M,


Don't take the blasting personally. I went back to see what I wrote on the gamma posting. I should have been more diplomatic. You were the 100th guy to tell me about a huge fish they caught on a certain brand of line as evidence to how good their line was. With each person, my response's became more and more terse. You just happened to be the last guy in line.

I was serious about anglers not giving themselves enough credit for understanding the limits of their gear, and pushing the envelope to land trophies. Those were nice fish, but the only real evidence they provide is proof you know how to fish.

Here's the deal, using something different adds a bit of anticipation to a fishing trip. Whether it's side drifting with a new rod, slipping a pink worm on the 510 hook as an experiment, or trialing out a new line. It's part of the fun, at least for me.

Same with hunting, it's a bit more fun if I'm glassing the ridge line with a new pair of Steiner's, or far off trail out in the Sawtooth wilderness with an expensive new pair of Meindl boots . It's partially an aesthetics thing, it's also about appreciating all the work some poor bastard had to do; about the countless hours of engineering that went into the gold ring Leupold scope on my rifle.

And congrats again on some very nice deer.