Kirtley Howe

Had a 19' cuddy cabin boat that with came the full stand up "camper back" enclosure. It was canvas, with clear vinyl side windows and rear window. I loved it. My wife at the time decided we had to have a full vinyl cover in the same style so she could "see better". So $2500 later, we had one. After 2 trips out, it was removed and the original cover was put back on. The vinyl one was, as you guessed, a hot house on sunny days.. I folded it up and put it away...a couple of years later I went to unfold it, and it was very stiff, yellowed, and cracks had started. I no longer have the boat, that vinyl cover, or that wife, but for different reasons. I would avoid a full clear vinyl cover.

I spent 7 years in the St. Pete, Clearwater, and Tarpon Springs are back in the late 60s, early 70s. Loved the bass fishing there, and also some saltwater fishing. A friend and I used to take a 14' boat (basically a rowboat with a motor) and put in between St. Pete and Tampa. Used Bass fishing tackle, and caught Tarpon. I should say we hooked Tarpon...we didn't land many, but had a ball. My best was 60 lbs. Was a real blast.

They Live A Boy And His Dog Forbidden Planet Mars Attacks The Worlds' Fastest Indian

One of the best jigs to throw for Smallmouth, especially on rivers, is a Tube Jig. Tube jigs are a "must have" for river Smallies. I use light line (4, 6 or 8 lbs mono or florocarbon, but I personally prefer mono. Start with the minimum weigh you can get away with based on current flow. Cast quartering upstream, and do a little lift each time the jig settles to the bottom to make it drift a few inches (of feet depending on how the fish want it that day) downstream. Continue the "drift" until the jig is well below you in the river. Retrieve and repeat. I get many bites when the jig is curling around at the end of the drift, but the fish can hit at any time, so be alert...often you just notice that the jig seems to have just stalled in place and has stopped drifting, or there is suddenly a larger bow in the line than you would expect. That means a fish has picked it up and is either just sitting there with it, or has moved with the current. Most bites are subtle (but not always...sometimes they will about rip the rod out of your hands) so there is a bit of a learning curve to get to know when a fish has the jig, but it does not take long to get the hang of it. Experiment with jig weights....sometimes they want the tube to just barely move and drag along the bottom and other times them want the jig to move faster and higher up when you lift. Let the fish tell you what they want, and if bite stops, change up the weight and speed of presentation. The best colors are usually Watermelon, or try to match the color of the local crawfish population. You don't need to have every color under the rainbow...just keep it simple. The colors I listed, and black, white, or blue/black is all you need. I prefer to use a light wire jig, as that can be pulled off rocks if it gets snagged without breaking your line. Be sure to check the hook point often and sharpen it as needed if it is dull. Good luck. Tube jigs can work well on lakes also, especially around large rock structures, but I have my best luck with them in clear water flowing rivers.

I fish for Walleyes a lot from shore on both small lakes and in the Susquehanna River here in the Southern Tier of New York state. Commonly use Rapalas (Husky Jerks in mid to large sizes), 3/16 to 1/4 oz jig heads with Mister Twister grub tails or Sassy Shads....move up to 1/2 oz jigheads as necessary if fishing in strong current. Also use paddle tails on the jigs...usually 3 1/2 to 5 inch length. Sometimes using a floating worm (4 to 6 inch) either weightless or on a jig head works well. At times crankbaits are good. Just match the local forage as far a size and color....but don't be afraid to go up several sizes over that to see what works. Stickbaits that run deeper than the water depth you are fishing in (so they bang off the bottom) can be effective in rocky bottom areas. And chatter baits and spinnerbaits also work very well. I have found that Pheobe spoons can be killer for walleyes also. You will find that a lot of your bass lures will work for walleyes....but a longer, lighter, extra sensitive rod well work far better than the average casting rod. I suggest a 7 to 8 foot, graphite spinning rod that has a fast action, paired with a decent quality reel ( doesn't have to be expensive....just pretty smooth feeling) and the lightest line you can get away with if fishing in clear water, and you will be good to go. My normal walleye rig is a 7' 6" $35 Diawa graphite rod with a Pfluger President size 30 reel (about $49-$69 depending on where you get it). You may well already own a set up like that for bass fishing.

Was in Altmar NY, wading the Salmon River in January, fishing for Steelhead. Air temp was 28F, water temp was 33F. I had been fishing for about 3 hours, and was pretty cold. I waded out about 20 feet from shore, in about 5 feet of water....I was on a rock so I was about waist deep as I stood there. My legs started feeling really cold, so I decided to get out of the water and go warm up. When I got back to shore, I realized I had a couple of problems. 1) My waders were full of water up to my crotch. 2) My legs were so cold I could barely move them. 3) I had to step up about 2 feet to get up on shore...which with waders full of water, and legs that were "dead", I could not. 4) There was no one else anywhere near me. I tried walking downstream to find a better exit point, but found I could not go far as my legs were giving out completely. I found an area where the bank was more sloped. I tried climbing up the slope, but could not make it. I was beginning to panic a bit, and I was so cold I could not even shiver anymore...a sure sign I was getting close to hypothermia. After several attempts to get out of the water, I was close to exhaustion. I decided drastic measures were needed. I sprawled backwards on the sloped shore, and managed to get my chest waders off (that took some doing since my lower body was still in the water, and my coordination was very compromised at this point). Once relieved of the weight of the water filled waders, I could crawl up the bank out of the water. I reached back and grabbed the waders and dragged them out behind me. I had already tossed my rod and mini tackle box up on shore. I left everything right there, and slowly staggered the 1/2 mile or so back to where I had parked my truck. It took me about 5 minutes or so just to unlock truck (my whole body was close to shutting down). I dragged myself into the truck and managed to get the truck started. I turned the heat on low as the truck warmed up, and very carefully warmed myself up, and rested for an hour or so. Then I could move some, so I got my duffle bag out of the back, and got a set of dry clothes and my extra jacket out, and put them and my boots on. I rested some more, and then walked back and got my waders and tackle, and walked back to my truck and headed back to the fishing lodge where I was staying. After a long shower and redressing, I checked out my waders. It seems that I had torn a hole in them near the,,,,uh.... buttocks, and that is why they took on water. It happened slowly enough that I just thought I was getting chilled, and had no clue at that point that I was in serious trouble. I ended up with some frostbite, but was lucky that the damage was not much worse. I very easily could have been unable to get out of the water, and could have died of exposure right there. After that I no longer waded alone in cold weather, and made it a point to get out of the water often, and warm up. I seldom even waded alone in warm weather after that, and I always wore a life jacket (SOSpenders) when I did. For the past few years I have been pretty much unable to do any wading, as I had lung cancer and had part of a lung removed. My breathing is somewhat compromised, so I don't risk wading. Goes to show that a couple of poor decisions can get you in serios trouble. I should not have been wading alone under those conditions. I should have gotten out and warmed up much more often. I should have paid attention to the fact I was getting very cold much faster that I should have been, I should have realized that although it was not difficult to get into the water where I was, it was going to be very difficult to get out of the water there....and there was no place close by that was easier access. I was stupid, and very lucky things did not end up much worse.

I think they will survive just fine. They were not seeking a buyer when BPS decided to make an offer. BPS was willing to throw a lot of money at them to "merge" (read that as to sell out to BPS), and the money was too good to pass up at the time. But, they were not in any financial difficulty at the time. Their sales were down a bit from previous years, but not enough to put them in any danger....at that time almost all retail sporting goods stores were seeing a slight decline in sales, so their situation was not unique. It was a cash grab for SW, and a no brainer (remove competition) for BPS, and expand there footprint without having to build new stores. BPS had tried that a few years earlier when they tried to buy Gander Mountain, but RV World out bid them (and payed way too much in my opinion) to get the locations.

Yes, as you say, it is what it is. Case in point; In 1948, Dicks Sporting Goods was founded in Binghamton NY. It was a true sporting goods store that specialized in fishing (particularly fly fishing, but had everything for any style of freshwater fishing). By the time I was about 9 years old, it was my favorite store in the whole world, and they had 2 stores in Binghamton, NY. But, things change...now they have over 800 stores all over the country....but now they should be called "Dicks Clothing, Shoes, Golf, other sports, and maybe some fishing and hunting stuff". The largest shareholder in the company is the founders' son, and since he is now filthy rich, I am sure he is very happy with the way the company is going. For me, it is really disappointing, as they seem to have pretty much given up on any serious fishing or hunting supplies. Life goes on.....

Just read that the Federal Trade commission has blocked the merger of Bass Pro and Sportsmans Warehouse. Personally, I think that is a good thing, as that merger would mean even less competition in sporting goods stores than there is now. I have nothing against Bass Pro Shops, and do shop there often, but I hate to see competing retailers being gobbled up by them. What are your thoughts on this? And.....go!

Thanks to all for the welcome.

Explains why I don't see this type rod in shops. Thanks for the suggestions.

I don't know why the thread I started about spinning reels shows up when I started this new topic, but here goes with what my question about casting rods ..... I keep wondering why it is next to impossible to find a 7' 6' to 8' 6" casting rod in a light action, with moderate speed, or even almost a parabolic bend action. Every rod over 7foot that I find is MH fast action, or H fast action, or even XH fast action. My thought on this is that in a spinning rod, a long, light rod is used for casting light lures greater distances....would not the same logic apply to casting rods? Is my logic flawed? I know that many people would just say to use a spinning set up for this type of fishing, and not worry about it. While I can accept that the spinning set up might be a "better" choice, I would still like to use a casting rod for this type of application. So what does everyone think?

I have several spinning reels that I use for light tackle fishing. None of my reels are terribly expensive, with most being in the $60 yo $70 price range. I know that buying more expensive reels may solve some of the problem, but that is really not an option for me. The reels I have perform well for my needs except for the one problem....on every reel I have, after using them for a year or so as a weekend fisherman, the line starts to slip between the end of the line pick up and the washer that separates the line pick up from the bail frame. It is more of a problem with #6 or #8 line than with heavier lines of a larger diameter. I have tried taking the bail apart and cleaning all parts, and reinstalling while making sure the screw that hold everything together is tight. I have checked for wear while it was apart, but could not see any problem. So, the question is what is going on, and how can I prevent it, or at least fix it? For reference, the reels I use are a Pfluger President model, and others in that class. It has happed to all of my reels, I have replaced several with new reels thinking that maybe it was a fluke , and they work fine for about a year, and then it happens again. I take good care of my reels, and clean and lubricate them often. I am at my wits end with this. Any help would be appreciated.

It is a size 30 reel, as are the others. No, it is not overspooled. Newapti5----I will check that out. Good suggestions. Thanks. Fish Tank---Thanks.

Hello from Owego NY. I have been a fishing fool since I was 8 years old. I am now 72, so it has been a long wonderful time. I have owned several boats over the years, but only one actual fishing boat (a 19 foot Fisher aluminum bass boat, with a 55 horse Johnson outboard. It was a nice small river boat, but not much good on lakes). I sold that about 10 years ago. Since then, I have only had a little 12 foot aluminum row boat, which wasn't good for anything but small ponds. So for the most part I have been limited to bank fishing in recent years. A really wonderful friend of mine just gave me (yup--totally free, including a year registration trailer and 3 years on the boat!) a 2018 15 foot Boston Whaler Super Sport, with a 60 horsepower 4 stroke outboard, and a Great White 107 lbs thrust trolling motor. The boat and motor have 110 hours total use time. I have a fish finder I will be installing this coming spring. It may not be the "perfect" fishing boat, but it sure beats anything I have had in recent years. I am really looking forward to getting back on the water. See you all out there.

Between 17 and 18

Tight. That is one of the reasons I am confused. Well, I am confused by a lot of things, but let's just keep it to this topic. <G>

I have several spinning reels that I use for light tackle fishing. None of my reels are terribly expensive, with most being in the $60 yo $70 price range. I know that buying more expensive reels may solve some of the problem, but that is really not an option for me. The reels I have perform well for my needs except for the one problem....on every reel I have, after using them for a year or so as a weekend fisherman, the line starts to slip between the end of the line pick up and the washer that separates the line pick up from the bail frame. It is more of a problem with #6 or #8 line than with heavier lines of a larger diameter. I have tried taking the bail apart and cleaning all parts, and reinstalling while making sure the screw that hold everything together is tight. I have checked for wear while it was apart, but could not see any problem. So, the question is what is going on, and how can I prevent it, or at least fix it? For reference, the reels I use are a Pfluger President model, and others in that class. It has happed to all of my reels, I have replaced several with new reels thinking that maybe it was a fluke , and they work fine for about a year, and then it happens again. I take good care of my reels, and clean and lubricate them often. I am at my wits end with this. Any help would be appreciated.

I live in Owego, NY. I have been fishing all but 2 days this November, but it has all been bank fishing on the Susquehanna River. I put my boat away for the season on the 25th of October. I just don't feel I can risk taking the boat out in the very unpredictable weather here, and as a 72 year old lung cancer survivor with breathing issues, I don't take chances like I used to. I have had some sucess for bass ( largest this month has been a 4lb 2oz smallmouth. ) but my incidental catches have included a 42 inch Muskey, and several Walleye over 24 inches, and numerous smaller Walleye. The point of this rant is to say that perhaps it is best to err on the side of caution. Maybe put the boat up, and do some (usually) much safer bank fishing. As long as there is open water, you can have some great days fishing from the bank this time of year. Be careful and stay safe out there.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you guarantee he will never have enough money for drugs.

I have a brand new, never been used SupraPro ID fishfinder. The transducer that came with it is he HS-WS PC 9067. That is a 192mhz tranducer. According to the literature I received with the unit, there is an optional 200mhz transducer that has speed and water temp sensors built in which allow the unit to display the water temp and speed (up to 70mph). I have not been able to find the model number of that transducer, nor have I been able to find one for sale. If anyone can give me the correct model number for that transducer, and/or has one for sale, I would greatly appreciate the info. Thanks, Kirt