Hawk, you definitely had a better Sunday than we did as we spent most of the day giving Bob fishing lessons and retrieving Mike, who fell out twice in his urge to bite boatside fish. (Board: 'Mike' is a dog, and not one of my extra peculiar fishing friends.) My highlight of that day was Slick going to slip the anchor and handing me his rod after his fly had swung out. I had my rod in the left hand and his in the right when BANG! I got a 'take down' on the right. Slick goes 'Gimme back my rod!' I said '#&^% you, Jack! I hooked it and I'll play it.' About a 32" chrome hen. Helluva fight. Slick was ranting and Fraker was laughing his nodules off.

I quoted $230 for the Sustain because that's what Cabela's quotes (p. 17 Spring 2000 Master Catalog). When I got some heat from RT re amounts of money spent on fishing, then I reverted to what I pay which varies according to the S$ and Yen exchange rates and the Japanese economy. But in general $135 is about right (I actually paid $125 but that was last year). This is a gray market 'dumping rate' that in the US would result in a lawsuit. In Asia it's one of the very few perks you get for living in a freshwater fishing desert. (By the way, the bargains are limited to Shimano and Daiwa reels and supply can be spotty.)

PS Hawk, you are excluded from the discussion of whether equipment can make you a better fisherman. I saw Chuck and you flicking with machine gun precision and realized that you guys had reduced your 'dead water drifting' to virtually nil as you whipped the fly back into the slot till you hooked up. I doubt one Board member in 20 can do that. (And as I recall you didn't have a K-Mark rod in your hand, either.)