HOPPY4

borntofish, No, Braide is not the All Knowing and End of MONO! Saying this I use Braid on 98% of my reels and will continue to do so. When Float fishing, Braid and its swimming qualities has proven to be a PAIN! I use Power Pro and it is one the BEST choice for line that I have made. When I am float fishing, I need to change to Mono as it will sink. From what I understand, you are able to purchase sinking braide, but I have not made this choice. When all is said and done, it is Braide for all situations other than floats in still water. JMHO!! HOPPY4

Newt, Great photos and I am Happy for you both! We are getting somewhat situated and the idea of fishing is in the background at this point. By the way, Happy Thanksgiving and I hope that you are able to get out during the weekend. We are driving down to Tallahassee, FL tomorrow and will return on Sunday. I do have one BIG issue to deal with as my shipment did not all arrive as sent. One of the missing boxes contained 25 of my reels and that is a Hard pill to swollow! I will PM you with more details as I am on the home cpu when we return. Again Great photos and know that we will be hooking up as it warms up!!!!! HOPPY4

Ricey, Way to Gooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!! Great Fish! HOPPY4

I have written in the past, but state for the record that a front drag reel for me is the reel of choice when after LARGER fish. When Carp fishing, I do not have a problem with either. I have the Shimano 10,000 for carp fishing and the 6500 U.S. Baitrunner for most of my Catfishing. I also use other reels with front drag and feel that they are Equally qualified when in most fishing situations. JMHO!!!!!!!!! HOPPY4

Hello to ALL! James H. Hopkins Wuerzburg, Germany All types of Fishing Largest Fish= Wels Go as Often as I can

muttley, Great Fish!!!!!!!!! HOPPY4

bensrus, The offer to have present to us what you feel would be nice for you is a Good One! I ask that you take a look at the Okuma line of Baitcaster reels as part of that group. The CV-45L, Catalina and Titus are well worth the money spent for them. The Titus will be much more higher priced than the other two, but worth a look. The other models that are available from this firm are robust as well, but for the depth and power that you may need for wreck fishing, I suggest one of the Higher range. JMHO!!!!!! HOPPY4

This is a picture of our Cod caught in Norway on 19 june 2006. On the left is a 14kilo, middle is a 8kilo and on the right is a 13kilo fish. We had fish caught by others up to 24kilos. It was a Great week of fishing!!!!!!!!! HOPPY4 I have tried to insert the photos numerous times, but it continues to fail. F:\Documents and Settings\HopkinsJH\My Documents\Picture 060.jpg

Budgie & Others, I stated in my initial reply and have said before, On the shore or in the boat, We are all the same when we have the bait in the water. WE are Fishing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am Proud to be a Fisherman and Happily share this with as many people as I can. It is a Gift that is well worth passing on and a Responsibility for us all to PROTECT! JMHO! HOPPY4 PS: I have Not been Offended by comments by any of you. The fact that we are able to discuss this in an Open Forum is a Tribute to us as a Group. We have tranversed the Barriers that previouisly existed!!!!!!!! We are much better off than most as we have a link to NATURE!

Gentlemen and Fellow fishing associates, I am a black man and do Enjoy with a passion that would rival most my fishing. The Love of Fishing is not restricted to any Color, Race or Financial status. I am an American and we have fished for as many years as our nation has existed. I have not had the priviledge to fish in your country, but would love to. Every fisherman or woman is the same once we are on the shore or boat. It is indeed unfortunate that there are so few black anglers in England. JMHO! HOPPY4

Phill, I feel you pain, but patience will work. I was out on Friday afternoon and caught 6 Carp from 4-8lb. and lost 4 others. I returned on Saturday morning and caught 7 more Carp and one Bream . The fact that I lost 4 more fish before I departed made me happy non-the less. The baiting that I had been doing paided off. Keep on going to your special place and Enjoy the Fishing!!!! HOPPY4

Tony, Great FISH!!! I too like Budgie have never caught one!!!!!! Here is Wishing you Many MONRE! HOPPY4

Great Fish! I wish you many more! HOPPY4

Tench, Although the terms are different in respect to region the meaning is suspended line under the float. Leader or Hooklength are the same for some and I am one to call it so. At any rate, the fish refused to bite my offer and I used the same bait as those around me. It just didn't make sense. Thanks for the feedback as it may get others thinking as well. HOPPY4

The Braid was the main line and I used a mono leader of 45 inches. The fish were not having any of it!!! I listend to each of these guys and it just got OLD. I was frustrated and wondered if they actually had a point. The floats used were either a slinder corse version with a weighted bottom or a clear spirele (sp?) type. I was was just SOL as they say and nothing made a difference. I will try both on Saturday and will post the results. Thank for the replies and Good Fishing to you ALL. HOPPY4

Hello All, I am a Power Pro user and Stand by IT! I do have one problem with it when Float Fishing! I was out this past week and found that the use of it hindered my presentation for Trout. I was along side others that used the same bait and the presentation was also the same. To my dismay, I could not buy a bite! The other fisherman stated that they felt that my Braided Line was the issue. Have any of you been faced with this issue and found that the bites were fewer when using floats with braided line? I had previously found that the floating line would be pushed by wind and moving water when at short distances. It was not an issue with bites at that time , I thought. Now that I have thought it over, I am seriously looking at making a change for at least one rod that will be used for these situations. What are your thoughts? HOPPY4

Great fish! We are able to start the Raub Fish (Preditor Fish) season on 1 May and I am looking forward to it. As it is a German Holiday as well, the fiisherman and women will be out in droves. I on the otherhand will be working. I will not get the chance until Saturday unless I can slip away one afternoon. Again, I say Great Fish and I Wish for you the oppertunity to catch many more. HOPPY4

Newt, I could have sworn that I replied to this post over the weekend, but it is not here. At any rate, I think that this idea is a good one! I will spend a good deal of time fishing alone and know that this will help to protect my trailer and most of all my truck once I return. Having to load and unload the gear is enough, but the trailer should not be as much of a hassel with this item. Thanks for posting the info. HOPPY4

Vidar6, Fantastic fish! I Wish you many more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOPPY4

Newt, Great Report! That can save more than time when you are alone. The damage that can take place on both the trailer and the truck or car that is pulling it can be exspensive to repair!!! Again, it is something that I will invest in once I return. HOPPY4

Ken L, I think that if you use one of the plastic shad or other plastis baits that the size of the jighead will make the difference. If the bait is to be fished slower and you have a lighter jighead, you will be more mid-water than if you have a heavier one. This is simple physics, but varied weights of the jig can make a difference. This also brings up another issue! How far are you casting anyway? Most of my cast are 40yd. and the water depth is manily 6-15 ft. in the waters that I am fishing. The weight of my jigheads are 20, 40, 60, 80 & 120 gr. for the plastic lures that I am casting. When we were fishing the northern Germany waters of the Ostsee, we were using the 60 & 80 jigheads in water to 30ft. in depth. They were still almost too Heavy for this depth. The Storm premade lures are Very Good, but I do not use them for all lure applications. I seldom use hard baits or spoons, but have a selection that I try from time to time. I have friends that sware by them and fish as well. The availability of Larger lures is not the problem, but the colors that you want may be. Take a look here: https://www.gerlinger.de/gruppe.php?current...ller=Balzeratch Open the Shad sub-menus and go through them. The sizes are very reasonable although the prices are in Euro. I hope that this can help!!! HOPPY4

Jan O, That will not be happening with me at least! Unless I am much further North by you or in the Northern portion of the Great Lakes region. I am not one to test the Hypo-Thermia principle. The ice does not get thick enough here for me. I have heard of others doing it, but I will PASS. This winter has been something of a Freak of Natures to say the least. This has been the Coldest winter in 30 years and the News has shown the problems that it has created. I will be out again this weekend if possible, but after the "Freed Fish" as they call them!! 1 Small Carp on last Saturday morning of 5lb. and I will try to improve this weekend. I do hope that your Luck will continue to improve throughout the year. HOPPY4

Jan O, Great Fishing!!! HOPPY4

Russell Fitzpatrick, Great Fish!!!!! Hope to see more of the same from others as well! HOPPY4

Anderoo, I too have both types and feel that either will perform well. The possibility of getting the two or three picese stuck together is in my opinion greater with the spiget. The use of graphite or some form of lubricant must be employed to prevent this problem. Flat spots can adnwill occure when the blank is not exactly formed and cut to fit during the assembly process. As Brian Carragher stated, the price does not always guarantee a Great Rod, but the feel in your hands will tell you the truth! JMHO!!!! HOPPY4