K_Mac

To quote Clint Eastwood's line in Heartbreak Ridge, "This does not mean we are going to be taking long, warm showers together." :

Colts: 37 Bears: 30 Good D or not these teams will score a lot of points. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it. Should be a great game. I'm glad to see two mid-west teams playing. I wonder if the game makes Sports Center?

Riskkid, I am convinced that nasty winter forecasts cause people to stock up on things they don't even use...like lemmings rushing to the sea. : I'm with you muddy-the older I get, the less I like the cold weather.

avid I am really sorry to read this post, esp. after reading the posts from yesterdasy in the fishing trip section. I know how discouraging it is to be unable to do the things you want to do. I won't give cliched advise other than be careful. There are many of us who will keep you in our thoughts and prayers. Good luck. K

Cold temp, heavily stained cold water? Im guessing there wasn't much competition for good spots : 8-) Way to go guys.

avid, we members of the "broken fin" club salute you. 8-) I am happy that you're able to get back out on the water. Keep up the good work , and as many have said, be careful out there.

DMB It is an amazing story. I saw one of those "experienced" reporters choking back tears on TV last night. He knew how unlikely it is to find a child alive in these circumstances. Thank God they did. As far as Devlin getting what he deserves, what could you do to him? Nothing would undo the evil he has done. My prayer is that he never, never has the chance to do this again. Whatever that takes. I have mixed feelings about capital punishment, but this is the kind of case that makes me think death might be the answer. The chance of rehabilitating child molesters is slim or none, and even if we could, turning someone loose who has been convicted of this type of crime puts all of society at risk.

Matt Fly Your attitude will go a long way in making the change a more positive experience. Life is unpredictable, but God is good. I wish you and yours all the best. K

Happy Birthday GMAN. You're just a pup. Some of us have fishing gear older than that. :-/

Very well said. It is easy to forget the turmoil of that time. It took real guts to issue that pardon. We could use another like him now in my opinion.

Guys, I did not say that the execution was undeserved. I am simply questioning the merit of capital punishment in our society. I think there is room for discussion on this subject. Do not assume that because I question capital punishment that I am one who thinks we should coddle terrorists or mass murderers. I am not. I also believe that you can question why we are in Iraq and the decision-making that took place that led to our being there, but now that we are there we have a responsibility to the finish the job. I supported the decision to go, and still support giving our military everything they need to complete their mission. The problem here is I don't know what finishing the job means at this point. This is another subject that is worthy of discussion, but tends to be very divisive. These are not conservative or liberal issues: They are American issues. God bless America.

I fully understand the emotional appeal of this sentiment. If we were talking about my son or my daughter I would go "medievil" on the bastid. But as the great power in the world. A country with a proud history of enlightened self interest, compassion for our defeated enemies, moral leadership, and itellectual freedom, can we lower ourselves to excusing barbarism on our part because the object our disdain is in fact a barbarian? This paradox is at the core of my ambivalence. What do you think? My first reaction to the conviction and hanging was, justice has been done. He clearly deserved what he got, but I think avid makes a great point. Webster defines ambivalence as, a simultaneous attraction toward and repulsion from an object, person, or action. This sums up how I feel about this execution, or maybe any execution, very well. I do not rejoice in the death of another human being, and am afraid that government sanctioned killing does put us in the position of using a barbaric punishment to penalize a barbaric act. Alpster is also absolutely right that it is the Government's responsibility to maintain order. As avid said it is a paradox that is not easily resolved.

Great pictures. A very cool web-site. 8-)

Welcome

Welcome

Welcome

Thanks Dan.

Welcome aboard. Thanks for giving back to the kids. Way to go.

The Shimano Scorpians and Diawa Alphas seem to be very popular among many on this forum. The weight, features, and price of these reels make them very attractive, but the availability of service is a concern. I called a couple of the local shops here in the St. Louis area and none will work on these reels. I know ReelMech doesn't service them. How do you guys that own these reels handle routine cleaning, service, etc.? How about repair work? Thanks guys.

Here is a link: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/horizontal-pod.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/pod-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20291&rid=&indexId=cat20291&navAction=push&masterpathid=&navCount=1&parentType=index&parentId=cat20291&id=0030842

bass2187 I think the slower fall of a regular hook is most often the best. I recomend trying both to see what works best. I am about an 90 minutes north of SIU, not too far from Waterloo. I do not have a boat at this time because I can't use one due to medical disability. Kinkaid lake has always been one of my favorite "local" lakes but without a boat probably not so much. Rend lake offers some good shore fishing for bass and crappie from the riprap along 154 (I think that is the number-the highway between Carbondale and Marion). Baldwin lake, at Baldwin powerplant, allows shore fishing along the north shore, and can be very good this time of year for both LM and hybrid stripers. PM me if you want to talk about details. Good Luck.

Yes and yes.

Whether it catches anything or not, it sure is purty. :

The superline hooks will cause your Senko or Ika to fall faster because of the extra weight. Sometimes that is a good thing. Good luck.

The Hula grub/spider grub fished on a stand-up, or football jig is a great bass catcher. Let your imagination be your guide as far as technique-crawl, hop, pop, it's all good. Good luck.