Lund Explorer

I was thinking about buying two of them. What's the old rule about a double negative?

This sort of thing couldn't happen in the world renowned SEC, could it? Until they introduce a salary cap to the NCAA, there will always be two types of college players. The first are the ones that can't follow the rules, and the other are the ones who haven't been caught!

In the last contract agreed to between these parties, the owners stated that would guarantee to pay a certain percentage of revenues to the players and their union. I would find it hard to believe that the groups lawyers wouldn't have had some kind of language that spelled out how to prove that this guarantee was met. Most likely with some sort is disclosure from the owner's financial statements. Regardless though, the bottom line is this: Billionaires are fighting with Millionaires over how to carve up the money taken from people who earn less in a year than any of these people earn in a day.

That's is going to be the plan in the front of my boat as well. My panfishing might come about for another reason though. It will most likely come from the back of the boat. Jackie IS NOT worried at all about taking a break from bass fishing if she thinks she can catch a dinner's worth of filets. If she happens across an active school of them, I just might take a break to pitch in.

Are you sure the ice will be off the lakes by the 3rd Saturday? Are you sure about that opening date? I wouldn't be surprised that the ice will last up here until the second Saturday which is the 9th of the month, and I'm pretty sure that C&R season doesn't start until the last weekend which is April 30th. You could waste one day next weekend at the GR sport show. Nothing better than paying $5 for the right to walk very slowly behind a bunch of really old fat people down crowded aisles! ;D As soon as the ice does melt, there is always crappie fishing, maybe like in the canals on Gun or Gull Lake. Usually a few dinks swimming in amongst them. Or you could go on the roadtrip. Or maybe a trip of your own down into Indiana. A weekend on Lake Wawasee maybe?

I'm pretty sure that in Michigan, a salvage title vehicle of any type is not insurable. PL/PD is okay, but you'll have whatever you pay for the vehicle at risk in an accident. You may want to talk to your agent. Unless you can afford to have somebody crunch your new ride right after you buy it, it might be that it will be more than just your truck that gets rear-ended!

In tournament fishing, you aren't going to be able to escape your weaknesses. Outside of the tournament realm, the average fisherman can fish his strengths and either do good, or simply assume that the fish weren't biting that day. But in a tournament, you'll get to weigh in against the competition, some of which will be using the baits and tactics that are your self described weak areas. You WILL have certain days when you come in after a long day with a really short sack, only to watch others come in with a limit of brutes. If you are lucky, you'll use those days entry fees not as lost money, but as tuition and learn from it. That is one of the keys to a good tournament fisherman. You'll probably use your strengths to start your day, but if they aren't working, you'll spend the rest of those days operating outside of your comfort zone. You will have a modest selection of spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and such that you will be able to haul out and give them an honest try. You'll spend more of your pre-tournament fishing using these baits as well. Finally, through a combination of learning how to strengthen your overall game, time on the water, and a pinch of luck, you will gain enough confidence in those formerly weak lures, that on some days you will actually start your day with them. You'll know how and when seasons and conditions warrant using certain baits over others. The faster you decide to work on those weaknesses, the faster you will stop donating entry fees and going home with a few other peoples money in your pocket!

I don't think physical shape should matter. Look at lineman, and some baseball players have a few extra pounds. imho anglers are athletes. I've fished tournaments and know that several days of 12 hr practice fishing and then 3 to 4 days of actual tournament time is exhausting physically and mentally. X-2.... Football players in shape? William "The Fridge" Perry! Nuff said.

You can count the Wat Dept and I to show up, though I'm not sure if we'll be drinking much vino or eating too much. After a long drive, I will most likely be hitting the bed fairly early that night. Besides, I was more interested in 7&7 being more of a drink than a time and location.

X-2! I consider a C-Rig when I want something to cover a lot of structure but at a slower pace than a crankbait. I tend to think of a C-Rig as a horizontal presentation. I will use a T-Rig or Drop-Shot when I want a vertical presentation on a piece of specific cover on that structure.

I'm not sure about the rest of these guys, but my wife fishes with me all the time. She is even coming along on the roadtrip. We have fished in tournaments together, a Ma & Pa league that she held up her end of the catch almost every day. Granted she will most likely complain to anyone that she can corner about how I "stole" her thunder one day by catching a bigger bass than her..... With only five minutes left! :'( But we go camping and fishing together quite often. I've got a daughter and several grand-daughters that enjoy fishing too. Now as far as why the women's section is concerned, I would agree with what others are saying. Just not enough ladies on here to keep the post count up. My wife gets onto her computer every so often, but I guess it just isn't her thing.

After doing accounting work for several very successful bait shops during the last 30+ years, I could probably write a book on the subject. Might do it some day. Like all businesses, the proper management can bring good profitable results. While big box stores may take away some of the customer base, the small mom and pop shops offer personal services that they can't. Internet stores also take a bite out of the sales figures for types of merchandise. But, if an owner is in tune with his/her customer base, you can stock the things that local sportsmen are willing to buy from you. David, if you are interested in looking into this venture further, you are going to want to find a good accountant that can help you work through a potential sellers records to see if the business is viable. You should work out a complete business plan that will provide you with a roadmap to success. I would also suggest that it might be worth the cost to hire a buyer's broker to help in your search of businesses that may be for sale. You must realize that if you deal with a regular real estate agent, they are contractually obligated to work for the seller, and not you. If you decide to go into this further, I would suggest that you move slowly and study this in depth. I am currently working with a long time client who recently opened a sporting goods store in my area. Times are tough economy wise, but they are making ends meet. Their investment in inventory alone was close to $200,000 on top of furniture, fixtures, and equipment. Add to that, the cost of real estate. Unless you have fairly deep pockets, you are going to need seller or bank financing. Bank financing is tough right now but not impossible, and it is normally cheaper than seller financing. If you are going to need financial help, you are going to need rock solid cash flow projections that will need to be based on the seller's historical records. This is another good reason to find an accountant that has a background working with these types of businesses. Did I mention that you are going to also want a "Line of Credit" to draw from and payoff as you transition from one season to the next? Finally, you're going to need to find a lawyer who will help protect you from the legal trappings of owning your own business. Go slow, don't jump at anything too fast, and make sure you can afford what you are looking at. Good luck. I'm not really in a position to take on a fulltime project across Lake Michigan, but if I can help, please feel free to pm me.

Maybe Amanda's hair is the same color as the truck.

The best I can come up with is by using part of your user name...... River Sticks! "Catches the H@ll out of them!"

Yup, early pad beds are fish magnets. My favorite tactic is to throw an 1/8oz bushwhacker spinnerbaits through them.

It was -3* as the sun was coming up this morning, so I'm pretty sure we won't have soft water for awhile yet. Did a real fancy dance with the bait monkey a month or so ago, and even though there's still a few things I do need this year, I have lost the motivation for now. Fishing shows were sort of interesting this weekend as I caught some repeats of shows I had missed before. FLW's college tournament yesterday was sort of interesting. I also noticed that two or three of the hosts didn't bother wearing lifejackets while running during their shows. That list included the Lindner brothers, so it must be those Lund boats are safe enough that you don't need to wear one...... Not!

LIVE Frog! Hook him through the lips with a 2/0 weedless hook, pop a big air bubble under the skin on his back, and toss him out in the middle of the pond. If Mrs. Hawg is anywhere around, this should bring you the answer.

Come on Chris, life is too short to toss any day away. There's no reason to waste the entire day. Go to Hulu and watch all the repeats of Gilligan's Island they've got. Great theme song to remember for next time you are on the water while the wind is kicking up. Make a list of why you would be better off with Mary Ann instead of Ginger, or vice-versa. Perhaps you could even come up with a list of members here who are old enough for Mrs. Howell to be considered a cougar! ;D If you really have your heart set on being outdoors, perhaps today would be a good day to finally start using a baitcasting rig. Tie on a #11 Rapala, go out in the backyard, and try casting into the wind! At the very least you should be able to come up with a few new #@$%^ words!

I'm all set as Long Mike got me a really nice map of the lake, and I've spent quite a bit of time looking it over. My Lowrance GPS also has good mapping that I'll have with me on the water. I've kind of laid out a plan in my head, but will wait until I actually see what the conditions are before I see if it needs changing. From reading about the prior road trip, it sounds like the weather could be a big factor. Just part of the game I guess. I can tell you one thing though. From the looks of the place, I plan to fish most of these coves just like they are their own seperate lakes, all connected by a river. The basis of the plan is "Old & Slow" with me as the former and the boat as the latter. Once I make it into one of these coves, I'll pick my way though the entire place before moving on. One spot/one bass? I can remember a time when it seemed like those darn fish should have called vitamin bass.... One - A - Day! ;D Fortunately I haven't suffered from too many of those days lately. If it is boils down to only one fish per/spot, I suppose I'll need 30+ spots then huh?

You dont have to worry about getting skunked on Kentucky Lake. There's so many bass in that place it aint even funny....and they feed right often. Oh, I'm sure I'll catch fish. Seeing as how Deb has said she plans on beating us like a tribe full of redheaded stepkids, the only question is who will come in second! ;D

SAY WHAT????

So do we get a "Dislike" button too? What happens if somebody posts something and they don't get any "Likes"? Is there a place where we can complain about what other people think of what we post? I'll vote with Rhino, it ain't broke....... Yet!

I can honestly say that I don't hide anything from my wife. I can also say that I just don't bother to confess to her what I do buy. If it is big enough for her to notice, it would be foolish to try.

I don't think you hijacked it, you just took it in the direction it needed to go sooner or later. Because in my opinion, the idea that location is 99% of the game doesn't allow for enough left for the other remaining aspects. Earlier, I stated that success comes about through a combination of three parts. This theory was put forth many years ago by the staff of In-Fisherman, and is the best explanation I've ever heard. So in trying to answer your question regarding location, I'll ask you a few questions. What are the bass looking for at this time of year? That should be fairly easy. Understanding that bass have three main instincts that dominate their life, Food, Shelter, and Reproduction, can narrow your search. In this instance, pre-spawn is going to tell you that the bass will be staging somewhere near spawning areas on the lake you are looking at. What kind of lake are you going to fish on? The second part of this puzzle lays in the type of lake that you are targeting. It would do little good to try to fish a midwestern natural eutrophic lake using tactics suited to a southern impoundment. You can't follow creek channels into spawning coves on a lake that was formed without any creek channels in it. So after you have learned of the habits of the bass, you need to learn as much about the various types of lakes, rivers, or impoundments there are, and the types of structure and cover you will find on these types of waters. By combining your knowledge of the bass' seasonal needs and how these fish will relate to current conditions, you should be able to determine what types of structure or cover they will be focused on given those same seasons and conditions. Once you have these two factors figured out, you come to the final question. What baits should I use? Almost every bait you can buy on the market will catch fish at some point in time, while very few will catch fish all of the time. You need to think about the first two aspects of this effort to figure out which bait completes your entire plan for success. If the season and conditions tell you that the bass will be actively feeding, then you should focus on baits that give you the best chance to quickly take advantage of this. Conversely, if conditions tell you that most fish will be suffering from a case of lockjaw, then you will need to focus your efforts with baits that work better for neutral or negative bass. So now taking all of this into consideration, I'll tackle your challenge of facing a new lake. It doesn't matter if it's March, July, or December. I should be able to look at what the bass are doing based on the season, I should understand the attributes of the type of lake it is, and taking current conditions into mind, I should be able to find fish and determine what type of mood they will most likely be in. Case in point - Kentucky Lake and the upcoming Roadtrip. I have only been on that lake once in my life. I was 13 years old, and we fished for nothing but crappie. Now I'm getting ready to go there this spring to fish for bass. The lake is huge by the standards of the lakes I normally fish. But I have confidence that I can catch fish down there. I won't do as well as the guys who fish it all the time, but I should avoid the skunk. This is because I know the fish I'm going after, I have fished impoundments like it before, and I know what the season is. The challenges I will face are going to be based on the actual conditions for the time I'm there, and what baits I'll need to throw to maximize my chances based on the fishes mood. I'm sorry this is so long, but I don't know how to explain it any other way. It's F + L + P = Success.

I should really give credit for this idea to Jim McKay. Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of men who can no longer fish...... The thrill of the bride..... and the agony of the groom...... The human drama of formerly athletic competition.... This is Bass Resources' Wide Wide World of Marital Bliss!! ;D ;D ;D