Tom Bass

Nice job! But I hate to say it but you sure will be sitting aweful high in such a narrow boat. Wear your PFD for safety.

Ounce for ounce - Bluegill, hands down. Out of all other fish listed I'd say a Small Mouth when it comes to fight to weight ratios.

I didn't scroll down when I read the post but I see my answers match some others.... 1. Boxing or Bass Tournaments 2. Niagara Falls? Water eroding the land as it flows. 3. Potatoes and Onions 4. Strawberries 5. They put the bottle over the bud or flower and allow the pear to grow in the bottle before adding the liquor after the fruit has matured. 6. Dwell and Dwarf 7. Period, Question mark, Exclamation point, Apostrophe, Colon, Semi-Colon, Comma, Quotation mark, Hyphen, 8. Rutabaga or Turnip 9. Shoes, Socks, Sandals, Steel toed boots, Spats, Slippers

LBH, You are right that these laws are for protecting our waters, but I don't think the law was made for freshwater boats in lakes and rivers inside this country. These laws were made for foriegn boats that come into this country. The Ninth Circuit Court always passes judgement in a very liberal fashion in regards to the environment. If their mandate stands all boats, including electric powered Jon boats that may happen to discharge ANY water, even water from the same lake that you are in to be charged a fee.

Gman, You did the right thing. I'd like to Thank you for being a courteous fisherman. Many do not have your ethic when fishing, be they trolling, anchored or shore fishing. Tom

Cool..Thank you

One piece of advice. Get all of your pieces cut to fit. Fit them. Make sure they fit the way you want and then seal them. If you are drilling holes or making openings for equipment or access do that before sealing. Seal the holes and openings too. Good luck.

Alpster, I was gonna get one of those until my incident. Had I really bashed my head and fell out of the boat they would have a nice floaty to track my body as my body lay supended under the water....Had my wife decided to leave me that way. ;D That incident really got me thinking and that's why I bought the self-inflating vest. One has to be coherent to attach the neck piece on those belt mounted models. Not trying to scare you or anything....just a thought.

I know that everyone here feels bad for that family. I know I do. It's a tragedy. I have always kept PFDs on my boats but recently 2 things opened my eyes. One day I tripped on my bass boat and fell. My wife was aboard and saw what happened. I misjudged my step and my foot went from the platform to the cockpit and I fell nearly bashing my head on the gunwale and falling overboard. The other thing was that a man and woman aboard their boat had an incident. They both fell overboard. She was rescued by another boat. He drowned and they still haven't found his body. I went to Bass Pro and bought an auto inflating PFD to wear on my boat when I go out. I will wear it too. Especially when fishing alone, which a lot of us do. Be careful out there guys. Just because you have what is required by law doesn't mean you'll be able to use it when it's in the boat locker and you are in the water.

Everyone, I went back and modified my original post. After rereading this entire thread I realize that I came across like a complete jackass without actually thinking about what I was writing when I made my post. I added this to the original and here also: I apologize for my first post on this matter. After reading it and other following posts I must agree that I came off brash and in reality I made my point very badly. I'm sorry but this thread touched a nerve with me and I got personal with friends that I haven't met yet. Please accept my apology. While I still believe a person should be able to keep fish that they catch there ethical issues involved as well. If they are keeping them to show them off and throw them away I am in agreement with all of you that this person needs a talking to. If they are keeping them for food. That is okay in my book but I would encourage them to keep the 1 or 2 pounders and let the big fish thrive. Avid, Your comment to me after my first post really got me thinking. Thanks for not verbally kicking me in the shins. It's funny you mention trout fishing and your encounter with that man regarding the trout fishing and keeping stocked trout. One of the reasons I think I got so bent out of shape over this thread was my encounters with Flyfishermen in Califonia a few years ago. They are a very elitist group and prone to doing all kinds of crazy things in regards to protecting the trout, even stocked trout, from being harvested or caught in ways that they do not deem to be approved by their code. They are elitists of the worst kind. I have had run ins with them and I guess I thought this thread was running in an elitist fashion and I reacted inappropiately. All, I do have one thing to add though that disturbs me. Last weekend was the Wal-Mart FLW Bass Fishing Championship. The tournament was held on Lake Norman, Lake Wylie and High Rock lake simutaneously. After weigh in, which were conducted miles away from the lakes, the fish were returned to the lakes. This weekend, yesterday and today, there were lots of dead bass all over the shoreline at Blythe Landing on Lake Norman. I counted 13 yesterday in the span of a football field and today there were more that had washed ashore and the black vultures were having a field day. All of these fish were 2-4 pounders when they were alive. Judging from the decomposition I would say that they had all been dead for close to a week. I took a few photos but I don't know how to post them. Perhaps the people that participate in and oversee these tournamnents need to reevaluate their handling of these fine fish. To me it would be just like the guy that catches them and photographs them only to let them die. Something to think about. Take Care, Tom

Nope...I think she oughta actually serve in the downtown jail.

No Gotta Love It. That ain't me. I'm prettier than that....I have a face. ;D

Not one of you asked what baits he was using to catch the big ones......Shame, Shame Shame

If a man catches a bass and keeps it and does it legally...That is his right. While I would argue against him doing that and not eating or giving the fish to someone to eat. Just for the record I C&R all of my bass. I have done it for years. But I will fight for anyone's rights to keep their fish provided their intentions are within the law and they are going to eat it or give it to some one that will. I apologize for my first post on this matter. After reading it and other following posts I must agree that I came off brash and in reality I made my point very badly. I'm sorry but this thread touched a nerve with me and I got personal with friends that I haven't met yet. Please accept my apology. Tom

He probably didn't release the boat from the trailer and left the truck in neutral DOH!

Welcome....why not try a buzz bait in the early morning hours?

I wasn't going to say anything when this thread started and I decided not to say anything when it went downhill....I'll say something now. Fish with what brung ya! Live it!

My condolences.

Nancy Boys......leave the snakes alone. If they aren't bothering you don't bother them. If you're in a boat you are safe...unless they drop in your boat and then the best recourse is a cool head and a fishin' pole to flip 'em into the water....Y'all have fishin' poles dontcha?

HPBB, my ZR2 S-10 turns off the headlights with 4 presses of the button next to my light switch. 4 presses undoes the manual feature and it goes auto again. I'd like to throw my two cents in..... I despise "Ramp Hogs". I've seen this for years. The wealthy or in debt Idiot with a Fountain boat or the owner of some elite Cigarette boat at the ramp or at the docks just just has to linger to "impress" others with his boat or rig. They lounge around doing their thing while others, like myself, are waiting for them to get out of the way. I have a new philosophy. Give 'em hell. I'm tired of them and their egos screwing things up for others. The other thing that drives me nuts are the jet skiers. They're as bad as the "Ramp Hogs" with the big expensive boats. They'll take up a ramp for over a half an hour to launch and prepare a boat that most men could carry on their back if they had to....not really, just a metaphor. I am polite to them because most are new to boating and really can't afford a boat but they need to learn boating etiquette as well.

Welcome, Looking For Bass. 8-) There are a bunch of great people here and lots of information. If you have a question there are many here that have an answer. Have fun and good fishing.

Go down there early in the morning and hit the area with a white/silver buzzbait. The fish are there. Go have some fun. Once the sun comes up work a Shad-Rap or a Carolina rigged salamander this time of year and in a month switch to U-tailed worms of various colors. When the fish are jumpin' try a Rapala floater and work it like a wounded minnow. All these tricks work just fine around docks and from shore. Good Luck!

Howdy LBH, I sent 4. I hope they come through. I didn't have the opportunity to send a pic for the prior video. Since you said only one please choose but I like the one of me on my new bass boat. Thanks so much for doing these videos. It's very cool. Regards, Tom Bass

What are you asking?

I'd be willing to pay up every once in a while to help out. $100 a year? Heck yeah, that's less than $2 a week.