Lund Explorer

I always wondered why the Ad Council took so long to create that ad. Maybe he was almost out of tears by the time they did!

I'm with Tom. Sounds more like another source for that type of consistent happenings. Perhaps worth the effort to point this out to your local Environmental Quality folks. It's either that or a trip upstream to where the oil slick ends.

To each their own, but, when I think of what Earth Day means to me, it's a little less of the Clive Bundy fan club and a whole lot more of this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7OHG7tHrNM

I'd never do that. Raider does a great job of speaking his language. What that is might be quite a bit different than the Yankee I learned in school, but I'm sure that he learnt his in a skool too. When you think about it, most of us a close to being bi-lingual. At least the ones that can admit that we understand what he posts!

Sorry, but that's incorrect. This planet has gone through many cycles of both warming and cooling in the past, and will do so in the future. Consider the fact that when the Vikings left a place called Iceland, they discovered and settled in their new home they named Greenland. For everyone I know, we all learned in school that Greenland was an extremely cold ice bound island. So why did they name it that? Did you know that archeologists have discovered that the place used to support crops grown in more temperate climates today, or that the oldest graves discovered there are buried much deeper than later ones. Obviously, the place was much warmer many centuries ago. But that was not, and is not what Earth Day should be about. There's no need to bring in a divisive politically driven phrase into the discussion. It should be a celebration that the people of this country decided to choose the quality of life over the quality of the wallet. That the people of this country saw what could happen if we allowed pollution to go along unchecked. The harm that was being done to this country's natural resources were taking away from that quality of life. We'll never get back to where we were when we first settled on these shores, and it would be foolish to think we could. But it is worth the effort to know that if we aren't careful, we can poison ourselves right out of existence.

If you don't mind someone playing the devil's advocate, a simple question. Before you got married, didn't you consider the fact that adding someone into your life might somehow change the way you lived it? Unless the two of you met at a Bass Anonymous meeting, the odds are that she doesn't have the same affliction. If you've been paying attention in those meetings, you'll recognize the fact that the problem is yours and not hers. But there is a cure! Marriage was meant to be a long adventure into the future together, and not a sprint to the finish line. With that in mind, you just need to tone down your approach, and gently get her into the sport. Understand that she isn't addicted, and probably never considered why her standing along the bank in bright colored clothing would do to the fish or to you. Imagine how much easier it would have gone if you had taken the time to explain what to wear, and how to walk/sit along a bank before you got there. I could even see you earning some brownie points for taking her shopping for some fishing appropriate clothing. I had the something like the same problem when I got married to a woman who wanted to learn how to fish, but couldn't tie a hook on, bait the hook, or take off any fish she caught. It was an absolute chore to take her bluegill fishing because I was constantly baiting hooks, unhooking fish, cleaning and cooking them. The only thing was really good at was eating them! After almost 40 years, she is better at some of those things, but she will never get to the point where I'm at. My advice is to admit to her that you have the problem, agree to take it slow, keep it simple, be happy with what she has the ability to learn at whatever pace she wants to take. It's the same approach you are going to need to take with any children the two of you may be blessed with.

I can understand why you (and a whole lot of others) are upset when you come across what could be called an inconsiderate dock owner. This response is for ALL dock fishermen. Thrown into this discussion should be some thought process as to why dock owners do such things. The water may be public, but those docks and the boats tied to them are private property. The sad truth is that sooner or later, errant casts are made by almost everyone fishing docks, and those wayward casts have the potential to damage someone's property. As dock fishermen, we are our own worst enemies. We decide to fish over, under, and right up against someone else's private property, and for every 100 docks we fish perfectly, somebody fouls one up. As dock fishing becomes more popular, the potential for damaging someone's property increases, and that increases the number of dock owners who do such things. One last point to consider for those who demand their right to fish every dock. How are you going to react when a shore bound fisherman bounces a sinker off your gel coat? What happens when the boat next to you snags your carpet with his crankbait? Remember, it's public water.

By that description, I wonder how many people there are that aren't fluent in ANY language!

I never set a time limit on the lure I'm using as I am more concerned about the location I'm on. If I find a piece of structure/cover I think holds fish, I will throw 3-4 different lures in random order until I find something the fish want. How large or complex that spot is determines how long I will spend on that spot.

I wonder what would cause a dock owner to take such drastic actions? It's possible that he thinks that he owns that water and the fish under that dock. It could also be possible that he's just plain tired of digging hooks out of his dock or boat, or hearing sinkers bouncing off of them. Maybe one of his children or grandchildren stepped on one of those hooks that a fishermen left for him to find. It sure is hard to figure out why some dock owners act the way they do.

I've read quite a bit about the Gaia Theory and the idea that the Earth is a living organism is quite intriguing. That this world could change to the point that mankind couldn't live on it's surface isn't out of the realm of possibility when you consider that this theory could make sense. However, Earth Day was and should be more about human's keeping the planet's various biospheres save for human consumption. Man made pollution of the air, water, and soil was getting to the point where it was proving fatal to humans. While we may never be able to prove (or need to prove) that the burning of fossil fuels causes the planet to warm, it was fairly obvious that smog filled cities weren't conducive to healthy breathing. Using waterways as a convenient place to dispose of all kinds of human waste didn't improve the quality of our finite source of clean drinking water. Digging a hole in the ground to bury our waste doesn't work if what we bury can come back to haunt us in such places as the Love Canal neighborhood. Mankind may not be able save the planet, but it is in our power to keep us from committing suicide.

This would be shocking if he was the only one that thought or said things average people considered dumb. He's just one member of a very large club that comes from every state, and in all shapes and sizes.

X2! Never quit what works for you.

I don't try to compare them as I use them to accomplish slightly different things. Shad or Baitfish colored baits? With a tube, I like to use a light weight allowing the bait to sink in a slow circle like a dying baitfish. I have also skipped them like an escaping minnow. With a single tailed grub, I like to swim them on a heavier jig head at various depths. Crawdad colors? A nose weighted tube or a t-rigged twin tail grub being dragged along the bottom both attract bass feeding on crawdads. I use the tube when the bite is slower or when I want to dead stick the bait, and a grub when the bite is more active.

The next time you look at a picture of Dwight holding one of those giant smallmouth, take the time to think back to the good old days before the Earth Day movement began. That's all the reason I need to celebrate this day.

Some of my earliest memories of fishing were tied to the excitement of the various Opening Days we had for different species. The last Saturday of April always found us on a stream or creek chasing trout. May 15th was the first day we could fish for pike or walleyes. Memorial Day weekend gave us the chance to finally go after bass. Of course that excitement was also tempered by the fact that there were going to be crowds. Since the DNR shifted openers for pike and walleye, and created an early C&R bass fishing season, I don't see the crowding so much as I used to as we are allowed so many other options. I also don't think that bass fishermen are going to start targeting pike or walleye out of season anymore than I saw those fishermen targeting bass before Memorial Day. Statistics have shown that the vast majority of bass fishermen practice catch and release regardless of the season, as the early C&R season didn't show any negative impacts on bass populations. That's important in a state that doesn't provide a stocking program like many of the other states that don't have closed seasons during the spawn. The jury is still out on whether we'll see a drop in the bass population or if supplemental stocking is going to be needed in the future. Michigan already has a huge stocking program for walleye, trout, and salmon which are more popular in both numbers of fishermen and on the dinner table. IMHO, the big winners in this are going to be the tournament crowd. If clubs can spread out their schedules by an extra month, it could lead to less crowding on holiday weekends. With such a short season, many of these clubs have started their year on Memorial Day weekend. Having to squeeze onto a lake during one of the busiest weekends of the year was far from ideal, and I hope that most clubs will leave that weekend alone. It created a lot of hard feelings from non-tournament fishermen when they were faced with packed parking lots on opening day.

Anglers in "The Mitten" may soon join the majority of other states with no closed season for bass! The Michigan Senate passed SB869 recently and the bill is headed to the House. If it passes there and the Governor signs it, we could be looking at a year round bass fishing season. http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(bakrdpqxt4kdaf55cmmr1jnr))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=2014-SB-0869 Right now, bass season is closed from January 1st until the last Saturday in April when a catch and release season begins. Full catch and keep season for the majority of the state doesn't start until the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. This change could easily add more than a month of fishing for the C&R guys and the tournament anglers to boot. Unless you live as far north as A-Jay who has to wait until about the middle of June for the ice to leave!

The numbers I was reading were from the date posted. They're are getting better, but it can't explain how someone gives up three goals in the first period of one game, or gives up two in the third in another. Look back over the years at previous Stanley Cup winners and see what those goalies had. If the Blues are going to advance, Miller is going to have to tighten up and play more consistent periods like he did in the last game. Then it's only up to his offence to actually put the puck in the other net.

Your President/Lightning Rod combo is what I have on board for guests to use even though I spool it with 8lb Berkley and have them use it more for open water. When I fish slop I want to use a baitcasting outfit as I feel that I can get more winching power that way. I just started one of my grandsons on the following rig from Cabelas. Pflueger Trion (TRION3WLP) On sale @ $50 Berkley Lightning Rod 7' MH (LR701MHC) $40 30lb Power Pro $30

It can't be explained any better than that!

It does work! Get on a school of 3-4lb smallmouth and you can make pass after pass on them. Fish until you have boxed a limit, take them for a boat ride a few hundred yards away, and come right back onto the structure to catch more of them. I've done this many times over the years, and can only suggest that people try it. Conversely, keep releasing or have a couple of big fish unbutton on you and watch the school shut right off.

Shouldn't we be trying to figure out a way to sponsor some of these guys to an upcoming Road Trip?

Imagine Raider showing up for a trim and Granny pulling one of those out to shave him with!

Speaking of feeling the pain, can you imagine the ulcer Ken Holland must be enjoying about now? Not too many teams advance to the finals with a goalie with a save percentage under .900 so I don't see Blues or Blackhawks going very far without some divine intervention!

I feel your pain. When we get a couple of feet of snow on the ground, some of us actually engage the 4WD on our trucks!