Champ188

Way to go, Dennis! Does he work at Battery Outfitters in Golden?

Good info to know.

Good question ... today's graphite selection provides parabolic selections that don't wear you out like heaving and holding a heavy fiberglass rod will. Ask our resident crank bait king Alex ... it's a bear trying to crank a DD-22 all day on a fiberglass stick. My choice for cranking is the Denali Kovert series ... I use the 7-2 medium power, moderate action for Wiggle Warts and other midsize cranks and the 7-6 medium heavy power, moderate/fast action for bigger crank baits. The moderate actions of both rods allow the rod to bend from tip to butt ... a parabolic action. They give quite a bit when a fish strikes and also during the fight, helping keep the fish buttoned up on those pesky treble hooks.

Prayers, buddy.

That even LOOKS cold!!!!!! Count me out. Not as tough as I used to be. I'm good down to 40 degrees in the rain or 30 if it's sunny.

Awesome.

I don't swim well at all and I doubt I'd do any better with third-degree burns. I'll pass on the lithium ions for now. Lead acid still serves the purpose for me.

Frankly, none of that surprises me. Can't tell you how many times I went to that worthless Branson store looking for VERY BASIC GEAR and they would be completely out. Couldn't buy a single spool of any brand or quantity of 12-pound fluorocarbon line once. Was fishing a Central Pro-Am and had gone off and left my line bag at home. When I politely asked the old geezer working in that department if they might have some in the back, his reply was, "Stuff doesn't sell very well out of the back. If we had it, you'd find it on the shelf." At that point, I replied that empty shelves don't sell well either. I should've called Mr. Bill at that point but it was after 8 p.m. and I figured he was already in bed, so off to Springfield we went ... only after making a call to ensure their flagship store wasn't also out of stock. LOL Have to admit, their slogan "Your Adventure Starts Here" certainly applies to the Branson store because it certainly never ENDS THERE for me. Had a bad experience with Sufix back when they were pretty new and haven't tried it again. Certainly haven't tried the Superior, since it probably came out since then. If it outperforms BPS Excel ... or just works equally well ... and doesn't cost a lot more, I'm in.

MotorGuide + JohnnyMart = a customer service nightmare of which I want no part. Sorry you are having these problems and I hope that a quick resolution is on the horizon.

Dave, one of them shows up every now and then on TR. Don't recall if I posted a pic here but I caught a very pretty one 10 years or so back in the Campbell Point area. I sent pics to MDC and they confirmed it was definitely a LM/SM cross. As far as I know, I haven't caught another one in 20-plus years of fishing The Rock.

Hey Dock, for a guy (ME) who bashes Johnny as much as I do, I just can't find a light mono line that outperforms that BPS Excel. I use their 6-pound a LOT of spinning rod applications and love that stuff. And when I'm not in the mood to drag it behind the boat (without a lure) to remove the twists, it's cheap enough to just strip it off and respool, sometimes right there in the boat. Thanks for a great report and congrats on getting in on the fast action. I admire your skills.

Funny how God designed the ecosystem like that, huh?

PRADCO in my opinion has never improved any lure company they have acquired and certainly hasn't done anything to enhance the lure selection. War Eagle is the latest example. Not a PRADCO fan whatsoever.

Shuffield and I fished quite a bit together. Did the first color sports pics with him ever published in the old Arkansas Gazette during a trip on DeGray. That guy was just made to fish grass.

Thanks for the tip, buddy! Good to see you here. Don't be a stranger!

Hey Gabe, I still have a bunch of the old Rogues and still use them ... mostly in the original clown or Table Rock Shad colors. Even the newer suspending models generally require a little tweaking but they are worth the trouble.

Thanks, Snagged. My dietician has had me on 2,500 calories a day max -- spread out over three meals and a couple of snacks -- plus a lot of water, which fortunately I like. The reason for spreading out your intake is that when you go a long time without eating and then over-indulge, the body wants to hang onto all of those calories because it's afraid you're going to deprive it again. Try to keep protein a priority with both meals and snacks ... you'll last longer before getting hungry again. And finally, 20-30 minutes of moderate exercise a day ... walking, recumbent bike, etc.

Thanks, guys ... been working on it! Was down 100 lbs at one point, gained about 10 back during my parents' illnesses/deaths, but am back on the decline now. Hope to lose 180 when all is said and done. About halfway there. Sure can feel the difference, which motivates me to get on down to goal.

I would ask why you aren't out there yourself but I know the answer: You're just not that mad at em. One of my favorite Babler-isms ever.

There's a lot of meat in this post right here. A lot to think about. Well said, Devan. Quillback makes a good point, too, for those of us old enough to appreciate the pomp and circumstance of the bowl games in their heyday. Heck, players didn't THINK about sitting until signing bonuses became so large that a guy could never play a down in the NFL and still have enough money to live on the rest of his life if he plays his cards right. As usual, it all comes down to money. Make no mistake, there are a TON of college student/athletes who still love the game more than life itself. But then enter the agents and their focus is redirected to the almighty dollar.

Back atcha, Gabe. Hope all is well over there in the Sooner state. Or the Cowpokes state. Whichever you prefer.

Saturday was actually pretty tolerable until the cold front hit. Good rainsuits were a must, though. We went to Beaver but did not fish the Polar Bear. Actually didn't get on the water until 9:45 and were off at 1:45. Kinda wonder how we'd have done if we'd fished a full day in the derby. Oh well, we had a great time and that's the main goal for us these days. Rock Crawler and a soft-plastic creation that shan't be named on chunk rock banks like the one behind Donna were the ticket.

Hello and happy fishing back atcha, my friend! And Donna returns the greetings. We went to Beaver yesterday and actually caught some pretty decent fish down near the dam. Crank bait and her beloved Senko. Water temp was 54 pretty much everywhere we went.

Same here with my Birds, Mike. In fact, my front unit is a 958 (same as 998 but without sidescan). Pretty sure I do have downscan on the front, though.

The 1-ounce baits that we slow-rolled over deep grass as described above had nothing bigger than a No. 5 willow main blade. Usually a #4 main blade and a #2 kicker.