Long Mike

Lame, Lame, Lame. The trouble with most G-rated jokes these days is that they have been around for a long time - at least for us old geezers.

I'm a Pfleuger Phreak. Eventually, all my baitcasters will be Patriarchs. My spinning reels are Presidents. My rods are a mix of BPS Extremes, St. Croix, Kistler, and Loomis. To be honest, when I cross the $100 mark on a rod I can't tell the difference in sensitivity between a $100 rod and a $300 rod I am not a tournament fisherman, so those guys who spend ridiculous amounts of time on the water, making cast, after cast, after cast, will have differing opinions. I love opinions. They are never wrong.

One of the most important tools that you may need in emergencies has been omitted from the above posts. Toilet paper. I always have a roll in a zip-lock on my boat. Ya just never know when you might need it. To date, I never have.

Having tested my new Snips, I can say that they are nothing less than great. They cut through limp braid like hot butter. There are other features that I really like about it, but its ability to cut limp braid ranks highest.

Like you, I rarely use them, but when I do, I use Dos Equis buoys.

Your batteries are in good shape. The problem is with your trolling motor.

GrundleLove, PM sent, with thanks.

Clayton, by all means. get the job first, and make sure it's one that you like. There's no use in dragging your family around the country while you look for work. If I were you I would start looking for work now, via the internet, Put together a resume' and start sending it to those oil field companies we talked about earlier Go to their websites and search for their job openings. Before I went into business for myself I was a "corporate guy." Yes, I wore a suit and tie. I have had a lot of experience in reviewing resume's, so if you want to PM me with your proposed resume' I will be more than happy to tweak it for you. Edit: Having read some of the above posts about family ties, they are valid, but my recommendation is to "get the hell out of Dodge." If your wife wants to move also, it's an easy decision. One day, down in Lafayette, Louisiana, I walked into our apartment and said to my wife "I've been offered a transfer to the Middle East, in a country called Dubai. Should we go? She was six months pregnant with our second child and she jumped at it without reservation. That was back in 1973. Long story short, we lived overseas for the next eleven years - in six different countries - without the Internet and all of its advantages. Having just typed the above, I walked back into the den and asked my bride of forty-two years this question, "If we could live our lives over again, would you have preferred to stay close to home and family?" Her response? Hell NO!

Gene, truer words have never been spoken. Well said!

I'm using Window Live email and for some reason yesterday, I started getting the message that I must re-enter my user name and password. I have changed nothing, but the computer no longer recognizes my user name "mike-goodson@att.net." Can anyone tell me what happened , and what I need to do to correct it? I can no longer send or receive email until this issue is resolved. Please help.

I have a Garmin Nuvi and a TomTom. To me the TomTom is much worse at planning long routes (state-to-state) than the Garmin. What are your experiences?

& U cn kma,

I hate to admit it, but I now have a smartphone. It's a Galaxy Somethingorotther. I'm beginning to learn how to use it, but, at this point, my phone is much smarter than me. I confess that I am not yet into all of the features it supposedly offers. All I really wanted was a regular phone, but it seems they are being phased out. This old dog will have to learn new tricks. To be honest, I'm kinda looking forward to it; except for texting. I HATE TEXTING! If you want to talk to someone, use the frigging phone and call them!

I have serious doubts that a fuel additive would improve the compression ratio. I know that my favorite, Star-Tron, removes the ethanol gunk in the engine intakes, but I doubt the it would be effective at improving engine compression. NHfroggin. You made the right decision. Walk away from that motor.

With the exception of my ultralight rod, I use braid on all my spinning and baitcasters; usually with a flouro leader. Generally, I will use 30# on my spinning reels and 40 or 50 on the baitcasters, If I'm fishing in slop I will use 60# with no leader. In addition, I use KVD line conditioner on all reels.

I wish I had known about the electronic switches five years ago when I owned an 80's vintage riveted Bass Tracker. The boat leaked like a sieve so I installed dual float switches and bilge pumps for fear that one of the float switches would fail. The electronic switch would have saved me a lot of time and effort.

Do a "learning how to use a baitcaster search" on these forums. There are some excellent posts, not the least of which is how to apply some tape on your spool to reduce catastrophic backlashes. I fish with braid on all my reels. One of its great advantages is that a severe backlash does not damage the line. I have never had to cut the line off, although I have spent over two hours (at home, under a magnifier) removing the worst of the worst. I'm a patient guy, and cheap when it comes to replacing line, especially braid. One other suggestion. I would strongly advise that you spray copious amounts of KVD Line and Lure Conditioner on the new line as you are spooling it on.

Nice review jerzeeD. It just so happens that my favorite combo, spinning or baitcasting, is a St. Croix Premier 6'6" M/FA paired with a Pfleuger President. It's like we were made for each other. I have several Patriarchs, but they are all baitcasters and I love them also. Budget permiting, I am slowly replacing all of my BC reels with Patriarchs. You have now lit a fire in me. Mayhaps I shall have to replace my beloved President spinning reel with a Patriarch. Is it that much better?

Thanks for the sentiments guys. The wife and I both slept soundly last night, thanks to a ceiling fan and a 24" floor fan. I used the same AC company that originally installed the heat pump nineteen years ago. They arrived first thing this morning, and $530 later our house is cool again. Lund Explorer, I do have a generator. We have ice storms here also. Once bitten, twice shy. Several years ago we lived off the generator for six days.

That's one of the best videos of a pair of shoes and a red straw that I have ever seen! Don't give up your day job.

Well, at least it didn't hit you in the jewels. You probably wouldn't have noticed, but count yourself lucky anyway.

My AC has been giving me trouble since last Thursday. I heard a bearing inside the house start squealing and knew it was just a matter of time before the blower fan seized up. I immediately called the pros, but they can't get here until tomorrow morning. Well, the AC heaved its last breath today, and locked up. Luckily I heard the motor humming, I hope I shut it off before I smoked the windings . My wife and I grew up in deep south Louisiana before there were air conditioners. Yes, we are that old, and yes we were that poor. Instead of checking into a hotel we have decided to go cajun style. Fans only. We made it through the day quite comfortably, but this evening really sucks. As I type this, it's eight-five degrees in the house, the same temperature as it is outside. Perhaps I should stay awake for a couple of more hours until the outside temperature drops below this inside temperature, then open a few doors and windows. Am I complaining? NO! We will get through it with nothing more than an uncomfortable night's sleep. On the other hand, my heart goes out to all of those thousands of people on the East Coast who now have no power and blistering temperatures to contend with. I'm lucky, they are not.

You ain't gonna see this old man on the water this time of year in my part of the world, unless I'm trout fishing below the dams on the White river.

It's a party boat, not a Bass boat, so you can pretty much guarantee that alcohol was involved.

Clayton, I can relate to what you are saying. Back in the 70's I lived for a year in Dubai and for three years in Iran. The summer heat and humidity are brutal, until you adapt. i remember the first day I stepped off the plane in Dubai. I thought I was standing in the plane's jet wash, until I realized the the engines were shut off.