Ratherbfishing

It's actually against the law to keep debris from the shuttle. One can try to sell it but...

Cold fronts in late March and April (well, May too, for that matter).

When I first read the heading my immediate thought was that you were asking about what we called our "man parts". LOL!!! My sister gave me a cat named Snickers but my g-friend and I call her stinkers or "stinky" I also call her (the cat) "Fuzzy grub".

Dear Raider, I'm unsure this question was ever propery answered: What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow (African or European)?

Talonman, what you did sounds a lot like what my brother, and friend and I did one early spring thaw. There were huge icebergs floating on a swollen stream behind my friends house. So we thought it would be fun to jump on one and ride it down a ways. We had brought along an inflatable raft and, to be different, I thought it would be fun to sit in the raft and slide down a snow bank and into the water. Everthing worked great until I hit the water where, instead of floating leisurely on the surface, the raft continued down it's path and more or less sank. I bailed out. My brother, who, along with our friend, was on a nearby ice flow reached down and he tried to pull me up. Unfortunately, the edge of the ice flow caved in and now there were two of us were thrashing about in the water. Fortunately, our friend was able to pull us both out otherwise-well, there might've been a tragic story in the paper about three really stupid kids who did their last really stupid thing.

30 inch musky on a small rebel crawdad in a local river. Thought I had a record smallmouth.

OMG. At the risk of sounding like a misogynist, don't go down that path (chasing girls, I mean). That will only lead to doom and destruction. Fishing is much healthier!

Since the genie didn't pose any caveats, I'd definitely go for it. What's there to lose? There's nothing that says you can't continue to pursue "the second biggest fish of your lifetime" afterwards. And it isn't always about the size of the fish anyway.

This question is not about how you fare against other fisherman. We all think we're the best. I'm asking how about how you feel you are as a fisherman compared to, say, 5 or 10 years ago-or maybe 20 or 30 years ago (for us old timers). Are there areas you've improved and are there things which have backslid some? Me, I look at a body of water differently. Before, it was more like-motor up to a spot that looks "fishy" and just start casting whatever lure I have on the end of my line. Now, I am a little better at considering the time of year, the weather pattern, and the topography of the lake. I think I'm better at looking for patterns and sticking with them (if they're found) rather than just moving along beating the bank. I also have learned to use and trust my electronics more-especially, strangely, my flasher unit. As I get older, I don't have as much energy so that has probably hurt me some. However, perhaps as a consequence, I'm also more patient and methodical. All in all, I've gotten better though I also think I've kind've plateaued (sp?) in recent years. I still can get overwhelmed with a lake-especially an unfamiliar one-and large reservoirs can still baffle me.

A good title for this video might be "This bass followed me home. Can I keep it?" Great video!

A modification of the original: My wife said, if I went fishing again she was going to leave me. I sure wish she had said that years ago.

It's tough for someone ELSE to answer your question. Can you afford to buy a boat and, as importantly, can you afford the upkeep on it? Will you get much use out of it-even if you find yourself alone on it (without your buddy)? Do you have a supportive or nagging spouse? What kind of storage do you have for it? Old boats are like old people. Some have been well maintained while others have had the heck beaten out of them. You can generally tell what kind of treatment a boat has had by looking it over thoroughly but even then, I recommend you find someone knowledgeable to go with you. Don't buy impulsively. Look around. In this market there are usually some decent deals out there-especially, I would guess, in your neck of the woods. I would always put some ear muffs on the motor and try to start it cold (feel the engine first to make sure it's cold). If it's warm when you arrive, it's a pretty good sign that it doesn't start easy (cold start) and the owner ran it ahead of time.

i dunno. Compared to a quark, I am (we are) giant.

Do your homework before you sell anything. Some of it may be rather valuable and/or certainly still useful. As far as utility goes, a fly reel does not have to be sophisticated or expensive to be functional. Mostly, it's purpose is to store line. Whereas it's nice to have a smooth, modern drag, it isn't critical for "average" sportfish and just about any reel will serve you fine for most occassions. Fly line IS thicker and heavier than "regular" line because it is what actually carries the fly to its destination. Being really light, the fly is mostly along for the ride. My other suggestion: Read up and learn about flyfishing before you make any decisions. I can answer many questions if you want to PM me.

Probably the best way of turning off residents to your presence is by carrying a five gallon bucket with you. Some folks don't care one way or the other however others (myself included) interpret the bucket as a good way to empty out a lake in a hurry.

At one point many years ago i heard that barracuda over a certain length shouldn't be eaten. Is this still true? Nice catch!

My only concern, and I don't know if reality bears this out, is this: As more expensive baits become available in the market place, the greater the tendency there might be for lower end baits companies to increase the price of their baits. Riding the wave of "respectability", so to speak. Personally I don't care how much someone else spends on their equipment so long as it doesn't effect me. So long as I don't have to, I'll never spend over ten dollars for a lure.

Readdressing the question-would I get a divorce if I were him? That might be a bit premature. HOWEVER, if it were me, assuming the facts are as simple as you stated (they seldom are), there would HAVE to be some changes if I were to stay in the relationship. I've been around enough to know, however, that change doesn't come easy or without major resistance and sometimes it doesn't come at all. And since you're asking the question, and not him, it's difficult to know how he feels about the situation. Obviously, if YOU were the one in a relationship and were asking advice, it's apparent that something would have to give. My brother has a wife who...let's just say I think he could've chosen better. She is very selfish and ego-centric. If you were lying in the street dying, she'd scarcely bother to lift her feet to step over you. However, she's my brother's wife and not mine and I've had to accept that. It's come down to where I've asked him to not talk to me (complain) about her if he's not going to do anything about it. I also refuse, now, to go over and help him with projects if, essentially, they are for her. It's what I've had to do to keep from hating her guts. It's really sad that I've had to take this approach but there it is.

the little mermaid?

This woman must've gone to the same finishing school that my brother's wife went to. Only when they are done, it's their husbands who are "finished." We've only heard one side of the story but from what's been said, it would give me ulcers. Death would be a merciful out.

If one isn't using a spider rig, the long rods are for reaching into and around cover such as standing timber, etc. A small reel is used because they are light and and line capacity isn't critical. Personally, I prefer reels with larger diameter spools so the line doesn't kink up as much.

My record, so far, is eight skips. Panfish with a flat surface work better, though.

In the early years of our relationship, my girlfriend bought me a lure or two if she found them cheap at a garage sale. Now, she doesn't. I think she's fearful she's going to fuel the fire. Clearly, she thinks I have too much stuff. But out of fairness, I generally buy baits which are on sale and I have far less stuff than if I didn't put half of it back before I went to the cash register. The sickness has spread to what I call "in-fishermanitis" where I now collect walleye, pike, and smallmouth baits. While I do go to Canada once a year, I must operate under the dillusion that I actually live there-or that I actually fish for walleye. What I need now, more than anything, is a pack mule (or elephant) for carrying all my stuff and an assistant (kind of like a surgical nurse) who can tie on and hand me whichever rod/reel and bait I might "beckon" for. Maybe then might I begin to approach using all of my stuff.

My buddy has one. It didn't work on the day I saw him use it but the fish refused to go anywhere near the surface on that day so...

floating jerkbaits float, suspending jerkbaits suspend, and sinking jerkbaits sink.