crazyjoeclemens

I agree with you partly. I'm old fashioned too. Overly complicated things do have more chances to fail, but the thing is, Mechanical broadheads have been around for a long time and they're really not that complicated. Especially the Grim Reapers. Most mechanical broadheads on the market are designed in such a way that they can't fail to open. The biggest difference in quality is whether the broadhead is going to be durable or a one-use kind of thing. There are two main reasons why people have negative experiences with mechanical broadheads - first is poor penetration. a lot of the newer mechanicals have a much larger cutting diameter than their fixed broadhead counterparts. This takes a lot more kinetic energy to punch through a target If you're shooting a low poundage, short drawlength, or an older bow that's not capable of producing as much energy, you'd be best sticking with a fixed broadhead. The last point there is why mechanicals got a bad rap to begin with. When mechanicals first came out, the older eccentric cam bows didn't have the power necessary to make em work like they were supposed to. The second reason is bad marksmanship. I don't hate Rage broadheads - they make an OK product (just a little flimsy and better suited for single use), but they had an AD campaign where the tagline was "Expand your killzone." The problem I have with that is there are a whole lot of lazy bowhunters who get their bow out and shoot it a few times the weekend before season opens and feel like they're doing just fine if they can hit a paper plate or pie plate with their bow. Dad always called em paper plate or pie plate hunters, because that was their benchmark for accuracy, and that term always applied to bow hunters and gun hunters equally. Anyway, this whole "expand your killzone" campaign gave new legitimacy to the paper plate hunters theory that hitting that big paper circle was good enough, because these fancy mechanicals have mysterious and magical killing power. Now, when one of those fools takes a shot (with their poorly tuned bow) and loses a wounded deer, they end up whining and complaining about how they "hit it good" but that stupid mechanical head must not have opened. They tell everyone about it so many times that they start to believe it, too. However, the fact of the matter is that if you hit a deer in the vitals with an unopened mechanical (or a field point for that matter), its still gonna die. Gut shoot it with anything, and its gonna run for miles before it lays down. Anyway, thats my 2 cents on the matter. Sorry about the rant, but that's one of those topics I feel strongly about!

+1 for the grim reapers. Probably the best mechanical broadhead design. The 1 3/4" are all around great heads. If you're shooting a bow with high KE, they also make a 2" whitetail special. Personally, I think I'll be shooting the new hybrids this year. They look pretty awesome!

So, a while back I posted a thread asking for help identifying a little screen printed swimbait that I've had rolling around in my tackle box for over a decade. It was recognized as a Renosky super shad, so partly out of nostalgia and partly because I have my own personal bait monkey hanging on my back, I went ahead and ordered a few more. The colors are perch, shad, and green. So, now that if have these...how would you guys fish em?

I've always wanted a Russian paratrooper model, but the only SKS I ever bought was a Chinese Type 56. Still makes a handy coyote rifle, though.

Unless it's a lightweight bullet, specifically made for varmints (it'll say on the box if it is), chances are that it will mushroom some and keep trucking in a mostly straight line till it hits tree or dirt. It may lose some fragments of copper jacket along the way, but most hunting bullets are designed for mass retention. If you hit heavy bone, like the shoulder, all bets are off, you could end up losing some larger pieces of lead and causing some deflection, but actual results are difficult to predict. This doesn't hold 100% true, but as a general rule for .30-06, varmint rounds will have a polymer ballistic tip on the end, hollow points are usually target bullets, and PSP's or soft points are made for hunting larger game.

Remington 870. The sound of the action loading a shell is enough to make the less determined run. If they don't run, the 870 is one of the most reliable firearms ever made.

Catfish aren't strictly scavengers. Larger cats go for worms and live shad just like bass will. If you're into some catfish during the day, you're running a little too deep. An extra catfish is no problem to me, regardless of what i'm after. They fry up really well.

I don't remember all the details, but my first bass was in a scummy little pond at a local forest preserve park. I was using a Hula popper in frog colors with a white belly. I tossed it out, let it settle and after a couple pops, a small fish just hammered it. I was just screwing around, wasting time, so I didnt expect a hit. It was such a surprise, I almost dropped my rod. Fortunately, he hit it so hard he set the hook himself. I've been addicted ever since.

Well, the drinking part Im not totally against. I've been known to crack open a beer or two (certainly not a "40" though) on a long day out on the water. However, I do know that a lot of people look down on drinking and boating because of the number of accidents caused by impaired boaters. The littering part is a definite deal breaker. If I were a guest, I might not say anything, but I would make it a point to not fish with them anymore. Its too easy to stash your trash on the boat and toss it in one of the numerous garbage cans placed by the ramp. I guess some people feel the need to discard their alcohol containers on the water, so a CPO wont find any "evidence" of them drinking, but I find it easier to just not drink to the point of innebriation and also by not acting like a jack*** on the water and drawing attention to myself...but thats just me...

My reels get soaked regularly and they haven't failed yet. I actually just started going through all of them to clean out the old grease and dirt and re-lube them. Whether they get dunked or not, I'd recommend doing that regularly. Mine felt like new reels after adding some fresh grease to the gears and a little oil to the bearings.

I have Stren Mono on just about everything now. The memory isn't that bad, as long as you don't go too heavy.

Since this thread is still hangin around, I'll ammend my response. I'm still a fan of the Berkeley power shaky worm in pumpkin, but I've been really successful with Zoom U-Tales on a c-rig lately. I think the color I've been using is pumpkinseed.

I've actually never kept any bass. Only been bass fishing for a couple years and just now getting to the point where I can consistently catch em. Catfish and crappie, I've always just tossed em in a cooler full of ice.

Bait monkey for sure. Every time I'm in a store that sells bait, I gotta walk that isle and see whats on sale. That bait monkey keeps leeching money out of my wallet $10 to $20 at a time. As much bait as I already have, you'd think I would start setting some cash aside to upgrade a rod or reel, but the bait monkey won't let me.

For the same of patterning, on the ground or in the stand shouldn't make much difference. That being said, a few practice shots from the stand would help you figure out the best point of aim to use for shots at different yardages.

If I'm river fishing, the slip weight rig works great. Current makes the bait bounce and roll around. In a lake, I prefer to drop shot, to keep the bait up off the bottom some. Catfish do lay low, but they aren't exclusively bottom feeders. Night crawlers and chicken livers are always good to start with, but I'm a fan of shad fillets and leeches. They're deadly around here.

If I see a storm coming, I usually fish whatever is between me and the dock by the boat ramp.

Kind of OT and sorry for hijacking the thread, but I noticed that nobody put Pearl on their list. Why is that? I don't use KVD's (I have mostly Bandit cranks), but my color choices would be somewhat similar. I have a bunch, but the ones I throw most are Rootbeer, Tennessee Shad, Pearl/Black Back, and Natural Shad/

I use the mobile version of the site as well. Its pretty handy for reading and making posts. The only suggestion I have is maybe to add a button for uploading photos in the mobile version. It would make it super easy to upload photos directly from the phone.

Well, Ill be darned. Thought I had one that'd be a stumper. Now it's time to order a few, if for no other reason than nostalgia. Thanks!

Im a big fan of the PopR's. I'd have a hard time shelling out $20+ for a topwater, too. That being said, has anyone compared the Rapala Skitter Pop to any of these baits? Its a good looking design, and it seems to be priced intermediately...

I never did think I need it, but one of the lakes I fish is a reclaimed gravel pit. The banks are steep and the bottom is a long way down. Lose anything there and it's not coming back. Plus, I had a couple close calls with power boaters that made me think it was only a matter of time before I get swamped by some idiot with more horsepower than brain cells...

I wouldn't worry too much. They don't usually drop off of a warm body. If you checked yourself out thoroughly, you probably found em all. Just wash & dry your clothes and bedding and vaccuum the carpet, if you're still paranoid about it. Make sure you wash & dry clothes and bedding at the higher heat settings. The heat is what kills the little buggers, not the detergent. As far as lymes disease goes, the ones you gotta worry about are the ones you never see. As mentioned before, the ticks that carry it are the size of a pin head. The larger ticks carry a host of other diseases, like rocky mountain spotted fever, but symptoms are more acute than lymes. Ticks are no joke. Its important to check yourself thoroughly, especially for those of us who spend a lot of time bank beating.

Any chance insurance will cover any of it? My boat is an old beater, but I carry a modest policy, in case something happens. My boat ain't worth much, but I do have a newer trolling motor and fish finder on it - not to mention all of my tackle.

Mine is a 2004 Chevy Silverado Z71. Its got 189k on it and its still goin strong.