Dan:

yup, I save about 40% on books by buying from Amazon. Our professors tell us the same thing. They don't like the bookstore ripping us off anymore than we do. The best part is, sometimes you can sell them back to your school's bookstore for more than what you paid for them! The only downside to getting text books from amazon is that if you wait until the first week of classes to test out a class and then decide you want to stay in it, you have to wait a few weeks to get the text and you can get behind on work.

I like to use them as a weedless topwater on top of thick vegetation and slop. They come through and over slop better than any bait I've used.

NICE! You took my suggestion! Sweet

No, it can move slowly by writhing around, just like any other fish, especially long-skinny-profile fish. And it can breath air but it has to be cool and wet to live outside of water. That video is an excerpt from a show called "Fishzilla." I've seen it before. It is an ideal example of how the media is inciting fear about the snakehead because of what they think it could do. Notice how they didn't mention anything about what is has (or hasn't) done to the American ecosystems where it has been found. It's a purely speculative video.

Wow, now that is quite a view. BTW, I like the new username. I think Burley Shackleford would be better though... ;D

I would also recommend the Citica E. I also believe it is the best value in that price range. The spool access is large so beginners have plenty of room to untangle bird nests. It is also light, smooth, and well built. It is very forgiving to learn with. I learned on the Citica D which was great but I think the E is much easier to manage. The internal brake system might be a little tricky at first but read up on it and you will get the hang of how it works. I normally set two brakes on and keep the spool tension pretty loose. When you start, make sure you are casting fluidly. It is harder to manage spool speed if you really whip the bait.

I doubt it's true, but it's still funny

Listen to these guys. You WILL want a bigger harddrive- just in case (also, it won't really add that much cost to your computer). You SHOULD get a backup system, whether it be an external harddrive or a thumb drive with a large capacity (I just bought a 4GB thumb drive for $15. 4GB is more than enough to store all your schoolwork but not your music, etc..). You will probably want a full size computer. Typing long papers on tiny keyboard and screen is a pain the ***. You should be able to get what you want for far less than $1000. Check out www.tigerdirect.com or www.newegg.com for some good deals. I just took a look on newegg and there are tons of options for $500-$750 that have more features than you listed. I would check out hp, acer, samsung, and dell.

No,no,no Sam. That purple raspberry stuff is tasty but I think you meant Mardi Gras Bock or Amber go really well with crawfish or poboys... ;D

Hey Dan, Love the rod, but I think i should have gone med/heavy. The 3lb'er was pulling like a freight train. It made me wonder if i hooked a 5'er if it would be able to muscle the fish out of the pads. About the cork grip, love it. I have pretty big hands, so its pretty comfortable. Different, but comfortable. ml pauley: yea, love the Shimano. searched and searched for something in that price range that was competitive, and The Symetre 2500 took the win. I use spinning gear for all of my Light to Medium applications. Applications that require MH to H rods, I switch to baitcasters.

x2 - same here.

Nice Magnesium. How is the cork handle? It looks kind of bulgy and it seems like it could be uncomfortable. I have a Mag TS flipping stick and love it

"native" refers to a particular ecosystem or body of water. Smallmouth bass are "native" to some areas of the United States but they are not "native" to the streams and rivers of Virginia. They were introduced and have become part of the ecosystem. I don't know what type of immediate affect smallmouth had on Virginia's rivers but they have become the main predators in most of the rivers. That is an example of how a non-native fish (even if it is from other places in the United States) can affect a fishery. Some species affect fisheries more than others. It is best not to introduce non-native fish to a new fishery because you never really know what is going to happen. That is why the fish and game departments are so scared of snakeheads. They believe that snakeheads are a species that could negatively affect fisheries in a major way. In reality, they have not (at least in the Potomac). It's just fear of what could happen.

The only thing I know is that you should probably take some Purell with you... seriously.

So it's alright to introduce a non-native species to a fishery as long as it is from somewhere else in America? Can't introducing smallmouth do as much damage to an ecosystem as a snakehead can?

Just giving my .02 on a really nice starter reel.

I saw them a few weeks ago. I don't think they are trying to copy the Mattlures hard gill though. The RS bluegill is only 3.5" while the Mattlures is 5 3/4". I dunno, but to me that makes them entirely different baits.

ok, well smallmouth bass aren't native to most (if any) of Virginia or Maryland's waters. Should I be killing them if I catch them?

I am not hyping anything, I am recommending a quality reel. I haven't fished an Extreme because I handled it and a Citica in-store and felt the overall difference in build quality, smoothness of retrieve, and weight. Have you used a Citica E? If you don't use Shimano, how can you talk from experience on this issue? What Daiwa in that price range competes with a Citica?maybe the Tierra but I think the new Citica beats the Tierra. As for the Trions, they aren't as light, palmable, or IMO as solidly built or smooth as the Citica E...not to mention they have been discontinued as far as I know so I don't count them as being in the same price range. You can call me biased but the truth is I own Shimanos and Daiwas. You are just as biased AGAINST Shimanos as any of us Shimano owners are biased FOR them.

No other brands offer a reel as good as the Citica in that price range. I recommended another easy learning reel that will last longer and is smoother. Do what you want but don't be surprised when you want to upgrade later. And don't think that my "shimano bias" is any stronger than any of you guys' anti-Shimano bias.

Hype that is backed by a smooth, solid, and quality reel that will last a long time. ;D

Buy a Citica 201E. You won't regret it. It is a very forgiving reel to learn with.

I agree, check the air filter. My neighbor had a mower that would leak oil into the air filter if you turned it on its one side. You might have done that while getting the mower into your car.

Why is it a trash fish? They fight better and are better predators than bass... Why is a bass more valuable than a snakehead?

dsaavedra, from what I have heard, snakeheads haven't been that much of a problem in the Potomac because they inhabit different areas than other game fish. Apparently they prefer low oxygen areas with stagnant water. Maybe that is why the tank is set up with low oxygenation--because that is what they prefer... I don't know if those were the actual intentions, but it seems to make sense. Also, from what I understand they CAN stay alive out of water because they breath air with some mechanism like lungs as opposed or in addition to getting oxygen through their gills like other fish. BUT they still need to be wet and cool to survive outside of water. I wouldn't worry too much about them. If they are in your waters, chances are that you won't be able to get rid of them without poisoning or draining the lake. The best thing that can be done is to enforce the importation and ownership bans on them so that they aren't introduced into new bodies of water. As for the threat they pose to a fishery-I think a lot of state wildlife agencies are genuinely fearful of the addition of a new predator so they get worried and then tell the media what they think might happen. It happened here in the Potomac area. The media picked up the story and made everyone think it would be the end of the fishery. They sensationalized it to sell the story. The truth is that years later, the fishery is fine. Most agencies in our area (probably the area most affected by snakeheads) are now admitting that the snakehead has not had a measurable affect on the fishery. So I would be concerned about them but don't let yourself get caught up in the sensationalized stories without first knowing the facts or what they have done in the US as opposed to what some people are afraid the could do.