Sam

Had my first skin cancer screening today and the doc found three places that were just starting to become small cancerous places on my forehead and right ear. That freezing stuff she sprayed on the three really hurt. But she nailed all three of them. She said when I go fishing to make sure to wear a cap that covers the back of my neck and ears; use 50 rated zinc oxide sunscreen on face, neck, throat, and ears; wear long pants and long sleeve shirts no matter how hot it is; windburn is not a problem - the sun's rays are the problem; be watchful of your body; and if you even think something is not right go directly to the dermatologist to take a look at it. I showed her one other place I found this past Friday after returning from a friend's pond and looking for ticks. It is a funny looking spot in my grion area and after she saw it she said it was OK for now but to keep an eye on it. If it grows or changes colors come directly back to her office. Do not pass Go. Head for her shop, immediately. She was glad I checked myself over looking for ticks and told me to continue this practice everytime I go fishing or work in the garden. And if I see or feel anything that is out of the ordinary, return to her office. Sort of like fishing. You need to know how your line feels with out a fish on it so you will know when you have a fish on it. So come on guys and gals, get those annual skin cancer checkups as skin cancer is nothing to fool around with.

Senko

X2

What are the line test parameters of your rod and reel? These are the numbers that dictate line test. Take the high and low from your rod, add them together, divide by two, and you have a favorable line test weight for the rod. Make sure the reel can handle the rod's average line test.

Wow! She is a good looking girl. I have never seen her out of costume. Thanks for sharing. Chopsley and Morgus

My granddog wishing me a Happy Grandfather's Day.

Good course in Virginia. Refreshed on things I had forgotten.

Crank, my uncle used to take me and my two cousins fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and the Biloxi marsh on weekends. We usually found a sandbar near the Chandeleur Islands and fished for speckled trout, redfish and anything that would bite, putting them on a stringer by our sides as we waded the sand bars. One time, according to my cousin who says he witnessed this on a sandbar, he saw my uncle go straight up six feet and then over six feet and landed in the 16-foot skiff. Seems a shark swam right between his legs. This did not stop us dummies from continuing to fish the sandbars. It just made us cognizant of the danger we were creating by putting our catches on a stringer next to our legs before putting them in the skiff. My uncle had a 42-foot Chris Craft and we pulled two skiffs: 14-foot and a 16-foot, out of the Pearl River in Mississippi. Both had live wells. We used his 18-foot trolling nets to catch our live bait (shrimp and baby croakers) and put them in the live wells. If we hit shrimp in the marsh or Gulf we would shrimp all weekend and end up with around 400 pounds of Gulf shrimp. My cousins and I hated going after the shrimp as it was hard work; we got stuck more times than we can remember; and we had to stop and mend the nets when a shark or large fish would swim through them. I saw and felt my first hammerhead shark one weekend while shrimping. It was a small one, about two feet long. Interesting animal. We threw him back. Great memories and lots of fun. Thanks for your post that brought back those positive memories of growing up in south Louisiana.

I remembered one like geo g had happen to him. Fishing my double secret pond in March two years ago I hooked a big one and she broke off, taking my Bandit blue and yellow crankbait with her. Fast forward to October for my last venture of the season and something catches my eye on the bank. Yep! My blue and yellow Bandit. One side is white from being bleached by the sun and I use it in tournaments as my lucky crankbait.

Fishing for redfish in the Biloxi marsh southeast of New Orleans when I hooked a big bull red. He pulled and pulled so hard that the line finally snapped. About 5 minutes later, after re-rigging, I got another big hit and when we landed this bull red it had my hook in his mouth along with the line and bobber that he snapped off.

Outstanding!!!!! Glad you got your rig back. Good story.

I don't remember either. I do remember Howdy Doody, Buffalo Bob and Clarabelle. And another show where you put a piece of plastic on the TV screen and you followed a bug or dot and created a picture. But I think that was back in the 50's and before color TV productions.

We have a gentleman on our Forum who is using Morgus the Magnificent as his photo. Here is Morgus the Magnificent from New Orleans back in the 60's. He hosted a horror movie show Saturday nights. Did you have any funny or goofy local TV personality when you were growing up or at this time? If so, let us know about it.

Yep.

Of course. We all do. But after one outing I take the new reel to Wayne Knabe in Powhatan County so he can put some of his secret formula grease in it after wiping out the factory grease. Wayne's grease is great and your reels will purr like a kitten. I take my reels to Wayne every two to three years for a grease update. Wayne says that some reels stay on the retailer's shelf for a long time and it is better to replace the old grease with new grease.

Not really, unless they sparkle and attract hits or they chase the bass away by looking abnormal. Remember, what you see in the store is not what the bass see in the water. Colors change as our baits and tackle go lower in the water column. Many colors look black as they hit bottom. Red hooks were popular. I had a bunch that I used as trailer hooks thinking the red would attract more hits. Not true. Never did see any additional strikes or hard hits. Use whatever hooks you have confidence. Don' be concerned about the color. The bait's color is more important. As usual in bass fishing, it is confidence in your baits and tackle. Have fun!

Bassman, all of the above is true and you can take from it what you believe will help and give you confidence. What I have found follows: PLASTICS The bass picks up and holds the plastics by their tail as they swim away. A strong hook set will not set the hook as the hook is not in a position to hit the bass' mouth. A bass, as stated above, can hold onto your plastic and fight you until it lets go. Usually right at the boat to drive you crazy. TREBLE HOOK AND MOVING BAITS Short strikes and strikes to move or kill your treble hook/single hook moving baits will cause you to go nuts. Add a trailer hook to your buzzbaits, Chatterbaits and spinnerbaits. Sometimes they will not want to eat your treble hook baits and there is nothing you can do. SLACK IN THE LINE If you do hook a bass you never want to have any slack in the line. You can put slack in the line without even knowing you are doing it. Be sure to keep a tight line with the rod tip up. If the bass starts to jump you then put the rod tip in the water to stop the jumping. PATIENCE We all have a tendency to set the hook too fast. Frog fishing is an excellent example of missing fish by setting the hook too fast. Give the bass time to work the plastic into its mouth, about three to four seconds after they pick it up. Use MegaStrike or a scent of your choice on all plastics and moving baits. Yes, you put it on all baits, even treble hook baits. When you see your line move away or do something "strange or out of the ordinary" you reel in the slack, point the rod tip at the place the line enters the water, and set that hook after three or four seconds. When your moving baits stop or you feel the hit, swing your rod tip from right to left (left to right) at waist height and never, never, never allow any slack in the line for one second. After swinging your rod you hold your rod tip to around 10 or 11 o'clock and the fight is on. Remember, when fishing topwaters, if the bass short strike your bait you throw a wacky rigged Senko at the location where the topwater was hit. The bass may pick it up as it falls thinking it injured the topwater when it hit it. My friend was fishing a major tournament on Buggs Island lost six straight bass at the boat. Yes, six in a row. He said he was doing everything correctly but the bass came unbuttoned just the same. He has never figured it out nor has his nonboater. It can happen to us all. It has happened to me, too. You just have to keep on fishing.

Is this our old Raider? Has he returned to the Forum? Seems he has clamed down. We want our old Raider. Great info on the boys but we need to have our dose of Raider, especially for the newer members. Have not seen Raider's posts in a while. Glad he is back, if in fact, it is our old Raider. Come on Raider, tell me it is true!!!!

Keith, I agree with you 100%. A number of years ago when Kia was introduced in the USA, Consumer's Reports penned an article on the Kia nad said to stay away from them and from vehicles builit in Korea. Today, when you review the auto reviews in CU it states that Kia is a good car and has it ranked higher than many other vehicles. I think the Kia execs read the first CU article and upgraded their vehicles. I still subscribe to the original CU position on cars made in Korea. The Korean cars are probably excellent choices today but I will still go with my home made Jeep. That's just me.

Chiggers. They are invisible and will cause rashes and skin irritations. See your pharmacist and find out what you can put on yourself to help prevent their infestation in the future. Tuck long pants,jeans into socks. Ware long sleeve shirts. Ware a cap. Use Deet type spray on your clothes, back of neck, and cap. Respray every two hours. Look like you are going outside in December. Take a hot shower when you return home and put clothes in washing machine on way to get cleaned up. Wash on hot water cycle. You may have to go to a dermatologist and have your rash treated and get their advice on what is best to put on to avoid those insects and plants that can give you rashes.

Only "accident" I can remember after all of my launches was at Osborne Landing outside of Richmond, when a guy launching his bass boat by himself forgot to put in the boat's plug. After a successful launch, he walked down and then tied the boat onto the dock about 50 feet from the ramp, walked back, and parked his truck and trailer. When he returned, the rear of the boat was sinking. He made a mad dash to get back to his truck and trailer as we all moved out of his way and got ready to help him. We helped him pull the boat the 50 feet or so along the dock to get the boat onto the trailer and after pulling it out onto his trailer and draining the water, he put the plug back in the boat, launched it again with our help moving it down the dock, parked his truck and trailer, and walked back to the ramp. The motor started like nothing happened. No idea if the water messed up his batteries or charger. Never saw him again. His truck and trailer were gone when I returned to the ramp later that afternoon. I always put the plug in before leaving home and just remembering this adventure makes me aware that accidents can happen to the most experienced of us any time.

Things happen for a reason. You and your wife will be blessed with a better situation in the future. Hang in there. It worked for you and it will work for her.

Bummer. Sorry to read about your situation. Hopefully you can correct it in the future.

Patience. It will pass.

Let's hope they don't think they know about bass fishing equipment and baits then we do and screw up their products.