justfishin

Listen to what " Clipper " had to say son. He summed it up well. Math, English and your writing skills are going to be the root of your education. Have your parents contact your states DNR for some info on youth programs. I know you are young but, these are great links for you and your parents: www.collegeispossible.org/ www.library.vanderbilt.edu/peabody/articles/guides/tenned.html www.collegezone.com/studentzone/107_368.htm

Welcome, and thank you for all you and LBH are doing for the kids. I was involved for many years in our states,MD,youth program and built up some good memorys. I remember when I first got involved and we would attempt to get some hard noses on board to be boat captains for the youth tournaments and they would grumble and complain but, once they spent the day with the kids they would end up having as much fun as the kids were. It seems that every time I finish a day with the kids I have as big a smile as they do. It is a good deal all around for everyone.

Keithscatch, My son just got back from Baghdad. He is now in a debriefing process at a base in Alaska. Over our communications over the last, almost two years, that he served there he painted a picture of the place for me. Bottom line---You are not going to change a way of life that grew into what it is over thousands of years in a few years. The culture is completly different than ours and you will never inject our way of life into theirs.Period.

I use plastic on my largemouth jigs, even in the winter. I still use a Uncle Josh 101 pork frog on all my hair jigs for smallies, all year long. I really do not have a good reason except thats how I have always done it, lol.

It saddens me to hear of this. We have been raping our planet and trashing our world way to many years. Mother nature is going to start pushing back very soon, I am afraid. Another very sad situation that breaks my heart is the condition of the Polar Bears. I watched a recent doc on this and it would bring tears to your eyes.

RoadWarrior, I am here to admit I have never owned a G.L. I am starting to feel really inferior here, lol. Give me some good reasons to buy one or two and I will. Sell me. I see a lot of you use them in here so, there has to be some good reasons. I like All Star and Gator and certainly could not afford to replace all of my client rods with GL but, I am willing to get on board for personal use if you can convince me. I am attempting to go on a rod building journey soon to avoid off the rack rods because I am so particular. I want to build my ultimate smallie rod that fits my specs as I cannot find one. 6'6" 60 million modulus 8-15 lb line 1/8-1/2 lure wt Titanium line guides ( one leg style ) carbon wrapped butt section Extra Fast Tenn handle, spinning

I am a All Star fan and have been for a long time. Unforturnatly what Raul said is true. I would forget the phone contact and write a letter online to them and explain how you were treated and I would bet that you get some satisfaction. I always praised the service I got from them. I broke a rod about 5 years ago and the warr. was way over and they sent me a new one. I have not had to deal with them since the turnover but, after listening to your story, I am not looking forward to it. Beside all that, I would bet that those Peacocks that you were fishing for eat rods for breakfast, no matter what brand.

Follow ReelMechs advice, then, practice,practice, practice. I use both spinning and casting but, if I had to chose one I would take a baitcaster anyday. One day it will be second nature to you. We all had to start somewhere.Good luck.

I hardly throw any cranks but for this cat. I would have to say Rapala---Husky Jerks,Floaters,DT-10 and 16. Wiggle Wart in the old dark red color that was discontinued a few years back. It was almost a maroon. Cotton Cordell--Super Spots Norman --Baby N, Deep Baby N Bomber--6A, 7A and Long A Rogues Zara Spooks I make my own jigs. " " " " spinnerbaits but, the ones I do buy are War Eagle, Big Mouth (www.bigmouthlures.com ), and those old Hank Parkers. I don't know why but, I have a lot of luck on those HP'S. Buzzbaits---Cavitrons, hands down. Plastics---Zoom, Culprit, and I have really come to like the BPS Tournament Series. I buy my salty tubes in bulk by the gazillions from a friend.

You bet they work. I really like them. Buy some.

Sorry Munkin, they do work in Big Pool. I live in Big Pool, LOL. The Bass Whisperer--Big Pool is a Lake in the town of Big Pool Maryland where I live.

I think I have exhausted my avenues as well. I used google, Ask.com and came up empty. I did see many cases of Albinism in mammal and bird species. I also read about many amphibians with Albinism, gators, snakes, turtles, etc. The only fish I came up with were trout,catfish ( which seemed the most common ) a flounder, musky and a few Asian species. Who would have thought this was the case? This leads me to believe that smallmouth and largemouth bass have a strong genetic history. Thats a good thing.

Hello Redline, I think I remember watching a show once about this hybrid. Isn't it a cross between a striper and a white bass called a Wiper?, or did I drink too much Alice White that day?,lol. I am like you though. I have never even heard of a true Albino largemouth or smallmouth bass. The law of averages in the genetic pool of bass certainly had to have produced at least one. Interesting. Jim

If you are just learning, a good jig to start with is the old standard black with a blue trailer. I use a " flippin blue " color made by Zoom ( Super Chunk ). Stay with a heavier jig for awhile such as a 1/2oz because it is easier to pitch and flip. Just remember, casting jigs have finer wire hooks than flippin jigs. Also, step over to a hair jig in 1/4 oz with a 101 pork frog or similar plastic for smallies. You will learn all the different reasons for weight differences, color changes as well as ways to swim, pitch,flip, drag or hop jigs as you go. Good luck, they are a big fish bait and can cover a lot of venues of fishing for bass.

I think if you have a good area it can still be good after a drawdown. The fish just relate to different structure within the same area. Maybe the next drop off down or maybe the edge of a near by creek channel or even some other wood, rock or sunken islands near by. I know at Deep Creek Lake in MD, in which is just up the road from me, the drawdown is pretty significant and continues to a degree because the local ski resort uses a a lot of water from this lake for making snow. I tend not to leave my productive seasonal areas just because of the draw down. I have been filing in my head, over the years, new places in the same areas. Again, it reverts back to spending time on the water. You build on these things over the years. It takes time on the water to put together these many puzzles. Good luck.

I like the In-Fisherman and Bassin is pretty good as well. I think as far as knowledge, the brothers at In Fisherman are the elite nowadays. Those guys have put together years of experiance and knowledge. Not generic articles but, time on the water articles. The real stuff.

I did the same thing about two years ago RoadWarrior. That magazine got to be like a catalog instead of a information format. I remember when ESPN took over and everyone said how great it was, in my mind it was the beginning of the end. Remember when KVD, Mark Davis and a few others formed a commitee and ESPN pitched a bit**? My friend fished the top 150 for a few years until the fees went up to, I think, $55,000 a year. Include gas, motels and such. If you aren't sponsered like some of the big names you are done,and if you have a few bad years, it is " see ya ". I think, at least for now, that FLW,BFL is the new trail for the guy attempting to make a name for himself. JL, my buddy, whom works for FLW, and a few others are attempting to put some ease on the up and comers. At least for now. Lets face the reality of it. It is a business and a business has to make money and grow but, it is how much the business is willing to bend in order to keep things alive and going. ESPN just jumped in and hammered out the monatary gain and forgot about all of the other aspects of our sport.

I think Bassmaster U was a good thing. One of my best friends works for FLW and the inside skinny is that the pro's are not very happy with ESPN's handling of much of anything to do with our sport anymore. BU is just one of the items of a long list.

I am a big fan of 5501's. I have Curado's and use them for #10 and #12 line but, for anything higher I use C3's. They just do not quit. I have had all of mine for many years and with proper care they are just as good or maybe better than when I first got them. I have seen a lot of guys over the years buy every new fancy reel that came out, as did I once in a while, and they have gone back to the C3's. I have not used a C5 but, thought about giving the C4 a whirl. I asked ReelMech about the possibility of changing some gears and or modify the spool in order to gain some line pickup. A C3 picks up about 23" of line and I would like to get two or three of mine to move up to a 27"-28" pickup. I need to get the info to him. If anyone can do it, if it is even possible, he can, I am sure.

Ok, my curiousity has gotten the best of me after seeing those cool pic's of the albino Fallow Deer. Has anyone ever seen or heard of a albino bass? I mean, in that great genetic pool of bass there has to be at least one. ( This ought to be good,lol. )

When I was on the Federation Trail in Maryland a few years back the DNR used to give us cards to record out catches from time to time. I thought it was a great idea and a great way to smooth some of that " us and them attitude that some of the guys had ". They handed us a lot of info on shocking programs and future projects. I thought it was good stuff.

Svvvveeeeeeeeeeeet--good job. Fives are good ones, sixes are better, sevens are, now we are talkin. A buzzbait hit just makes those big ones better.

Here is another option you might want to check into---www.over-wraps.com/

Like Alpster said, use dishwashing liquid. If your screen is scratched buy some of that eyeglass scratch repair. It works. Also, I put rainex windshield protector on my screen a few times a year.

I run a Jet Drive and running in a lot of 6" water at times. I suck up a lot of the bottom so I change mine every year. Its not that big a job. I think it was like $47.00 last time I bought one. Its a lot cheaper to maintain this very important component than to let it go. Blown power heads are not cheap.