Fishing Rhino

In at least some states vendors are required by law to charge the lower marked price. This prevents unscrupulous sellers from putting stuff out at a marked lower price only to charge the full price at the cash register. The customer who doesn't catch it then gets stuck paying more than he thought. Now, you can say it's up to the customer to check his receipt, buyer beware and all that stuff. However, the onus is always put on the seller, not the buyer in cases like these. In some states the law stipulates that if a higher price is charged at the register than is shown on the floor, the seller must not only return the difference to the buyer, but they must also give the customer ten percent of the difference in the overcharge. That cannot be less than one dollar, nor more than five dollars. This applies in Michigan. In other states the laws will vary. There is no way to determine if the items were deliberately marked lower on the floor to entice buyers, and then swindle unwary buyers at the cash register. It's not unlike a contract. If there is an ambiguous clause in a contract, and the dispute is litigated, the court will usually if not always, rule against the person who drew up the contract. I've been to Dicks when they have the any two packages of Yamamoto baits for ten dollars. They have two or three signs at the baits touting the sale. Then you get to the cash register and they say it doesn't apply to this or that particular Yamamoto bait. The sign quite clearly says all and there is no "does not include fill in the blank" on the sign. The buyer has misrepresented nothing. It's on the seller to honor his published price, mistake or no. There have been times I've misquoted a price (too low) to a customer. I sell it at that price even if I lose money on it. My word is more important to me than making a profit on a sale.

I recently bought a lightweight, long sleeved, fishing shirt from Dick's. They had a rack with a sign 20% off everything on this rack. I found my size and the color I wanted, and took it to the cash register where I was told it wasn't on sale. I told them I didn't want it at the regular price, so they sent someone to check the rack, and I got it at 20% off. They had the choice of selling it to me at the discount, or not selling the shirt. There are instances where they will advertise something on sale, but if you don't pay attention, you'll get charged the regular price. Bass Pro Shops is notorious for that. If you see an item on sale in a flyer, or on their site, bring in the flyer, or print out the page and bring it with you. You won't get it at the sale price unless you bring it to their attention. It has happened to me enough times that I believe it is standard operating procedure for them.

Welcome to the forum. Don't know where all the Tennessee guys are, but I'm sure there are members in your area who'll be glad to share their local knowlege with you. Check the members map, and contact those in your area via a personal/private message. The 2010 annual road trip was held at Pickwick, and the fishing was great. You can catch numbers and size, and use a variety of baits to do it. I've been looking forward to fishing it again from the moment I left. Keep in mind, it's all relative. Some guys would give an eye tooth to catch eight to ten fish a day. Keep on fishing and don't be afraid to try different techniques and different baits. Fish can be finicky and turn their nose up today at what you caught them on yesterday.

Welcome aboard. We've got six guys from Eastern MA who try to get together once a month or so, and fish different waters from Cape Cod to central Mass. It's not a closed group, and all are welcome. So far, we've fished Whitehall in Hopkinton, Webster Lake in Webster, and Mashpee/Wakeby on the Cape. We are going to try for one more, perhaps the first weekend in November at Quinsigamond in Worcester. If you're interested in meeting other members from the young uns to the oldsters, chime in on Se Mass Frostbite get together. You can find it here. At the moment, we've got three boaters, and looking for more. We fish for four or five hours, then get together for a tailgating lunch. When allowed, we bring a small grille. When not, it's cold cuts and cheese to make sandwiches. Nothing formal. No competition other than some good natured ribbing.

Aluminum for an aluminum boat. Stainless is acceptable for use with aluminum, but the products here might be cheaper than stainless steel. I selected this page because it has flanges which can be used on the tubes of a walker. The come with set screws, though the material on the walker may be a bit light for the set screw to hold. There are numerous makers of aluminum rail components. I've used it on my lobsterboat, and it held up for years, even in a saltwater environment. You can check out their entire line of parts by navigating this web site. http://www.hollaender.com/?page=flanges

A creek channel is always under water, unless the creek has dried up. Pardon my being a bit of a wise guy. On maps of ponds, lakes, reservoirs, etc that have been formed by flooding lowlands, the old creek channels and river beds may be marked and labelled, along with road beds, bridges etc. It shows where a creek was before the area was flooded. Here's a section of Pickwick Lake in Tennessee that shows submerged roadbeds, a submerged bridge that runs over a submerged creek channel.

You are correct, almost. Both Tennessee and Kentucky are in the Navionics premium east chip, along with New England, etc. Neither is in the South. And why isn't Florida in the Navionics east, since it is further east than many of the states listed in the east. Go figure. In the case of the forum's divisions, Tennessee is in the Southeast division. Southeast Bass Fishing Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia Northeast Bass Fishing Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont The lines have to be drawn somewhere, and while all may not agree with the designations, it behooves us members to take note of which section contains the area we want to discuss. It's no big deal, since a rose is a rose is a rose. In "defense" of the move, your main reference was to Kentucky Lake, and then to Barkley which are both in Kentucky. Anyone who would follow and respond to posts regarding those two lakes would be looking in the Northeast area because that's where Kentucky is found.

What about the following Saturday?

Trick or treat. Sounds appropriate.

I'm in as long as it's before November 21. That's when my engine gets winterized.

They will benefit by letting you know how much you've drained your battery. They won't do anything to make your battery's life any longer. Some trolling motors such as my Traxxis have something similar on the head. Push a button and you can see the state of charge/discharge of the battery. I used it once or twice, but that was it. I have a voltmeter on my Nitro, but it is hooked up to the starting/electronics battery. But, even voltage readings by themselves are not reliable indicators of a batteries condition. A load test is what counts. It puts a large amperage draw on the battery for a specified time. A "weak" battery will lose voltage quickly. One in good condition, not so much. As a rule, older batteries will not hold the voltage of new. I have two for my canoe's trolling motor. When new, and fully charged, they were well over 13 volts. Now, after much use, when they are "fully" charged, according to the charger, they read about 12.4 volts, and they definitely don't have the punch they had when new.

OK, now I'm really confused. First, it was stated that the Hudson River is not a feeder channel. Then it is stated that a "feeder" is a stream that flows into a larger body of water. Then it is stated that the term is colloquial in nature. In other words, it is amorphous, its meaning changing from one area to another, or called by another name in different areas. Is the Hudson River a stream, albeit a very large stream? Be that as it may, or however you wish to call it, the fact remains that the physics of fluid hydraulics works the same where one body of flowing water enters another. And since we cannot see beneath the surface of the water without distortion, I thought the image of the Hudson Canyon would convey how structure is formed at the confluences. I was not debating or in any way defining what a feeder channel is. A rose is a rose, is a rose. It was intended solely to illustrate why fish are attracted to these areas.

Apparently I did not correctly understand what a feeder channel is. I did a google on "feeder channel" and came up with zero. There were articles about channel catfish, and other unrelated topics containing those words. In the glossary there was a feeder creek, as a tributary that enters another main river or lake. So, I looked up tributary and got this definition. "A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean" By definition, the Hudson River is not a tributary, and hence, not a feeder stream. But, the results are the same, an erosion of the bottom where they enter another body of water, to a far greater degree than most would realize. That is what I was using to show why fish tend to congrate in in these areas.

What's a fishing license?

The only difference between marine plywood and regular exterior plywood is that marine plywood does not have any voids in the layers. There are several grades of regular exterior plywood such as AC, plug touched and sanded, etc. AC plywood will have one good side with no flaws (the A surface) while the C surface can have defects which have been filled with football shaped plugs or other voids which have been filled. Exterior sheathing used in building homes will have voids on both surfaces. There is also furniture grade plywood which has a surface layer of various types of wood, oak, mahogany, cherry, maple, etc. Exterior plywood is bonded with the same adhesive as marine grade. The problem with using exterior plywood in your application is that you may have an interior void where you need to place a latch, or the gas piston which holds the lid open. The hinge isn't as critical since in most cases it is a piano hinge, so a screw here and there in a void is not a serious problem. While marine plywood is more expensive, it could end up being more economical. One other thing. If you do go with exterior plywood, avoid the plywood made up of the thicker, and thus fewer layers of wood. It will not be as stiff or as strong as the same dimension of plywood that has more plies, nor will it be as stable.

Just pick 'em from the piles of 2 X 4s at Home Depot, Lowes, or the lumberyard of your choice. I posted it so folks would know what to look for. Why not get the better product for the bunks. Less prone to rot. Less prone to distort. If getting a better product for the same money is overkill, so be it. I bought Cypress lumber for the trim boards on our home. It was more expensive than cedar or redwood. They've been on our home since 1975. No paint. No stain. No rot.

The main reason wood rots is because it is "sap wood", not heart wood. Ever notice some wood has gray areas? Those gray areas are sap wood, wood which was near the surface of the log, hence, sap wood. You can buy wood for trim that is fingerjointed. While it is relatively inexpensive, it is not economical because much of it is sap wood. This trim wood should never be used for structural construction members. Even some pressure treated lumber contains sap wood, and it will rot sooner than pressure treated heart wood. It may be illegal in some places to use pressure treated wood for bunks or other uses that bring it into contact with ponds/lakes/rivers. There are two types of boards, plain sawn and quarter sawn. In plain sawn lumber, say a two by four, the growth rings will be oriented along the four inch dimension. In quarter sawn, they will be oriented more or less parallel to the two inch edges. I'd recommend the quarter sawn. While it can contain sapwood, it will only be along one edge. If you see gray, stay away. One other note. Plain sawn lumber is more likely to warp, cup, or distort. Quarter sawn lumber is more "stable" because wood expands and contracts across the growth rings. In quarter sawn when the wood expands, it gets wider. In plain sawn, it cups, warps, twists, bows, etc. Since the idea is to distribute support for the hull evenly along the bunk, the quarter sawn will do that better than plain sawn lumber. "The outer, lighter colored wood is the sapwood. This is the "working" part of the tree, as water and sap will flow through the sapwood much like blood through your arteries, veins and capillaries. While this part of the trunk is vital to the tree when it is living, it doesn't make for very good stock for woodworking. Sapwood contains a lot of moisture, will shrink considerably when dried, and is much more susceptible to fungus. The inner, darker section of the trunk is the heartwood. Heartwood is formed from old, "retired" sapwood, and becomes the strong spine of the tree. Heartwood is preferred for woodworking, as it is far less susceptible to fungus and doesn't contain nearly as much moisture as sapwood, which means it will shrink less when dried. Many experienced woodworkers will actually remove the sapwood and use only heartwood on their furniture projects. Once the tree has "promoted" some of it's sapwood to heartwood status, the sap will stop flowing through that part of the wood and the converting material essentially dies. As part of the conversion process, the pores will begin to plug up with organic matter which causes the cell walls to change color due to the presence of chemicals called extractives. The extractives are responsible for the rich character and colors found in heartwoods. Should Sapwood be Discarded?: Just because you end up with some excess sapwood after trimming it from the hardwood when you begin a furniture project, does that mean that the sapwood is "junk?" My answer is no. While the sapwood will never be as strong, rich or beautiful as the heartwood, it still has its uses. Just be certain to dry the sapwood thoroughly, and use it in projects where a little bit of movement will not cause problems, and where it will be thoroughly sealed (with paint or polyurethane) when finished." http://woodworking.about.com/od/typesofwood/p/Heartwood.htm

Thanks to Tate, I'm now a celebrity on You Tube. We had three great days of weather on Lake Champlain. Not a lot of fish, but a few good ones. We literally had the lake to ourselves. Caught this one on Wednesday. The weather was warm, but windy, so we fished mostly sheltered areas. I made one ill advised foray onto open water. We got to the shoals but it was just too sloppy to fish. I tucked my tail between my legs and headed back to calmer water. Thursday and Friday were warm with temps in the 70s and a glassy surface on the water. About my hat. It's a so'wester. I turned the brim up so it wouldn't cover my face as we sped from place to place. I forgot to pull it down. I was not trying to make a fashion statement. This is what it should look like. By the way, pound for pound, compared to chain pickerel, Northern Pike are weaklings. The pickerel above took three to four times as long to get in the boat as the pike from Champlain. The pickerel was caught on six pound test, the pike on four pound test.

The fishing was good before the water started to move, and the spot continued to produce when the water started to flow. There was another, larger opening a few hundred yards away, which also produced some good fishing. The odd thing was, the current flowed for maybe fifteen minutes, stopped, then started to flow again. There were leaves and bits of algae in the water, so it was easy to see a current or lack thereof. It was glassy calm, so wind was not a factor. It was small disturbances in the surface of the water at the corners of the abuttments which first caught my eye. Those two openings were the only places of all we tried that produced good numbers of fish. We called the bass cookie cutters, because they were all about the same size, two pounds. All but one were largemouth. We had a couple of fish break off which we surmised were pike because the line was cleanly cut off. While we didn't catch big numbers (other than those two openings), I'm looking forward to going back. For those three days, we had the lake to ourselves. No jet skis, no water skiers, no pontoon boats, and aside from a couple of boats fishing for panfish under one of the bridges, no fisherman. My buddy was a bit disappointed until the last day when we fished beneath the bridge, but I wasn't. Back home, with the weather we had, there would be plenty of fishermen on the water. Not summer numbers to be sure. But in the main bodies of water we fished, we were the only boat at the ramp, and did not see another boat on the lake. There had to be a reason or two, but I'm guessing the main reason would be that the best of the fishing was over for this year.

I had the opportunity to fish Lake Champlain this past week (Wed - Fri) with a friend. The weather broke perfectly for all the fishing. All the crap happened at night. We did fish in some rain early on Thursday and Friday morning, but we had broken skies with some sun and nearly calm winds. High temps were in the 70s for the three days. There was a serious downpour on Thursday night. On Friday, we were fishing an area beneath an old railroad trestle, and I had to keep moving the boat back toward that area to maintain position. There was no movement of water. Then, eddies began to form around the abuttments, and water was flowing to the west through the opening, and I had to keep moving the boat away from the opening beneath the trestle to hold position. The only thing I could think of that would cause that phenomena was that there was more rain that fell on the east side of Champlain, and it took a few hours for it to raise the level of the east side which then would cause the water on the east side to move westward. I'm not sure what it all means, but I'll certainly file it in my memory banks for future reference.

In the case of the image I posted, the "feeder channel" would be the Hudson River. There is a difference. The Hudson River flows in two directions. In when the tide is rising, and out when it's falling. If you look carefully at the image, you can see an area (gutter as we call 'em around here) of deeper water that leads to the deep cut of the Hudson Canyon. It amazes me that erosion takes place in water as deep as and deeper than two miles. I'm making an assumption that the canyon is named because it was created, at least in part, by the outflow of the Hudson River not because of proximity. Looking at high def maps on my Navplanner2, I see many similar washouts where feeder stream enter the main river or lake. In the case of impoundments, the stream beds were there before the land was flooded. Despite that, after being flooded, the feeder streams still produce currents and eddies in the main body of water that can attract and hold baitfish.

The power of water is amazing. I am surmising that feeder channels in fresh water attract fish much like in salt water. The canyons are popular fishing areas for lobster and sport fish. Here's an image of the Hudson Canyon. One might think that a river outlet will carve more of a "channel" the closer you get to the mouth. But, that is not the case as evidenced in this image. How much of a current can there be fifty miles offshore when you take into account the effect of tides, wind and waves on the flow of water. I would tend to think that those would disperse a flow of water, but obviously that's not the case. Water currents be they in salt or fresh water work according to the same laws of fluid hydraulics. The nature of fish is much the same be it in fresh or salt water. They all look for good feeding grounds. These "intersections" are fertile areas.

Unless you insist they wear a pfd, you are "missing the boat". I'd rather have a non-swimmer in my boat with a pfd, than a swimmer sans pfd. Too many circumstances where the ability to swim is meaningless. Pass out and fall off the boat without a pfd, it doesn't matter if you can swim or not. An accident rendering you unconscious or injured and the only thing that can save your life is wearing a pfd. If your boat sinks from under you (I know they all have flotation), and you are in the middle of a large body of water, the pfd can save your life. I can swim, and I always wear a pfd, be it in my canoe or bass boat. I don't take it off even when I am fishing.

I really quit caring about any of them when the NFL played the season with pick up games. I don't know how much it will take to finally satisfy the players or owners, and I don't care. The heck with anyone affiliated with the game. In the end, it's the fans that take the hit. Neither the players nor the owners really give a hoot about the fans other than separating them from as much money as possible. I know those that live and die by professional sports will be devastated, but if they all shut down tomorrow, it wouldn't change the world or our lives by a bucket of spit. What about those who are not athletes or owners who depend on these games to make a living? When folks start spending the money they spent on attending games elsewhere, it will merely shift the jobs to a different market.

She'd probably go for it, but, that would be another ten grand or so. Going from the Z7 to the Z8 really won't make much difference in the fishing. With a 250, on the back it will be at least 15 mph faster. But I rarely use what I've got now. It will do 58, but most of the time I cruise between 30 - 40 mph. There just isn't that much big water around here. If I go to places like Champlain, Pickwick, Guntersville, etc., three times a year that would be it. Can't do Quabbin, because of the regs. And they will take more gas to haul around. I doubt I'd even do the Z8. The dough we'd have to lay out to upgrade would buy a lot of gear, and pay for a lot of nice trips to explore new vistas.