abkeenan

I'm in this camp. Used to care about fish being able to see line and having an impact on catch/bite rate. I have since done a 180 the last couple of years since the A-Rig made me question the whole deal. I really don't think the fish care about the line. They are focused on whatever lure you happen to be throwing. It's the target making the commotion. Having a ball on a string and playing with a cat or dog, they don't go for the string. They focus on the ball. Animals are not that smart. Especially pea brained fish that are caught on the same trap repeatedly (Hopefully - C&R plug). On top of that if the fish are in an inactive mood....they aren't going to bite anything more than likely, regardless of line visibility factors. If they are active or feeding, they'll bite anything that comes into their field of vision/lateral line. All my opinion of course but that's where I'm at in "game (fish) theory".

I go co-poly on my spinning reels. Straight 8lb Yozuri Hybrid. Simple, effective and never have had a problem. Nothing worse than spastic line jumping off the reel or the dreaded loop knot down in the spool of no return. I know you're a nanofil guy and I never have tried it. Need to give it a whirl.

This. I have pretty much given up caring about fishes ability to see and/or care about line. As Bo mentions here, I only care about how the line effects my lure/presentation/conditions. Properties - floating (mono) vs sinking (fluoro) Stretch - (mono) vs less stretch (fluoro) vs no stretch (braid) Diameter - sink rates, cranking depth 12-15lb should be fine for just about all applications on TR from soft plastics, to jigs, to cranks and pretty much anything you wanna throw.

I know I am personally a big fan of the Teckel Drunker as a "Pre-Rap" alternative.

No doubt.

I have a 7'10" MH Bass Pro Crankin' Stick that's a few models ago. The one that is brown/gray/burgundy. I bought it on sale during one of Bass Pro's spring sales for $59.99. I must admit that I really do like the rod for deep cranks in the 15-20+ foot range (DD22's, 5,6,10XDs, FatFrees, Fat Papa 70s). Has a good fusion of feel yet soft/parabolic for keeping fish pinned with those trebles. It's a composite rod with a blend of graphite and glass (I believe some sort of "balsic" compound was the in the product description at the time). No matter the price it's a good rod. I also have an older 7' MH (fishes more like a M) Shimano Clarus TC4 reaction series that is also composite. Truly one of my favorite rods. Absolutely perfect for warts, rock crawlers or shallow to mid cranks. Another value rod that was around $90 at the time. Then I have a 7'4" MH Quantum Team KVD Rod that is also composite for cranking. I hate it. Got it on clearance at Cabelas for $29 bucks marked down from $99. It's a crappy rod. Has no feel and is just dead. Although it's a MH, it's a limp noodle and makes for awkward casting as well. Was an impulse buy just to try it out so for $30 it's whatever. If I paid $100 for it I would have been unhappy about it. Long story short there are rods out there that are good values for their price point and some rods more expensive than they should be.

I don't think that's the deal. The sign says "Buy any Pflueger reel AND Fenwick rod". So you have to purchase both the reel and rod to get the $25 off. Still a good deal.

You got ripped off. lol.

The voice of reason.

Finding myself agreeing with a Jayhawker all to often here lately. Maybe I am getting soft?

Brett, First off, great name and correct spelling. Second, your best bet is going to go over to the BBC boards and look at their swap/sell rod forum. Guys are selling every brand of rod under the sun over there. Always good deals on Cara's, Lowrider's and other Falcon models.

The one and done rule has killed NCAAB IMO. Need to go back to make kids either choose the NBA straight out of high school or go to school but gotta stay a minimum of 2 years. The quality of play hasn't been nearly as good since the change. Also, as you mention, kinda hard to have emotional attachment to teams when there is no "core" that sticks around for 2-4 years. When faces change like a revolving door it's just not as endearing to the hometown fans. I hate that.

That's it. I'm out.

I think there are like 7 more younger brothers. We should be good for the next handful of one and done years.

Exactly. Admitting you like soccer is akin to admitting you use spinning tackle aka a fairy wand.

They didn't go tot KU so it's out of your realm......

It's all in good humor. I'm sure that Champ can have an appreciation for what elite soccer players can do on the field. Guys like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, etc are incredible talents. It's just that in the United States soccer takes a back seat to the 3 major sports (MLB, NBA, NFL) and the best athletes we Americans have to offer flood to those sports. Soccer is an after thought, which is why MLS is where past their prime players (Thierry Henry, Beckham, Gerrard, etc.) go to die (retire). Would be really interesting to see how American soccer teams would fare against World teams if our best athletes played soccer. So the Mike Trouts, LeBron James, Russell Westbrooks, Adrian Petersons, Kobe Bryants, Ray Lewis' ,Michael Jordans, Bo Jacksons, Barry Sanders, etc....if they were to play soccer instead of their respective sports....would we crush the Europeans and South Americans at their own game? We'll never find out but I suspect we would dominate.

Bummer about the TH Custom. Something tells me you have a few backups and will manage

Shakeyhead with any green pumpkin worm of your choice is hard to beat day in and day out. Also, if you are coming at the end of April I would for sure have some type of topwater tied on such as a wake bait (redfin or plopper), chugger (pop-r) or walker (spook). I've also had good days on the jerkbait late into April. Good luck!

I have a 25 foot retractable dog deal with the old blue David Fritts plug knocker on it. Lew's reintroduced the exact same design a couple years ago and is now yellow. It works GREAT and I would highly recommend it. The "system" is actually super easy to deploy and manipulate to get your lure back. Rod with a taught line in one hand and then retriever/leash handle in the other bouncing it up and down. Get back about 95% of snagged lures and this also includes A-Rigs.

Am I lying? Beaches at LOZ are constantly being closed for periods of time due to high e coli counts when testing the waters. It's a dirty lake and that's just a fact. Again, I've been to LOZ many times and CAN compare it to Table Rock. There is no comparison in my opinion. That's all I have to say to you. Just keep on living what years you have left in your typical condescending and negative existence.

The Robin Williams stand-up bit about the invention of golf by the Scottish is pretty funny. I won't post it here as it has a lot of adult language but if you're so inclined just google Robin Williams Golf and it will pull right up on YouTube.

I know there are a bunch of deals to be had over on the BBC for sale boards. Guys over there will use something once and either not like it or it's just not quite what they were looking for and will let go of it for great prices. Always a lot of Loomis stuff for sale over there as well as other high end rods/reels.

Is there anything more annoying than someone who is REALLY good at golf? Being the hack that I am it shouldn't bother me. But I just don't get how someone can be so good at hitting that little white ball. Try as I might, I just will never be that good. I was a fairly decent 3 sport athlete and am pretty good at any sport I try my hand at (except soccer, horrible). But I have friends that could barely pick up a basketball using two hands and here they are just killing me on the golf course. Makes no sense!

Just a top notch report. With pics as well! Nicely done guys! Thanks for sharing.