Fishing Rhino

Good to have you aboard.

Howdy. Good to have you on board.

'bout time man. You're gonna love Pickwick if it's anything like it was three years ago.

Huey, Louie, and Dewey are Donald's nephews. They always refer to him as Unca Donald. That's not conclusive since many children think their mother's "boyfriends" are uncles. I was always a bit suspicious about daisy. But the ultra wealthy Scrooge is also referred to as Uncle Scrooge. Methinks there may be some incestuous relationships in Toonville. If these things cross my mind because I'm a dirty old man, and my conclusion is baseless, then Huey, Louie, and Dewey must be the offspring of Donald's brother or sister. We never see them. But if they passed, they could not appear. It seems the only "pure" couple in this cartoon world is Mickey and Minnie, and I'm not too sure about them. And Grampa, Bugs Bunny has never been the same since he missed that left turn at Albuquerque.

Welcome aboard neighbor.

I'm not even thinking about it. OK, I'm thinking about it, but I see nothing in the ten day forecast that provides a glimmer of hope. The way the weather is around here, I may not get on the water until I get to Pickwick for the road trip. I'd at least like to get on the water, and get the outboard fired up. It was winterized in December, so I'd like to run it some before leaving this frozen wasteland.

I'm not crazy about that seat in my avatar. It is held in place by Velcro straps. The seats in my other canoe are more sturdy, more comfortable, and securely fastened. The seats, bought at BPS are mounted onto a piece of plywood with a swivel sandwiched between. There is no comparison. Being able to freely swivel is great. I use ratchet straps to secure the seat assembly to the plastic seats of the canoe. It is a solid connection, unlike the Velcro straps.

Field and Stream from Dick's Sporting Goods when it's on sale for 75 bucks. Bought a set in 2008 and it's still going strong. My only gripe is that it isn't a bib overalls style on the pants. They tend to creep down when you sit, and your butt will get wet. Suspenders would help to prevent that. They are comfortable, dry, and lightweight. Get 'em oversize and wear extra layers in cool/cold weather. They are comfortable on hot days. The legs are zippered at the bottom, so you can put 'em on or take 'em off even if you are wearing hip boots. Zipper plus snaps on the front, and elastic cuffs on the sleeves. In the photo below, I am wearing my pfd beneath the jacket. Don't have the snaps fastened on the jacket.

Looks like all were having a great time. Best of luck with her, and may you enjoy many years of catching bass from her.

The wheels you see in the canoe are for the carrier. The bungees, fore and aft, secure the rods in place when the canoe is being transported in the back of my truck.

I can understand the scent factor on the return trip to the spawning grounds. But how do they know which paths to take when they make their first journey into the ocean. Herring, alewives, much the same. They are spawned, and then spend time in the waters where they were spawned, until they reach a certain point in their development, and they "know" somehow that it is time to leave the freshwater and head for the ocean. And not only the ocean in general but to specific areas where they can develop to maturity, and make the return journey to the spawning grounds.

When it comes to survival, I believe that most survival reactions are hard wired into their systems when they are hatched, not learned. Consider salmon, they did not "learn" the pathways to the sea where they mature, then return to the same waters where they were spawned. Their "navigation" systems were already programmed. None of their year class had ever made the journey, yet they are "wired" to not only follow their routes, but also when to start migrating, and then when to return to their hatching place. Can fish develop a "conditioned response". Yes, they can. A friend has a small manmade pond in his back yard. He has koi, bluegills and small turtles in the pond. He feeds them a commercial kibble. He has a jar with the food on the dock. When he thumps the jar on a piling, within seconds the fish and the turtles head to the dock to be fed. But these, like tides, are regular, timed, repeating, not random occurrences. My guess, and I'll admit it is just that, is that fish fleeing from the moving shadow of a wading Heron, or a flying Osprey are programmed to respond to that threat when they hatch. Those fish whose programming is not wired properly will be easy picking for the Heron and/or the Osprey. It's part of the process of natural selection, survival of the fittest, etc. The "defective" tend to be culled from the gene pool first, reducing the chance that they will pass on the defect to their progeny.

39 days 'til I'm on my way.

Strange. I didn't see any hate in any of the prior posts. Maybe you could quote from the posts that express hatred. Really, I find it humorous coming from someone who with one broad brush labels everyone else as ridiculous.

If you look at my avatar, there is nothing that interferes with my casting. there is nothing that sticks up other than me. The tips of the rods in the holder are all beneath the small deck. If my extra rods were stowed in the vertical position, they could pose a problem. I'm confident that it would not take long to learn not to make casts that could snag them were they stored vertically.

You'll get used to it, and do just fine. I've used both from a canoe, while seated, and had no problems. You may have to pay some extra attention at first to avoid hitting extra gear on the boat. It won't be long before it becomes second nature.

Our daughter had a bad back spasm a few weeks ago. She made a misstep, and wham. She could hardly move. She leaned against the computer desk for nearly an hour before she would let us help her get to a recliner that was only a step away. She managed to get onto the recliner, but got no relief from the pain. We ended up taking her to the ER, where she works by the way. After some preliminaries to make sure it wasn't a disc or some other structural problem they started her on muscle relaxers. She got some little relief after taking the meds, but it took a full day before she was able to get somewhat comfortable. It took two or three days for her to get close to total relief.

My paddlin' canoe is rigged so it is backward. If you look at canoes, the distance from the seat to the bow is greater than the distance from the rear seat to the stern. With two in the boat this is fine, but using it solo, it squats considerably at the stern, and the bow lifts clear of the water. By paddling it from what is usually the bow seat, the canoe does not squat badly, nor does the bow rise out of the water. There is a difference in shape between the bow and the stern, but it is negligible, and certainly does not change the handling in any noticeable way.

I learned this a long time ago. I finally accepted the fact that I did not have the athletic prowess to get paid for endorsements. After thinking about it some time, I realized all was not lost. I began contacting companies telling them how much I liked their product and was going to begin promoting their products at no charge. It worked like a charm. You'd be surprised at how much I now rake in from those companies, and per our contract, I promise never to mention their name in public. I can however wear their apparel, provided I wear it inside out.

Mr. Nation, the problem with Androgel is that in your situation it is counterproductive. You need a muscle relaxer, not something that will do the opposite. Glad to hear that it's muscular and not something more serious. Take it easy and follow your doctor's orders.

I figure I'm doing the advertisers a favor by not wearing clothing with their brand prominently displayed. I mean, who's going to buy their product based on my (a nobody, except to my circle of friends and family) promotion of their product? Take golf. Nike pays Tiger plenty, because many golfers want to use or wear the products identified with Tiger. The "Tiger Brand" not only generates sales for Nike, but it also generates the sponsorship to which you refer. Hats, shirts, footwear, umbrellas, rain gear, you name it, all emblazoned with either the Nike "swoosh" or the NIKE name. Would you purchase something because this guy recommends it? Or would you say, "That product is for the birds."?

Your supposition, highlighted in red is quite reasonable. Then again, a few years ago, I was catching bass after bass, after bass on a Storm Wild Eyed Gobi. The odd thing is that as far as I know there is not a Gobi within a few hundred miles of the pond I was fishing. I say as far as I know, because to my knowledge this small pond does not have a single Gobi. Then in one of my grand experiments, I combined a wacky rigged worm with one rigged straight on the same hook. I nicknamed it the 747 because it looked like a plane. The fish were all over it. I could fish it slowly, or anywhere in the water column from the bottom to the surface, and they went after it. What did that monstrosity look like to them? It's one of the things that I like about fishing. There are no absolutes, and we are only limited by our knowledge and our imaginations.

I've been around a while. I seem to recall when I was a kid, and boxing was reaching the masses through the wonders of a new electric gizmo called television, that it was the promoters and organizers who pocketed most of the money. Eventually, most notably during the era when Cassius Clay became Mohammed Ali that boxers had the opportunity to make millions. Sadly, many of the greats of that era frittered away the millions they made. It may have been agents, their own naivety or who knows what else that drained their once fat coffers. I recall the legendary Joe Lewis earning a living by being a greeter at a Las Vegas Casino, and posing for photos with casino guests. Others toiled away for purses in second or lower tier matches. That toiling left them "punch drunk", an old term to describe someone whose brains were scrambled by taking too many shots to the head. I suppose there are many forms of "entertainment" which were supported by "sell outs" during the early years of their growth. It can be said of almost all sports. Baseball, basketball, football, hockey, you name it, the pioneers of most, if not all sports labored in the limelight for peanuts. You can include the Olympics. Today, they are "amateurs" in name only. Heck, I don't think they even try to foist them off on the public as amateurs. Be that as it may, it was the amateurs who provided the entertainment and excitement that made the Olympics such a desirable commodity. It seems to me that what Cammozi, has written may in fact be the natural order of things.

Mr. Al Bundy is correct. It is a spreader, that is also used for portaging. The curve in the center allows the weight of the canoe to rest on your shoulders. Not only does it rest on your shoulders but it helps to prevent it from shifting to the left or right, keeping the weight balanced on your shoulders. OE is correct. It is called a thwart. I have the same on my paddlin' Old Town canoe. I used it for mounting my rod holder.

Shoulda deployed those PowerPoles.