A-Jay

I was 7. A-Jay

WOW ~ ! That's a Looooooooooooooong Cuda. A-Jay

You do not pay her insurance company - make the company you pay your hard earned money to, do their job. Get any and all money from your own company and let your insurance company deal with all the administrative matters. I will not ever speak to any other company other than the one I pay and I refer all matters to them. That's their job. Otherwise, what are you paying them for ? ? ? ? ? Time is money and you spent yours so that if and when this happened, you have already paid for someone else to deal with this in advance. A-Jay

Aside from being just plain painful to have to wait that long; no one can tell us WHY the big delay. Fish are not spawning now. So it make no difference when the ice is out, we're still just sitting here not bass fishing ~ It's foolish. I should just go back to Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . A-Jay

Congrats on the Sweet reel ~ But doesn't that handle need an upgrade ? A-Jay

Congrats on the PB Smallie. Bronzebacks Rule ~ A-Jay

Recently it's been . . . . ~ The Scrounger ~ A-Jay

Happy Birthday Dwight ~ Now get that boat ready and find those beastly Smallies . . . . . . . . . . A-Jay

To the OP - Props to you for posting this up, it's a fantastic topic and one not often written about here. Unfortunately this thread has generated very little interest which is not surprising. It does explain why often times search efforts are complicated unnecessarily. Perhaps a different thread name like Shimano is bogus, might bring more members to check it out. A-Jay

Not even close. A-Jay

^^^^^^^^^^^^ Me too. A-Jay

No way, really - say it isn't so shimmy . . . . A-Jay

This is very sage advice regarding a Float Plan. This site offers a lot of very entertaining information - but this stuff right here can save your live. As an Ex-USCG Search & Rescue human - I spent almost 30 years either on the water conducting the search for lost / overdue boaters or back in the Operations center collecting information and planning the actual search for the units (boats cutters and aircraft). Every trip you make, someone should know the who, what, where, when and how about your trip. This includes the following ; Where you're going - so we know where to look if you don't get home. Who is one the boat - names, ages and physical description - so we know who we are looking for and when to stop searching if victims are located unconscious / unresponsive. When you're coming back. What boat ramp you use and a description of your vehicle and trailer. What marina you use and where you get gas. A description of your vessel including length, color, make, model and type and gas tank capacity. Some supplements info such as if you have food / water on board, if you usually fish at night, if you're familiar with the water you're fishing, if you have warm clothing on board, and if anyone on board has any medical or health issues ( such as running out if medicine) helps too. If you routinely fish the same water, the same way and with the same person or people, you can collect all this info and put it in a folder and leave it with whoever, your wife, husband, brother sister, parent - it doesn't matter, just whoever it is that will be calling me to report you missing. Then, if the case arises, they just grab the info (with the emergency numbers written on the front of the folder) and make the call. Your loved one may not know what info they will need, but the people looking for you will be very happy that you did this in advance. Late boaters, called overdues, are one of the most challenging cases we prosecuted. Often times boaters are located and they ore OK, as the bite was on and they chose to stay out. That's OK at least they're safe. Other times, if no float plan is left, by the time we find out they are missing, several hours even days have past and that really makes matters worse. Cell phones although convenient are often not reliable. I would not bet my life on them. In places where a marine radio is used, that's really the way to go. Insuring that you have the required safety gear (before you actually need it) is a no brainer. PFD's, flares (check the expiration date), fire extinguisher, and a sound producing device (if required) can mean the difference being able to tell the story later and not. This is a good time of year to review all this stuff and to have a plan before you need it, so that when you do, you have a reasonable expectation that those who might be looking for you are provided the absolutely best chance to find you, because we really want to. Stay Safe A-Jay

Well Dwight, you certainly put a hurting on the Bass last week in some pretty intense heat . . So I'd say you're definitely "Fit for Life". And we all know - it's not how you start but how you finish ~ that's the measurement that matter most. A-Jay

As farmer and aceman have pointed out, it's all about your approach when fishing in clear water conditions. You usually must adapt to this in order to put the odds in your favor. Sometimes super fast retrieves can illicit a reaction strike. Wind on the water is definitely an advantage too. Try putting your boat way up shallow so you're not sitting on the bass and fish up hill. Often you can still flip / pitch to fish in visible cover - it's just usually a bit deeper. Good Luck A-Jay

There is none - However a modest donation to "The President of the Scrounga Club" would certainly be appreciated. A-Jay

Depending on how "micro" your guides are, there may not be sufficient space to allow your joining knot to pass smoothly / freely. You will usually hear and feel the know passing through any guides, both on the cast and the retrieve, micro or not. If your reel is not back-lashing and is casting correctly, you should be all set. Good Luck A-Jay

Right - like the Frogomatic 2000 ~ A-Jay

When you're reeling in a fish and there's another one with it - the un-hooked fish is Always Much Bigger. Why can't I hook the big one first and let all the smaller ones follow that one ? "Look - there's a huge fish following it !" A-Jay

Is the skin hard to chew on those ? A-Jay

Possession limit regulations here in MI refer to ones daily bag limit while on the water as far as I know. The DNR here is seriously under staffed and would be hard pressed to be searching peoples homes; and that's not to mention the administrative nightmare involved with attaining the proper documentation to conduct them, ie. search warrants. I'll admin that I do not keep / eat bass, however there are a few species that I do routinely keep to eat. Although I do abide by the legal daily bag limits and most fish are caught and eaten before ever being frozen, I do not keep a mental running inventory of my freezer. A-Jay

I'm familiar with a few of these but the majority of this would put me in traction . . . A-Jay

Check it out ~ I'll say this, the man is a Freak ! A-Jay

I like them. I especially prefer the Oklahoma style blade that is offered on that bait. S/S or not, I do not feel that are super durable though they may hold up a bit better than the bargain brand baits. Unfortunately the pike here usually manage to scramble just about any spinnerbait quite nicely. A-Jay

I thought it was called the "Might Knot" Might Hold ~ Might Knot. A-Jay