Long Mike

I'm not trying to be argumentative here. In fact, I agree with you, but if you could provide some links to the research results, that would be very informative to the members. Hearsay is just that; nothing more.

Yes. I'll leave it to you to weigh the options,

Opinions are like a-holes. Everyone has an opinion. Just because your opinion may differ with his does not make his opinion incorrect. DO YOU GET MY POINT?

Last week, I had the opportunity of putting the new Tuf-Line braid through some of its paces. I spooled on about 175' of 30# line onto a Pfleuger Patriarch. I spooled it tightly and treated it with copious amounts of KVD line conditioner as I went. When I got to the lake (Toledo Bend) I fished a shallow-running crank bait through the stumps with no apparent damage to the line. To say the least, I was impressed. Then I decided to give it, to me, was the ultimate test. I got into open water and turned off the centrifugal brake and the spool tension. Then, I gave the lure a mighty heave, and intentionally left my thumb off the reel. Needless to say, I had a bit of "professional overrun" on the reel. Lots of it! So, as most fishermen do, I began to peel off the offending line until I reached the backlash. Guess what? I never found one. The line peeled easily off the rod until I was able to remove the loose line, then I spooled it back on again. I tried time and again to produce the "backlash from hell," and the Tuf-Line refused to cooperate. When I got home I ran every inch of that line under a magnifying mirror and could find no damage to the line whatsoever. Well, I'm sold. As of now, the only braid that will ever go onto any of my reels will be Tuf-Line.

Facebook? Who cares? Lose that reference in your resume', whenever you get around to writing it.

The Carbonlites are a great rod for the money. I have one that I use for trout fishing and am very pleased with it. I've said this time and again. Find a rod that feels good in your hand, and is built for the purpose for which you intend to use it, and is within your budget, then buy it, regardless of the name written on it. In my opinion, any rod costing over $100 begins to enter into the "esoteric" range. Is the sensitivity greater? Marginally. Does it catch more fish? Depends on who's holding the rod, but marginally. I suppose that if you spend a lot of time fishing tournaments, that marginal improvement might be worth the extra bucks. $150 is my cap for buying rods, used or new.

Who cares? We have all caught very small fish. So what?

If it's a Shimano, it needs an upgrade - period.

If it's a Shimano, it needs an upgrade.

I've had a Mustang auto-inflate for about three years. It's held up very well. The straps and stitching are as new. I confess that I was remiss in leaving the vest in the boat for several months and the humidity finally got to it and it inflated and got mildew stains all over it. Like Chris said above, I now treat the vest like part of my electronics. It doesn't stay on the boat for any length of time. Would I buy another one? You betcha!

WDYKMRRA! The first member under sixty who deciphers the acronym wins an all-expense-paid, one-way trip to Burkina Fasso.

I generally fish with 30# braid and a 12# Seaguar flouro leader. Seems to fit most applications in my part of the world.

X2 for Rage Tail.

Another year bites the dust. Happy Birthday!

Good Luck! I hope your new club thrives, but I'm not one of the "all electric" guys.

I'm not the type of guy who likes to be on the water at safe light. I have a tremor condition, and it is almost essential that I have a hot meal in the morning to help mitigate the shakes. I'm too lazy to prepare breakfast myself (after all. I'm on vacation,) so I head for a restaurant. Since we are staying in a cabin, we will have all the fixins for sandwiches at lunch, but I'm more than willing to stop for a hot lunch as the situation arises. As you can obviously infer from the above statements, I fish for fun, not for numbers.

Very nice install! But standing on my head to look at the photos was somewhat painful.

Please guys, don't start pairing up so soon! As you all know, I'm trying to get out of my boat for the duration of the trip. Both Rhino and Dinky have kindly offered me a seat in their boats, and I gratefully accept their offers. However, I have not firmly committed to either of them. The reason? If you will go back to Page 1 of this thread and access the mini-website, it states that there will be a "blind-draw" for match-ups between boaters and co-anglers. I want to be part of that draw. To quote Forrest Gump, "Life is like a box of chocolates ..."

And the fatal corollary to YOLO is HYWT. Hey Ya'll, Watch This!

Uh, my boat insurance probably doesn't cover such events

Blowing breakers while charging? You have my boat confused with another. I've never had that sort of problem. That said, I do have a newer boat these days. On the last Road Trip I did have a problem, because yours truly failed to check the water level in his TM batteries and had to buy two of them. I don't know about you, but I would much prefer to spend my time on the water, instead of at Walmart.

My boat is a Tracker TV-18 with a Merc. 150. It has an HDS-8 on the console with both Lowrance and Navionics mapping. On the bow is a 101# MinnKota Terrova with iPilot. The bow depth finder is a Lowrance LMS-28c, but I hope to have the new Raymarine Dragonfly unit installed before the trip. I usually have hot and cold running nurses on board, but I'm going to leave them behind for this trip.

BPS sells a Plano box designed specifically for A-rigs.

Hey folks, one of the disadvantages of being a boater is that I don't have the opportunity of fishing with any of the other boaters who are more experienced than me. In that regard, I want to cede the operation of my boat for several days to any of you co-anglers who have experience driving a 150hp boat, in order to fish with some of the more notable boaters on the trip. Glenn and Keri have it for one day. Any other takers? UH, by the way, I am now looking for a seat as a co-angler.

Yeah, that is a very good idea. However, having been a member of these forums for years, one thing is abundantly clear. There is an encyclopedia of information that has been posted on these forums about all manner of tackle, rods, reels, etc. All one has to do is use the "Search" box at the top right of every forum. All the information that anyone could want is available, but VERY few people use it. In addition, there is an additional ton of information available in the Fishing Articles section of this site, but few people choose to use this resource either. So, we are left with a non-stop barrage of "What is the best best" questions. To be perfectly honest, unless a new product is being discussed, most of us Mods no longer bother to respond to such questions, because the information is so easily attainable on this site. Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions. 1. What is the best rod for (fill in the subject.) Answer: The one that feels good in your hands and fits within your budget. 2. What is the best reel for (fill in the subject.) Answer: See Above. Unfortunately, this post will be superseded by more recent posts and will eventually scroll down the page into oblivion; and the barrage will continue.