Today was hotter than it has been for most of the summer. Go figure huh? <BR>Well the first big piece of news is that today, with their usual lack of fanfare or notice, the DFG planted the first load of trout for the season at the White Oak Ramp. I headed over there straight away at around 5pm and threw the AC minnow on 'em. The trout were jumping here and there but the bass weren't dialed into them yet and I didn't have any bites or see any boils. At 5:45 I cruised back to the back of the lake by the dam to persue my original game plan which was to fish the swimbait back there since I haven't been back there in a while and the fish haven't had a chance to see the swimbait yet (unless someone else has shown it to them and I doubt it!). It took about 20 minutes for me to find a biter but I hooked up a nice fish which made some awesome jumps before I lost it when the line broke. It was only a 3 pound or so fish but I think I had a nick in the line because I felt it go plink right at the boat. First fish I've broke off this year if you can believe it! I tied on another 5" fish trap and proceeded down the bank. A few casts later I flip my my Crapsair er Corsair out of gear and it stays that way and won't engage. Cracked it open and put it back together and it worked for one cast before breaking again. What a joke these reels are such garbage. So I have my 2 curados but one has 25lb and the other 10lb not ideal for the swimbait. I stuck the 10lb reel on my 7'10" loomis and kept fishing. Next fish I hook and I'm about to bounce it when the reel starts to fall out of the reel seat! Unbelievable, my reelseet had been giving me problems on this rod and it wasn't all the way locked down even though it had felt like it. I grabbed the reel and lost the fish at the boat a 2 pounder. Oh well, I thought I'll get some more. Well I got one a few casts later about 2 pounds, had two nice fish follow it up, moved over to the swimming pool cove and caught another one about 1.5 pounds. Two fish in the boat, two fish lost at the boat due to equipment failure. Pretty lame, but at least the fish were biting. I think I'll concoct a nice letter to shimano and send the back the remains of my corsair 200 and 300. I've had the 300 replaced before and I almost don't want another one. Maybe I'll sell them on ebay or something =). New in box right ...