desmobob

This almost sums up my cold water/cold weather safety precautions for canoe and kayak use. The only thing missing is "File a float plan." In other words, make sure someone knows where you're headed and when you'll be back. A safety mindset is important, too. Be aware of the dangers of cold water and cold weather, and remind yourself not to do those "risky" things you might do in the summer time. Tight lines, Bob

Sending prayers and positive thoughts your way... best of luck to you! Tight lines and good health, Bob

I don't know about "certifiable," but I know I immediately checked the accuracy of the $19.99 Berkley digital scale I picked up at Wal-Mart. It's dead on, and has functioned perfectly for two seasons. If it died tomorrow, I'd buy another one. Owning an accurate scale can be a sobering experience. :-) Tight lines, Bob

Thanks for all the input, gentlemen. I appreciate your taking the time to share your opinions and experience. I guess I'm looking for something with capability on the lighter end of things. I'll be ordering the 68L tomorrow. The 69ML might also be in my future. Or maybe the UL... :-) Thanks again, Bob

I'm interested in a light or medium-light baitcaster to mount my beloved Pixie on. It would be used for finesse fishing, smallmouth fishing; maybe even crappie fishing. ;-) I've heard and read lots of good things about the Major Craft Volkey rods and they're in my price range (about $170, shipped). I'm wondering if the VKC 69 ML/BFS is a little more versatile than the VKC 68 L/BFS. Will the VKC 69ML cast an honest 1/8th ounce reasonably, or is the VKC 68L required for that kind of use? I'm also wondering how these JDM rods compare to our domestic choices like the Dobyns 701C, and what other L/ML baitcasting rods folks here are using. Thanks for any experiences and insights you can share! Tight lines, Bob

I always forget to mention the one accessory that can turn an uncomfortable day into an enjoyable one: disposable chemical heat packs. For about a buck or so, you can have eight hours or more of warmth in your gloves or pockets. "HotHands" brand is the one I usually buy. Tight lines, Bob

Nice fish, Hootie! That's about the same kind of weather we're having where I live, too. Saw the first snow flurries on Sunday. :-( Tight lines, Bob

She looks like an old timer for sure. Congrats to the fisherman on a record catch! Tight lines, Bob

+1 I bought a few Stick Jackets and liked them, then bought a BPS version and hate it. I just bought several more Stick Jackets. Tight lines, Bob

The Fish Grip, combined with the digital scale of your choice, makes an excellent budget tool in my opinion. I have the $19.99 Berkley digital scale from the local Wal-Mart, and I love the thing. It's still going strong on the original battery after two season. It has some handy memory features, too. I checked the accuracy and it is excellent. Tight lines, Bob

There's a wise guy in every bunch... ;-) Here's what winter boating looks like in the northeast: And here's what winter fishing looks like: It's all good! Tight lines, Bob

I usually bundle the boat up for storage right around Thanksgiving. That gives me a month to get out my ice fishing gear and put it in order, sharpen my auger, and deal with the ice fishing bait monkey. :-) Tight lines, Bob

I just bought an Orra; the "Winch" model. I fished it for three days last weekend and it seems perfectly fine. I didn't know the Orra SX came in blue. I thought it was silver. Maybe it's a cheaper package reel? Tight lines, Bob

For really cold weather, I LOVE my Striker Predator jacket and bibs. They are purpose-built for ice fishing, but work perfectly for any fishing. The bibs have adjustable inseam. You can adjust the leg length to fit you just right, even if you have one leg longer than the other! ;-) A nice bonus is the built-in floatation. And, of course, they are great for ice fishing after the water hardens up... Tight lines, Bob

I'm glad you liked it and I hope you're finding the time, and having the right weather, to get out and fish! Tight lines, Bob

I was picking up some line yesterday and saw this next to the P-Line Fluoroclear; thought I'd buy a spool of 12# and try it on the crank/rip/twitch rod this weekend.... Tight lines, Bob

I was able to spend the whole day on the water. It was a slow, but steady day. I had my first bass before sun-up on a jig/craw trailer in some old railroad trestle pilings. Moved locations and fished a Ned Rig on an ultralight spinning set up. What fun! I caught several White Crappie, a small Channel Catfish, and a 3 lb. 9 oz. largemouth out of the same small area. Another move got me more crappies and one more decent largemouth. Seems like there's never a shortage of action with the Ned Rig. By afternoon, I was looking for a spot to fish that was out of the wind (it was very windy all weekend here). I found a nice calm spot and started working a long rip-rap bank, hoping to find a smallmouth or two. No luck. I did find two lures in the trees along the bank, though. One was a Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crank in Bleeding Shad color. The other was a square bill crank bait in some sort of Chartreuse Shad color. I tied on the square bill to see it if ran OK. At that point, I came to an old tree trunk laying down the bank and into the water, partly submerged. I threw that square bill over the submerged part and as soon as I started winding, a big bass ATE it. I couldn't even see the lure when I got the bass next to the boat. I went to work with the pliers and hemostats and got her unhooked fairly easily. I hung her on the scale to find she was 4 lbs. 4 oz. That made me smile! A free lure caught my biggest fish of the day! I never tried throwing the lipless crank I found... what was I thinking?!! I moved to a long patch of weeds that are still up and threw a lightly-weighted T-rigged Pit Boss. After two pike and a pickerel, I gave up. All in all, it was a decent day; not many bass, but a couple of good ones. The sun was shining and the fall colors were looking good. And it may be the last 70-degree day we see in my neck of the woods for another five or six months! I hope everyone got to enjoy the long weekend. Tight lines, Bob

That's not the case. Anyway, it was totally my fault. From the Kistler warranty page: "The warranty is not intended to cover accidents, abuse, neglect or normal wear and tear. Kistler Rods reserves the right to void any warranty claim. Obviously we can’t cover tailgate, rod locker or clumsy feet damages, so that we can cover legitimate claims for valued customers for years to come." Tight lines, Bob

I have 20 lb. Power Pro on one of my spinning reels, too. It works well. BUT... I do like the 4 lb. Fireline on my ultralight outfit (I think the actual breaking strength is WAY over 4 pounds, though). I love regular, old, original Power Pro braid. I have 30 lb. and 40 lb. on most of my casting outfits. Tight lines, Bob

Thanks very much for that most excellent link! I believe I have a suitable fiberglass rod tip section I can use for the repair. Thanks for your offer... I appreciate it. The rod sells for $200, so it's worth it to me to get it repaired I'm going to do the repair myself. I have the materials I need (I've built a couple of fly rods) and just enough skill to really get it F-"ix"-ed up. :-) If I chicken out at last minute, I'll send it to you! Thanks, Bob

I have four Lew's Tournament Pros and two Daiwa Tatulas. I think they are both excellent reels for the money. The Lew's TP is is lighter and smaller and offers dual (centrifugal and magnetic) braking. The Tatula has the MagForceZ braking, which is wonderful. I've never had a Curado... Between the TP and Tatula, I'd pick the TP, but it costs more. I really enjoy both of these reels and have lots of trouble-free fishing with them. I don't think you could go wrong no matter which of the three reels you pick. You've got to start somewhere; then you can start finding out what your preferences are... you really need to fish with all three to see which one YOU really prefer. Tight lines, Bob

I headed out extra early this morning for a "blast and cast" outing... it was opening day of duck season. I laid the Beretta 390 on the deck alongside the rods. If anything happened to fly over, I'd drop my rod and go for the gun. :-) After I launched, I was removing the dock line from one of the forward cleats on the boat. When I tried to pull the loop through the center of the cleat, it hung up. It was still pitch dark out and I had taken my headlamp off after I got the boat started up. I gave the line a tug and heard a little "snap." I didn't think much of it.... After it got light out, I found out what the sound was. It was the sound of me turning my brand new, only-used-twice, Kistler KLX 6' 3" ultralight spinning rod into a 6' .5" ultralight spinning rod. There's always a lot of talk about rods breaking here on the forums. Looking back on something like forty-five years of fishing, I can only remember breaking two other rods due to carelessness: I shut a spinning rod in my truck tailgate many years ago and, when I was a teenager, I dropped an anchor on my then-favorite spin casting rod (a Berkley Cherrywood). I only remember two rods breaking during normal use: I had the butt section of an Orvis 8-wt. fly rod snap (more like "explode") while fighting a bluefish, and I had the tip of a Bass Pro Shops downrigger rod break the first time it was used. It seems like there should be more, but that's all I can remember. So, I guess I really don't have anything to complain about except my own occasional carelessness. And I had a pretty fair day of fishing, considering the 55*-56* water temperatures. I caught several large and smallmouth bass, including one very nice example of each type, along with some white crappies and yellow perch. And I shot a drake mallard and a Canada Goose, who paid the ultimate price for their carelessness. I guess I got off easy.... Tight lines, Bob

...excellent hole-shot, hold, and fuel economy... Tight lines, Bob

The Spitfire is a neat prop that offers the benefits of a four-blade prop with hardly any loss of top speed. On my Tracker Pro170's 40HP Merc, I get excellent hole-shot, hold, and fuel economy at the loss of only 1.6 MPH of top-end speed over the stock three-blade prop. I think Mercury ships most of the new small-to-mid-size engines with Spitfire props as standard equipment now. The price is a bit higher than a stock three-blade aluminum prop, but much less than a stainless steel prop. Tight lines, Bob

+3 on the bluefish. It's the only fresh or salt water fish I've ever seen that will actually watch your hands and try to bite you when you get close enough. And it has one heck of a bite. Tight lines, Bob