Ham

I could be a little mad about that, but I have no right to be. I have lots of wonderful fishing gear. Gear is not holding me back. Finding time to go is what's holding me back.

Weasel

Dang, I'm going to have to check the shelves in my house closer. Maybe their is a NIB Curado laying around my house somewhere. I've been really happy with the Falcon Cara Jerk bait rod I bought from Mr Babbler. It does other things well also so it can get used for other things when the jerk bait bite isn't the best thing going.

Crappie in smaller lakes and ponds have a tendency to over populate. Tough to have the right of species. It was my understanding that it is NOT recommended to stock crappie in private ponds because of that. I don't know that Table Rock is known as a good crappie lake although some guys definitely do well there and I have caught a handful of really nice crappie out of Table Rock.

Crappie in a pond can get stunted and all be small. Short crappie in TR will grow larger. If you are unhappy with the size crappie you are catching, change locations. Crappie can school by size. Good numbers of small fish is a good sign that there are more keepers in the pipeline. If I found out someone was keeping sub legal crappie to thin the herd, I would call Wildlife and Fisheries and see IF I could arrange a visit.

I didn't get to spend much time at the store. I have no clue what you are talking about though.

Not yet. That model was not in stock at store for me to pre test.

I checked in with him and he's just fine. Living in Baton Rouge, La taught him to always buy on high ground. He and my sister have no water issues at all. It a huge mess though. Thanks for asking.

The service tech said that the gummy handle was a less than 1% defect, but he had seen it. He seemed surprised by the grinding, but acknowledged he felt it. He offered me 2016 reels, but they are heavier because more of the frame is aluminum vs plastic. I opted for another roll of the dice with a lighter reel.

Nice fish!

I had to make a trip to Springfield today. I had enough time to go by the Big Lew's store off. I-44. I had my receipt from another vendor with my Lew's Team Gold Spins in the 1000 size that I had been unhappy with from the get go. I was directed to the Service Desk in the back of the store and a young gentleman back there immediately worked with me examining the reels and finding me two suitable replacement reels. He was able to feel the grinding and the stiff paddle handles. He was determined that I leave Happy. Very good customer service. I left completely satisfied and very appreciative. Hopefully, I will like these as much as I do my 3000 series reels.

Brown Trout Lives Matter

I guess I'm used to seeing "pounds" out to hundreths. ie 4.35 lbs. adding in ounces threw me. I guess I was also confused by a lack of 1) this weight 2) this weight 3) that weight. Seems like a good time was had by all even if the fish weren't just jumping in the boat. I worked. Y'all had it better than I did.

I use both, but I also use Chartreuse yellow Nanofil for my finesse fishing (with a fluro or green co-poly leader) so my opinion on this subject may be suspect.

I'd say you did yourself proud.

Do they fly?

I will never buy another Shimano spinning reel. They had decades to address the reel binding when a bushing absorbed water. A fishing reel that can't be used near the water is not the reel for me. There are always guys that say yeah but this model Shimano is ok or that doesn't happen when the Shimano or whatever. I'm done. Not sure what year model my Lew's Team Gold spin is. I bought some in 2014 and some in 2015. I don't know what to think, but for now I would not buy another one. I have a "size 35" Pfluger Supreme on my Eyecon. Good pairing.

Numbers as a foreign language. I can't understand the secret code used in the results.

I got Team Gold Spin in the 3000 size and was very pleased with it. I bought a second one. Still very happy with them. I got a couple of the 1000 size on sale and they are both crap. I hate em. They were crap the first time I used them. They were crap when I took them out of the box. I'm going to try to take them to the store in Springfield and see if they WILL help me out. I know they can. We will see if they choose to do so.

Hey Dave, who do I know that lives in Kansas and owns a Ranger....?

Cool. Overton's.

Hey Super Dave. How heavy is that Lew's rod compared to say the St Croix Eyecon you were nice enough to recommend? I'd love to have a less expensive Ned rod on the river in case disaster were to strike.

They might need a little help getting there. dams at Batesvillie and Guion are in the way. Are you volunteering?

Awesome!

Yes and No. You pay more for some rods and there can be good value. Less weight. Better components (guides, reel seat, handle). there are some really good values in rods that can be found out there. I've seen some really good suggestions and advice in this thread.