Dan:

XLFISH, if you don't mind I'd like to hear any tips you might have as well (baits, gear, seasonal patterns, location, etc...)

I'm down but it's going to depend on the weekend. I think I'm going to forgo the guides and try to figure some stuff out myself. Those cabins at Claytor Lake State Park look nice and seem pretty reasonable, especially when the cost is split between a few guys.

Oh I thought we were talking about the big boys when the Okuma stick got involved. I'd agree that a 200 would probably be fine with the smaller baits but I'd want a little more line capacity for bigger baits, especially considering the 300 is only a tad heavier. Most of the Cardiff swimbaiters I've read about chose the 300 for the real swimbaits.

120yds of 14lb test? Big swimbaits usually involve ~20lb test so that's not gonna give you a lot of line on 200 size. I would go with at least a 300. It's only .3 oz heavier.

Or you could get a combo that does both! Some of the Okumas would probably be pretty good at pulling double duty for SBs and Punching St Croix has a Mojo model that would probably work for both as well.

but if they put a wall the whole way down the track then he would have slid along it. Even if he banged against it a few times it wouldn't be a 90-0mph instant stop.

I'd prefer to go when we don't need waders, but that's just me. Maybe New River can tell us how much the fishing would differ before the water warms and after.

whoa, I just saw the video too. It seems pretty stupid not to have any padding or walls or anything along the track.

what's your price range for a reel Josh? Check out the Cardiff 300 or 400

Have you guys seen this? http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/01/29/google-maps-car-hits-a-deer-records-it-all

Yeah, that was pretty much my concern.

So quit analyzing! ;D I guess for me the consistently high customer satisfaction and quality is enough to outweigh the doubt and red flags.

I know slomoe has caught some nice fish on the hard 'gill

Warm enough to wade. Canoeing/kayaking is a lot easier and more comfortable if the water is warm, especially with peddle-drive kayaks. I guess it's not a big deal as long as everyone gets a canoe or kayak or whatever.

LAO, I get what you are saying but it's not like Kistler is changing all of these things because they were broken. I think they're still fairly new to the game and are trying to make products that fisherman want. I think that's the reasoning behind the changing of the reel seats, handles, etc...Loomis knows fisherman will buy their product no matter what, they have a large enough reputation that they don't need to build what the anglers really want (ie: no split grip models) As for discontinuing lines of rods, I'm assuming you're talking about the Argon, which I would agree was strange, but considering they lowered the price of the LTA's to replace the Argon's spot in their line-up I'm not going to complain. You argue that their constant changes show instability, but have you heard many complaints about the quality of their rods or their customer service? I sure have not. If the quality of the product and their support of said product continues to be excellent then I have no problem buying from them, I'm just going to make sure I know exactly what handle, guides, and reel seats are on each rod I look at.

When does the water warm up?

The technique originated in the west but that definitely doesn't mean it won't work here. People around here are just too scared to go big. I've had 1lbers hit my slammer...You'll catch fish on them, even if they aren't huge. I'm glad slomoe posted as I know he's had success with some swimbaits in the past year or so. I've had days when my buddies got skunked while I was crushing fish on swimbaits. I just don't think the fish see them very often around here. Josh, the rod that Thai posted has received rave reviews from lots of the swimbait guys. I've heard only good things about them. You can get away with going cheap on a swimbait rod. They don't need to be super sensitive like a jig or worm rod because you'll either see the fish hit it (if it's a topwater) or you will have no doubt when you get a bite because they hit them so hard. If you have a flipping stick try that with some of the lighter swimbaits. If you really want to start throwing the big stuff (2 oz+), check out the Okuma rods. I've got a Spro shad bait that is small for swimbaits but it's yours if you want it to get you started.

Absolutely not! I had some pretty good success using a 2oz, 7.5" MS Slammer this summer. I didn't catch anything huge but I definitely had a few outings where it caught me a bunch of fish.

very cool stuff. I like the bird's eye view...much better scoping out spots.

except you can program in a trip and watch it travel that route. Granted, you can do that on Gmaps but you have to do it manually AFAIK

The best general resource is the VA Department of Game and Inland Fisheries website. http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/?type=1 Not all public bodies of water on there. We don't have too many really big lakes but there is no shortage of water to fish. Once you find out, let us know the area to which you are relocating and the local guys will be able to help you further.

I've put 5 or 6 hours into it. Pros: Love the game mode in the demo. Very cooll. I like the falling back and advancing. At least 12v12 ( maybe more in other modes?) Do your job. Kills dont mean everything. Being a facilitator of some sort can be a lot of fun, and you level quickly as well. Level size. Very big in the one on the demo. Variety. Just plain variety. Many different vehicles/deployables/etc. Keeps it spicy and unpredictable. Squad spawning. Awesome. Cons: Choppy graphics. Even with a perfect ping. Hopefully a demo only problem. This is a major problem for me. Graphics in general. Certainly not on par with MW2, but presumably due to sheer map size and number of players. I can get over this. For my lack of a better way to describe it, the mechanics engine in combat seems very...crappy. The level of precision possible seems nowhere near CoD. Even the older ones. Crappy. I'll probably buy it. wow. That's exactly what I thought. Especially the cons. It just feels jittery and the aiming or hit registery is just messed up. It's definitely different than COD, but I think I like the person v. person close up style more than the wide-open-massive-battle-with-vehicles style.

That's pretty cool.

I can give credit where its due; CS has contributed a lot to the FPS genre. But...MW2 destroys CSS. fourbizz, have you tried the Battefield Bad Company 2 demo?

Computer games are dead. I've decided to limit my gaming to consoles.