BillsTheBassMan

They could have told you to piss-off, blaming you for a hole or something or blaming the retailer, but they made a legit offer. I'd see if the tackle shop has a better offer and then I'd decide. Perhaps call WJ and see if you actually need to send your BB and if you need to send a receipt.

I know for certain that a lady in Fort Erie area will eat other people's catches or even fish she finds dead on the shore. Bowfin is her favourite

Yep, it turns out that the Canagaguige Creek in Elmira and Boomer Creek in Linwood are TEAMING with Brookies. Report coming shortly.

Hmmmmm, this really isn't the response that I thought you'd get. I figured they'd say return the waders and we'll replace the waders. I think the company is being relatively reasonable here. Are you still planning on going to the tackle shop where you got them to see what they'll do for you? I can't see how sending away your automatic door opener & blackberry to get another pair of non-waterproof waders is the best deal you can get. I'd go to the tackle shop before deciding what to do. It's in situations like this where tackle shops prove their worth. Regardless, get those waders fixed so we can pound some river next week. Ryan

Just perfect your knots and forget the glue

What a scam! Again, this is a shakedown. You wonder if your old Doctor had a part in coordinating this.

I can tell just by the fish colours that on top of weeds you also have rock and wood structure in that lake.

I keep nothing on local rivers. When I'm lake fishing we'll keep the odd walleye or laker.

That one is kind of like my suggestion, but Mike is putting emphasis on the rod as opposed to the reel. I'd go with the stradic only because it will last you 5-10 years and it will serve you well throughout its existence. You could upgrade the triumph later and still have a TOP quality reel, whereas the premier is just one step up from the triumph.

Hey Mark! When are your pier-salmon days coming to a close? We should do some September trouting or bassing in the near future.

I'm sure it's an amazing reel, let us know how it runs for you (perhaps a product review) after your big trip. As I Said, I'm very happy with my Pflueger, but I did almost lose a day of fishing to it seizing up - it took some riverbank TLC to get it back to right.

By no means am I a reel repairman. When I did talk to someone who is a wizard at repairing reels I said "my stradic gets wet all the time and never locks up" and he said "bull" It's true though, the stradic has NEVER locked up. I had some tightness in it once recently, but it turned out it was some debris that got in between the spool and the actual reel. Regardless, he mentioned something about most reels having a stopper bearing. If this stopper bearing gets water in its compartment it will cause the reel to seize temporarily. I guess the Shimano stopper bearings are better protected than the Pflueger ones (which doesn't really surprise me). Though, let's be clear, I'm not flaming Pflueger here, I am very happy with the performance of my UL reel (when it's dry).

Why not stay close to home (internet-speaking) and send a message to some of guys who contribute to this forum? Send Garry2R's a message and send SteveRowbotham a message too. They're both kind of in your neck of the woods. Post a sweet report after the trip! Good Luck.

Max Drag numbers become more important if you're fishing an ultra-lite reel. I actually consider drag the most important part of an ultra-lite reel. I find that becomes a little less important for a medium powered reel. As far as fishing big reels is concerned, I'm in the dark as I don't fish for Musky/Salmon/Lakers etc very often. My quick comment on pflueger reels. I own two (one is a fly reel). The spinning reel I own by Pflueger is a high-end ultra-lite and I find that it locks up IMMEDIATELY upon getting wet. I guess I've been spoiled by always fishing Stradics, but this has left me with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth as far as Plueger is concerned. Ryan

A great report as always Pete. It really does help having a lady that understands. Mine doesn't complain when I hit the water 4 or 5 times a week. It makes things a lot easier.

I love rods & tackle & other fishing related items, so I'll always spend a lot and be a mini-tackle-hoarder. As I mostly fish soft-plastics for bass, I spend A LOT of money on tackle. Soft plastics don't always last that long and are more prone to being destroyed in storage. I'd say I spend $30/week on tackle on average, with a few BIG sprees here and there. This year I've bought 2 rods & 2 reels (including my first fly rod), so it has been a pricey year indeed. I always try to broaden my horizons a little, so I use a new bait or two every time I go out. That's one of my rules! This way you can find some more staple baits and find confidence using new stuff. It's a great practice that others should consider. Actually, within the next few weeks I'm going to do something I call "Junk Fishing." I'm going to load my vest with all kinds of underused lures and lures I've never used. (I'm talking things like old wood plugs, kwikfish, tadpoles, spinner-minnows, weird soft plastics.) Then I'm going to head out to the rivers and see if I can pick up some SMB or Pike on these outdated/weird lures. I suspect I will. Ryan

Hmmm, With $200 here's exactly what I would get: St Croix Triumph 7' Medium Power - $70 Shimano Stradic 2500 (model that's 4 years old) from Ebay - $150 or less.

Nice report man - looks like a quality day of bass fishing! What kind of ultra-lite are you using? Mine is a 5'6" St. Croix and those first couple bass would be a real riot on the UL. Thanks for sharing - looks like a decent day at what I'm assuming is a relatively urban pond. Ryan

Keeping a fish of that size horizontal is a must as well.

Ah man, That's why I opened this thread, but ya beat me to it. Regardless, that one should be #1 for awhile. I drove over that bridge this weekend and couldn't help but laugh.

Awesome Report & Thanks for Sharing Looks like a great family outing and a quality day of bassing. Your day was probably better than fish #4's. That fella looks to have taken one in the gills. A nice mix of colours on those fish, must be lots of different structure in the area. Cheers, Ryan

That's a fat monster pike - awesome fish. Sure beats the way those little walters scrap.

This one (from a local tackle shop) is 8.3

A lot of guys are looking over their shoulders for their ex-wives/mothers-in-law right now.

I'd imagine record-chasing would be pretty fun. Any kind of fishing where you're mildly disappointed when you catch a 4lb SMB is a good kind of fishing in my books.