Raf

buy two abu 6500s or 7000s

wholly krap. 44.25 x 20, are you sure it wasnt a muskie? here's what a 20+ pounder looks like. i did not include my gut. it was about 38" long. hopefully 38.25 when i catch her this spring. I'm probably a lil over 4'6" sitting down

try plastics.

Whereabouts in Virginia are you?

How quick can you get down to Maryland? Sounds good Doug. I'm back in .ca next week.

congrats, that is a sweet machine.. but, where do the rod holders go? i am sure you'll have a blast in that thing.

One can never have enough Gs, yo!

only if you use a credit card Wayne. You have the option to transfer funds between your bank account and paypal account, and that takes days. Don't understand it either.

i'm a pilot

well that gets the juices flowing. i echo the above poster, let's see the 20lber!

what an adventure Ray!

you should do ok. we went out to glen echo last winter at first ice.. caught several walleye, and the herring kept us busy non-stop. when we went, it was literally first ice, and the did not set up their bungalow very far from shore. i suspect you'll be a little further out.

I'm with Terry & Fang.. There's no way you'll need a 47-size daiwa LC - a 27 would do. What I use for spring lakers is a 8.5' steelhead spinning rod rod, along with a 2500 size daiwa spinning reel and CHURCH boards, they are a little smaller than the offshores. I caught a 25lb laker on this setup last spring and probably over 75 up to 8-10lbs over the last two years. Those little 2-5lb eyes will be no problem and with the smaller board it is easier to detect strikes and you can use lighter gear. If you'd rather go with a LC reel then tough to go wrong with the Sealines although the Okuma convector in the smallest size (27??) is quite a bit cheaper and will do the job quite well. I use one of those for dipseys.

glad you werent affect negatively. i am hoping to get through there friday too.

Very sorry to hear, hope for the best.

I always use a swivel (but not a snap) when vertical jigging. does't matter the lure, they all will twist your line. tie the swivel to the mainline then to a leader material then to your lure either directly or with a small snap.

welcome to the site! check your PM.

It's a new day. I know we're on the bay.. but where? Pretty Christening the boat. Think she's a bit heavy? Bye! Best fisherman evah!

the kid's a phenomenal player. the more i see him, the more i like him. he really is the complete package.

You'll be amazed at the sound, wake, commotion on the water they make. A beleiver has to be the most versatile muskie bait out there and yet, most people just troll them. I've tried using the 13" giant jointed ones on the surface to keep those pesky bass away - it's worked, but I've yet to have a ski hit one.

a survival suit will keep you afloat.. it will delay but not prevent hypothermia.

wear a diaper.

Lew's not kidding

Like has been said, the jackpot sure shows the fish but the hooking % is horrible. I think a part of it is how light the jackpot is. Clones like the weagle are a much heavier bait and MAY offer an improvement in terms of hooking %. I prefer to use the prop-style straight running topwaters because I find the hooking % is much better. I use them a lot and catch lots of fish on the 'em. Also, don't forget that big ole 10" jntd beleiver, on the shallow eye, cranked reel slow on the surface. Makes a ton of racket on the surface and snakes through the water a bit like a walk-the-dog. If a fish so much as looks at one, they're hooked.

Harrisburg, PA. I was not impressed. Looks like there's one in Hanover, MD which is just outside of Baltimore too.. I'll have to check it out.