Dave Bailey

A lot of them seem to like the taste of your left thumb. Ever think of using it as bait?

Too many people think it's snobbish to use Latin binomials, but it's often the only way to communicate properly. Good round-up!

The taste. Okay, I'll go now...

Want some lessons? Thanks folks, I'm here all week, don't forget to tip your waitress! Oh man, that's like experimenting with heroin, once you start you'll be addicted for life. Topwater smashes are the most exciting thing you'll get in fishing. I can recommend Chug Bugs, always worked for me.

What? Do you mean to say that many fishing shows are long drawn out commercials?! Say it ain't so!

I doubt it too, but I'll look sexier with shiny equipment. Okay, that didn't come out right...

It's all in the wrist.

If it does I'm confident I can overcome it.

I think I've used up all my luck, time to try working on skill, never used it before.

After overworking my poor old Shimano combo for years I finally broke down and hauled out the credit card. Dropped in to Tightline around the corner and they had some show specials left over from last weekend, grabbed the Pflueger President package for $100, regular $130. Worth it? Don't know, but it can't make me a worse fisherman than I am now!

I would suggest a decent inflatable, Sevylor products come to mind. I don't have any experience with them but I'm certain someone will chime in.

Oh I've got a number of those, just haven't got around to using them yet. But I've made a sort of pledge that this year I'll try for a few of the salmonidae, so maybe they'll get rigged. I'm of two minds when I see stuff like this. Part of me says that it's too precious to risk breaking, but another part says that it was meant to be used, and therefore should be. If it breaks, it dies an honourable death. And really, what is the difference between one that's on display that works and one that's on display and doesn't work? If it isn't working, it doesn't matter, it's only good for display! I would have a professional take a look at it and evaluate it for its current estimated durablity, availability of parts, etc., and if all looks good, put it into action. If not, get it mounted on a nice background, with some pics of your Dad around it. Preferably pics of him using it while he's fishing!

Got a Google map location? I've taken a few virtual drives around the area but I can't seem to find anything that rings a bell, but after all this time that's hardly surprising. I seem to recall it as being quite shallow, tons of small rocks, maybe 30' wide (but that's really stretching the memory), and very overgrown with trees at the edges, I think we had to wade rather than walk a non-existent shoreline. I believe it went under the road at about a right angle, but again, it's been a long time. I should call him up and see if he remembers any more than I do. He probably does, I've got a good memory but it's short.

Grizzly bears catching salmon

Dad showed me a way, over 40 years ago now. Somewhere along the highway near Shining Tree, if I recall correctly, he knew of a shallow river that held rainbows. We turned over rocks to get small worms, and put them on a hook attached to a small double-bladed spinner. With just simple tackle we waded in and just kept hooking them, not big ones but a nice enough size for the 'shore lunch' my mother cooked up in the trailer. Man, wish I could do that again.

No question of that. There's no possible way it could be the equipment, as it happens no matter if I use my wife's rod, or either of the kid's ones, and their's are cheaper than mine. I do tend to 'baby' my wrist a bit due to an occasional arthritic twinge, but I can't believe that's the only reason. I'm leaning toward a structural problem in the wrist and/or elbow. No two people are exactly the same physiologically, I may just not be built right for handling a fishing rod.

I might have set a record, this reply of mine makes it 82 posts in the thread in about 26 hours.

Thanks for the offer, but I haven't picked up my 2012 license yet. I was out yesterday for the license free weekend, snarled in 3 casts, which probably led to my acerbic demeanor during some of this thread. And I'm not going to bother trying to learn to walk the dog anyway, I'm a firm believer in the old saying "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again, if it still doesn't work then give up, there's no sense being a damned fool about it!"

If you also think I'm having a joke, you're wrong.

It strats with a lot and still happens after it's been shortened through continuous backlashes followed by shortening. I use all sorts of lures on the same rods and reels, from little Chug Bugs to heavy spoons. As I've said repeatedly, it's happened after all respoolings, I can't believe that every single respooling has been done the same wrong way. Possibly, but again, every combo I've used has been a bad one? No, as I said before, my drag is always tightened fully. Look folks, the only constant in all this is me. It obviously has nothing to do with the rod, the reel, the line, the lure, or the swivels. I'm willing to just let it go and live with it. There isn't a suggestion in this entire thread that hasn't been tried before, so there's nothing more that can be done.

Never broken an arm, 2 root canals.

Okay mods, lock this one up before I get even more frustrated. It's obviously something wrong with the mechanics of my arm, and I'm not about to get clinical investigations and surgery just to catch a fish. Thanks to everyone who tried, but it's a lost cause.

Happens on any reel I use.

Every time it's been respooled? I've tried it all 4 ways, including on its edge with a pencil through it, and loaded it off the top and off the bottom. Various tackle shops have spooled line, but it still winds up fouling.

Nope, dead serious, I just couldn't resist posting that picture. And I know now that I will never try a baitcaster reel, if spinning reels give me grief there's no point in making a bad situation worse.