nboucher

If it is a scam, you should let e-Bay know. They try to police the stuff as best they can, but with all the volume, it's impossible.

Thanks, all. John, welcome to BR. Do you have any sense how long the boards take to dry? Also, any idea how to find a kiln? Maybe your dad will know. The idea of making something out of wood that fell right out behind the house is very very appealing.

My kind of people, Russ! Sure, talk to him. I was thinking I might saw up the wood into logs, borrow somebody's pickup and take them to a saanother sitell around here. See what your guy thinks. And thanks!

Chris, here in New England I start fishing in the spring when the water's in the low 40s, and I stop in the fall when it's in the low 40s. For the last few weeks, I fish jigs exclusively, becausewell, just because. My assumptionuntested, I'll admitis that the bass have slowed down too much to hit reaction baits in general, and crankbaits in particular. Granted, crankbaits look more like real food than spinnerbaits, say, but if I understand you correctly, you're saying crankbaits should work in that water temp as well. So how would you change your presentation in water that cold?

One of my family members is one of those things; you'll just have to figure out which one.

You probably never saw them coming, just the stars after you got whacked. ;D

Muddy, I didn't know what they were either, so there's two dopes. Chris, this thread is a gold mine. Thanks so much for doing this.

We're a Mac family, but I gotta say, those commercials they're running are almost enough to make me turn back to Windows. I'd like to smack that kid.

Okay, time for the lifelong Red Sox fan to come out and play. I absolutely agree that the Drew contract is an obscene amount of money and a huge risk for Boston. I wonder whether Drew really appreciates what he's getting himself into. The pressure will be huge, and the fans will be on him. This is a town of the Schilling bloody sock, after all, and a fan base that has always valued gamers and dirt dogs above all, which is one reason I don't understand why the Red Sox favor Drew over Nixon. I heard Jerry Remy talk about this deal this morning, and he basically said that the only way this will work is if Drew responds to Boston the way Fred Lynn did. Remy is convinced that if Lynn, a very laid-back guy, had stayed in Boston his whole career, he'd be in the HoF. The pressure lit a fire under the guy that faded when he went to a less intense team. Anyway you look at it, the gamble is huge. I also agree that the Lugo deal was a no-brainer. Now about the good old days and today's spending: of course the good old days were better. Star players spent virtually their whole careers on one team, anybody could afford to go to games, etc. (I won't remind you all of baseball's reluctance to accept black players, as Boston was the worst offender on that one.) But to paraphrase Bruce Springsteen, those days are gone, boys, and they ain't coming back. Revenue sharing has helped some, but it obviously hasn't stopped salaries from spiraling. My beef is with individual owners. Yes, you can mock Epstein for paying so much for a second-place team (third in '06), but I'd much rather see my owner spending my money than be supporting a franchise that is doing just fine financially but is not rolling the dollars back into creating a better team on the field. Some owners are pocketing the profits, period, and that's bad ownership. I know that I'm supposed to hate the Yankees and Steinbrenner, but I confess I've always admired his attitude that if you want the best you've got to be willing to pay for it. The Red Sox can never again claim that the Yankees will be able to outspend them, because they've proven they are willing to spend all kinds of money, even when it's not sure money, to try to win. Steinbrenner and Cashman may still beat them at that game, but I admire Eptstein and his owners for getting in there and playing it. That's the reality of today's baseball and whining about the good old days, imho, is a bore. And, yes, the Mets should sign Zito. The guy's the opposite of Drew: he's never hurt, he's an innings machine, and he has the arm and the brain to win every game he starts.

Because its flash is more visible under overcast skies? Is your reasoning here that spinnerbaits are more weedless around floating vegetation?

Get a Mac. 8-)

I have a few very majestic Atlantic white cedars growing in the woods just behind my house, and one of them blew over during a recent windstorm. Rather than letting it just rot, I have been thinking about cutting it into 4 or 5 foot logs and trying to make rough cedar boards out of them that I could then use to make a garden bench and other such things. I have zero experience cutting and drying boards out of logs and wonder whether anyone has any advice on this. Aside from chainsawing the logs, I'd probably be restricted to a splitting maul and wedges.

I wouldn't go heavier than a 3/8 to start. It's easier to feel what's going on underwater with a lighter jig. I often use 1/4 oz jigs in water less than 10 feet with great success. Jigs are frustrating at first, because they feel so different from anything else. But once you catch a nice fish or two on them, I'm sure they'll become a confidence bait for you, too. It's also fun to experiment with trailers.

I love Pedro. Or did. He just needs a manager to protect him from Pedro.

The Yankees have a ton of good major-league-ready pitching in Columbus. They don't need another aging starter. If course, I still remember the Suppan who stunk it up with the Red Sox early in his career and, as I recall, in the 2004 World Series.

Good luck, huskertko. A BPS is supposed to open about three miles from my house next year, so I know how you feel. I once had a summer job in a kitchen and spent an entire weekend doing nothing but cooking bacon. I couldn't look at or smell bacon for months afterward. Maybe a similar thing will happen to you and all that good stuff in the store.

Chris, can you say something about the different degrees of wobble to different cranks and what each is best used for? And how about flat vs. fat?

She's a cutie. That modeling career you've started her on can pay for a lot of fishing stuff

Nicely done! Good persistence under tough conditions.

I also hope that Russ and/or Art have some CAST for Kids stuff for sale as well.

Andy, we all make mistakes, and they are much more visible in the age of the Web. As a magazine editor, I see a lot of them. The advent of e-mail and and other forms of easy electronic communication have transformed many magazine letter-to-the-editor submissions from thoughtful, well-reasoned exhanges of ideas to what are often spontaneous exercises in poor judgment. It's too easy to sit at a keyboard and type stuff and hit send, as opposed to writing a letter, rereading it, and walking it to a mailboxall of which gives you a little time to think, "Do I really want to send this?" The point is that especially with forums and e-mails, we all need to really think a minute before hitting that send button. I can't tell you how many posts to this forum I wrote, reread, reconsidered, and never sent. (No doubt some stupid ones still got through. ) Okay, I'm off the soapbox now. You've eaten enough crow to satisfy me. . .

The main thing about sunglasses, no matter what their cost is: TRY THEM ON! I would never buy them online without trying them first because everyone's face is different and what's comfortable on your face may not be comfortable on mine. And when you're wearing them 8 or 10 hours at a stretch, you want comfort.

NHguy, what you're experiencing is more the norm than the exception in New England this time of year. Bites are few and far between, and jigs and maybe a Husky Jerkboth worked very very slowlyare about the only things that work. Which brings me to my general point. Deciding what lures to use and how long to stick with them is all about your expectations. What do you expect will work, based on what you know about bass habits at certain seasons, depths, water temps, sun conditions, weater pattern, cover distribution, etc.? Your strategy is based on those things, then out on the water you adapt it to what's going on that day. In New England in late November/early December, though, one bite every few hours is to be expected. :-[

I work within walking distance of Federal Hill in Providence. For my anniversary this year, I walked over, bought some fresh lobster ravioli, a container of vodka sauce made on the premises, some asparagus grilled on the premises, announced to my wife I would be making dinner that night, got home, put the ravioli in boiling water for about 15 seconds, warmed up the sauce on the stove, heated up the asparagus in a cast-iron pan and served it all up. Total cooking time: 15 minutes Total cost: 10 or 15 bucks Enjoyment during (and after ) the meal: priceless Gotta love those Eyetalians

Try this, Sam: http://stores.ebay.com/fatfishfarmer_W0QQsspagenameZFAVQ3aFQ3aSLLRQQtZkm