J Francho

I have both the Avid AVS68MXF and the shorter AVS63MLXF. I prefer the latter, with the CI4 2500 for most finesse work.

Read the key at the bottom of the forum. Very Hot Topic

Head for a windward shoreline.

I fished from a 16' Alumacraft semi-V from a young age until I was around 18. great way to learn the ropes, makes you really fish a spot thoroughly, and learn how wind and current move the boat. If I were to do it all again today, I'd get a sit on top fishing kayak. About the same price, easily transported, quieter, and more rigging options.

Yep, not my original idea, but it works.

Nice story, one issue.... ANY fish lost that you see away from the boat are 4 lb. Unseen fish are 3 lb., unless it pulls really hard, then its a northern pike/catfish/snagged carp and is at least 6 lbs. In a tournament, its dink. Fish lost at the boat, by default are "6.5 lbs., or maybe bigger, since you didn't get it on a scale" ;D

I think its overkill. you don't know enough or can appreciate the advantages of a CI4 yet. Get a Sahara, spend some coin on a good rod, and the rest on baits.

Must have? A few spinnerbaits, a spook bait, some cranks of various depths, and a hollow body frog. Don't worry about color. White, or white and chartreuse for spinners, something light for the spook, dark belly on the frog, and minnow patterns for the cranks.

If I thought it would be appropriate to give a kid a Curado, I would. Not too many kids need that kind of handout. I will hand out lures to kids on the shoreline fishing, and show them how to rig it. It sounds like you need to think about what a charity really is. Not now, you're young, and I understand all the stuff you have on your plate. For later.

Actually, they aren't a bad bait for brown trout when they stage shallow for the spawning run. Its not really a secret to keep from you, but from other locals. If someone is fishing with me, or needs help filling the well for another trail, my mouth gets bigger. But not on the web. Besides, even if I told you the bait, you'd have to know where and how to use it. Cranks aren't always as simple as chuck and crank. Back to the topic.... Sea to Summit Big River Dry Sack in 3L size, perfect for wallet, smokes, cell phone, keys, etc.

Here's a quick article I wrote up for the club on Ron's weird fish: I did a little research on "meanmouth bass." My current understanding of what a meanmouth is, a cross between a Kentucky spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus) and a small mouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu). These are naturally occurring crosses that occur especially where the spotted bass is a contaminant species, from natural means or otherwise. One interesting tidbit is the bit about them not being allowed in tournaments. This link explains that it was disallowed due to not qualifying for both size limits for each species. It was a keeper smallmouth, but not a keeper spot, not that it wasn't a "true bass." http://www.catfish1.com/forums/f342/meanmouth-bass-16061.html I did find some hearsay information about researchers crossing smallmouth bass with largemouth bass (Micropterus salmonoides) over 20 years ago, but details are sketchy. There were reports of these fish attacking dogs and humans, and stocks were destroyed. DEC confirms that no largemouth x smallmouth have ever been developed here or released into NY waters, including Oneida Lake. So what the hell is Ron's weird bass? Its not a modern meanmouth, since the spotted bass' natural range only goes as far north as Virginia, which was my original argument. Could it be a naturally occurring hybrid? Maybe, but most people that I talked, and have fished the spawn will tell you that smallmouth and largemouth have a definite spawn site preference that don't really overlap, and the timing for each species' spawn is different. I would argue that last point, since given not so ideal conditions, bass will fulfill the urge to spawn, and I see this all over the bays off Lake Ontario. Smallmouth beds and largemouth beds right next to each other. These two fish were locked on beds on either side of a dock, last year: http://plan-b.smugmug.com/Travel/Port-Bay-w-Burnie/20090522-PortBay-04/544979829_AqgFS-XL.jpg http://plan-b.smugmug.com/Travel/Port-Bay-w-Burnie/20090522-PortBay-01/543369716_wTEhM-XL-1.jpg I wouldn't call Ron's bass a meanmouth, since conventional naming has that reserved for spot x smallie hybrids, but just maybe it is a LMB X SMB. I have a book from college that has identification keys for most of the species of fish in New York state. Below is the full resolution picture of Ron's fish. I'll have to check on what parameters need to collected to complete the key, and whether it can even be completed using the image file, but we might be able to get a few details that point one way or another, or toward both. http://plan-b.smugmug.com/Flower-City-Sportsman/FCS-Oneida-Lake-7252010/13091304_H3WnP#948839603_G7ZJa-O-LB The only observation I made was that the upper maxillary was indeed past the eye when the mouth was in the closed position, hence my immediate largemouth identification. But, I'm willing to dig further. Nothing really important, but interesting, if you are interested. And Brutus, rock bass are Centrarchids in good standing. Centrarchidae, or the freshwater Sunfish family includes pumpkin seeds, blue gills, all species of black bass, crappie, and pygmy sunfish: http://www.fishbase.org/identification/specieslist.cfm?famcode=302&areacode=&spines=&fins= A really cool link that lumps all species of freshwater fish in New York State: http://pond.dnr.cornell.edu/nyfish/fish.html Another cool site for identifying fish: http://www.wiscfish.org/fishid/frames.aspx See you guys Friday AM for Black Lake!!!! From Jim: "Toughest day on this lake that I can remember!"

Unless you have alewife, it won't help you.

No way. :-X They don't work in your waters anyway.

Chances are, you already own a few.

The fish looks like a catfish of some sort. The snake looks like a Colubrid of some sort, probably a corn snake, since their patterning is highly variable. Its not a copperhead, that's for sure, head shape is all wrong for a pit viper.

I contacted Jim Dolan, National Director of Heroes on the Water, and sent the reel to him. HOW is a charity I have been working with for the past year. Since I had no use for the reel I won in a contest, and it literally cost me nothing, it was an easy decision.

I would have said remove the hook, if you are catch and release. For the livewell, leave it until after the weigh in.

What the OP describes sounds more like what happens with a pike biting off mono or fluoro, not braid. Could be a pike, but I'd be suspicious of the knot. Here's a test, tie your knot to a hook, set your drag properly, and loop the hook around an immobile object. Give it a test hookset. Report back.

Depends on the situations, but I can assure you that anchors, drift socks, and drag chains are all useful tools, in the right circumstances. Most guys that say no to anchoring usually fish in current, and nothing else. High current + anchor can = trouble, though even that can be done. You'll want a 1.5 to 3.5 lb. grappling style anchor for that boat. You'll want to somehow attach it to the bow, running a loop back to an attachment point close to you. Use a foam float or old marker bour at the end of the line. This way, you can unhook from the anchor quickly, and the float will mark your anchor for easy retrieval. It beats cutting the line, and losing the anchor in an emergency situation.

here we go....grab a cream soda and a bag of popcorn.

Looks like I'm going to buy a mints worth of a crankbait that shall not be named, and a new propane lantern, since my Coleman exploded this weekend, LOL. Man, those things put on a sick show when they fail.

A landfill, eventually.

Doesn't count. Subtract $500 from your claimed expenditures, and 5 points from your manhood scale! I bought one of these tonight.

Walking the dog "upwards" is a key technique for kayak fishing that I teach in my class. It makes no difference how you make it walk, just that it walks. Just be sure the fish has the bait before sweep setting.

Sometimes losing a dog is worse than losing family. Sorry for your loss. I resisted getting a dog for this very reason, the past three were gut wrenching. Gave the wife the go ahead for a Boston puppy. Good luck to Indy, and RIP Ava.