Dan:

Do you know of any near the North River? I fish the North quite often when I'm at school. I have caught a few smallmouth there but most of the fish I catch are largemouth. I also used to fish where the North and South meet to make the South Fork Shenandoah. I have noticed a drop in catch rates there.

Has everyone received their gifts or made arrangements to get them? fivebasslimit, did you ever make contact with your exchange partner? I think most people were very pleased and for the most part, the exchange went very smoothly. Most of all, thanks to everyone for participating.

Vekol, I agree with what you are saying, but I wouldn't say there is "no commerical interest" in fish. I have heard that the fish kills have hurt the valley's economy because tourism has gone down. Also guides have been pretty much shut down on what was once a premier smallmouth fishery. Other than that, I do think there is some negligence on the issue based on a lack of financial interests.

That Mighty Putty stuff doesn't work at all.

I prefer a dill dip for my carrots.

the ESPN commercial is different, that was a joke. I thought it was funny, as are most of their commercials. But yeah, other than that, I am getting pretty sick of getting yelled at about OxyClean, Mighty Putty, and Hercules hook

You aint lyin burley ....its all about taste and scent looks are deceiving Hmmm, haven't tasted any of my rods or reels. Might have to give that a try next time I need a snack.

Deps has a similar bass finish on some of their baits.

I was under the impression that the turkey industry has been in the area for a very, very long time. Why would it become a problem all of a sudden?

It's not like the rest of us don't understand valued possessions. We have a different perspective on the situation. You asked for advice, we told you what we think.

They didn't have any lefties? That makes me feel better about them being sold out now. Oh well, would have been a sweet deal if they had the model I wanted.

It's hideous. But I still wouldn't mind having it and/or fishing it.

Exactly. People feel bad when they do something on accident, but it's easy to change from feeling bad to getting defensive and angry when the other person makes a big deal out of it. I am horrible with that. I am always trying to keep myself from getting defensive when I do something wrong. It takes a lot of wisdom and patience to be able to keep from getting angry in those situations. Don't be angry at your friend, it was an accident. Even if he was being dumb, it was an accident. He shouldn't have guilt tripped you, but you should just tell him that you were upset and things got out of hand.

You could always get a Citica in 6.4 and a Curado in 7.1 and then switch out the gears. As I understand, they use exchangeable systems. But I would just try another brand.

So who all is going? I am pretty much positive I will be there. When are we all planning on meeting? I'd like to make plans to meet with you all because between the vendors, the speakers, BPS, Greentop, and lunch there is a LOT of stuff to do. Let me know some plans and we'll see for what and when we can meet up or maybe we can even all just stick together for most the day.

I think that's what I'm going to end up doing. Thanks for the advice fellas. I know the slammer is a fish catching bait but I just wanted to get more lures for my money. I guess I've realized now that I'd rather have a couple lures that catch fish than a bunch that don't.

I agree with Burley, the production of the Elite series is leaps and bounds ahead of the FLW show.

ha! not quite. I was fishing a righty today and I felt incredibly awkward.

I'll give them a call tomorrow to see if they have any Left handers. That really is a great deal, I hope they have one.

dang, I forgot about that sale. I was going to call and see if they had them in left hand versions. Any idea if they will keep them on sale until Bassarama?

A Slammer even over the Deps? Hmmm, interesting. Any color preferences? I know you guys have probably answered questions like these a thousand times but the search wasn't working for me so I can't go back and find any of your answers. Micro, yeah I'm looking at jointed baits.

That is awesome! I like your chair too, I have one just like it.

I got a TW gift card for christmas and I'm looking to spend it on some wake/swimbaits. My question is for you guys who have fished a lot of these baits. What are your opinions on a Jackall Mikey vs the River2Sea V-Joint Minnow? What about the Optimum 7" Minnow vs an MS Slammer vs. Deps Highsider Jr.? I realize the more expensive baits are known to be great performers, but how much better are they? I don't have that much to spend and I'd like to get a R2S, an Optimum Minnow, and a Mattlures bait all together instead of a Mikey or Slammer or Deps which would prevent me from getting as many baits.

ghoti, I'll make sure to look into those twitchin raps. I'm glad you liked the crankbaits. I saw a thread you made about wanting to get some deep divers including fat free shads and some Poe's. The River2sea was just because it was a deep diver and I like that baby bass color they have. I hope you like the colors because I have no idea what works best in Illinois so I just got what I thought looked good. Hope they catch you some fish!