JohnF

Some airlines still have an exemption for rec gear, but you gotta tell 'em what it is. JF

Don't fergit yer Barby rod, and yer tutu. JF

Holy butt pucker, Batman!! I'd be more concerned about the size of diapers I'd be needing. http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/magpie/index.htm Have fun and play safe. JF

I'm sold on bubblegum pink at 10am on a sunny Sunday morning. JF

Avoid trolling when yer swimming. JF

Call your own insurance broker. They'll give you advice on who should be doing what. They'll want an adjuster to see it before things get moved around too much. JF

Distance isn't a real issue. The other makes sense though. In fact I noticed some crazy line movement yesterday when I was fishing across a back eddy trying to catch a seam on the other side of the creek. The line was moving in an s-figure so who knows if the worm was sinking naturally? I tried mending but it just isn't as easy with a 5 1/2 footer and braided line. In any case I'm leaning towards a 7' spinning rod so I'll have two different lengths of good rods. Once I get some locations nailed down this year I'm gonna start playing with the proper fly setup and your flies. JF

OK. This is too weird. I put a little bitty Shakespeare spinning reel with 4# mono on an old Mitchell graphite 8.5' medium (?) action flyrod that I have and took it over to the schoolyard to try casting. It's almost impossible to time the cast release. I'm going to try it with less weight (wacky worm) on and see how that works. I can see how it could be a lot of fun with a smallmouth hooked up. But I might have to get one of those fishergun toys to place the bait in the river. Sure hope no one sees me out on the river with this. JF

What is it about the turkeys this year? I've never seen them so nonchalant. I saw two fairly large (family?) groups on the weekend out near the golf course. Thanks for the tips. JF

So if they're so hip on technology, how come they didn't know the batteries were dead? As for the phone cam, I'm a bit of a cell luddite. None of my phones have built-in cams. Next time I'll float the camera on a little raft with a long long line attached so it can be lurking somewhere downstream just in case I ever catch another fish. Mebbe that'll sneak it in under the radar. JF

I went back yesterday to see if he was still around, but no luck. Just little dinks. Something large was jumping close by and a few tapped at my worm, but nothing. Of course it was late morning and bright sun. I had a respectable one leap well clear of the water in front of me, spit the worm. I heard him chuckling as he dove. C'mon down. I'll show you the spots and I have some new ones to explore. JF

The thought has already crossed my mind, but I thought it was just too weird. Of course, now I have to try it. Thanks JF

That's the UglyStik. May well be the only time it'll be out this season. It just doesn't compare to my Quantum. I don't read much about Quantum rods here in the group and that makes me wonder how much better some of the big name units must really be. I'm gonna buy something to mate up with my new Shimano spinning reel. Still deciding on length and brand. JF

Just finished TBayBoy's excellent account of wading the Grand for bass and it reminded me of a question that's been nagging at me. What's a good sized rod for using plastic while wading creeks for bass? I've been experimenting with rods that I have lying around trying to solve this for myself. So far I really feel best with my Quantum 5 1/2' Lite spinning rod. It's got pretty good backbone with decent sensitivity but is compact for getting through the brush to the creek and lightweight for hours in the water. The short length makes it (for me) a more accurate caster even if I give up a little length. In my reading the consensus seems to be 7' rods for worms but I'm thinking that's more for boat fishermen. I guess my question is really this: What am I really giving up, if anything, by using the shorter rod? Thanks JF

Gotcha. Never tried up there but now I might. JF

Who knew about carps' peculiar proclivities? I was young and naive then. Today I always get the facts before wading into a frenzied party group. JF

Thanks Roy, and I hope you too have a super day. JF

If there's room fer the hook(s) and yer thumb, go for it on any of our bass type fish. Admittedly it looks a little silly on some of the smaller models, but I think it's better for them if you're putting them back in the water. JF

Great shots. Nice fish too. JF

There's definitely something to the rush of catching a big fish too. I've thought about just putting on my waders some evenings and going wading. But then I figure folks who see me might think I'm a tad tetched in the haid and call out the white jacket squad. Grown men aren't supposed to be playing in creeks, less'n of course they have an expensive piece of fishing equipment t' hand. JF

Sorry. Went back and looked again. There are two rods in the pics. The first is an Ugly Stik Lite 5 1/2 that I've had lying around for a while. You can tell by the lite coloured tip. I'm trying everything I have at home with the new Shimano reel but it's looking like I'm gonna have to spring for another new rod. Darn. JF

Oops. Wrong rod. That's the Quantum rod I got last summer. 5 1/2 light. I really like it. Have a small Quantum Energy spinning reel with 14# Fireline Crystal. I'm still undecided about the Fireline. JF

Save that video. JF

You are such a suckup. JF

They've been in hiding this year. I didn't want to squander my efforts with the flyrod if there were no takers. Now I know they're there, the flyrod and SingingDog's flies are coming out. JF