Fishing Rhino

First, I'm not a Junior fan. I was a fan of his dad's. Junior got where he is strictly because of his name. He had zero success racing at the local level. One year, while golfing at Myrtle Beach I went to the Myrtle Beach Speedway on a Fri or Sat night. At the time I was involved with a local race team back home. There was a black, tired looking, number 3 just turning laps at the back of the field. Turned out it was junior. Of all the Earnhardt kids, Dale's daughter Kelley showed the most promise at the local level. But, back to Junior. When he got to the big time, he showed he belonged there. Two Busch division championships were no fluke. It can be argued that he had the best equipment. That may be true, but equipment alone does not win championships. He has won more races than most who have driven regularly at the cup level. Last year, he was the top performer at Hendrick for most of the season. Then he fizzled out. That has continued to this date. I'm of the opinion that Eury needs to go. He never should have been hired in the first place. It seems that Junior's heart is not in it. If not that, something else is lacking, but he doesn't show any spark, let alone fire. Too much money, popularity, or the pressure of trying to live up to dad's image, who knows? Reality setting in? The brouhaha with stepmother Theresa? Do you suppose Rick Hendrick has second thoughts about letting Kyle get away?

The photo is reminiscent of bridge fishing around here. Probably almost anywhere that bridges or seawall are fished from. The ubiquitous bag of goodies, at least a couple of buckets, maybe some type of carrier, and the grass, weed or whatever the tide may sweep onto the line. Several years ago, more than I care to remember, my wife and I went on a trip with my parents. We stayed in a trailer park in St. Augustine. (1968 or 69) Fished off one of the piers just south of ST. Augustine. Where we stayed had a tidal area behind it. Saw some fish jumping so I got out my freshwater rod, rigged it with a small hula popper. After several hits at it, I finally managed to hook one of the jumping fish. Turned out to be a baby/young Tarpon. An elderly gent came along with a casting net to get some mullet for bait. Struck up a conversation, and the next thing you know, he was teaching me how to toss the net. I managed a few decent throws, and we ended up with a bunch of mullet. He showed me how to rig 'em for pier fishing. I caught a couple of nice redfish or drum, and my dad got a nice king mackerel. Then something took my bait and slowly stripped a couple of hundred yards of fifteen pound mono and never slowed. Took it all. It broke at the reel. Probably a shark. That's the extent of my Florida fishing. All in all, a great experience.

And ten toes. I like the dolly with the bungee cord. Enquiring minds want to know, what's in the Walgreen bag? The rag, the cast net, you've got it all.

I'm always ready. I have no special clothes or gear. I constantly check the last six feet of line, or the leaders while I am fishing. If there's a problem, I take care of it then. If I'm changing from jigs to plastic, or plastic to a spinnerbait, that's the only prep work involved for me. All the baits get put in a tote, and come out of my canoe. My canoe always gets some water in it while fishing. With that stuff out of the way, a quick pass with the wet or dry vac gets rid of the water and cleans the canoe of bits of line leaves or whatever other gunk may be deposited in it that day. Takes me all of five minutes to put my canoe on a tail gate height rolling table, and roll it into the garage, where the vac is always ready to go. The tote of baits and leaders stays in my truck. When it's time to go, another five minutes sees the canoe ratchet strapped into my truck, and ready for lift off.

Well, you cannot glue what you do not have. They are not merely torn, they are gone. The toad, the craw, and the anaconda are durable. As durable as any other plastic bait. Perhaps there are more of the little "robbers" where I fish. But since they occupy the same bottom as the lunkers, there is no escaping them. This problem of amputation is a recent occurrence as activity of all fish, particularly the "undesirables" has picked up. Maybe it's the way I fish them, but since they catch plenty of bass, I'm not about to change it. I will say that a single rage tail can catch many bass. I've done it, and during that time frame, I might have argued that they are durable. Maybe with the spawn over, the little critters have returned to the lily pad beds and other areas where the bass had been spawning, and shooing away intruders. There is no way of getting away from them now. Other than for jigs irretrievably hung on the bottom, I lost my first "rig" of the year a couple of days ago. Felt a heavy rap, set the hook, started to fight the fish, and tick, the line went slack. Hook with wacky rigged worms, gone. Yes, that's right, wormS. Bad knot tie? That was my first thought. When I examined the 30 pound test fluoro leader, it had been sliced off at an angle, as if cut by a knife. Pickerel no doubt.

Yes, they will "bleed" into each other. But, if you really want a mess, toss some Strike King finesse worms into a baggie with some other types. They melt, or dissolve, or disintegrate, take your pick. Most of you likely do not remember when you could not put a plastic worm in a tray of your tackle box. Over time, it would attack the material of the tackle box, leaving its impression for the ages.

All of the above, especially the age factor. Youth seems to hold sway in all activities, including poker tournaments. Stamina, stamina, stamina. In order to concentrate, and stay focused over a period of time requires stamina. The older a person is, the less stamina they have. OK, ok, a sedentary person can begin to exercise and have more stamina than they did at a younger age. But they still will not have as much as they could have had, had they applied themselves earlier. After stamina, comes "hunger", also known as desire. As one gets older, and has achieved certain goals, that hunger wanes. Yesterday's top guns were the best in their time. Would they be today? Who knows?

For the sake of full disclosure, those on a strict budget need to be judicious in their use. Any who have read my posts know that I am effusive if my praise of the rage tail baits. But, the very thing that makes them effective, their wild action, has one drawback. They are fragile, especially the small appendages of the lizard and space monkey. The loss of those appendages do not seem (to me anyway) to diminish their fish catching ability. Bluegills, crappie, yellow perch, and other "nibblers" seem to go for those parts. Pickerel sever the larger parts with ease. Lately, I've been using the craws because the smaller fish have become extremely active, and destructive. I have about seven one clawed craws on the bottom of my canoe from yesterday's fishing. But I also caught a bunch of bass, several decent and one lunker. More than a fair trade-off to me. But for those counting pennies, this post is a heads up.

I don't find it hard, but it definitely has it limitations,......... and advantages. The minuses. Not good in large bodies of water. Cannot cover ground in a hurry. Especially true when you're not familiar with the pond, lake, or river, and have to go prospecting. Wind is problematic. Cannot get up and move around. Five or six hours of non-stop fishing leaves one's legs mighty stiff, especially when you're sixty-seven years old. Lack of stability. Have to be on your toes constantly. Last year I did dump myself out of it because I reached too far over the side to poke at something with a paddle. I was beside it, but the breeze blew me away from it. Tougher to bring a fishing buddy. Can hold all the tackle needed. Fishing rods are another story. Some folks are uncomfortable in a canoe. Hard to fish under docks. Have to sidearm cast. Distance is no problem, but direction is inconsistent. The advangtages. I can access everthing, including nine poles from my seat. I can go places you would not take a bass boat. I have 360 degrees of unobstructed fishing. and fighting fish from my seat. Costs me nothing for fuel, other than getting to and from the water. I get exercise by paddling. I don't have to go through any kind of gyrations to keep a fish away from the lower units of trolling motors or outboards. I can fight, and boat fish, without having to do a dance, or get down on all fours to lip a fish. There are some mighty fine fishin' holes that are limited to no motors, trolling motors, or less than a certain horsepower. I can physically access waters that fishermen with boats that must be trailered cannot. Each is better in its own niche, for certain purposes. I've been at launch ramps alongside guys with Rangers and Tritons give my canoe a good going over and say that it must be a blast to fish from. It is. At times it is also a pain. I've posted pics before. Here's a couple. As a fairly new member, you might not have seen them. The wheeled carrier can be seen between the seat and the poles.

I'll give it a shot. For sure can't catch anything unless I have a hook in the water.

A "no-name" won at Talladega this year. At the moment I cannot even recall his name. It shows to go you. There truly are times when it is better to be lucky than to be good.

Well, I tried it today, briefly. Swirling winds blew the canoe in circles even when anchored. One rotation was all it took. It appears that it's one of those things that sound good in theory, but in practice there are more cons than pros. Tried a lot of different things in my life. Some were a success, others were a failure. Doubt I'll try it on a calm day. One problem is that a good sized fish, pickerel especially can really move the canoe around. Chalk another one up to experience.

OK, I'm going to weigh in on this after pondering it for a while. In the end, it all boils down to personal choice. There is no right or wrong answer, except for each of us personally. Do you prefer your steak rare or well done? An analogy to golf, because the question can be looked at from this perspective. If you play golf, would you rather shoot a very good score, or, would you rather shoot a 125 with a hole in one during that round? From that perspective, it's a no brainer for me. I'll take the good round over the high score which includes an ace. Never had a hole in one, but I've made an eagle where I holed my second shot from 165 yards on a par four. The bad side, it was to an elevated green. I knew it was a good shot, but could not see it land on the green or roll into the cup. When I got to the green and didn't see the ball, I was certain it had ended up past the green. No way I'd have that much good luck. I spent five or ten minutes looking for it in the tall grass before deciding to look in the cup. Both scenarios constitute a good day's fishing.

Burley's favorite song is a Jimmy Durante tune, for those old enough to remember him. Ink, a dink, a dink,..........a dink, a dink, a dink a doo. Click on the play button on the player to hear it. http://www.archive.org/details/JimmyDuranty-InkADinkADoo1928

The thing i miss most about the "old game", that sweet click of a well struck persimmon wood. Pure music. Today it's like baseball with aluminum bats. Clank or ting. I can hit the ball as far today with the new technology as I could in my thirties. Problem is the young guys can hit it further. A few years ago, while visiting our daughter in GA, I played a nice local course and hooked up with a pro from Bermuda. He had the build of Tiger, but much larger. On one of the par fives, I hit a drive, right on the screws. Perfect trajectory with a slight draw, a bit of helping breeze. I mean it was absolutely smoked, maybe a touch over 300 yards. I commented that it would give him something to shoot for. He drove it past mine on the fly. I had over two hundred yards to the green, while he had a nine iron in hand for his second shot. Life just ain't fair.

I'm assuming the poll refers to freshwater bass. My answer was four. If it includes saltwater, that number would be much higher.

It's OK in Mass. From the Mass fishing regulation extracts: It is illegal "(g) to set or use more than two hooks for fishing, or, in the case of ice fishing, five hooks." Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Never gave it a thought.

As some know, I fish from a canoe. No trolling motor. As a result, roughly half the time I am on the water is spent with paddle in hand. At the moment, the best fishing I have is done with a variety of types and colors of plastic, be it worms or creatures. The method which works best is to cast, leave the bail open or the reel in free spool for as long as thirty seconds. Then I slowly take up the slack. If I feel a weight, I'll increase the pressure. If I get a response which indicates something living is on the other end, I set the hook. If not, I move the bait a few inches and give it another few seconds. Twitch, jerk, or sweep the rod, just in case there are some takers studying the foreign object on the bottom. Most of the fish I am catching are caught in this period from the time the bait hits the water. Guessing, maybe 75% are caught in this first stage of drop and initial retrieve. A minute, maybe longer has elapsed during this period. So here's my plan, which I hope to try tomorrow. Have two rods rigged with these baits in different types and colors. Make a cast. When I am ready to begin the retrieving process, cast with the second rod to a different area. Secure that rod safely between my legs with the bail open or in free spool, and begin the retrieve for the first cast. That technique will offset the paddling time. It will not only provide the opportunity to double my production, but it will also afford me to experiment with different baits and colors. I should gather twice as much experience and info in the same span of time on the water, making me a better fisherman. Seems like a win/win to me.

Come to think of it, some of the largest bass I've seen, other than in images, was on a golf course in Lakeville, MA. There is a pond adjacent to the golf course. There are two smaller pools, I'll call them, that connected to the main pond by culverts. The bass spawned in these two pools. When they were on the beds, they were clearly visible from the cart path which followed within a foot or two from the water along the shoreline. I have to say the thought of a telescoping rod in my golf bag entered my mind.

I'm sure we've all experience a bass hitting a lure just as it hits the water. Makes me wonder if they ever do the same with golf balls.

Once upon a time, I was a decent golfer. Shot high 70s low 80s on good courses. Most memorable round was Troon North 1992. Shot a 79 from the tips. A couple of years later, got involved with a local stock car team. Actually got obsessed with the sport. The sticks were put away for about four years. When I started playing again, I had trouble breaking 100. The feel, touch, or whatever you choose to call it was gone. Drove me crazy. Aggravation, frustration over losing the skills I once had. Sat myself down and had a heart to heart with myself. Did I like playing golf? Yes, but not so much considering the way I was playing. In the overall scheme of things, did it really matter? Not really. Did I play for recreation and to get some exercise by walking the course? Yes. Was I still able to enjoy the beauty of the course? Yes. Could I afford to lose five or six balls per round? Yes. Did I still have the occasional birdie, well struck shot, and streaks where I could do no wrong? Yes. I learned to laugh at my atrocious shots. Gradually, my game improved to high 80s and low 90s, ten strokes worse than when I was playing my best golf. Then, last summer, I took up rod and reel fishing, a hobby I had left behind nearly forty years ago. Only played one round after June of last year. A couple of weeks ago, a friend called looking to play a round on a Sunday afternoon. Shot a 51 on the front nine, and a 44 on the back nine. Legitimate score. No mulligans, no gimmees. My wife wanted to play this afternoon. So for the third time in a year, off to the course. A 44 on the front nine with two horror holes. Was one over through six on the back nine when we decided to call it a day. Had been slow going and play had ground to a veritable halt on the 15th. If we were going to eat out rather than have dinner at home, we had to get going. Where the game came from, I have no idea. I also harbor no delusion that I will play that well the next time I hit the links. Now, I'm obsessed with fishing again. Even though I was playing well, by my standard, the thought that the fish were really biting on my favorite pond never left my thoughts. Come to think of it, there is a line in "The Legend of Bagger Vance" that seems appropriate. Speaking about Randolph Junah's game, Bagger says that Junah learned to stop thinking without falling asleep. I wasn't thinking about my game, and I wasn't falling asleep. It'll be interesting to see if that strategy works the next time I play a round. I certainly wasn't concentrating, nor was I focused on golf.

To plagiarize the country western song, I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was. Reruns? Who's kidding whom?

Thanks, I'll give it a try. For all the stuff I've tried the past year, Texas and Carolina rigging have not been among them. The closest I've come is the Luck "E" Strike perfect worm rig, and the Owner Sled head. I've tried the Anaconda on the Owner, but not the Luck "E". In the pond I fish most of the time, all the bass are caught in less than six feet of water. Except for three small holes, likely springs, that is the depth of the pond. The bottom, away from the shore is mud with very little if any vegetation. There are huge thick schools of white perch and crappie in the center of the pond. Thick enough at times to turn the screen of the fish finder black. Don't know what they eat, but there has to be plenty of it, because they are all fat and healthy.

Interesting hooks. I bookmarked the url so I can try some. Look like they'd shed weeds, particularly filamentous algae, even better than the twistlock. The cone spiral poses a question, since it appears that it would spread the head as it is inserted. The other thing that comes to mind is that it would tend to make the bait fall head first, moreso than the Twistlock which would tend to make the bait fall more horizontally. Center of gravity thing. The Owner should resist the tendency to roll or twist more. I can see where each would be preferable, depending on the bait with which it is being used, the type of bottom and cover present. For sure I'll get some. If nothing else, they will make for a different presentation.