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John don't need luck, he's got skills. Congrats John.

Mike, Great job! Excellent! Thanks for sharing.

NO! They'll be made in the GOOD 'OL U.S.A. by AMERICA workers.

GAT's has 25% OFF on the St Croix Avid rods.

They have a great teacher, that will show them the way.

I won't make any plans to wet wade in that stream.

Some anglers make casts by "loading the rod", when casting. Other casters make "lob" casts---they're using their entire arm, like swinging a sledge hammer, when splitting logs or busting rocks.

St Croix absorbs all the expenses for rod repair and replacement. The "shipping & handling" fees are what the shipper charges---NOT St Croix. UPS, FedX, or the like, don't ship goods for FREE! I've been fishing nearly a 100 different St Croix rods for over 25 years, and have NEVER had a lemon. I've put some rods through some pretty tuff situations---and they never broke, when used properly. Most rods break due to "user abuse or misuse". I'm not implying, that was it in this case. Most anglers experience breakage due to "high-sticking" a rod--- ie, raising the rod to a 11 to 1 o'clock position, while trying to raise the fish out of the water, or break loose from a snag. The rod is over stressed at the bend, and subject to breakage. Expensive rods will break, when subjected to over stressing. Rod designers use a test fixture to "load-test" a rod. They can determine the angle the rod was at, when it broke. I see some anglers bending their rods like into a horseshoe shaped arc---BAD! I cringe when I see this---they just don't know how to use a rod properly. This is typical with most catfishermen, or the like---they're like trying to drag in a tire rim, or pull the drain plug out of the lake or river bottom. Obtain a copy of St Croix or GLoomis "rod user guide"---well illustrated for proper rod use.

My top choice are carbide studded wade shoes--- more slip resistant over felt or lug soles, for better traction. The "carbide" material is very hard, and will crush those critters, when I step on 'em.

Jim, When open water fishing, ie free of weeds or wood, my choice is the 68MXF. A 6-6 to 7ft MHF for fishing heavy cover areas, such as in and around weeds and wood. The MH (Med Heavy) action more suitable to muscle those fish out of heavy cover. The "MX" has a "softer" tip section.

A SMB fishing angler was on the water for his weekly fishing trip. He began his day with an 18" SMB on the first cast and a 17"r on the second. On the third cast he had just caught his first ever SMB over 20" when his cell phone rang. It was a doctor notifying him that his wife had just been in a terrible accident and was in critical condition and in the ICU. The man told the doctor to inform his wife where he was and that he'd be there as soon as possible. As he hung up he realized he was leaving what was shaping up to be his best day ever on the water. He decided to get in a couple of more casts before heading to the hospital. He ended up fishing the rest of the morning, finishing his trip with two SMB like he'd never seen, both over 20". He was jubilant.... Then he remembered his wife. Feeling guilty he dashed to the hospital. He saw the doctor in the corridor and asked about his wife's condition. The doctor glared at him and shouted, "You went ahead and finished your fishing trip didn't you! I hope you're proud of yourself! While you were out for the past six hours enjoying yourself on the water your wife has been languishing in the ICU! It's just as well you went ahead and finished because it will be more than likely the last fishing trip you ever take!" "For the rest of her life she will require 'round the clock care. And you'll be her care giver forever!" The man was feeling so guilty he broke down and sobbed. The doctor then chuckled and said, "I'm Just pulling your leg. She's dead. What'd you catch?

Its been reported, many 4-5lb smallies, with some over 5lbs, have been weighed in at recent SMB tournaments, in the Sturgeon Bay Wisc area. One 5 fish limit, reportedly weighed in at 26lbs!

Lures with treble hooks always seem to be mating, but never reproduce.

Mike, That happened to me--- I attributed that to my pc, "stuttering".

Obsolescene is generally a result of lack of adequate sales.

Mike, The "quad-wing" blades are a favorite, with some avid anglers. Yes, they are great, when a SLOW retrieve is desireable---especially over weeds and wood. Quad wing blades can be obtained from "JannsNetcraft". I've made up some quad wing model buzzers, by changing out the blades--- remove the alum and replace it with the quad wing. Insert and aluminum rivet, into the trailing end of the quad-wing blade, and place a rivet on the wire shaft. Position the rivet heads so as to rub against each other, to obtain a "squeeling" sound (alum on alum). To obtain optimum "squeeling" sound, hold a buzz-bait out your car window while driving, for several minutes. Allow the alum rivet heads to obtain more of a flattened surface, which increases the sqeeling pitch sound. Works for me.

Triple-blade models have almost become obsolete. Presently, I only recall Strike King, offering them. You may find some in "dump bins", in some tackle stores. Let me know if you want some.

#208 and 297 are some HOT colors! Check 'em out.

Great Job! The best time to go fishing, is every chance you get. Don't wait for others---just go. The Fox is a nearby stream, that has a good population of smallies. Beats Workin'

Looks like a "tic", looking to hitch a free ride

Jim J, Great advice! All good points. Several HOT baits, are working right now. If an angler is not catching fish, they don't have a lure in the water, or the fish already ate by the time they got to the water. "upsizing" to larger lures, is good right now, too. It surprising, how many more larger fish are being caught, on bigger baits, right now. Even smaller fish are crushing larger baits. Then the theory of largers baits, can be thrown out, when the fish prefer smaller baits. Go figure. I like the advantages of the Yamamoto's Twin-Tail grubs. They can be fished along the top, sub-surface or crawled along the bottom. They're just like your favorite "hula-grub", expect without that goofy hair-du. (and, they don't have the beads, like in some hair-do's).

>>>boogerman have the clacker?<<< No. The Boogerman design has a built-in & adjustable "clicking clacker" feature, without the added hardware, that catches and holds "weeds" and "grass". The "clacker" style was introduced many many years ago. The "clacker" style features "flapper", that pivots on the verticle portion of the wire. When they were introduced, they caught on well. The craze wore off---now they're back. Can you say "Dancin' Eel"? I've tried both styles buzzbaits. Boogerman® out-fishes, I mean out-catches, the "clacker". Boogerman makes a different "clicking" sound--- like ringing a dinner bell when you call in the farm hands for dinner, or having landscapers come in and do your yard work.

Boogerman® BuzzBaits, make lots of racket. They're one of the most productive buzzbaits, on todays market.

The lure may have a distorted lip or the tie point (loop) is distorted. Some shallow running lures will "rotate", when fished in moving waters--- due to the increased "pressure" on the lip, which causes it to roll. It'll work better in the slower or slack water areas. Tie the line direct to the split ring or use a snap--- NO SWIVEL!

Jamie, >>>(*drum roll)..<<< Do you roll the drum in butter and garlic, before you fry them? ;-) Some Fox River anglers, refer to drum as "silver bass". Yep, that Charlie Bait is a great fishing catching lure. The smallies love the 3-4" size. Great prespawn and fall lure. I haven't had much action from it, during the warmer water periods, in the Fox River. A friend, caught a 22" LMB on a Charlie Bait, about a month ago, while practicing with his new muskie rod and reel outfit. He didn't know huge LMB were in the lake. Now he fishes it a few times a week.