Lund Explorer

A day late, but congrats on reaching that milestone.

I have always had an interest in the subject, but I also take a more critical view of some of these so-called discoveries. I will agree that when a world power discovers something that it is called a discovery. The only question is what they discovered, and for whom did they discover it for? Too many times in history, the word discovery becomes the reasoning behind that country's desire to build an empire at the cost of the people living in these "discovered" lands. The mere fact that our country is the result of this behavior should be irrelevant. Regarding your question about the discovery of the Americas. You may want to study up on the history of Viking expansion. From their own homelands towards Iceland, Eric the Red's expulsion pushing him to settle in Greenland. Evidence has shown that they explored the North American continent long before Columbus, and it makes me wonder why this didn't lead to colonization. I think we just need to accept the fact that the age of discovery you seem to question has passed.

Fifth place out of how many? There should be at least one positive though, in that you aren't going to these lakes with pre-conceived notions of what happened last year, or 5, 10, or 20 years ago. You simply need to concentrate on finding fish, and then finding what they'll bite on. Success will come as you gain experience, just like all of these old timers had to do in their day. Before you know it, someone else is going to post on here about just starting out, and you'll be the guy that he is talking about. One last piece of advice is the same I've given out many times before. Be gracious in defeat and humble in victory.

Sorry, I can't agree with this idea until you can provide me proof that such historical legends exist. I have a copy of the Michigan Edition - Monteith's Comprehensive Geography published in the late 1880's. In this book, most of the globe is laid out for the reader with a fairly accurate description of the land, and all that goes into it, until you reach Africa "The Dark Continent!" The map in this case contains a large portion shaded a darker grey. An area where no man has supposedly gone, with the exception of several reference points. Those being listed: "As Found By Stanley!" We're aren't talking about Spencer Tracy in the movie Stanley & Livingstone, but the real in the flesh William M Stanley. And I don't agree with Mr. Monteith's assumption either. Stanley may have been the first white man to stumble on these points of interest, but he certainly wasn't the first human to set foot there, and he didn't go it alone either. Unless those native guides and porters didn't count.

In all of recorded history, when an adventurer took on the task of exploration, that same person ran into others who were already living there! Captains Louis and Clark found absolutely nothing that hadn't been discovered by someone else before that trip. Not only were there Native Americans living along their route of travel, they lived with them, traded with them, and hired them as guides. Their biggest accomplishment was not discovery, but was the mapping out of trade routes with those same peoples so that they could compete against the other Europeans who had already made inroads into that territory. SirSnookalot's sister is the perfect example of the modern adventurer. What sounds like a never ending quest to discover people, places, and cultures that anyone can read about, but so few of us experience. A very lucky lady indeed.

I think I know when that's going to happen. As a matter of fact, I think I'll turn 19 for the third time then just to celebrate the day with you!

There are only two things that will determine how many tournaments you win. The first is your ability to catch fish, and the second is the ability of your competition to do the same. Depending on what your goals are, you can actually control both aspects. That may or may not be a good thing that only you can determine. If you look hard enough, you'll be able to find a group whose skill level allows you to dominate them. In my honest opinion, doing so is a complete waste of time. The very essence of competition should drive you towards tournaments where your skills are tested to the maximum and rewards you when you finally earn a victory in them.

Well, the big father's day fishing trip has finally come to an end, and the only thing left to do is to clean up the motorhome and boat, store the fishing tackle, and probably make a trip to the doctor's office. The numbers came out to a total of 18 guys in and out of camp over the two weeks we were there. Most days we had 9-10 in camp and we split trips between who stayed inland and those of us who ventured onto the big water in search of trout and salmon. I'm not even sure how many fish were caught overall, but I do know that my boat average 45 keeper sized (14" minimum) each of the seven days I spent bass fishing. Biggest five fish string came in at 91.75 inches which included the fish in my avatar that taped out at 21.25". Not overly huge, but I caught it on my newest combo. A 6'6" ML action G Loomis crankbait rod (CBR781) paired with a Shimano Curado 200G5. Spooled with 6lb P-Line Fluorocarbon, a 1/16oz jighead, and a Baby Rage Craw (Summer Craw), this rig was bought specifically for use on the ultra clear waters near Lake Michigan. FYI, the Baby Rage Craw perfectly matched the live craws that bass were puking up, and accounted for over half the bass I caught during this trip. If you'll notice, that background of the picture is buried in fog. That was the one big constant of the whole trip, FOG! With water temps inland holding in the upper 60's and Lake Michigan temps less than two miles away in the low 50's, it only took the daily onshore winds to bring the fog banks rolling onto the shoreline. Only bad news is that I seem to have hurt the pinky finger of my left hand. Maybe too many hook sets where the trigger on my baitcasting rod's trigger dug into it. Every morning for the last week finds me waking up to that finger folded over and locked up. The only thing that loosens it up is holding the first knuckle straight and then bending the finger at the second one. Sends a pain right up the tendon all the way to my wrist, but it does free it up. I hate getting old!

Pass on a big thumbs up to that lady.

You'll have a better chance of finding a slot machine that pays consistently than you will finding any kind of small printer that has either a long life or inexpensive ink. Your best chance would be upgrading into a laser jet printer that uses toner instead of ink. The last HP printer I bought cost me $800 seven years ago and it still runs just like the day I bought it. Staples has a 4 in 1 combo laser jet I just looked at for less than $400. It prints, faxes, copies, and scans. Print speed of a respectable 35ppm and built to handle a workload of 8,000 pages per/month. For home use, I'd bet this little machine would last you as long a three or four inkjets, and toner doesn't dry out like ink!

Decompress by shutting down all electronic media for at least one hour before your bedtime. Television, phone, and that darn internet are the worst things you can possibly look at prior to going to bed.

I was informed by my wife and daughters that I'm being kicked out of my home! Sometime Monday afternoon, I'm going to be driven north in my motorhome where I will be forced to live for the next two weeks. Over that time period I will be surrounded by a collection of Sons, a Son-in-Law and Grandsons (rumor has it a few other gentlemen may show up at some point). These people will force me into an assortment of boats to spend long days fishing for everything from bass to bluegill to trout and salmon. Evenings will find me having to sit near a roaring fire eating fresh fish and all kinds of barbequed food. There is a potential that I will be forced to partake in consuming adult beverages and retelling long and sometimes humorous stories. I'll promise to report back on what happens on the first camping trip I've been able to make in three years.

All's fine as long as you didn't see anything familiar or see something that matched anyone's avatar!

Congrats on all the weight lost. Looking forward to you getting to drop the "big" from your name!

For God sakes, don't post one up where you are holding him out to the camera or somebody is bound to question Sam's weight! In all seriousness, I hope everybody is doing fine and you'll be bringing him home soon.

My excuse has been an elderly old woman who gave birth to me and can't live on her own anymore. For the last several years I've been lucky to make it out maybe one day per/month. Now who told you this fib that you had to cope with it?

I'd agree with you and Snook, but I've been told by someone not to take you seriously! You can trust me on that because I just back from the bathroom, and By God, I've got a scale!

Father's Day for me growing up always revolved around golf. That was my Dad's #1 passion right up until the day he died in 1988. When he finally got around to fishing, it was when the lakes froze over and the fairways were buried in a blanket of snow. While he enjoyed playing golf with the other grown-ups many days, he always had time to take my brother and I out for a round or two, and we always got more than enough ice fishing time in. I've had more than one nightmare about frozen fingers to prove that. When Father's Day rolls around each year, I remember that the best gift he gave me wasn't the addiction to bass fishing I suffer from, but the understanding that time spent with our children creates lifetime memories. It sounds like many of us learned that same lesson.

Probably only if he looks Vietnamese. Good Luck Raider!

Great pics! Now what could she be dreaming of?

Congrats to all! With three grandsons now, isn't it time to explain to Grandma why you'll a bigger boat?

Thank you very much for the compliments, but I'm afraid I am but a mere shadow when compared to the brilliance shown by such a great mentor as LongMike. In the spirit of reciprocating in kind, I have thought long and hard and it has finally come to me. For your inane ability to judge the exact weight of everyone else's fish by merely looking at a picture, you have surely risen to the level of the following sage.

Yup, the word is "claimed". As I remember, everything in your post was a statement you made that included what it weighed, what you caught it on, and other sundry items that are not truly based on facts, but based on the premise that we were all going to take your word for it. We are being asked to take your word that the picture of the fish wasn't altered, and that this picture of the scale somehow not only validates it's accuracy. Let alone that the fish in your avatar is what is hanging below that number. Of course, I'm probably a smartass for pointing out that the numbers on a scale could also be photo shopped as well. Let's assume for now that when you made your post that you probably hoped everyone would trust your word, and that might be reasonable. Most likely that is the exact same thing that others would like when they post up a picture. Amazingly, that is what this thread is really all about. Maybe the best thing would be for everyone to agree to a really simple idea. We'll let everyone post pictures and announce weights however they want. If someone doesn't believe the picture or thinks the weight is way off, then that person sits on his hands and doesn't say a thing about it. As you have stated, people only embellish to gain attention. By withholding your comments, then I guess you've done the best you can to keep that attention from them. Let's make the words that count be the following. Trust It or Shut Up!

The fishing news grapevine spreads fast and wide indeed. Flashback to the mid-1980's when three of us went on an ice fishing trip for jumbo perch. The lake we fished in the morning was well known for some real big perch, but the day we went there they just weren't biting. After only catching 8 fish in excess of 12" we decided to spend the afternoon on a lake known for decent bluegills but no perch. Anyhow, when we got to this second lake, my buddy dumps the perch onto the ice next to his holes and starts fishing for the gills. As the evening crowd started to show up, they all spied those jumbo perch lying on the ice. When asked where he caught them, my buddy put on his best politician face and claimed to have caught them right there in that hole using perch minnows. When we went back to that lake the next morning there were twenty guys all grouped together and all fishing with perch minnows. And we all think that women have perfected the art of gossip!

I guess all of you trophy fishermen have finally swing me over to your viewpoint. BTW, how much did you claim that 6lb bass in your avatar weighed? Just remember the motto: The scale never lies, but yours might be broken.