Fishing Rhino

Doesn't sound very otter-like to me. Are these muskrats? I initially thought muskrats, until I saw a couple of otter eating them while floating on the surface. If it's muskrats, they are the worlds largest. Could be a combination of the two, but I haven't seen a muskrat since March. That doesn't mean they aren't around. But I've seen plenty of otters.

I worded the first post wrong. I should have said I can take a buddy fishing with less discomfort. The square stern canoe is nearly a foot wider, has a keel and a semi-vee bottom. I can stand in it, unlike my standard canoe. I've spent up to six hours sitting while fishing in my double ender canoe. I'm not going to claim it's comfortable. It's that I don't realize just how uncomfortable it has been until I get back to the beach and try to stand. It takes a dozen or twenty steps to get all the kinks worked out of my legs. One more thing, if a person isn't willing to tolerate some hardship, they're really not into fishing. I believe they are called fair weather sailors. One more thing ya gotta understand. My wife thought the boat was pretty. She's not into fishing, so appearance is at the top of the list. But, it's a good sign that a new boat is on the horizon. How far away the horizon is, is a matter of altitude.

When all else fails, turn the computer off and disconnect the power source for 30 seconds. I don't understand computers, but that's what I've been told to do, and most times it seems to work. I've run into the same download problem and most of the time disconnecting the power source seems to do the trick.

That d**n Bait Monkey has a lot of accomplices.

I must stop reading this fishing tackle section of the forum. I've got a bunch of baits/lures that have yet to get wet. I'm not sure they ever will. Why did I get them? As a result of perusing this section and reading the glowing reports of some baits and the yeas of other members regarding same. Go to the BPS web site, check on the bait, and sure enough, the ratings there concur with the reviews here. Good enough. Order a couple, or a few, in more than one color and size of course. Here's my problem. When the fishing is slow, I figure that's a bad time to give them a try. When they are jumping in the boat, why try something different? The reality is that when the old standbys are not working, it's the time to try something different, and, when the fish are hitting anything that lands in the water, what better time to find out just how effective they are? It's all in the perspective folks. It's all in the perspective. We talk ourselves into or out of all sorts of things, with little rhyme or reason to our arguments. Oh well, that's what makes each of us unique, and interesting. So, no more, never again! For the time being.

Not advisable to forego the breaker. A short can easily start a fire. The cable to the battery can get hot enough to melt and ignite the insulation. Had it happen to a truck I owned years ago. Apparently the insulation on the positive cable chaffed through where it was clamped to the chassis. The cable heated up, and ignited. That ignited other flammable materials under the hood. The fire department extinguished it. Resulted in a bit of scorching on the hood, and some melted plastic and rubber components under the hood. While it did not look bad, the truck was totalled. The cable between the chassis and the starter was not damaged. While the chances are nearly nil that you'll have a problem, if you do, it will void the warranty, and any other liabilities the manufacturer might have.

Yesterday, my wife and I went to the BPS to get a trolling motor and battery for my square stern canoe. Father's day gift. While I was waiting for someone to help me, my wife went looking around. About the time I was finishing up with the BPS guy, she returned and told me she had found a boat for me. It turned out to be a new 2008 Z6 Nitro that had been marked down by 4 grand, from 21,000 to 17,000. Alas, it had just been sold. Nonetheless, it showed her heart is in the right place. Ya automatically gotta love a woman like that. Strangely, I was not really disappointed. Got my trolling motor and battery. Now, I can more comfortably take a buddy fishing with me. Going to finish rigging it today. Hopefully. Unless I go fishing. LOL

Here's a good read on the two battery types, right from the horse's (Exide) mouth. It explains the differences and why they must be charged differently to optimize battery life. http://www.exide.com/faq/faq_marine.html

I think you may be equating confidence with anticipation, or as you said expectations. Then again, I may be mixing up confidence and determination. Sometimes reality bites, and the fish don't.

When I resumed fishing last year after a thirty plus year hiatus, I was amazed at how tiny the barbs were compared to the barbs of back in the day. Some were barely noticable. When I run into a situation such as you describe, I use long nose pliers or forceps to remove the hook. Fingers do not always work because they do not afford you the space to manipulate the hook. I pull the hook slightly, as though trying to imbed it even deeper while I move the eye of the hook toward the flesh where the hook is embedded. This reduces or eliminates the "bite" the barb has on the fish, making removal easier. It's the same motion on the hook that is applied with the string technique for quick and easy removal of a hook from a finger or hand. See figures 2 and 3 in article below. You'll notice that the retrograde technique (which is what you'll be using) and the string-yank technique apply similar forces on the hook.

I've posted about the problems at my favorite pond. Invasive Purple Loosestrife, otters, and algae blooms. This last week was horrible. The otters have decimated more than half of the water hyacinth. The bass and other fish have disappeared from the shallows. I get the feeling that the constant activity of the otters in the shallows has chased most of the fish to deeper water. The last day out, I caught one fish and had another hit in the shallows which previously had been alive with fish. I made a bonzai run with my canoe through the remaining hyacinth in various places around the shoreline, and spooked nothing. I did find a few bass in deeper water, some around lily pad beds and on a piece of rocky bottom that I saw on the sounder for the first time. Dropped a marker buoy, then proceeded to determine and mark the perimeter of the rocky patch. Caught a couple of decent bass and lost another. Next time, I'll switch back to a jig on one of my poles, work the deeper parts of the shelf, and see what happens. It's very discouraging to see this happening in a fantastic fishing hole. But, I've seen lobstering go from bust to boom cycles a few times in my lobstering career. The otter population explosion pendulum will swing the other way. I hope. As for the Purple Loosestrife, as invasive as it is, they are easily uprooted by hand. They do not anchor themselves deeply in the bottom. A few people devoting a few hours a week to the "harvesting" of this plant can reclaim most of the turf it has taken over in short order. The trick is to get them involved. And to get the approval of the landowners.

Confidence does not guarantee you will put more fish or even a fish in the boat on a given day. Confidence does guarantee that over a period of time you will put more fish in the boat. It's really quite simple. Confidence is what keeps us plugging along with a positive attitude even when things become a struggle. A lack of confidence results in surrender, or just tossing your hands up and giving up a pursuit.

Speaking of consistency, years ago when you bought a Rebel swimming lure, it came with instructions on how to bend the eye if it ran on one side or the other, or didn't dive properly, or did not run directly at you on the retrieve. You made adjustments by bending the eye up, down, left or right, depending on the "problem". That was over thirty years ago. I'm wondering if it's not possible to "tune" Rapalas the same way, rather than dumping them at fire sale prices or giving them away.

Been reading about batteries, deep cycle vs regular, and why each is better in the use for which it is designed. I did not realize that cycles were the key to battery life, and when they should or should not be charged. It also shed light on the charging system on my 07 GMC pickup charging system. When the engine computer determines you are driving on a trip, it shuts the charging system off until the battery drops to just over 12 volts, then it turns the system back on. The two stated purposes are better gas mileage (supposedly another tenth of a mile per gallon), and longer battery life by reducing the number of charging cycles. The other factor it uses is consumption of electric power. It does not shut the system down and night, or during other times of higher than normal battery usage. Now I understand why allowing the battery voltage to drop rather than maintaining at a constant level increases battery life. I also found it interesting that deep cycle batteries should be charged at a slower rate than regular automotive batteries, and why using an automotive battery in a marine application and vice versa will result in shorter battery life.

It's all interesting to take into consideration, but I suspect I'm like most on here. Given an opportunity to go fishing, I'm not going to turn it down because it's the wrong phase of the moon, or Saturn is not aligned with Neptune.

Humongous. It's available 24/7/365, right at our fingertips. More info than we could possibly consume, let alone digest. Pros and cons, dissenting and diverse opinions, everything is there. Priceless.

Looks like some kind of swizzle stick.

i like the space monkey but just wish it was beefed up , or the rage tail toads had the front legs on them , i like to swim them in open water . i just can't seem to cast them very far , probably cause i'm using 30# power pro. I'd rate the chance a bit higher than probably. I use them on 15# Power Pro and they cast just fine. I'm also using a spinning reel, since I alternate between the monkey, lizard, craw and lobster. I also fish them on a 1/8th ounce keel weighted hook. The craw casts fine as well, and it is lighter than the monkey. The toad and shad cast well with my baitcasting gear.

One of the most interesting tidal phenomena is the "tidal bore" in Moncton, Canada. It is a dramatic illustration of tidal surge. At times, it may be a three foot high wall of water rushing up the river. The tide will still be falling just ahead of the onrushing bore.

Positional relationships of the moon and sun , and atmospheric pressure all play major roles in tides. Tidal "surge", which Rolo mentioned also plays a role. Tidal surge accounts for the enormous tide changes in the Bay of Fundy. The difference between water levels at low and high tide is nearly fifty feet. It also accounts for a tide continuing to rise or fall in the upper reaches of rivers while it has begun to fall or rise at the mouth. In the Westport River, the upper reaches of the river have a half hour "lag" in tides versus the mouth of the river, while their change in positional relationship to the sun and moon is insignificant. Tides do have an effect upon lobstering, but for different reasons than fin fish. Fin fish can be limited to deeper waters in a river, bay or estuary when tides are low, and can move onto flats to forage when tides are rising. While lobsters do not move around as much as fin fish, they are impacted to a greater degree by moving water. They can be swept along by hard running tides, so the time they can venture forth from their safe burrows is less during times of hard running tides. My anecdotal experience has been that during moon tides, lobstering declines more in shallow waters where the tide moves faster, than it does in deeper waters. I suspect that lobsters move into nearby deeper waters during this time, and moved my gear accordingly. Those who left their gear in the shallower waters experienced greater catch declines than did I. I would guess that most of us have seen a documetary or two about life on reefs, and how there is much more activity during the slack tides, and also at night for certain species. It's also interesting that fishing for some species can be better around the slack tides, while fishing for others is better on the changing tides. We've also seen how land animals feed heavily before and just after storms while they seek refuge during a storm. The oceans experience slightly less than two "storms" per day. How much does it apply to fresh water? That's the 64 dollar question.

Gallagher. "Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways? Why do trucks carry shipments and ships carry cargo?"

Regarding propeller pitch. Pitch is like gearing in a car. Less pitch, like a lower gear allows an engine to make rpm easier. You wouldn't want to travel down the highway in first gear, nor do you want to start off in high. At full throttle, an outboard should run in a certain rpm range. If it does not get to that rpm, it has too much prop, diameter or pitch. If it over revs, it has too little prop, diameter or pitch. Number of blades are also factored into the equation. Your outboard should have a propeller which allows the engine to achieve its optimum rpm range. If it does not produce the desired speed with that propeller, you need more power. You can move a freight train with a five hp Briggs and Stratton if it's geared properly, but it will not be fast.

Color made all the difference in the world when I was lobstering. Those images reminded me of the images I got on Cox Ledge, about twenty-five miles SSW of Westport. It was hard bottom, and on the old mono paper recorder it all looked the same. But on the color machine, when there was more yellow beneath the red bottom line, there were also more lobsters. A lot more. Color shows transition changes in the bottom much more dramatically than monochrome.

This is not a sauce, but it is the best seasoning for grilling. What it does to a rib eye steak is absolutely unbelievable. And, you can use it on any meat, vegetable, salads, etc. http://www.susieqbrand.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&c=1&p=7

Why Dogs Eat Poop My dog eats poop! Why does she do this, and how can I get her to stop? Dogs will commonly eat their own as well as other animals' feces. Puppies are known to eat their own excrement during paper training and housebreaking, and it is believed to be due to a combination of physiological and behavioral factors. On the physiological side, since the digestion of food is not always complete, puppies still see nutrient value in their feces and view it as a snack. Often dogs are attracted to undigested rice, corn or peanuts in their stool if they happen to consume these foods. Maximizing digestion can help solve this problem. To do so, add enzyme supplements to their food, such as meat tenderizer (from the supermarket), papaya extract (a natural enzyme available at health food stores) or products from pet supply stores especially designed to help dogs digest. Mix the enzyme powder in each meal, and let it sit for 15 minutes prior to feeding it to your pet. This should eliminate the presence of anything they view as "good" in their stool. It will not help with the peanuts or corn, but these foods should not be fed to your pet in any event. Another way to discourage coprophagy (the medical term for eating poop) is to coat the stools with hot sauce or vinegar, thereby making the experience of eating it unpleasant (as if it seemed great thus far!). Sometimes owners have to go to the extreme measure of injecting the stool with hot sauce so the pet gets the full extent of the bad flavor. Yet another method is through products which taste good when mixed in the pet's food and eaten, but turn bitter when excreted in the pet's feces (isn't science great?). Doing this or the hot sauce method for one to two weeks is usually enough to convince a dog that their food bowl is a safer spot for snacks. On the behavioral side, many pets eat their stool during the training stages because they become confused about whether to go to the bathroom on or off the paper or outdoors. Just as potty training for kids is tough, telling a dog when and where to eliminate is emotionally stressful. They will feel bad about going in the wrong place and destroy the evidence by eating it. Owners often call me because they are concerned that their puppy has not had a bowel movement in a few days, but it usually turns out to be a case of recycling. FYI Ever wonder why children's sandboxes come with covers? If you have neighbors with outdoor cats, they may view your child's sandbox as a great big litter box, and unfortunately your young child may choose to ingest a deposited turd. This condition, called Pica, is common in toddlers and is best avoided by keeping your child's sandbox covered when not in use. Dr. Peter Kross, DVM, has had his own veterinary practice, the Rivergate Veterinary Clinic in New York City, since 1989. He lives in Manhattan with his three white boxers, Buchanan, Wilhelmina and Laila. http://familyfun.go.com/parenting/learn/activities/expert/petveteatpoop/