Thanks everyone!

Wayne....finding a mentor is WONDERFUL! It truly helps a ton! I will find one soon but I am hesitant, as mentioned earlier, to ask for help. I simply do not want to impose on folks.

After re reading the FAOL FAQ 101 on here yet ANOTHER TIME there are things I simply do not know. I will be honest (probably not the first to admit this ) but I only comprehend the LINE weight and the rod!....I have that down pat now (unless I chase a rabbit and see that there are some folks that "mix" some lines)......

I have to go back to my bass fishing days.......I started in a club in Florida and learned a ton. When I actually started fishing tournaments (club ones at first) I realized I had a LOT to learn. After fishing with the "regulars" for a year or so in all conditions, I figured out SOME folks only fish with what they "like". Other folks tried everything on just about every cast/spot. I was totally confused. BUT after doing this for a few months I picked up on certain things that made "sense" to ME. Bass and trout IMO are different "animals".....the techniques are different but some things are the same. Cover, changes in habitat, etc seemed to work for me in my attempt at trout (I am a blasphemer here when I admit to catching browns, cuts, even rainbow on Berkley PowerBait!) But I was fishing for a different reason back then.

Now I am older, wiser, still a kid when it comes to fishing, and look at fishing from a different angle. A lot of the "thrill" of fishing for me is in the preparation...the "build up" when going to a stretch of water with friends (or alone) makes me happy!

I haven't even grasped the Nymph vs Dry vs Streamer thing yet.....but as anything involved with fishing I will learn and understand! I can relate a Bass Fishing analysis from one of my first outings for a tournament. I was always "good" at plastic worms.....However we had a launch at daylight and a new to me boat partner started fishing top water baits. WHAT? I never knew they even existed..... He snagged two bass around a flat of hydrilla and I was left empty. As a young 20 something I was befuddled......I never fished in the dawn hours for bass. I took that knowledge and packed it away.

For my next outing, I tossed some topwaters on a couple of my rigs and lo and behold I caught my FIRST TOPWATER BASS!!!! The thrill of seeing it inhale my lure was something that I will NEVER forget.

I think that trout fishing will be the same. At least I hope so!

Oldster.....I am happy to have made your day! I am not certain why I did so but I am glad I did. Can you explain?

Mike

PS..... If I come across here in a forum as being "strange" or "mad" or "weird" I truly don't mean to do so.....I don't get online a bunch and I am not a kid so some of the things said here might be new to me. I apologize for that but I will learn.