lorney

Kritofr, I had African cichlids too. They are interesting fish to have and you are right about the colors. The behaviour of cichlids is cool to watch. I did have some breed. I had a beautiful pair of Frontosa's that spawned a few times but had too many fish in the tank and never moved them to another tank to raise them so they disappeared. had another small tank with kribensis in it that used to spawn all the time in caves that I made for them. They would get all colored up and do their little dance and take turns going in and out of the cave to lay then fertilized. Pretty cool to watch. Mouth brooders are cool too watch too. I think if I was setting up a tank again it would be cichlids. The salt is cool but more expensive and more time consuming. I think I had 5 tanks set up at my parents house in high school and that was too many for them. 60 would have been cool because you could have so much different stuff. How was the humidity in the house?

Yeah that will be nice to see a 400gal up and running. It takes a while to get everything set up and to get the tank to cycle. I fought some algae problems for a while but after running for a while and getting things figured out, it all went away. Had really good encrusting coralline algae all over everything in the tank. When I shut it down I sold my live rock to an aquarium shop for what I paid for it. Price had gone up on rock and the owner of the store said my rock was so covered in encrusting algae he would have no problem selling it for a premium. It is an expensive venture and researching and designing your tank and sump before you get it up and running is important. I had a few friends that started and gave up after months of battling slime algae. A person can get into it for a lot cheaper if you buy a used tank and equipment. There are lots out there if you look for them. I thought about selling mine a few times but then I always think I may set it up again. I probably never will and could free up some garage space if I just got rid of it.

It is 180 gal with a 30 gal sump underneath in the stand. Wish I could set it up again but just don't have a place for it in the new house and my time is limited with two little kids now. It cost a lot to set up and I wouldn't even want to try and calculate the amount of money I spent but it was all good. Gotta spend our money on something right. When I shut it down I was able to sell all the live rock, fish and corals. Gave some of it away but was able to recoup a bit. Do you have an aquarium bcube?

It is quite a bit more expensive to get up and running. Once running it isn't too bad. It depends on what you want to keep in it. A fish only tank will be cheaper as you can get away with less lighting and fewer pumps to move water around. If you want to have corals in the tank there is a little more to it. Here is a picture of mine from when it was running.

Sure does make a guy miss having an aquarium. I had a bunch of different aquariums over a 20 year span of running them. Very peaceful and relaxing to just sit back and watch. The last one I had running was a 180 gal saltwater and took it down to move. We moved and I just don't have a place to set it back up. It has been sitting in the garage for the last few years. I don't have any video of it to share but I sure enjoyed it. Thanks for posting.

One size over shoe size with Simms works perfect for me.

Am I blind or is that info just for hunting licenses. Is there supposed to be an increase to the fishing license too? Never mind I read closer and found it.

I guess it is better than seeing someone with two 40"+ fish laying beside them on the ground while they try to catch there third. It is tough to see that, especially in a year with a late spring when they haven't even had a chance to spawn yet. I don't know why someone would want to eat a big old spawning hen either but I see them being kept all the time.

I have caught them on chirons of different colors, evil weevils, PT nymphs, boatmen. Anything that looks buggy. I have caught them on dries but it is a real crap shoot when they are feeding. Usually can't get close enough in clear lakes to sight fish. When you see them rise for a bug on the surface it is just a guess to figure out where they are heading or will come up next. I have seen which direction they were facing when coming up and casted out ahead of them only to have them turn and come up again in the exact opposite direction. Just gotta throw your dry out there and hope they find it. They are fun and fairly powerful for a small fish.

Lots of lakes still closed until May 7th. Just make sure and check before heading out. Lots of fun on a fly rod though. Make sure you let us know how you made out.

Just reel it onto another reel off of that one. When you get all the backing off just start reeling it on the proper way and your done. Turn your drag on a bit on the reel you spooled off to and you should get spooled back on under nice tension. No need to re-tie any knots or anything.

Good reels. Nicely built with good drags. My dad has a few and has a lot of hours on them. They have held up well. I sent you a PM.

Thanks SD. I will have to tie some up and give it a try.

If tying them as fishable flies what do most use to make the loop instead of gut?

Welcome to the forum. I wont be making up to that seminar because of work but there should be a lot of good info.

Great pics as always. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us.

I use some cold saltwater lines and love them.

Thanks for sharing the pics Jeff. Sorry to hear about all your stuff getting stolen. Nice to see you guys stayed positive after everything that happened and managed to get into some fish. Let me know if you need anything to get you going this spring.

I used Outcast fins for four years and had no issues with them. After hearing all the hype about Force Fins I bought a used pair. I only used them 4 or 5 times last year after I got them and I have to say that I would have been disappointed had I paid full retail. I don't find them as powerful or as easy to control. They do seem easier on the legs after a full day in the tube. I find alot of times I use my fins to turn myself to position a cast to a riser or just to fight the wind from turning the tube. The force fins really have no propulsion when you stroke backwards. Not an issue when moving backwards but I find it more difficult with the fine movements of controlling direction. They also seem softer and less powerful if you really need to dig in and fight the wind or travel across a lake to fish. I will give them another try this year but so far I would say I am just as happy if not happier with my $35 outcast fins. Anyone else have similar experience with the Force fins?

Streamers. I am going to try tying up some poppers this week and see how they turn out. Found some foam marshmellows and I just have to cut them down and try them out. I think these will work good for pike. Perch looking streamers seem to work well even in lakes that have no perch population.

Another

Tied some Pike streamers this winter. Just playing with lots of different materials.

To anyone that has fished down there from the beach would there be any advantage to using a switch rod or a 10' rod?

They are nicely built reels. My brother and dad each have one. Pretty tight tolerences and they both say the drag works excellent. I have not fished them myself and my dad and brothers just got theirs in the fall. Time will tell I guess. For the price I don't think you can go wrong to at least try one and see how it holds up. I talked to the guy and he is getting in the Trout Reel in red and blue also, if you are into that kind of thing. I do have the trout 5/7 sitting in my truck right now but haven't used it. It is one that my brother used a couple times. Not sure where you are located but you could borrow it and try it out sometime if you would like.

Either show please