desmobob

+1 I have an older Aero Symetre and it has been a fantastic reel. Tight lines, Bob

Same here. Tight lines, Bob

I use a Uni-toUni with 30 lb. Power Pro to a 20lb. fluoro leader... I use five turns on the fluoro and 10 turns on the braid. Tight lines, Bob

My favorite "relax" kind of fishing is float tube fly-rodding for bluegills and pumpkinseeds with a 2-wt. fly rod. With a yellow foam spider on a floating line or a small wooly bugger on a sink-tip or sinking line, you can have a ball wherever you find them. I always carry an old Mitchell 310 UL spinning reel spooled with four-pound test mono on a TFO Gary Loomis signature edition UL spinning rod in the bass boat, along with a selection of small Beetle Spins, jigs, grubs and spinners. When the bass fishing is slow, or I want a change of pace, I start fishing for the panfish. I've caught some big surprises on those Beetle Spins! Tight lines, Bob

I bought a new boat this summer; a Tracker Pro170 with a 40HP Mercury four-stroke. I chose it primarily due to my budget, along with the limited towing capability of my Subaru Forester. I was a little worried it would be underpowered, but I'm very happy with it. It gives excellent fuel economy and is laid out well for fishing. I liked the idea that it was pretty much ready to fish... just load up your rods and tackle and go. I've put a lot of hours on it this summer and have no complaints. http://www.trackerboats.com/boat/?boat=3576 Tight lines, Bob

I bought an HMX spinning rod last year to bring on my annual Cape Cod striper fishing trip. My buddies there recommended the Falcon Low Rider, but I wanted a two-piece rod (and didn't want to have the exact same gear as most of the other guys) so I tried an HMX. I put a Diawa Tournament SS 1300 on it and it is a great rod for inshore striper fishing and largemouth fishing. I don't own any high-end spinning rods to compare it to, but I think I may prefer it to my my TFO Gary Loomis Signature spinning rod in a similar length and action. Tight lines, Bob

Another option is to buy a skirt-making kit... you'll be able to make them exactly the way you want them. Tight lines, Bob

+1 on the series of largemouth bass books. I bought three of them and was very impressed. They were excellent and far exceeded my expectations. Tight lines, Bob

Don't get me wrong... I also love fishing that requires total concentration. Just not ALL the time. Once in a while, I just want to relax, cast and reel, and hopefully catch a few. Most of the time, it's much more serious than that. :-) Tight lines, Bob

Thanks for taking the time to make and post the great video! Tight lines, Bob

I got to see a nice bass eat my wacky-rigged Senko today. He hovered next to it for a few seconds, then very slowly moved up and sucked the whole thing in. I was using flouro line but the Senko was on the drop - there was slack in the line. I was surprised at how slowly he moved up to eat it. And he never moved after he sucked it in (until I set the hook....). I find the reason that I don't always care for fishing wacky-rigged Senkos is that it requires so much concentration... I'm staring at the line the whole time. Sometimes I just want to relax and chunk-and-wind a crankbait or spinnerbait/chatterbait, but today, the bass wouldn't play nice and I had to pitch the Senko. The darn Lake Champlain pike, on the other hand, were loving my crankbaits. I got tired of spending five minutes per pike getting them unhooked! I got one 8.5-pounder that required me to pull the crankbait out of his left gill cover, unclip the bait and pull the line back out through his mouth. At lease I didn't loose any lures to them today. They usually cost me about ten bucks a day in tackle. Tight lines, Bob

I bought one of the inexpensive Berkley scales at one of the 'Mart stores and it is accurate (I tested it) and works very well. I think I paid $19 and change for it. If I lost it I'd buy another one immediately. Years ago, I spent more than that on a high-end spring scale and I don't really like it.... Tight lines, Bob

I have an Outcast Fat Cat tube. I use either a pair of Force fins (more than 2X your budget), or a pair of SCUBA fins I bought that are large enough to fit over my wading boots. I believe they were under $50. I did some web searching for "best buy SCUBA fins" and found some inexpensive ones that were highly rated. I'll try to remember to look at the brand name and model when I'm around the fishing gear. The Force fins are much easier to walk in when you have to take a few steps, but the cheaper SCUBA fins are much more powerful in the water. Tight lines, Bob

Thanks for the warm welcome, gentlemen! Tight lines, Bob

Hello everyone, I'm 53 years old and a lifetime fisherman. I grew up spending summers on Lake George, NY and continued spending lots of time fishing there throughout my lifetime. I fished for smallmouths, lake trout and landlocked salmon. For a long time, most of my fishing was fly fishing for trout and panfish in other local lakes and streams, and fishing flies in saltwater for striped bass, bluefish, dorado, etc. This summer, I bought a bass boat (Tracker Pro 170) and trailer it to the southern end of Lake Champlain (South Bay boat launch) near my home. Largemouth bass fishing in southern Lake Champlain is a whole lot different than fishing for smallmouths in Lake George! I've been having a lot of fun learning to fish this new environment and have also had a lot of fun buying new equipment and tackle. :-) I've been doing a lot of reading and research on largemouth fishing and a lot of web searches have brought me to posts here on Bass Resource. I figured I had better register for an account. I enjoy Internet forums with people sharing their experience and knowledge and I look forward to being a productive member here. Take it easy, Bob