Pete Maina

HI, I just had to check in here to see what went on while I was away touring Bass Pro Shops stores ... still playing catchup here upon return, though can see a little light. (Was great to see you there at the Toronto store, Big Buck, if you're reading.) (I see Miss Ess showed up here; cute ain't she ) I see the vote tipped Framptonish ... a little scary after seeing him on that commercial. Hey Marc, are you still short? Roy? (Got a letter from you btw, FYI, thanks) Glad some of you saw and enjoyed the show I did with Mark Zona. We sure did have a good time. He is one crazy dude. Hey Ohio, funny you should say that about the headgear, it was actually in the boat but sadly didn't make the show. If you saw the part where we plugged the Brian Schram CD in though (I danced & ZOna did his Gene Simmons immitation) - the music worked big time ... literally right after what you saw on the show there - the cameraman was diving for the volume knob on the player as a fish was peeling line and he needed our audio to work (guess I had it a little loud). Have any of you caught The Next Bite show I did with Shorty-Thorpe yet? It airs again tomorrow on Versus at 8:30 eastern. Good to hear from you all and hope things are well. STill cold here, jeez ... supposed to be -15 tomorrow morning. Global freezing. Pete

Looking forward to seeing OFNer's there at the store Sunday! I'll be there with the whole Next Bite crew. Pete "Robert Plant" Maina

Spicoli eh? We'll see shorty ... Well hey, gotta sign off here and prep for the tour. Appreciate the fun and the 'few' kind words ... do look forward to seeing all you OFNers there at Bass Pro SHops! The whole The Next Bite crew will be there too: Gary Parsons, son Chase, Keith Kavajecz and I ... I be curious to see if any interesting head gear. (Oh, Marc and Roy ... pretty sure short folk can sneak right in free ... tee hee) Pete

You people are too much (Yeah, the Frampton commercial kinda scary) Stevie Nicks?

Good lord ... oh no - notta poll

HI, Not certain if they sell 'em there or not. Kinda hard to sign being all fuzzy Darn good lookin fishing cap though

Hi, Thanks all. Been a proud OFNer for a while David. Hope to see you this weekend if possible. Paper bag? See, you'll look much better with a pink, furry hat So crazyhook, where'rya gonna be this weekend?

Certainly appreciate the announcement old buddy You'll be there with my Frampton pics eh? (I've gotta pink furry hat for you buddy.) C'mon Ohio ... you're just jealous of that great fishin hat. http://www.myspace.com/thebrianschramband Just FYI, hat is by Fishin Rocker, Brian Schram. Actually just back from seeing his show in Madison ... he's out east for a while on tour now if anyone gets a chance. Link above offers schedule. Our fearless leader is correct though, as I will be at the Toronto Bass Pro store this coming Sunday. It's Spring Classic time; great events; great folks and some darn good deals. The "The Next Bite" crew, Gary Parsons, son Chase, Keith Kavajecz and I will be doing a tour of many of the stores this weekend starting Friday. We will be at the Toronto store from 4 to 7 pm this coming March 2nd. Be great to see OFNers there! (Be certain to have a pic for you Roy.) Pete

HI All, Thanks for the good words and thoughts here on the product. Safe passage assurred, certainly FYI the combo price is available with both regular and new low profile reels. Really is an exceptional discount they offer with that. Sorry to report still no luck for lefties. And gosh, I hear it a lot ... and every year I report to corporate that quite a few folks looking for lefty reels, but apparently the tooling is pretty expensive, they don't have it existing in larger style reels, and experience in sales with smaller reels hasn't been enough for them to want to spend the tooling dollars. Maybe we just need more lefties out there. Stay warm! Pete

Hi, P3TA folks are pretty scary ... truly no rational thought involved. Hopefully she spends significant efforts explaining to fish that they shouldn't hurt other fish? Pete

Hi Guys, Your fearless leader here notified of this question. Glad he did too, as I haven't been by here in a while to say hi ... seems I get ever busier ... or, maybe I'm just slower or Is it really cold there too? As far the reels go, I like the new, low profile ones for smaller muskie lures and pike rods using 60 to 80 lb. range Spiderwire braid. I still mainly use the large reel for the majority of of muskie applications though. Pike guys really like the reel and some folks just like lower profile. I'm not a palmer (hold rod in front of reel on cork) - so profile itself isn't important. Link to new reel here: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...t=SearchResults With both reels - they can be matched with rod series for a reduced combo price of $149 as below http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...t=SearchResults Both the lure are fairly similar in style and action; lip designs are different and as noted Grandma has thinner body. Pete

Fish til ya drop Dan. Thanks! Pete

Good news that the mail-lady came through for you Whopper. Pete

Thanks guys. Best wishes. Pete

Hey congrats Gerritt I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Please let us know. Ha ha ... Photoz ... well, not sure what to tell you there. I guess I'd need to know your priorities, as we are all different. Does your wife or girlfriend fish ... if so, possibly she'd forgoe a dozen roses for a two year subscription if you promise to share with her. Of course cutting into beer money is a far more serious issue, tee hee. Best wishes all. Pete

Hi All, Just wanted to drop in and say hi. I returned to some emails about the TNB-EA magazines showing up in Canadian parts and wanted to chime in there ... a bit tardy with everything this fall as things have been hectic. I did my first ice-fishing, and a TV show with John Gillespie a couple weeks ago. We did pretty well with a mixed bag of walleye, nice pike ... and a hybrid muskies and little true as well. That was fun; big group of friends and first ice is always good. (OF course we ate quite well too on the ice ... all part of the fun.) Last night, I just returned from a week in Iowa with my dad and brother Steve, hunting deer. Had a great time; killed some deer and scared some as well ... hunting shack life is a good thing ... good for the soul ... no computers or phones. Was a bit cold though, and ever-windy, it seems there. The outhouse early in the morning was a bit unfriendly, but I guess not all news can be good. Otherwise a great trip really. I had a fun open water season, and was blessed to have a good time with some friends ... was able to enjoy a milestone of my dad getting a 54 inch muskie (was reminded as he was telling all the other hunters in IA about it), which I shared with you all here. Anyway, just wanted to drop in and say hi to all of you, wish you a Merry Christmas, great winter and exceptional new year. (Especially you Roy! ... say hi to wife and daughter for me) Pete

Hi all, Glad to hear that the dogsleds have finally started to show As mentioned, it appears OFNER's may be gradually taking over Andrew's article is great, as always ... and as always, some awesome pics to go along with it. You will notice an increase is ice info in general. Appreciate feedback on that. Expect that time of the year has arrived there too. (Hopefully that patting down the mailwoman went OK for you whopper.) Again, appreciate any feedback and love to get more photos from OFNer's ... you walleye and pike anglers too - for certain. Pete

That is an awesome report Bunk!!!! Congrats on great photos, great family ... and that first muskie! Pete

Wow. Glad it all worked out as it did. As mentioned, Ma Nature can be brutal ... is to be respected. Pete

Hey thanks again all! That's an interesting avatar you have there jigger Appreciate it! Pete

That's awesome stuff there. Thanks. Looks like a great time Pete

THanks again, Yeah, trips with dad's are good (Hey Roy, dad ... are you taking me anywhere soon?). Lots of fun always ... of course a biggie at boatside was an added bonus for this trip. Gotta get dad out there bigbuck. I do quite a few hunting and fishing trips with dad every year. Good times and laughs (Cisco: 9 footer available starting last year. Good to hear the rod works well with wire.) Pete

Congrats on that! A great first muskie ... it would appear you set the bar pretty high right away. Congrats again ... Pete

HI, Just in here with a big smile checking posts on the threads here ... appreciate the kind words on thread about my dad's fish and here. smiled until I read this ... possibly, Richard, you may want to explain to me/office (privately), what your issues are. FYI, the subscriptions and newstand do go from the printer. Billing from office. I hope that any problems you may have had (past or present) as a customer of the magazine's have been handled appropriately. I am surprised and disappointed by your post. (It has nothing to do with methods that work for one agreeing with the other.) Thanks for feedback here all ... like to keep abreast of when magazine arrives and thoughts. Constructive criticism is encouraged too; what you'd like to see ... IMHO Richard, yours doesn't fit the bill of constructive criticism. Best, Pete

Hi, To explain a little something here: yes, Roy is my (French-speaking) father. Thanks a ton Joey! Pete