Lund Explorer

I guess that shows us what you think about the Big-10, PAC-10, Big East, Big-12, Etal!

Sorry to hear you have to go under the knife! As was said before, it shouldn't become some kind of cold spot but could be a source of future pain when Mr. Arthur Itis comes to reside with you later in life. You can also look forward to a little more scrutiny from those wonderful folks at the TSA everytime you plan to fly somewhere!

This isn't an attack, but if you are having a hard time finding charitable work in our country, you need to refine your search techniques. They're everywhere! Start your search with the easy ones. Habitat for Humanity, Shriner's Hospitals, March of Dimes, Special Olympics, Red Cross, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Salvation Army, and even Tackle the Storm would make an interesting start, and would barely scratch the surface. Large or small, there are many more charities such as these that target specific needs within communities across the entire country. Have you ever seen a Jerry Lewis telethon for MDA? Many veterans groups provide help to other vets and their families. Almost every American Legion Post has a service officer that provides guidance and help to members in need. The local American Legion I belong to provides free transportation for area vets to hospitals and such. They also run a food bank for residents regardless of veteran status. Looking closer to home, almost every city, town, or village has local organizations or churches that operate their own programs to help on the local level. Besides the Legion Post I mentioned above, there are several area churches that operate food banks, heating assistance programs, and other charitable activities. Many local Home Builders Associations team up with colleges or trade schools to upgrade the homes of the elderly or poor in their areas which in turn helps reduce these folks heating costs during the winter. Quite honestly, the area I live in is overrun with charitable organizations to the point where a person could stay busy 7 days a week if they wanted to donate their time to help. Most likely, the area you live in is the same too. All it takes to become a part of this flood of goodwill towards your fellow citizens is to walk into your local United Way and say the following words; "How can I help?".

Okay, my condolences!

Good luck. Can I assume that this is a continuing mission to help out after the earthquake? Not to pick on anybody, but we are lucky to have an organization like FEMA here that provides much more relief after a disaster than many countries could afford. There are a number of other charities that help low income people like the one organization we have here in my home county. Home builders and college students gather to help upgrade many older low income homes with new windows, insullation, and even a fresh coat of paint. While it would be nice that every American can live the dream, we have the ability to help others, and should do so. Here's hoping that your efforts will help a few families down there to move on towards a better life.

Maybe if you could get into LSU, Sam would chip in to help defray your costs!

X2! Good luck young man!

I'm glad to hear that you two both survived and that you've learned that seatbelt use is more than just a way to save yourself the cost from a ticket. Later on when you stare at those age lines in the mirror each morning, you'll find out why there seems to be so few old risk takers behind the wheel. Sounds like the only thing left to do now is to figure out what to do with the second chance at life you've been given.

I'm think Kardashian is too "something" for anyone!

IMHO, I don't think it makes a bit of difference how much exercise a person either does or avoids in life if that person doesn't learns to control the most important thing to do with health. That is STRESS! It doesn't matter if you're tied down in high school with problems centered on grades and girls, or if you've made it all the way to retirement with the worries that brings, a person just needs to learn how to take as much stress out of life as possible. From the time I was in my early 30's up until about the time I was rapidly approaching the Big 50, I tried my level best to make sure that I piled as much stress on myself as I could find. Tons of work with long hours and little rest, I proudly displayed the giant bottle of Rollaids on my desk. By the time each tax season ended, the irritable bowel syndrome I'd developed would stay with me until the 4th of July. By the end of the year, I was busy trying to plan ahead for the next year's plans. The goal always seemed to be to find a bigger bottle of antacids! Probably the only two things that kept me from turning into a walking six foot tall ulcer was fishing and the ability to find humor and laugh at many of life's situations. Eight years ago I came to the realization that having all the money in the world didn't mean a thing if I wasn't around to decide which grandchild was going to inherit it. I've slowed down tremendously, fished more and worked less. I gave up 3/4 of my client base to someone else to worry over, and still don't feel bad when I tell a problem child client to find someone else to burden today. While I'm still too young to know if this plan of mine is going to lead to a long life, at least the life I have today is a whole lot more pleasant to live. So my advice for healthy living is this: Learn to laugh when you need to, learn to cry when you want to, don't sweat the small stuff, and find joy and happiness in the things that really matter the most. A harsh word cures nothing, but a smile can enrich everyone you give it to. BTW, I also agree with RW's 12oz curls!

Back when I was just a youngster Sam, I got indoctrinated in the sport of trapping by the next door neighbor kid. He was 5 years older than I was, and taught me a lot about trapping the various critters that lived along the river and creeks that ran through our town. When he left for the military after high school, he left all of his traps with me to use. I will gladly admit that I trapped a ton of muskrats, but I will just as gladly admit that I never ventured to put any of them on a plate for dinner! If I used any part of those marsh rats other than the fur, it was the hind quarters that I used for bait in my mink sets. To this day, I just don't think I want to eat anything that smells like a muskrat, coon, or anything else that I had the pleasure of skinning out. If I got ahold of a Nutria today, I think I'd be better off selling the hide and using that money at the local Subway!

Great points Sam, I'm sure LSU is a fun school to go to. As long as the two guys I watched on TV the other day don't make up the menu in the school cafeteria. In a repeat of a show I had never watched, Hairy Bikers visited Cajun Country and came up with a recipe for, wait for it, Chicken Fried NUTRIA! You could also call it chicken fried swamp rat. Is this like a plan to keep the bayou free from a flood of yankees?

Here's a few that are located under the articles tab at the top of the page: http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/tubes_bass.html http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/gitzits_bass.html http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/tube_jigs.html http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/tubes.html You can also do a search of forum threads using the term "tube baits" and find plenty of input from members.

Having been an active member of several different forums, my conclusion on what makes Bass Resource stand out to me isn't so much what you'll find here, but the things you don't. What I don't find on here are the smattering of cliques, elitists, trolls, and divisive subject matter that pollutes most other forums. A person who visits this site a few times and spends some time cruising the various sections and threads is going to come away with the thought that this is a friendly site where members are treated with the same respect they show to others. That's pretty much how I found and decided to become a member here. Having been a member of other forums, I had decided I wasn't going to waste my time joining another dysfunctional internet family. I think that is the real key to how successful this forum is. It seems like all of the members here have somehow decided that crazy Uncle So-So just isn't getting invited to the next family get together. It would be nice to say that you and the moderators were responsible for all of this, but I really think the lion's share of the credit goes to the forum's members. Members here just don't put with them. No long term member here tries to elevate themselves above even the newest rookie. It doesn't happen because nobody seems to makes it to becoming a long term member with that type of attitude. While some long term members drop by the wayside (for whatever reason), the forum always seems to recruit quality members to take their place. The forum thrives because it is capable of maintaining this solid core of long term and newer active users who carry forward these same civil principles.

I see after this you found the easy one where UM was in the wrong. You don't want to forget a certain basketball player who admitted to shaving points in college games AFTER he turned pro. My original point is that no school is free from the practice of how the bend the rules, including UM. I find it rather sad that a school becomes a power house in their chosen sport not only by the talents they show on the field, but also by the talents the typical fan doesn't see off of it.

Pictures of swimming fishermen reminds me of an adventure I was a witness to. The tournament director decided it was safe to launch in the fog as long as every kept the rpm's under 2,000. The boat next and just ahead of us decided that for safety sake, the backseater should stand on the bow to look for danger. Yup, one "whoa" and his partner threw it into reverse. The guy did the most ungraceful swan dive I've ever seen! He wasn't too happy. But, disasters aren't always bad. Same TD drove two hours from home only to find out he left the boat keys sitting on the kitchen counter. They placed in the money and took big bass all within sight of the launch.

X2 on the educated thumb. Winter is a great time to get out the coffee cup or a small bowl to practice off the water.

Does sort of look like a perch jerking setup, or one of those offshore attractor rigs they use when trolling. Gives me an idea for tying up a Dropshot Sabiki Rig!

Thanks guys! It's been a fairly tough year both on and off the water. It started out good with the roadtrip this spring, but the bottom sure fell out of the season after that. This last trip should have me grumpy all winter, so I'm thinking a new boat just might make me somewhat more civil. A-Jay as a co-pilot/navigator on next spring's trip? Hmmmmm, that might be a plan!

The Dark Side! Just don't start numerous threads about them and you'll survive. I can't imagine a day when a grub isn't tied onto one rod of mine. If confession is good for the soul though, I will admit that I'm going to be straying off the Kalin's brand a bit next year. The Big O gave me the chance to get my paws on the new Rage Tail Grub earlier, and I'm going to have to give them a real tryout. I think that little bugger is going to add quite a few fish to the head count.

That goes right along with a slightly more modern old saying. "The best Game Warden is an Old Violator!"

Don't worry Sam, until such time as all NCAA schools and conferences abide equally by the same rules or lack thereof, a little Patina on their Halos just adds character. Rejoice in the fact that your favorite team is at the top of both games right now.

It could also be the other way. Perhaps members making a list of whom to trust in the Flea Market!

Yup, one team is the current national champion, the other made different headlines! http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/6784149/ncaa-hits-lsu-one-year-probation-recruiting-restrictions http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6751931

Upon reflection of everything that went on over the last week, I thought I'd share how our last big trip of the year went. Unless the possibility of spending a bunch of hard earned cash is a success, you could probably say the trip wasn't nearly as good as how the year's first trip went. Like many recent years , we schedule a week's worth of fishing towards the top of the mitten. With the kids living just a few miles away, Burt and Mullett Lakes in the northern tip of Michigan's lower peninsula makes for a great year ending trip. Plenty of species to chase that include some of the biggest smallmouth the state has to offer, as well as a decent chance to bring home some walleye and perch fillets to keep me going through the winter. This year's trip was supposed to start on Friday the 14th. The way it turned out, you would have thought it was the 13th! The week started out with the kind of phone call no one wants to get. A death in the family put a hold on our departure for several days as we needed to attend those things we all must do from time to time. Sunday afternoon found me dressed in funeral garb, though I must admit it was too cold and windy for me to even consider an outfit like the Big O wears. Once the funeral and a brief appearance at the luncheon was taken care of, we hooked up the boat for the three hour trip north. Once we arrived, we still had time to pack the kid's gear into the boat, make sure the dogs got their treats from Grandpa, and battle plans for the next morning were made. Sticking my head out the door early Monday morning showed that those plans were going to need some modification. A stiff SW wind with gusts of over 30 mph meant that we would need to search out more sheltered water. Our first stop of the day was Burt Lake's famous perching grounds in and around Maple Bay. However sheltered as it was, witnessing the boat dragging a 15lb fluted anchor at more than 1.5mph was going to be a problem. After an hour or so of this, we headed to the ramp with the idea that a change of location was in order. At the landing we met a couple of guys with the 521 Ranger who had been sitting on shore watching us. They had decided it was too rough to launch and were trying to decide on a revised plan of their own. We introduced ourselves (I even had the chance to mention Bass Resource as they weren't members.... yet.) found out they were from the Chicagoland area, and suggested they might want to try Mullet Lake near Dodge Point as it was a little more fishable. We stopped by the house for another anchor and arrived at the ramp in time to watch the Ranger power up into some pretty good waves headed south along what we had thought was sheltered water. Dang, it wasn't nearly as sheltered as we thought. After launching, we idled out towards the point only to take two waves over the bow of the Lund. That was enough for us, and we headed back to the dock. Even though the day was starting to look like a practice trip for launching and loading, we had one last choice to try out. Launching in the Cheboygan River should have been our first option. We still had wind, but the waves were gone. We idled up to the junction with the Black River and a short run up towards Black Lake put us on some fish. Spinnerbaits and Kalin's Grubs accounted for a number of smallies in the 2lb range. Nothing big, but at least we were actually fishing! Tuesday morning with wind speeds cut in half, we returned to the launch at Maple Bay. The Rangertrail parked in the lot told us our southern friends were already on the water. It was still there when we loaded up nine hours later, and while I never saw them to ask, I hope they had finally found some fish. We started our day out like many by setting out lines for an early morning troll for old Mr. Marble Eye and his friend the landlocked Mr. Steelhead. No trout, but we did manage to put a couple of nice walleye in the box in the 17"-19" range. Once that bite seemed to die off, it was time to try some of the reed beds and rocky reefs for some smallmouth action. I'm not sure if it was the weather or what, but it was a tough bite. After three hours of mostly zilch results, we decided to see if we could scare up some decent perch to add to our catch. I was on dink patrol as far as perch jerkin went, but the kid put a few eater sized fish into the boat. As we had promised the wives that we'd be home early, we quit fishing around 4pm. Had I known what was coming, we should have broken that date as it was the last time we were able to get on the water. Yup, Mother Nature woke up in a sour mood Wednesday. The heavy winds had returned and a good amount of rain was streaming north towards us. The only thing left to do when you can't fish, is to go shopping for new boy toys! We started at the Yamaha dealer to look at quads. The kid is lucky enough to have been bitten by the ice fishing bug, and it's getting hard for him to drag out all the toys associated with the sport. So much so, that a quad or snowmobile is the only cure. Our next stop was at the Arctic Cat dealer, and that is where the trip took on an expensive turn for me. It seems the place also sells Lund Boats. Arrggh, right there on the showroom floor, I'm looking at an aluminum 2025 Pro-V and a real pretty fiberglass 186 Pro-V. The salesman quickly showed up with a drop cloth to soak up the drool as I crawled over, under, and through these beauties. The next thing I know, he is jotting down notes on all of the specifics of what I'm looking for in a perfect boat for the multi-species fisherman I am. As I walk out the door with the full color brochure pages marked with a couple of dream machines, he is promising to email me the quotes. On the way back, I'm thinking the wife isn't going to be happy with the idea that I'll need to change my user ID on here so I'm safe. Not so quick though, as her only comment is how nice they look along with a "whatever makes me happy" line. So now the email is pending. To end the week early, and to make this long story short, Wednesday evening brought the second phone call no one wants to get. Mom's in the ER! So a weeklong trip got both ends chopped off of it. The fishing wasn't a complete bust, but depending on the Boating Gods, the checkbook might be headed that way! A new 2025 or 197 might be finding a way into my garage by spring.