Helluva_Engineer

http://m.washingtonpost.com/national/authorities-2-year-old-kentucky-girl-accidentally-shot-killed-by-5-year-old-brother/2013/04/30/c1832fee-b206-11e2-9fb1-62de9581c946_story.html

I would've just bought him a bb gun for now, but as long as you're directly supervising his use of the .22 I don't see the issue (I'm assuming you are, of course). Maybe that's what the other family members weren't getting?!? I would get upset if my fiance's mom did that. FWIW, I got my 12 gauge shotgun when I was 12. I'd been shooting my .22 for a lot longer than that, but preferred using the bb gun because I didn't have to have my parents around if I was using it.

Hooch is short for the chattahoochee river which runs through town. The recreational area off us41 might be the most convenient for you though I've never fished that far down. The best fishing on the river, in my opinion, is right around the martin lake area. Specifically right above and below the rapids you'll see just south on google maps. That area is easily accessible via island ford park in case you strike out in the vinings portion of the river.

Being in Vinings you're pretty close to the hooch. Not really that good for bass fishing, but if you have any ultralight you could spend some of the afternoons going for trout.

My fiancee likes to come along, but it sure is a lot cheaper splitting the trips with other guys. Unfortunately, not that many people in my age range like to fish enough to go on a trip for it.

send them our way. fishing has been PATHETIC so far this year.

Somebody at Mustad just saw this and facepalmed themselves.

I don't even know where to start with this. First off, he did it with standup gear. Secondly, it was supposedly 180 miles offshore which is really far to say the least. just impressed by the whole thing.

Nice catch! How'd you get him out of the water? I'd think he would tear up a pier net.

Touching the leader is considered a "catch" if it's a release situation. It's nice to hold it and take a picture, but better for the fish if you don't wrestle it into the boat. Also, sometimes it's a lot safer for yourself which is different than bass which can't really hurt you.

My assignment in Florida finally wrapped up and I decided to take some time off and visit Costa Rica (Arenal Volcano is beautiful). Spent some time in Quepos and had a great couple of days on the water. It was my girlfriend's first time deep sea fishing outside of a couple times on the party boats in Stuart. Had some bad luck with getting sails hooked up raising 14 and getting 6 hookups, landing 4. Also, the hook pulled on a 25+ lb dolphin to start the day, but we managed to get a smaller one for her later in the day. Overall, a great first day for her. Spent a half day going for roosterfish which is an interesting experience to say the least. You're bump trolling live baits within feet of cliffs and islands in the wash of the waves crashing against the rocks. We both managed to get our first Roosterfish. They are obviously related to amberjacks and fight very similar. The drag on my first fish was broken which made the fight even longer. It was buttoned down as tight as it would go and was still only putting about 5 lbs worth of drag on the line.

The wagon wheel song was played so often in my fraternity house that if I hear it one more time...I'm still going to have to sing along.

He was probably just as excited to see a fish caught.

Biggest waste of money: every boat I've ever bought (they're just holes in the water I throw money into) Best investment: college tuition

On drift boats, just keep in mind that everyone is pretty close on top of each other. If you're dropping to the bottom, don't just keep on letting out line as you'll eventually get into everyone else's line. Drop down and let out once or twice, then reel back in and drop straight down again.

Figured I would see what everyone's opinion is regarding the top fishing destinations in the world. For the purposes of this thread, let's just say money is not an issue. I'll throw it out there, but I admittedly haven't been to any of these places. Not on this list, but I'm going to be fishing out of Quepos, Costa Rica this winter so we'll see how that stacks up to expectations. 1) Pinas Bay, Panama - Marlin, Sailfish, Mahi-Mahi, Roosterfish 2) Ascension Island - Supposedly fish are so abundant you can catch Tuna from the SHORE! 3) Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - Marlin, Roosterfish 4) Out Islands, Bahamas - Marlin, Wahoo, Bonefish 5) Prince Edward Island, Canada - Bluefin Tuna

Good tips, guys.Thanks! I'll bring a net next time for the inbetweeners. This fish was definitely too green to try to bring it into the boat. I should've left it in the water and chunked to see if there were any followers. Oh well, live and learn. I would've probably pushed out further than 200' if I'd had more time, but the boat I rented was just too slow (150 hp on a 22' CC with 5 people) and our main goal was the beach instead of fishing.

This morning I made my first attempt at going offshore without a guide of some form. Of course the transducer for the depthfinder on the boat I was renting wasn't working so I had to go by the contour lines on the GPS. In around 70 ft right off SLI, we run across a 10-12 ft bamboo tree. Put out the baits and troll by it, but no takers. Pull up alongside and see some bait, but no fish. Probably just picked clean, but was this worth sticking around chumming? Moved on and ran across some scattered weeds trolling east in 100-150 range. Pick up a small dolphin, but shake her off trying to swing her in the boat. I'll include the pictures so if y'all have any advice please coach me. It was definitely keeper sized, but less than 30... Should I not have tried swinging this fish in? I didn't feel like a gaff was necessary, but is it better to air on the side of caution? Everything happened pretty quickly and didn't see any fish following this one in and by the time this fish is done, the 20 closest boats to me have decided to pull as closely as possible to me. Spent the next hour trying to find a line to troll, but couldn't find a clear area with all the other boats. Didn't see any of them hook up, so guess I did alright. A quick two hours and we headed back in to the beach.

Where in Florida are you heading?

Those of us who hadn't caught a darned thing in a few weeks

Using the definition of trophy as something I would get mounted (or replica depending), it's really a degree of novelty to the catch. For example, I would get a marlin mount for pretty much any marlin I caught whereas I would want a large bass before I considered mounting it. For the context of this discussion, 15 lb bass would get mounted for me even though 10 is a great fish and the universal lunker standard.

Follow up question: What should be my next "species to catch"? I have the following saltwater species to my history (all since I moved down here last May): Dolphin Sailfish BFT Bonito Cobia Banded rudderfish Snapper (Red, Lane, Vermilion, Mutton) Grouper (Red) Sea bass Trigger Snook Tarpon Jack Ladyfish Bluefish

So I'd gone on a bit of a technology fast since last Saturday following the GT football game, but I feel compelled to post this report. This morning my buddy and I decided to head out of SLI for some bottom fishing on one of the party boats. Fished a few spots between 50-70 ft of water. I caught my first genuine red snapper (darn the short season) and a vermilion snapper. My buddy got a shark as his "trophy" fish. Between the two of us we caught 34 nice sized sea bass and an assortment of grunts and other trash fish. After the depressing football, I decided to go fishing on the beach. I was using a Mirrolure 19MR or 20 MR in a mullet-like pattern. Fish were feeding on a really quick retrieve and I was essentially using it as a topwater. They would shortstrike the 'normal' retrieve. I caught 28 relatively small jacks and 5 lady fish. I was seeing signs of snook and couldn't get the lure through all the jacks. I got surprised by a tarpon blowing up my lure going airborne on the strike right in the surf. After a relatively quick fight, I land my first tarpon.Unfortunately with all the shark around and trying to do this all in the surf by myself, no help from the couple that was walking on the beach, I failed to retrieve my lure from this fishes mouth as my leader broke when I lost my hold on the tarpon's mouth. :/ So my day's tally 1 Genuine Red Snapper (Personal First) 1 Vermilion Snapper 18 Sea Bass 28 Jacks 5 Ladyfish 1 Tarpon (Personal First) How's that for a day's work?

I was trying to cast under an over hanging tree, but got my line over a limb. I was yo-yoing the line with the worm dipping in and out of water so that I could time when to jerk it out so I could get it out of the tree. Right as I jerk, a bass comes clear out of the water and takes my bait. Hook set, fish caught.

Haha I'm eventually going to get down there to join the "century club"