Long Mike

It depends. Value for money means different things to different people, depending upon a number of factors. There is no ONE answer to your question.

I can give you the answer in one word. Keep your plastics in their original bags, in a cool, dry place, out of the Sun, and they will last forever. Uh, I ain't too smart. I think that was more than one word.

I'm with Avid. Nope.

Great job, as usual Russ. but Muddy was not in any of the photos. He is a very sensitive and vindictive man. Be prepared for a visit from a couple of his very large Italian "associates."

It's a banded water snake. Leave it alone and it will leave you alone. Snakes are a great benefit to our environment. In no way should they be killed just because they are snakes.

Rebuttal to The-Natural: When one uses spinning gear exclusivly, the lack of line twist is a major factor in selecting braid. That's why I chose to use it. It has nothing to do with experience or ability to play fish. It has everything to do with my ability to make cast after cast without snarling the line on my spool. I guess us old folks who have been fishing for 50 years simply don't understand what you are getting at.

I use 30 lb braid with a 12 lb fluro leader. If tied conventionally, i.e. double Uni, Albright or Nail knots, the fluro knot will fail at about half its rated strength, because the braid will cut into the fluro. DRat advised me to double the braid over itself when tying the knots. I tried his suggestion and it worked very well. Knot failure occured at about 11 lbs. So, how do I know this? I spent an entire afternoon conducting tests with a digital scale.

Everything I've ordered from BPS has arrived within a week, despite warnings from them that certain orders may be delayed. As far as BPS is concerned, I'm a happy camper.

Lucky for me, other than everything mentioned above, I have never had a problem.

Now that is one classic photo! Keep it and frame it! What an awesome shot!

Attaboy Robert! If anyone deserves your gift, it's Ronnie - but don't tell him I told you this.

There are a lot of personal water-craft devices out there. I suggest you start doing some research on the net. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Ann-Marie, you left out one important option. i.e. "I read the ad, noted its contents and go back to it from time to time." That's me

I agree with Harshman. Go with color. I bought the black&white H2O and really like it - but I wish I had bought the color version.

Kent, I agree with you 100% Muddy, as a young man I used to hunt a lot (ducks, geese, dove, quail). Then one day in my late teens I was invited to go deer hunting. I loaded my shotgun with 00 buckshot and proceeded to the hunt. The conditions were generally miserable, meaning an ideal day for deer hunting. Now you get to hear my confession. After hours sitting in the stand, a buck walked right into my clearing. To me, he was such a beautiful, magnificent animal that I could not bring myself to shoot him. I did not take the shot, and I have never hunted for anything but fish since that day.

Muddy, trust me, rabid or not, no bunny wants to meet my dog. Several already have, and not one as survived the introduction. He's sixty-five pounds of butt-ugly mutt, and mean as a chain saw when I want him to be.

Panamoka_Bassin beat me to it with "Dirty Laundry"

Oh Gosh and Gee Whiz guys. My heart goes out to you. :'( That's why I refrained from taking any pictures of the four bass I caught yesterday. I surely do wish I lived in a place where I could fish only three months a year ... NOT!

I didn't get home until after 7:00 so missed the news. The first I heard of the carnage was Muddy's post. It makes me sick to my stomach.

I prefer Jamacian Sinsimelia cigars, but I don't often get the chance. ;D

ATTABOY Carl Congrats on your new boat I'm jealous as hell.

I swear LBH, either you guys are dumber than a box of rocks or you have the fishing "Jones" worse than anyone I've ever seen. :-/

I'm just a little behind you KU. My chili should be ready in about an hour.

once more

Muddy keeps talking about my helmet. I love it, but I get a lot of headaches because there is a spike that comes from the bottom of the helmet that is just as long as the one on the top.