Long Mike

With all due respect to the moderators and multi-star posters to this site, who seem to carry around rods and reels each costing a Minimun of $100 each, I would like to pose a question to this site's 7000 members. How much money does the average successful bass fisherman spend on his rod - and for that mater his reel? The definition of "successful bass fisherman" is up to you.

I posted this earlier, but for some resaon it didn't post. What I said was ... I'm with LBH on the one. I love my Pflueger President spinning real. Please tell us why you are qualified to make these claims, and what factual evidence you have to support them.

I'm with LBH on this one. I love me Pflueger President spinning reel. Firstly, please provide an explanation as to what qualifies you to make the claims that you do. Secondly, as the old saying goes, put up or shut up. ;D

Has anyone had any bad experiences when dealing with St. Croix? After looking at the reviews of the rods on the BPS site, it would appear that St. Criox allows zero flexibily on their warranty. Since its easy for a few disgruntled customers to sway the overall rating of a BPS product, I thought I would throw it out to the 7000 members (and still growing) for their opinions.

After reading the above replys, and upon further reflection, I have come to the firm conclusion that my boat and motor were the problem. This is a pond that has never had a boat on it, much less a trolling motor. Any time I used the motor it was on dead slow, but the pond is so small that I had to keep turning it on and off. Add the shadow of the aluminum boat and the fact that it transmits sound like a church bell and it seems to me that I created the perfect scenario for a bass fishing disaster on that particular pond. BTW, I did fish from the bank about ten percent of the time. The ONLY strike I had was from a dink who jumped and threw the hook.

Over the Thanksgiving Holidays I had the opportunity of fishing a 5 acre pond in the Arkansas Ozarks. The pond is roughly shaped like a pear, going from about two feet from the narrow end to about twelve feet at the wide end. The pond is about six years old and is stocked with bass, bream and catfish. There is very little structure. The water is stained In my three days of fishing that pond I got no bites whatsoever. I tried everything in my tackle box, from T-Rig plastics, to Carolinas, to top waters, to spinners, to jigs. I was fishing from a 10' Jon boat with a trolling motor. Prior to my visit, no boat and/or trolling motor had ever been on the pond. My locator never indicated that there were any fish beneath me. Given the above background info I am beginning to question if my boat and trolling motor were spooking the fish, which meant that everywhere I went, the fish went elsewhere. I would appreciate any comments..

I have an 18" high brick wall around my back patio. I stand on it a practice hitting twigs and such. The neighbors on either side of me, whe are not fishermen, think I'm a nut case. I'm still terrible at pitchin and still below average at flippin. I think that, in the back of my mind, my neighbors are intimidating me. Maybe I should put up privacy fences.

Assuming you have ordered one, youyou may have to wait a while on new tracker. Due to heavy snowfall about 7000 sq ft of the roof of the Tracker factory in Miami, OK collapsed last night. Around forty boats were destroyed.

AttaBoy Russ! When we get to Fork I'm going to pick your brain about how you make the productions. Mike

n.o.a.a. and the local tv channels. Because we are located in the heart of tornado alley, the local channels have very sophisticated radar and highly qualified weather people. Mike

Thanks for the reply. I am certainly no expert - far from it, but based upon my evaluation of the reel and the exploded diagram that came with it, it appears to be a very robust piece of equipment - especially the drag mechanism. I know that these days, the quality of a spinning reel is generally measured by the number of bearings. Was this also the case back in the late nineties? I guess what I am getting at is that I think I have lucked onto a quality reel that, with proper maintenance, should last me at least ten years. What's your opinion, assuming that I fish once a week? Finally, since I could find no reference whatsoever regarding the gear ratio, can I get a close approximation by turning the handle and counting the number of rotations of the bail per turn of the handle? If this is true then my ratio is five and a bit.

My brother works for one of the airlines at DFW and several weeks ago found the suject reel lying on one of the baggage belts - still in its original box. After waiting the requisite amount of time for someone to file a claim, he sent it to me. The only information I could find on the box and in the reel's paperwork was that it has four bearings. An internet search was fruitless. The only information I could find was that it apparently went out of production several years ago and that a used one sold on e-Bay for $55. Can anyone provide me with any additional info about the reel. such as its gear ratio and where it fit in Daiwa's product line while it was in production?

I will be diving to Lake Fork from Tulsa on Sunday Mar. 18th and will be returning Friday the 23rd. DFW and/or Love Field are not too far out of my way. If anyone needs a ride from/to the airport, please PM me. I'll be driving a Suburban (alone), so will have plenty of room. Mike

If your buddy has a fast boat, it could be that he enjoys hauling-a** across the water more than he does fishing. Maybe he was a power boat racer in a previous life.

Great responses guys! I feel like an information sponge. Gawd, I love this site!

Thanks. A picture is worth a thousand words.

We are sitting out a snowstorm here in Tulsa, so I spent most of the afternoon watching about 60% of the Lunkerville videos. The shows were vere educational, but I've never seen so many dinks in my life. Is the size of the bass shown in the videos typical for New England and the East Coast? If this is truely the case then I must confess that I would start fishing for catfish. Is a lunker in New England considered anything over 1 lb.? I want to assure any potential respondents that I am in no way being criical. I am simply ignorant, and wish to learn. Mike

Another question from a newbie. When hooking up a Wacky Rig, do you simply run the hook midway through the body of the worm perpendicular to the axis of the worm, or is some other method used? They say tere are no stupid questions, only stupid answers. In this case, I think "they" are wrong. Mike

www.tackletour.com evaluated a stowaway net made by SPRO. TackleTour rated the net very favorably. BUT, its MSRP is $79.00. Mike

Go to the bottom of the BPS ad. It gives you an option to "opt out." Most reputable companies provide this option. Mike

Hi Guys. Although I will be attending the Second Annual Reunion, it will be my first trip. I am a 60 yr. old newbie with less than six months of experince at serious bass fishing. I am looking for another attendee who is an Eperienced bass fisherman who would be willing to share the costs of a rental boat with me, and would be willing to teach me through example. I am also looking for someone to split the cost of a room. If you two guys are one and the same, then so much the better.

Way2slow, what I neat idea! Just like a NASCAR peel-off windshield!

I got really lucky when we bought our house about 20 years ago. There is a room off the garage that measures about 6' x 12' and is heated and cooled. It is my own private domain, so I have the perfect place to store my fishing equipment and all the other neat things that men love and women hate.

Got my package in the day before Thanksgiving. I have an assortment pretty much as you guys described above. I guess we will all have to try them to see if they catch fish. The unfortunate thing is that, but the time we get to try them, we'll have forgotten where we bought them - or at least I will.

I have the Berkely #50. Works great, is accurate and it's only $20 or so.