Valascus

I was done with winter time before it even started. I HATE winter...HATE it. But I can't move any further south. My wife just can't deal with the heat. She gets uncomfortable once it gets into the 80's. It's not like she just doesn't like the heat...she really just can't take it...she gets sick and passes out. She loves this time of year...oh yeah...did I mention I HATE WINTER!!!

Lions are on right now...trying to drink up the entire pond it seems.

That's a fantastic idea. Glad to see good 'ole Georgia doing it's best to help their already strong fisheries.

VanDam is a extraordinarily skilled angler. Period. The man probably knows of more techniques, presentations, and how to properly use them based upon the conditions than most anyone else. You don't reach the $2 million dollar winnings plateau by "just using some fancy electronics". He has had to beat out a huge field of other highly skilled anglers to get where he is...and while using electronics helps measure conditions and point you in the right direction, there is NO electronic that is going to make you a better fisherman technique wise.

Awesome news Avid. Glad to hear that one of our best is back at it again full strength . Just be careful out there and make sure you don't overdo anything. Don't want you getting hurt again and not be able to fish again.

Delvin is in a lot more trouble than you can imagine. My father works for the Saint Louis County Jail as a corrections officer (guard). He's been there for 23 years. He has seen some things, man. He has dealt with some of the biggest pieces of scum to ever walk this planet...murders, rapists, child molesters...you name it he's probably dealt with it. Out of all that scum, their is a weird "ethics code" if you can really say anyone who has committed any of those crimes has an ethics code. Child molesters and serial rapists have to be held in solitary confinement in special wings away from other prisoners. Cabela10 hit the nail on the head. If those inmates get more 1 minute alone with this guy, they will kill him...or bring him as close to death as they can without killing him. Delvin will definitely get what he deserves...

I gotta imagine their equipment is modified specifically for them. If they are going to use it day in, day out then the comfort and fishability of that equipment must be top notch for them...and I am sure their sponsors have NO problem coming up with a rig modified to their Pro's sepcifications.

Awwwwww...c'mon the stank ain't that bad...smells tasty. Then again I change my child's diapers everyday...so smell isn't really a factor for me. I like Chompers soft plastics. ALMOST the only spider grub I use...GYCB gets used too. I like using them on a stand-up jighead.

I am not avid, but when I am chuckin' a hollow body frog I am definitely using some PowerPro 50lb braid. (if I have some on hand). I would not categorize a Spro Bronzeye Frog as a "light" lure. The larger sizes weigh in at 5/8 oz. The new Jr. version (if ya wanna call it that) is 1/2oz. I use a H action BPS Extreme rod paired with a Shimano Citica for my froggin' and don't really have a problem casting it. When I do have a problem casting it, it is normally "self Induced" just due to lack of practice with my casting gear.

Bingo. LBH said it. I feel pretty much the same about post count, that's why I didn't make a big deal about getting over 1000 posts. I just happened to look up at the counter just the other day and realized...."Hmmm, maybe I spend too much time here! " There are definitely people here will lower post counts who have a wealth of fishing knowledge to share.

SOP = Standard Operating Procedure. I'd go for it man. Whatever you think'll make it purty. :-* ;D

Boy...I really need to get to Fork...

HEHEHEHEHEHE....I was thinking the same thing. Ahhhhhhhh...good times!

Ooooooooooooooh yeah. I've gotten skunked more times than I can remember. But, hey, that's why they call it fishing...not catching.

Boy...who thought Zito would end up with the Giants. Ha...bad move on his part...and very contradictory to his prior statements. He said that he was interested in signing with a club that had a chance to win a championship. That's so not what he did though. The Giants have ZERO chance to win the NL West. That's right folks, the big SQUADOOSH! He clearly just went where the most money was. Shows how little character he really has in my book. If it were really about the game, winning, and being a team player he would have signed elsewhere for less money. If he wanted his best shot he should have gone with the Mets. Oh well, he will learn the error he just made the hard way. As far as the Cardinals recent signings go, I am not impressed. Mulder had better show some marked improvement, and I highly doubt he will do it this season. He can't even pitch until after the All-Star break, and it will probably take him some time to knock the rust off. Even then, we don't know that his condition is what has caused his decline. He has been in a slow state of decline since his last year with the A's. His peripheral numbers such as walks, balls to strikes ratios, and fly to ground ball ratios have all been steadily going up. Not a good sign for a pitcher who is considered a ground ball pitcher. But we will see I suppose. As far as Franklin goes, I am not really inclined to comment on him...since I know very little about him. It does look like a signing that is kind of in the same ilk as Sidney Ponson. I could also really care less about the Ankiel signing as well. He just has too much baggage. Hopefully he has cleaned up his act and can successfully play some outfield. If not it's gonna look like an awful bad signing. I think the Cards biggest mistake so far is not trying to resign Jeff Suppan. That was a huge mistake. And to make matters worse, he ended up with a divisional opponent in the Brewers. I guarantee that is gonna come back and bite us in the butt. Especially since the Brewers signing Suppan not only helped bolster their starting staff, but also removed their BIGGEST nemesis in the NL. Suppan had awesome numbers against the Brewers. Now they don't have to deal with him anymore. I can see the Brew Crew making a decent run in the central. They have been quietly creeping up on everyone for the last few years. It'll definitely make things interesting.

Apparently it was, senile. Just let him go guys. Fact of the matter is, he shot himself in the foot as far as being part of our family goes. We don't need a person here who expresses their feeling on a subject so poorly. If that's how he does things then we aren't losing anything. I am usually all for second chances and forgiveness, but not only do I think you crossed the line with your post on the author, I think you barreled over it with nary a care of your blatant disrespect. Good riddance. YOUR kind are not needed here.

I think in a way I just stumbled upon a "New Year Resolution" (I never make any "resolutions :) of sorts. I am really tired of people disrespecting our, and when I say our, I mean everyone's, fisheries by disregarding regulations that have been put in place for the sake of that fisheries health. You had better believe that any time I see disregard for these rules if the situation permits (and is safe), I will definitely be piping up. If my friendly reminders are not heeded, then I will just go straight for the jugular and call DNR or a game warden and make them aware of the situation. I am just really tired of people disregarding these rules as if they are optional or don't mean anything. It's our sport that suffers when these folks do these things. Is it hard to make a difference in this matter? Yes...but I think the more of us take the initiative and take it upon ourselves to help police our public waters we can make a difference. I for one, definitely will be stepping it up a notch.

Eh...probably a good thing ya did. Probably better that most folks did.

Amen to that Glenn. I already weighed in on the topic during the thread in discussions short life. I don't have anything else to add other than a thanks to the Mods for quickly getting a handle on what would have been a very very bad situation.

Boy...that is a HAWG in every sense of the word!! I mean...look at that monster! Man what I wouldn't give to nail something that size just once. That Share-a-Lunker Program is an awesome program. Hopefully everything goes to their plan and Texas already great fishery only gets better.

I just hope that no one who fishes that pond sees him or his big galoot of a friend up there again. Unfortunately activity like tis isn't limited to just this pond that I fish...it runs RAMPANT out at Busch Wildlife. And there definitely never seems to enough game wardens out there...

I tried to contact a the Missouri Dept. Of Conservations Saint Louis branch office only to get a recording saying to leave a message. I didn't even know if it was the right place to call. I simply called information and asked them for the number to the closest Conservation office. I left them a pretty lengthy recording giving them the man's description, what type of rig he was using, and a ballparked number of fish he was illegally keeping and requested that they send a Game Warden out with a little more regularity. I figured if the message was left at the wrong place hopefully they could forward it to the right place.

I have a few buddies I fish with that make some "music" of their own when they fish. Can't say I haven't composed some "ballads" myself! ;D

Warning...this is a kinda long post. Last Saturday I went to a small local pond to take my new rig for a spin to kinda get a feel for it. This is just a little city municipal pond that is "governed" by the conservation dept. in conjunction with the city. At the entrance to the pond their are detailed fishing rules and regulations on what types of baits are allowed, how many poles can be used, how many of each species of fish (largemouth, channel cats, bluegill, and stocked rainbow trout) can be kept and during what time of year their harvest is allowed. It's pretty plain and simple. Let's rewind a few months. One day down there fishing for bass again, I noticed an elderly man fishing for rainbows. I really paid no mind to him and continued my fishing. After a while of being in the same area as him, I notice he is keeping every trout he catches. The rules on the at the entrance of the lake clearly state "No trout shall be kept between Nov. 1st thru Jan. 31st." Not only is he keeping every trout, he is keeping them in a plain old Wal-Mart plastic bag! After noticing this I kindly approached this man and tried to give him a friendly reminder that he couldn't keep those fish and that they needed to be returned to the water. The man looked at me perplexed. He then began speaking to me in what sounded like an Eastern European dialect that I couldn't pinpoint. I then tried to explain to the gentleman through body language and example that he couldn't keep the fish. After trying to convey the message to him any way I could think of for about 30 mins I gave up, feeling very frustrated. I went back to my fishing and helplessly watched the gentleman continue to pull trout after trout, not really knowing what to do since the man didn't appear to speak any English at all. 15 mins later, I notice a police officer moving towards the area on foot. He asks me if I have seen an old man fishing. I pointed further down the bank and the police officer walks away muttering how he is not in the mood to deal with this man again. AGAIN?! After the officer released the fish that were still alive for the gentleman, confiscated the dead fish, and escorted the man off he property, he left. No more than 10 mins later the old man returned and began his fishing and keeping again. Now I bring you to last Saturday. When I arrived at the pond and moved to my favorite area I immediately noticed the same old man, using the same bait, same rod, and keeping the fish in the same plastic bag. He has been warned against this before as I am now aware and I quickly pull out the trusty old cell phone and try to place a call to the Conservation dept. I didn't reach anyone there, but did leave a very detailed message concerning the activity and the description of the man. After making the call, I again approach the man and try to explain that what he s doing is wrong to the best of my ability, again with no avail at all. This time while I was talking to him, I notice a different police officer approaching out of the corner of my eye. The officer was flat out angry. He demanded that the old man leave and release his living catch while again confiscating the dead ones. Through as much angry body language as the officer could muster, he escorted the man off the property yelling that he would have the man arrested if he had to return again. After that he returned to talk to me. He asked me how long the man had been there and thanked me for trying to resolve the issue peacefully. He then went on to tell me this was the THIRD time that the man has been dealt with by authorities on the same issue. I asked him if the conservation dept. has ever dealt with him, and he said that they almost never get game wardens out there and that the police were essentially the only governing body on the water. I informed the officer that he should stay a while because the man would likely return. The officer stayed for about 10-15 minutes walking the area keeping an eye out for the man. He couldn't stay any longer than that and soon left. NO more than 5 minutes after, the old man returned, although this time it was without his fishing pole. He simply sat on a park bench and intently watch other fisherman for a while. A few minutes of this went by and I moved further away from him. After moving the man then went to sit on the dock and was suddenly accompanied by a younger man probably in his late 30's or early 40's. This dude was big...and I don't mean obese...I mean big as in strong. I kept my watch from a distance and watched the two men talk, though I couldn't tell in what language. To my surprise the younger man then pulled out a fishing rod, rigged exactly the same way the old man had his rigged and started fishing for trout off the dock. He soon began to catch trout after trout. I watched intently and didn't notice the men release a single trout. I also noticed them watching me very closely. I started to feel a little uncomfortable and since it was close to the time I needed to leave anyway decided to leave. As I left I walked past them and said hello as I went, only to receive no response from either mna and a plethora of dirty looks from the younger man. This time, before I left I called the police and informed them of the new situation that had occurred. Not sure what happened after that since I hastily left, not wanting to be around when the police arrived and becoming involved in what was probably going to be a nasty situation. I left feeling very angry and disappointed that it had to come to what I assumed would be the arrest of the old man and his partner. It's people like that who ruin small fisheries like the our little municipal pond as well as the fun and joy of fishing for everyone else, all just because they cannot follow a few simple rules. I hope the old man got what he deserved. He has been given more than plenty of chances to understand the situation. He may not speak English, but the fact remains that rules are rules...no matter what language you speak. > > >

I can vouch for that now as well. Finally got the chance to go out and test the new Stella. Boy...that thing is just a work of art. Casts like a dream...and pretty far too, even with pretty light lures. Smooth as silk on the retrieve and the drag system is top notch. I agree with everyone that I paid a hefty price tag for it, but at least I know that I am fishing with one of the finest spinning reels on the market. At least if I miss or lose a fish now, it ain't the equipment or equipment failure to blame...it's all me now. :