skillet

Have only used the B. Blades for $49.95 on sale, for that price you don't get a better rod. An Extreme for $15 more, don't think you can go wrong.. As Ever, Skillet

I really try to keep things as uncomplicated as possible. I have been using reg. Stren for longer than I'm ready to admit to (decades). Use #8 on spinning and #12 on baitcasting. Have given some thought to using the Ultra Soft that RW speaks highly of. Maybe I didn't give it a long enough fair trial, but I tried #8 XL on my spinning outfit and I thought the #* Stren had less memory, gonna get flamed for that one ! Glad you feel that way about fishing and wanted to say WELCOME to the forums!! As Ever, Skillet

Those were GREAT!! Sounds like the difference in working in an office and construction work. Going to have to remember the one about the goat. That covers more than the work place ;D As Ever, Skillet

In a post not too long ago, folks were talking about a single willow leaf and how it would helicopter down. Got to thinking about it and realized the only single I've ever used was a large Colorado for the thump in low light conditions. Went looking in the Bass Pro book, unless I missed it, I didn't see any. Wondering why they don't sell any (sounds like quite a few folks like them). Where do ya'll get them or do you Frankenstien you're own together? As Ever, Skillet

If I'm not mistaken (have been before) the term "stress disorder" was coined after Viet Nam. It has been around a lot longer than that. My favorite uncle came home after WW2 (South Pacific) a "different" person. The Dr.s said alcohol finally got him. It wasn't alcohol it was combat. If war is Hell, actual combat is somewhere below that. I was probably exposed to my present health problems in Viet Nam. The first thing that I thought of when told this was "37 years and the damned country is still after me". Not only what people are capable of and why, but what you are capable of and why. The loss of innocense(sp.) is devastating, I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then. Ranted all that to say this: Recon, I don't know if it gets any better but the spaces between wondering about it get longer... As Ever, Skillet

WELCOME to the forums!! You've come to the right place... As Ever, Skillet

IMHO If you get way out of wack in either direction, you are probably hurting yourself. In your situation I think upgrading your rod (without breaking the bank) is the best option. I realize folks mean well when they say "upgrade another $20 or $30" and are trying to get you the most for your money, but sometimes you're between a rock and a hard place. Been there, done that As Ever, Skillet

Apologize for not giving correct info :-[. Learned something new today, which in my case is almost everyday (chronicly bewildered :-/)! After reading about line twist here, I try everything to cut down on it. It seems worse when I fish flukes than anything, worse even than when I use #3 Mepps... As Ever, Skillet

I was fishing a t-rigged worm the accepted way and when I got away from the target, burning it back. Got really good strikes twice and started swimming the worm and caught several more fish. This was quite a while before I had ever heard of swimming a worm. SWIMMING A WORM!! What are you some kind of pervert? ;D I was really proud of myself until I found out how many other folks were doing it :'(

Marty, Thanks for your help As Ever, Skillet

I haven't been fishing spinning gear for bass for very long, so here I go out on a limb! I usually get the limb cut off behind me but what the heck . I figured out how some baits caused line twist but didn't know about pulling against the drag until I read it here. IMHO I would imagine pulling against the drag on any setting would cause the same thing. I treat it as such anyway and always open the bail... As Ever, Skillet

WELCOME to the forums! Nicest folks and best fishing site you're likely to come across... As Ever, Skillet

Marty, Do you fill the extra holes with putty and sand or maybe silicon them :-?? As Ever, Skillet

I have come across this a few times in ponds. They are always small ponds that look as if they have been there quite a while. The water always "looked" OK, but there was something just different looking. It's kind of like looking at a piece of land and knowing if you put a garden in, it's not gonna produce. IMHO it's always a lack of forage. Somehow the ratio of predator to prey gets so far out of sync that I don't know if it will clear itself up or not. When I have come across these places they were so far from where I lived, I didn't go back to see if things got better or not. There was one in particular (first one I found) that the bass looked like they had come from a hatchary on Three Mile Island . The first one I caught, I thought it must have some kind of disease... As Ever, Skillet BTW I just realized you said the lake was 18 acres. The places I'm talking about were always a lot smaller than that

Been there, done that (and worse) and bought the durned T-shirt. To make matters even worse I always look up to see if anyone was watching . Ahhh, the treasures of our "Golden Years" :... As Ever, Skillet

The other guys have given tips as well or better than I could, so I'll just say WELCOME to the forums!! As Ever, Skillet

I have always used 3/8 black jitterbug, like everyone else says "there is nothing like that sound on a dark lake" . Maybe my fault for not using it enough in lighter situations, but do a lot better early mornings, late evenings and night. I've got way too many top water baits to not have a favorite for each time of day :-[... As Ever, Skillet

Bought a #9 jointed a while ago in black and silver and (probably just me) just don't have the bites as with the original. Have fished the black and silver #9 or #11 original for a long time and fish it every way from slow crawl to fishing it like a jerk bait. Sometimes small bass like it too much (on #11 have caught bass smaller than lure). Have caught some REALLY nice ones on them though, usually late in the evening. I think it is one of the Must Have In My Tackle Box lures. I bought a #11 in the new (to me) realistic shad color. It is really just a variation on the black and silver. So far, really like it. Sorry the post turned into nothing but praising for the original :-? As Ever, Skillet

WELCOME to the forums!! As Ever, Skillet

When I was in the service and about 19 years old, I pulled courier duty for a short while. I was supposed to pick up a duece and a half (truck) in Long Bin (south of Siagon) and get it too Kontum (central highlands). The powers that be manifested me on a small cargo ship to take me up the coast for most of the trip. It turned out to be a Japanese crew and I didn't think anyone spoke English . I was standing out on the bough of the ship late in the evening of the first day and noticed, turned out to be Chief Engineer, watching me. The next evening I was there again and he showed up with a pot of green tea and a box of Japanese cookies. This fellow looked like Odd-Job in the James Bond movie and probably ate barbed wire for breakfast . He spoke pretty decent English and started telling me stories of his life on the oceans. He would show up each evening with the tea and cookies and we would talk. I heard stories of everything from hunting whales on the Artic oceans to hunting walarus on the Antarctic and everything in-between. All this from a fellow that looked like you really wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley (complete with scars on his face, arms and hands)! He turned out to be one of the nicest most gentle people I ever met . I 'll never forget a stranger who took it upon himself to befriend a young southern boy first time away from home in a really bad situation. NEVER judge a book by it's cover... As Ever, Skillet justfishin, yada yada stories help make us who we are

Sending a message like that to such a site is pretty obvious. Morality is one of those relative things. A lot of folks think of it as all black and white. To me, there's an awful lot of grey. I would have a problem with the message plus using your profile to send it. That's just me though. Being the 3rd party in a situation is really hard. From this post and earlier ones, you seem to care about both of them and you know them better than us. You could end up losing one or even both as friends . Give it some thought, sounds like you could step off in deep dodo As Ever, Skillet

Glad you're back fella!!! As Ever, Skillet

WELCOME to the forums!! I fish ponds and small lakes from the bank mostly and do pretty good I think. Go thru the article section (like BA13 said) and pick out what you think applies to the places you fish. Keep notes and then come back and ask some questions about some of the things you found. The folks around here are GREAT about sharing what they know. I would imagine with the number of people that post pretty regular and how much fishing they have done and do, the number of hours spent learning things approaches the infinite . The good and bad of that is about the only thing we have to show for all that time is experiences to share and some great memories. Which ain't a bad thing ... As Ever, Skillet

I haven't been Crappie fishing in quite a while but went all the time when younger. Both of my parents were pan fish fanatics. Said that to say this. Large Crappie really like Bass lures. The 3 largest Crappie I've ever caught were fooled after I started Bass fishing. 2 of them fell for a white 1/4 oz. tandem blade spinner with a 6" red worm for a trailer and the 3rd went for a suspending rogue. It was a wonder I didn't tear their mouth out thinking they were Bass and setting hook as if they were. Haven't had a mess of Crappie fillets in too durn long... As Ever, Skillet

WELCOME to the forums!!