congrats jake! those are some nice fish and those were some sweet prizes. you're right, persistence does pay off. so does listening to people like paul who have more knowledge and experience than we do in such matters. i, unfortunately have yet to apply anything i have learned yet this year. had back surg. the week before opener and doc said no casting big lures (problem), no catching big fish (not a problem ), and no bumpy boat rides for quite a while. oh well. soon i hope. congrats again and good luck the rest of the year.