Long Mike

I love fishing Fork, and until last year, it's where I caught my PB, but there is zilch to do for the family. I would suggest that you switch your efforts to Pickwick Lake. Much more to do with the family there, and the Lake has been really hot, fishing wise, for the last several years.

I'll use straight braid if I'm fishing in the slop or when I am fishing reaction baits. Most of the water I fish is somewhat stained, so I don't feel that a leader is necessary for applications other than fishing plastics or other finesse presentations. Because I almost always fish plastics, most of my rods have a flouro leader.

With the exception of my trout rods, all of my reels are loaded with braid. If I'm fishing in slop it's pure braid. Otherwise, I have a flouro leader attached.

Trout.

Carbonlite. It's a great rod for the money.

Everyone loves to hear good news. Thanks for the update.

Is this the whiners corner? If so, I watched my Saints snatzh defeat from the jaws of victory today. They are out of the playoffs.

Just think of it, most men fish their entire lives and do not catch a five-pound bass, let alone a ten-pounder. You are now in a very elite group of people. If I were in your shoes, I could die happy. One of the last items on my bucket list is a DD. I've come close, but still no cigar. CONGRATULATIONS!

I have no experience with the Cardinal, but can tell you that the President offers a lot of bang for the buck. You will not be disappointed.

I assure you, you will not be disappointed.

If you didn't get to weigh that bass until you got home, then that means that she died. What a tragic loss of such a magnificent fish.

If I'm not fishing I'm really into Tiddlywinks.

Catching a PB is right up there, but the Bass Resource road trips are by far, my most memorable. Meeting old, and making new friends can't get any better than that.

X2 on the HeviCore.

There are as many opinions as there are reels out there. Have your friend try out a few reels and buy the one HE likes.

Chirp was initially developed by the Navy for deep water, but Raymarine used the technology to develop a shallow water unit called the Dragonfly that has exemplary downscan resolution. Lowrance has now jumped on the band wagon. Don't know about Bird. Haven't checked

Good news folks! The Official Unofficial 2015 Bass Resource Road Trip will be held at Toledo Bend on March 18th thru 23rd. It will be held at the Fin & Feather Resort on Housen Bay. It is not a tournament, but we will have a biggest Bass contest. You are all invited. Go to the General Bass Fishing page to locate the Official Unofficial thread.

Toledo Bend is well 100,000 acres, and is over 60 miles long and runs from north to south. Depending upon the weather, the spawn can start as early as February on the South end of the lake and as late as May on the North end. A cold winter will obviously delay the spawn. I was generalizing when I stated that the fish would be in spawn to post spawn mode. I don't bed fish, but I fished Housen Bay last March and caught one that went about five pounds, and she hadn't spawned yet. For those of you who haven't noticed, there's a thread in the Central Bass Fishing section titled "So Yall Want to Learn Toledo Bend." As of this writing, it's 256 pages of very valuable information. It's hosted by Catt, who has been fishing the lake for better than forty years. I'm very much hoping that he can join us. For those of you who will traveling long distances, there is nothing in the rules (in fact, there are no rules) that say you can't stay longer, to make your trip worthwhile. I have blocked rooms for only the dates mentioned in my initial post, but it's up to you to make the reservations, and to book them for as long as you like.

I'm afraid that you are correct in your assumptions.

And the vendor is in no big hurry to provide the patch.

What Catt said. If you find the grass, you find the bass.

I think the Extremes are a steal at their normal retail price.

Prior to Glenn pulling the plug on the Official Road Trip, we had selected Toledo Bend as our next stop, I spent two days down in Louisiana and Texas trying to locate the best spot for our trip. We decided on the Fin & Feather Resort, located on the Texas side of the lake. Accordingly, reservations have been made and a significant number of rooms have been blocked. Because we are so short of time, I have elected to stick to our original plan, and hold the unofficial road trip beginning Wednesday, March 18th thru Monday March 23. Toledo Bend is a world-class big bass lake, and the Fin & Feather is sited on Housen Bay, one of the most productive bays in the lake. At the time of year we have selected, the bass should be in spawn or post-spawn mode. I know that traveling to Toledo Bend is a very long drive for many of you, so I know that some of you who have attended our trips in the past will not be able to make it. Trust me, you will be missed. On the flip side of the coin, I want to invite our members from Louisiana and Texas, who have not been able to make previous trips to, for you, remote locations to join us in your own back yard. Those attending will be invited to participate in the Biggest Bass contest. This is not mandatory. If you wish to participate it will cost you $20. At the end of fishing on Sunday, the person who caught the largest bass for the week will take home all the money. It should help pay for the gas. So, without further ado, Roadwarrior and I cordially invite you to attend the ninth annual, but unofficial, and unsanctioned Bass Resource Road Trip!

$2.28 here in Tulsa yesterday, with my Walmart card. Without it, it's $2.34. I drive a gas hog Escalade. I'm loving it. I'm saving about $40 a fill-up, compared to the high the gas price reached.

Many thanks Raider, but the only aspect of the remodel I don't need help with is electrical. I have a BS in electronics, although I never used it. I went into the oil patch instead. Regardless, I am very familiar with electrical work and can do it to code, with one exception. I can't bend conduit worth a crap.