standman

I stopped by Dicks/Field and Stream store in Urbana (IL) last Sunday and they had a decent selection of Buy 5 get 5 free. Lots of plastics and quite a few Rapala lures.

Got 2 of them myself ?. 6’6” M and 7’ ML. Is it spring yet????

Hmmmm...... Anyone checked out the site.... lately???? I'm not sayin', but I'm just sayin'....

Over the past couple years (since rediscovering fishing), I've managed to acquire several BC rods, all for about $400... combined . Does that count?

Picked up 2 of the 2.0s during last Abu clearance ($32/each - 7'6" MH baitcaster and 7' MH spinning). 1 season in, I have no complaints. Got my last 2 PBs with either one of them. Being MHs, they do feel like broomsticks, but still light and pretty sensitive. I would buy more in a heartbeat (especially if they ever went for $32).

Cabelas has the Tourney Trail/Pflueger President combo on sale for $49.88.... However, the 2 7 footers they have are either 2 piece Medium or 1 piece Medium Light. The latter would be nice to throw in the trunk if it weren’t for it being 1 piece.

Cabelas has the Tourney Trail/Pflueger President spinning combo on sale for $49.88. Seems like a pretty decent deal. Got myself 2 - 6’6” 2 pc Medium and 7’ 1pc ML. Time to ditch the MH broomsticks when fishing Ned rig or wacky senko.

I fish mostly ponds, so shallow vegetation is an issue. Solution? Ned rig under the (gasp) bobber?. Slow retrieve, with some hopping/twitching. Works like a charm!

Whatever is on sale (preferably at a high discount).

Picked up 2 Veritas 2.0 rods during Abu’s clearance earlier this year ($32 each - still feel “guilty” about the robbery ?). I keep them with me all the time (in the bed of a pickup truck), and so far so good. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy more if Abu decided to put them on clearance again.

I HAD a the Jawbone sunfish for a while and had no problem catching fishwith it. Why “had”? It went swimming with the fishes when the braid snapped while casting.

I learned to flip the bail by hand the hard way. Took a basically brand new Ugly Stick GX2 combo with me on a canoe trip down Current River in Missouri. The trout fishing was really good, but unfortunately the bail broke on me couple hours before reaching our destination. That was the last time I didn't close the bail by hand.

WP 90 is the $hit. I'm generally a cheap bastage, who doesn't like spending more than $5 for a lure, but couple days ago decided to splurge on the WP at Dicks -2 for $20. My first ever cast resulted in a dink. Few casts later I hooked into a very respectable (for Chitown pond) 5.44 LMB, which happened to be my PB. The WP simply gets the job done!

Picked up 2 (2-$20) whopper ploppers at Dicks. On the way home stopped by one of the ponds I fish to check out what the hoopla is all about. About 10 casts in got me a new personal best - 5.44lbs.

Been there, done that...

Hmmm... ordered 2 Veritas rods (spinning and casting) and the Revo S reel (before the price increase). They are scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Abu sent 2 shipments - 1 is listed at 1.2 lbs, but the second one is 7.2 lbs. What the heck did they stuff in that second box? I guess I'll find out tomorrow ?.

I JUST (yesterday) ordered couple of the Mann's Baby 1 Minus from overstockbait - $4.79 each.

I'm a cheap sob, so all my rods are cheap (under $50), but they all catch fish! Same with reels - in the past couple months I picked up couple BPS PQs @$50, couple Daiwa Excelers also @$50. Now the Revo S... also at $50. I think I see a trend forming???.

Me too ?. Plus I added the 7' MH spinning Veritas ($32) and lefty Revo S ($49). Its crazy how 2 years ago when I recommitted myself to fishing, I started with 1 15 year old Ugly Stick, and now I've got 10+ rods....

They all fall apart eventually.

If you want to spend even less, try the Jawbone frogs from Dicks. Tough to beat, when they have 5 for $10 deal going on. Yes, they do catch fish! Trim the skirt a little, bend the hooks out a bit, and you're good to go. They are not very durable (biggest problem I found with them is the weight in the belly falling out), but other than that, they work just fine.

Got back into fishing 2 years ago (after 15 year break). We go to WI (Castle Rock Lake), get our 1 day license, start fishing (shore) and within 15 minutes CO shows up ?. Living in IL, you have an option to purchase the license, inland trout stamp, and Lake Michigan salomon stamp. Even though I never fish for trout OR salomon, I still purchase the stamps. God knows this broke arse state can use the $$$.

I answered my own question. Bought 2 Exelers and 2 PQs????.

A $50 question.... BPQ or Exceler... ???. Drive to the store and fight the crowds (I assume there will be crowds there tomorrow morning) OR couple mouse/keyboard clicks and wait for FedEx/Ups truck to show up in few days. Decisions, decisions, decisions....

My first baitcaster (purchased last year) was/is the Laguna. Gander MTN had it for $30 so I figured why not. I have nothing really to compare it to (my other reel is the Dick's exclusive Okuma - $35 when 50% off), but the reel works just fine. I'll probably pick up couple BPQs or the Excellers as my fishing arsenal keeps growing.