etc. They are not expensive and they perform much better than just plain leader material. They are 6 to 8' long. Also, if you get some line dressing and clean & dress your line regularly, it will last a very long time. Hope this is helpful. Ronnie

It's really pretty simple. About a 5 or 6 weight rod for your type fishing. Reel is to hold line when you are not fishing. Rest of the time it will dangle between your legs. If you are new to flycasting get a "weight forward" tapered floating line. The package will say something like "DTWF6F" Stands for "Double Tapered, Weight Forward, 6 weight Floating. Tie on a 3 or 4 lb tapered leader and a popping bug/wooly boogar/or other favorite bass or panfish bug and you are all set. A little practice goes a long way. I love fly fishing. It's addictive and will sometimes catch fish when nothing else works. Ronnie

I am close to Manasquan Reservoir. Ronnie

YUP!!!

Power & action are primary for the blank. I like to tape the reel to the blank and move it around to get close to a good balance point, then measure with a micrometer where the reel seat goes and order the right fit. ACS reel seats are not really "self arboring". What they mean is that instead of the inside of the seat being smooth throughout, they cut grooves to make it easier to ream out the seat for a perfect fit. I don't like reaming seats when the blank is exposed, better to get the exact seat if you can (JMO). Color Preserver is a little misleading. Modern wrapping thread doesn't need to be protected from bleeding and reacting to epoxy like older dyed silk treads from many years ago. A lot of builders use CP as a first coat to get air out of the thread that might cause bubbles in the final coat of epoxy. I use a light build epoxy thinned with a little acetone for this purpose, but CP works well too. It is not at all mandatory. Getting hard winding checks (aluminum or stainless)and real seats to fit 'perfectly' is a bit of a challenge. I would recommend on your first few builds to use rubber winding checks and the recommended seat for your blank. After you have built a couple of rods, it will be obvious what corrections you want to make. Get a copy of Tom Kirkman's (google it) rod building book, it will answer most of your questions. I hope this is helpful. Ronnie

The campground at Guntersville Park where we stayed last time was awesome and inexpensive. Speedbead & I stayed there in the Bassbus. Check it out. Ronnie

Some of this is true, some of it is not. http://www.snopes.com/military/unknown.asp Ronnie

I seem to find myself pitching with every reel I own in certain circumstances. My dedicated pitching and flipping reels are round. Ronnie