RPreeb

I found that the key to early retirement was to marry a woman with a good job who's 11 years younger than me. Just kidding as she didn't have that job when we married, but got a lucrative offer to close her own office and go back to work for her former boss shortly after, one of those opportunities that turned out much better than she ever dreamed it could. She gave me early retirement at 60 for a birthday present 11 years ago. She retired fully 4 years ago at age 56. I get full retirement medical from my company, and until she qualifies for Medicare, she is on my medical benefit package. Good thing as she is going under the knife Monday for a knee replacement. Hopefully I have have the good genes that my family has shown... no real cases of dementia on either side. Mom passed from a stroke just one week short of her 89th birthday. My grandparents all lived longer than average for their generations. My wife's father is still going strong, living on the farm on his own at nearly 95. Her mother passed several years ago, but from smoking related problems, not natural causes. I figure that with a little luck we still have more years to look forward to enjoying our seniority.

Sub zero is right. Yesterday it snowed off and on all day with a high temp of 29°, then more snow last night. Woke up to about 2" on the ground, heavy frost on the trees, and 19° - a veritable winter wonderland in April. It's time for it to end. Usually by this time of year my long pants have been put away for the summer. I want to go in shorts.

There is one book on angling which has been in print for 350 years - "The Compleat Angler" by Izaac Walton ($7.94 - $14 from Amazon price varies depending on the version). First published in 1653, it's one of the first books ever written about fishing. It is as much a philosophical treatise as it is a fishing book. Another one that's supposed to be pretty good is "Hemingway on Fishing". Some of his first stories and newspaper articles were written about fishing where he grew up in Michigan.

They took the time to observe, and to actually think about what they were seeing. Spending time and observing, and recording times and dates when the observations were made, is a tested way of learning much about the natural world. The Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Aztecs and other paleo-indian cultures - they all had a good understanding about the way that much of the world around them worked in environmental harmony. However, the mysteries of some phenomena like thunder and lightning, earthquakes, eclipses and other "attributes of the gods" were never adequately resolved until scientific method was applied long after those cultures had passed into history.

Is this why I've seen videos of guys bending the hooks out a little so that the hook set isn't quite as dependent on collapsing the body?

That $15 is the difference between the two suppliers. I was trying to understand how the price could be that much different. I never went far enough into Academy to see how much they charged for shipping.

I've looked at this one. The reviews are mixed. Some say that it's too fragile, the spindle breaks loose from the base. Others, like you, seem to love it. Is this the one you are talking about?

I've long been grateful for my light beard. In high school I took a lot of crap for my lack of any facial hair, never even owned a razor until I went off to basic training almost a year after graduation from high school. Now I'm thankful that I can get 2 or 3 months from a cartridge. Takes me about a minute for a full shave. Never any irritation.

This isn't certain. The first time I tried it I ended up with a complete mess of twisted screwed up line. The spool of Trilene that I had was just the opposite. I'm going to try Mark's suggestion next time. If it works, and there is no reason to think that it won't if works for him, then it's foolproof.

About 25 years ago we were visiting my wife's parents at the farm for Easter. We had our dog Bailey with us, a white German shepherd/golden retriever mix. He caught and killed a cottontail on Easter morning. Our niece, who was about 6 at the time, came into the house wailing "Bailey killed the Easter Bunny - Bailey killed the Easter Bunny!" Fortunately she got over it and they were buddies again before the day was out. Bailey was really a sweet dog, just a gentle as goldens are generally known to be. He was almost 15 when he got his call to doggy heaven.

Here in Colorado, the typical statewide limit on LM is 15" minimum length, but only one can be over 21". That essentially creates a slot limit of 15" to 21". For SM the minimum varies - can be either 12" or 15" depending on the lake you are fishing.

If I changed out line often enough, I'd probably go that way, but I don't fish on a daily basis, and I only have 2 baitcasters to spool. My spinning combo has 30# Power Pro, and I have the BIG spool (3000 yards) for that because I bought it when I was living in the Bahamas and had no place to buy more. This one would be for 10# to 15# mono for my 2 baitcasters. I know that sounds bass ackwards to go heavier on my spinning reel, but it's a 5000 series Shimano Spheros salt water reel on a 7' BPS Ocean Master rod... the heaviest weight combo I own.

I was watching Mark Zona's show the other day, and he was showing how to spool line without twist. Good info, but what I really took from that was his spool holder. He had the Plano Line Spool Box, which both stores line and holds it for spooling. I haven't bought a spooler yet and thought it looked like a good option to hold 6 spools up to 1" wide. Academy has it for $7.99 but I don't know what the shipping would be. On the other hand, Amazon has it for 3 times the price ($23.93) with free shipping. I can't believe that Academy charges $15 for shipping. Cabela's has it for $8.99. Walmart is $12.99. Seems to be a lot of variance in retail pricing on this. Do any of you have this spooler, and do you like it?

When I Google it, the only site that comes up is the American Legacy link above - not even Diawa's own website. Google sees no other reference to it. Description says carbon graphite frame and side plate. Edit: Note on website says "Available May 2018" That site has the CT type R with 7.3:1 ratio and right hand retrieve for $119 - $60 off their price for the rest of the line. I haven't researched, but that sounds like a good price to me.

What is the rationale for that? There must be a reason for such a specific prohibition.

This is one of the cooler springs I can remember. Not frigid, but with daytime temps rarely getting above the low 60's, water is not warming up. Today we are only supposed to get to 40, and only one day in the 10 day forecast reaches the low 70's. Nightime temps in the 20's and low 30's for the entire forecast period. This is NOT normal for April in eastern Colorado.

With that prickly locking dorsal fin, I would imagine that bulheads (that's what we called them in Minnesota and Wisconsin) are near the bottom of the bass feeding preference list.

If you are minimizing like I am, you need to look at more middle of the road combos. I'm about as underequipped as anyone on this forum. I started last season with a Diawa Tatula CT 100 8.1:1 on a 6 foot medium UglyStik. That was my main combo last year, and I caught fish on it. This year I've added a 7' St. Croix Premier, medium with a fast tip, and a second Tatula CT 100, this one a 6.3:1. Haven't had any chance to use the new combo yet, but that should change this next week. The point being that if you get a rod that can handle most of what you want to use, it may not be perfect for some baits or techniques, but it will be functional for just about anything, and you will spend a lot less time messing around swapping the reel from one rod to another. I think that you will get tired very quickly of having to change out the reel instead of just tying on a new bait or rig. I also have the salt water spinning combo that I bought for fishing in the Bahamas, but it is showing to be too much for most freshwater. It was aimed at up to around 10-15 pound snappers and barracuda, and lacks the sensitivity for most freshwater species. The 7' MH rod and 5000 series Shimano reel is a load to throw baits with all day. My next replacement will probably be this one. I need something lighter for finesse baits, but it probably won't happen before next year.

I think I noticed a theme there.

I've heard of "frog hair" (the fringe cut around a golf green), but never a hairy frog.

I don't really have enough experience to have a "confidence" bait. A week ago I was out for the first time this season, and I tried most of the soft baits mentioned above and never got so much as a nibble. Changed to a red craw colored DT-Flat medium diving crank (6-10 feet) and almost immediately caught a 17" walleye. Then shortly after that I brought in a smallish, maybe 7" white crappie. After no more bites for a while I switched to a bluegill crank, same depth, and caught another walleye. After that I got nothing. Never saw any sign of a bass. Water temp couldn't have been more than 40°. I'll be heading back to that same spot (100 acre pond about 1/2 hour from home) as the water warms up and see if I can find the bass that are supposed to be in there. So if I had to pick one that gives me confidence right now it would be a crank, because I at least caught something on it, even if I didn't find any bass.

A mod will move it to the right forum when they see it here, no worries. I like just a simple popper first, then if that doesn't work, I'll experiment. I use these guys in ponds around here. I've caught largemouth on them here in Colorado, and in Iowa last May, and I've caught snapper and barracuda in the ocean on them. Pretty good all around topwater. They're Bass Pro XPS lures, bought about 6 years ago.

I can cast far enough to catch fish. What more do I need? I'll never win either a distance or an accuracy contest, but that isn't part of my plan, so I'm okay with it.

Rick..... and Preeb is almost my last name.

Trolling without a boat.