piscicidal

My wife thinks I'm completely nuts...get up at 4:00AM in all kinds of nasty weather (hot, cold, wind, rain) to go chase a little green fish. And then you throw it back???? George, I was getting frost alerts on my cell phone for Fellsmere this AM. I'm anxious to see how your shiner bite on "Lake J" holds up. Always look forward to reading your reports...

Robert, water levels seem to be pretty stable over the past month...fairly high. I went to Lox Saturday afternoon...I broke my streak of big fish, but caught a ton of decent 2-3 lbers. Water temp is a little high right now...74. When the temp gets back down below 70, I think the big ones will get going again. When do you want to go this week? Or after the COLD breaks, or should I say cooler trend... I'm thinking later in the week (Friday?), maybe get a little more stable weather. I need to be careful to watch what I wish for from now on. I was hoping the water would cool down...maybe get in the high 60s so my pre-spawn spots would turn back on. Never saw the sixties though...we went straight from mid 70s to mid 50s in a few days. Continue past "GO" do not collect $200. lol

Nice work Dale!

That's my brother and our friend Tim on Lake Mille Lacs. I can just about guarantee a 15-20lb stringer every time out there. It's ridiculous. And those little footballs fight like crazy....more than Peacock, IMO. Almost on par with the saltwater species (Snook, Jack, Redfish). You know you were in a battle after fighting those guys all day.

Or do what I do...11 months in Florida, 1 month in Minnesota (go in July when the heat is stifling here). I get my smallie fix taken care of pretty quickly up there. Some fish from one afternoon trip (I have more, can only upload five)...

It was tough. Only two boats weighed more than 12 pounds (often there's a half dozen around 20lbs). Alot of small limits weighed in, including ours. It was fun though...I'll do it again. I learn something new everytime up there.

I'm from Minnesota and this stuff is cold to me. It felt like Minnesota when I pulled into Clewiston (south Lake Okeechobee) at 6:00AM Saturday morning and it was 44 degrees. Then, you pull into town and see the all the street lights with their Christmas decorations up... Every decoration is a jumping bass swallowing a dragonfly! A little reminder you're still in Florida!

I don't know anybody who's done real well under these conditions. The winning weights at the local tourneys this weekend was pathetic. My water temp has dropped from 74 to 54 since last Monday. Thats a 20 degree drop in one week! These sissy Florida bass got lockjaw right now.

I'm gonna try and fish Carmens trail tomorrow AM at Okeechobee. My Weather Bug app says it's going to be 36deg F at 7:00 tomorrow in Clewiston.

Rooster tail.

From my understanding, the IM rating is simply a manufacturer's designation for the fiber used in construction of the blank. In the case of "IM" this is the designation used by by the Hexcel corporation for their formulation of graphite fiber. This "IM" designation has become an accepted "baseline" for comparing against other rod materials because it is so common. I think the issue that many people have is they are confusing the IM rating of the graphite fiber (the fiber has it's own inherent modulus) with the stiffness of the rod. Many factors besides IM rating go into the rods' relative stiffness (thickness, weight, taper, pre preg used, etc...). Therefore, two different rods with the same IM designation can have drastically different physical characteristics.

It's easy....$600 to do that job is highway robbery. There are several youtube videos showing exactly how to do it. Just take care when removing the lower unit...it can be a little sticky. Also pay attention to the direction the impeller blades are formed within the cyclinder, and make sure you put the new impeller in the same way.

At least you didn't tell her to hop on it and fly it around the neighborhood a couple times... You might not be around to have a second wife!

sweet beaver, ugly otter, space monkey

It seems a bit silly to based all future purchases on a $24 rod/reel combo. I bought a $9 shimano spinning reel in the BPS clearance rack for my seven year old. It's crap. When it breaks I'll throw it in the garbage. This should not reflect on Shimanos entire product line and certainly won't affect my future purchasing decisions...

Let's go! I'm ready.... I ran back into some of those trails yesterday morning and it got pretty skinny back there. Took me a couple tries getting on plane to get out. I moved to the outside and think I found some pretty good spots...my first spot a guide with two clients sat down ~50ft from me (I could have pitched my beaver into his boat) and threw out shiners. Send me a PM...

Robert, water levels seem to be pretty stable over the past month...fairly high. I went to Lox Saturday afternoon...I broke my streak of big fish, but caught a ton of decent 2-3 lbers. Water temp is a little high right now...74. When the temp gets back down below 70, I think the big ones will get going again.

Yeah! It's funny...the first fish I caught on the Veritas was about a five pound snakehead (FYI...a 5lb snakehead fights like a ~7lb bass). Caught two more small bass. No noise. Next trip out...caught a few small bass. Then, I set up pretty hard into what a knew was a decent fish (took my bait with a big boil) and I heard a "crack". It was a 3lber. I've caught a bunch of fish since then with it since then (pulling some decent fish out of Okeechobee slop) so I don't think it is a structural issue. SeanW might be onto something...these rods are painted. Might be the paint giving a little bit.

Nice fish, Eric!

I'm a mechanical engineer and have nine US patents. The first step, always, is to do a patent search. There are several patent search engines online. You certainly don't want to spend the effort, if the idea is already patented. Next step is to document your idea (I don't think a working prototype is a necessary prerequisite)...afterwards, you will want to consult an intellectual property attorney. First meeting is usually free. At that point you will decide whether or not to pursue....filing fees are not cheap. If I recall correctly, there is another process called a non-provisional agreement which allows to document your idea without actually filing. You can later convert the agreement to a patent. This is a relatively cheap process (~$150), establishes the date of your idea, and buys you some time to research whether or not you'll want to go through the more costly patent submittal.

I have several friends that fished the Vendetta all year and had no problems. The Veritas is even more durable. Im placing an order for about 8 of em tomorrow. Sean, I think you were the guy that mentioned that Mike Iaconelli was using one all year. If he hasn't broken it yet, I don't think we have to worry too much. I must say, though... I set up pretty hard on a 3lber this morning and heard a fairly audible crack. I caught about 15 more with it during the course of the day with no issues (incl a 4lber). maybe some epoxy around an eyelet?? Not sure, but I was a little gunshy for awhile this morning....

I fished Okeechobee today. Fished from 7-4, mostly on the southwest. A real nice day...light winds. First three fish were solid 3lb footballs. Caught at least 30 before picking up and trying some spots on the south side. Caught a few more fish catching a 4lber right before I left. Most fish were on dippers/beavers/big ez...a couple on traps/loco lizard.

The underwear bomber was flying to Detroit from Amsterdam. Forcing the US to install Rapiscan devices would have done NOTHING to prevent this type of incident. Yet another illustration of the reactive, ineffective response toward this issue. I think you guys nailed it...I don't think the true root cause of these actions are "security". If their primary motive was truly "security", they wouldn't waste their time patting down grandmas and nuns. Follow the money and you'll usually find the true reason behind most actions.

not only does it count, but i am hoping that side imaging gives me a leg up on the competition this year for the King of the Glades series. it is mainly canal fishing in the glades, but i am certain there are rocks, humps, cars and anything else that will hold fish that will show up on the screen. Bruce, I would be really interested in seeing some side imaging shots from Alligator Alley. You just know there are cars/appliances/boats/etc...laying down there...

not only does it count, but i am hoping that side imaging gives me a leg up on the competition this year for the King of the Glades series. it is mainly canal fishing in the glades, but i am certain there are rocks, humps, cars and anything else that will hold fish that will show up on the screen. Bruce, I would be really interested in seeing some side imaging shots from Alligator Alley. You just know there are cars/appliances/boats/etc...laying down there...