ejtaylor822

Wow. Thanks for sharing Frogtoag and Catt. I knew that the tomb was guarded and it was very cermonial and formal, but, I had no idea of the commitments made from these men. Our soldiers are the best!

Tying flies, building rods and organizing my tackle. Bought a couple of 3700 plano's from Dick's yesterday and plan on dividing up my top-waters tomorrow: props vs non-props and getting my cranks organized.

I like them both. Pricing is pretty close, once in a while one will be having a sale and beat the other on cost, but then, next month its the other way around. From a fishing perspective I think BPS has better "store brand" fresh water options with the Johnny Morris, XPS, etc. lines. I believe Cabela's has better selection overall (store & name brand) for saltwater and fly fishing. The Cabela's Salt Striker spinning reels are top notch. Have abused several and they just keep on going.

What little bit I got to do this year: - Weightless senko's - Rattlin' Rapala baby bass color

I agree with the comment J Francho made - "let the bass tell you". Middle of the day couple of summers ago. Hot, clear and the sun was high in the sky and the fish weren't hitting at all - several hours without a nibble and I was frustrated. Just for fun I tied on a spook and just started casting because I like "walking the dog" and hadn't fished it in a while - had nothing to lose they weren't biting anyway. First cast, "walking the dog" and one clobbers the lure. Surprised me but had sense enough to set the hook and get it to shore. Next hour I caught two more. All the conditions said the spook was not the lure to throw, but it worked. Let the fish tell you. For rods I use a med-hvy 7' with a moderate action - my crank bait rods. Just seem to get better action out of the lure with the slower action and its easier to keep the fish hooked since I am usually throwing far out so I have farther to "walk". Throw mostly spooks and Rapala skitter-walks. This year will be hitting the Rapala sub-walkers too - looking forward to those.

I like Rapala DT-4's and DT-6's. Also a big fan of the Mann's 1-minus and Waker Elites as well.

Take note children, this is what happens when you keep meat out of your diet: you go stark raving mad and act like a moron.

Sorry, went blank there for a moment....... Jennifer could sing the phone book and I would buy it. I agree with Muddy - it's all about PR and Marketing anymore than talent. But for me, Prince was awesome. Tremendous songwriter, producer AND a musician too boot. That mix just doesn't seem to work anymore in music. He is the last of his kind. Agree, Kid Rock would be a great show.

Man oh man, in 25 years I would love to hear said about dookie v "the first college game he has called in 25 years." That is AWESOOME BABAY! Despise the guy even though this year he's a Tarheel fan. But now that dook is in the top 3 sure he will go back to his first true love.

Muddy, you and LBH get the cleverness award on this thread. Good stuff.

I was flipping through the channels recently and saw the ShamWOW guy on one of the spanish channels doing his bit. It did not look like an overdub - looked like he was totally "selling" speaking in Spanish - complete with "you getting this camera guy" - at least I assume that's what he said since it was in Spanish. They did the bit talking to people on the street who use ShamWOW, in Spanish of course. Was a riot. Agree, Billy May is annoying.

I noticed that as well this AM as I headed into work. The conspiracy side of me (too much X-files) says kind of ironic they plummeted before Christmas with all the bad economic news, and now coming back up after the gift buying season. I sure hope it stays where its at. Last thing we need is skyrocketing gas prices.

bowtech_182, last year when I went, which was my first, I saw A LOT of people buying blanks, hardware and accessories. I bought a couple blanks which were the same price as on-line, however, I saved a bunch in shipping cost. I have heard that prices go way down on Sundays towards the end of the show - I plan on finding out this year. Congrats on the new baby!!!! Eddie

I'll be there! Looking forward to it. Last year I went just to see what it was all about - it was great. Get a seat early if you are going to the seminars - they fill up quickly. I will have a couple of my surf rods in the Atrium display - so that will be very cool for me. Eddie

Wow - very nice!

Some folks had PM'd me about the rod I was working on that was in a recent picture showing my rod wrapper. It was a Christmas gift for a friend, my neighbor that got me back into fishing 5 years ago after being away from it for over 20 years. Got it finished and ready to go on Christmas day. When I was thinking of getting into this (addiction), thought (and told my wife) that if I ever did into rod building wanted to build something nice for him. He is ultimately responsible for re-igniting my love for fishing that eventually started me down the path of rod building. I tried like the dickens to get him to tell what kind of rod he would be looking to get when he bought another one. Was trying to not to be to obvious - talked about trips to BPS, fishing, lures, but could never get him to come right out say - mentioned he couldn't justify a new rod for no more than he fished anymore (3x kids, work, etc.). I know he likes to throw worms and jigs and the rod he uses now is one he's had for a long time. So, just decided to build him a nice worm and jig rod. I built it on a Castaway blank with heavy power with a fast tip. This is a great blank that I have built several rods on before. I really like the tip on it and believe it will serve him well. The blank color is a dark matte green, the pics don't show the color too well, the second one is very close and about the best for the color. The gold Fuji guides, black thread and yellow trim I thought would look nice on this blank. Sure hope he likes it. Eddie

2x with Flechero on this. Go Anlconites and start with the Mudhole. Build your "dream rod" on your next or maybe third attempt. I built my "dream" crank on my third attempt. Still use it, its my favorite (for the moment) for cranks but when I take a good hard look at it I think - "why is that cork misshaped, that thread looks crooked, where'd those bubbles come from, etc., ?" The mudhole blanks are good. Even better are the castaway MB blanks on close out at Swampland. Just finished a killer jig/worm rod on that blank. Eddie

1. No computer to crash on me. 2. Outside enjoying God's beauty 3. No boss 4. No email, IM, fax, or phone (leave the cell at home or in the car most of the time). 5. No meetings 6. Nice to know that I can out smart one of God's cleverst creatures once in a while 7. The challenge of trying to do "better" than the last time.

To be able to fish more.

Wow. Those are sweet. I can't pick a favorite. Eddie

I use vinyl and metal just depending upon the look I am after. I love these. http://www.mudhole.com/Shop-Our-Catalog/Color-Anodized-Aluminum-Winding-Checks Just don't fit them on tight. I usually put them over a thread wrap so they are not rubbing directly on the blank.

Would look at rod and/or reel depending upon how I was setup. Good reel is the way to go if you do not have one. Otherwise, what do you think you need?

Looks good. Nice job!

Will do guys, but, it might be slow going. Had this blank since the summer and its probably going to be a slow build. Although at this point, now that I got the grips and reels seat squared away, should pick up some. Trying to decide if I want to go with the cermet guides or titanium alconites, or, black alconites, do a spiral wrap - who knows.... But, and the reason this is up, if anyone is looking for a nice grip/handle setup this is the way to go. They have a similar set for spinning as well and onther set for solid rear grips. All are available in EVA or cork. Assembly is pretty straightforward and the fit is excellent. The reel seat is a Fuji ECSM-17. The mounting tube is very nice and guessing it is probably American Tackle. It's pretty thinck and beleive it will hold up well. Especailly with good arbors and solid glue up. With the movable quick lock had to do a little reaming on the foregrip opening to get it to slide snuggly over the length of movement but not a big deal. The only concern I have is the trim ring on the inside of the splits. They are basically held in place by adhesive to the tube and the grip. My fear is that given the clean up I had to do may have diluted the union, or, just didn't get good coverage. May put a very thin black metallic wrap (1/4") in front of them and finish off to make sure they will never move. The other trim rings I feel are solid. The quick lock is held securely by the EVA the barrel. The trim ring between the reel seat and the aft grip has a lip that sits inside the reel seat and mounts up against the aft grip. So, feel good about that one as well. Eddie

Matrix reloaded - on the hwy with the twins and the suit guy jumping from car to car. Not very realistic but that was all so very cool. Also, keeping with Bullit, The dead pool. Dirty Harry being chased by a R/C 'vette is just classic.