Zel

Thanks for your service to our country... and be careful over there.

Washington, DC... Inspired by Liberty, Transpired by Dishonesty.

Here is my experience this year. A mother rabbit had her litter in a barrel flower box at the base of our backyard steps. I noticed it by the clumps of rabbit hair covering the baby rabbits. The mother was not to be seen most of the day, except in the evening when she came to suckle them. After a few days, the baby rabbits stayed in the box hidden under the rabbit fur during the day, but jumped out of the box to suckle when she came around in the evening, then after playing awhile went back into the barrel flower box for the night. This lasted around a week, and then she moved them to another area in the yard under a pine tree. It was a sight watching 2 crows trying to get to the bunnies under the pine tree, and the mother jumping in the air and attacking the crows. I know there are still 3 bunnies (out of six) left in different parts of the yard. The mother still visits them in the evening, but will not let them suckle anymore.

Since this is limited to lakes we've been on, my choice is Merrill Creek Reservoir in western New Jersey. And only because it's an Environmental Preserve. Sometimes I completely stop fishing just to enjoy the scenic view and vast variety of wildlife, including the nesting bald eagles. Mauch Chunk, the small lake Muddy picked, is also beautiful for its wildlife and surrounding area. Mauch (rhymes with "talk") Chunk is an old Indian name meaning "sleeping bear." The area was sacred to the Native Americans who once lived here. The area is now referred to as the Switzerland of America, and the town of Mauch Chunk has been renamed Jim Thorpe after the the great native American athlete who is now buried there. And several years ago, when the USA olympic 8 men/wonen crewing teams practiced on the lake, was sure a sight to see. As for Greenwood Lake NJ/NY having those large float planes landing in the water right next to your boat while you're fishing just turns me off from the place.

An Andy Warhol painting just sold for more than $71 million at a Christie's auction. So it got me thinking pop art doesn't look too hard to do, and there are people out there nuts enough to pay ridiculous amounts of money for it! So if anybody want's my original Baitmonkey Warhol Style, they can have for a steal at only $1.2 million. :

FYI pencils float, and you can get hundreds of them for $9.00.

Hey LBH Got an idea for your Fishous mascot Sid Fishous!

Here's one you haven't seen yet Russ.

I've been told centuryarms.com has some WWII era rifles for sale at resonable prices. Have never dealt with them. http://www.centuryarms.biz/products.asp?cat=36

I'm always watching the History channel drives my wife nuts. WWII is also a fascination with me. My father was in the navy during WWII in both the Atlantic and Pacific conflicts. He served on a Liberty Transport and often ferried German prisoners from Europe to the US. He was on a ship that carried that infamous Nazi SS prisoner convoy. They had lots of added security for the trip as they were expecting trouble. But he said they were a well mannered and polite group, completely opposite of what they expected. He got to see, and had to secure, a Japanese secret weapons facility in a massive cave right after the war. He would often trade cigarettes and candy for German medals, patches, and epaulettes, which I have (including the famous skull and lightning bolt collar patches of the SS, and the Iron Cross from that Nazi SS trip I mentioned). I also have a Japanese sniper rifle and infantry rifle (with a deep fingerprint in the metal which must have really hurt the guy making it), and bayonets. Also have some WWII German and Japanese paper and coin money.

Just to clarify the Pennsylvania bass bed thing: Although the Largemouth and Smallmouth season is closed in PA from April 14 through June 15, it is a NO HARVEST time, as you can catch and immediately release bass (no tournaments permitted). That does not mean you cannot fish for bass during this time. You just can't cast repeatedly into a clearly visible bass spawning bed. Therefore as long as the spawning bed is not clearly visible, you can fish for bass. Per PA Fish and Boat Commission: NOTE: It is not a violation of the bass regulations if a bass is immediately returned unharmed to the waters from which it was taken. It is unlawful for an angler to cast repeatedly into a clearly visible bass spawning nest or redd (bed) in an effort to catch or take bass. I'm glad the author chose the wording bedding bass in this poll. I often see the word spawn incorrectly used for the term bedding bass. If you fish for bass one month before the close of season and one month after the close of season, YOU ARE FISHING FOR SPAWNERS. This entire time consumes a bass's entire life during that period, and is all part of the spawning process. The month before is considered the PreSpawn and is used by the bass for gaining energy to go through the ordeal. The Spawn is the actual time on the bed. And the PostSpawn is the time when a bass regains it's energy after laying eggs, guarding and fighting off predators 24/7. I think it is a better clarification if anglers would correctly say they don't fish beds, rather than when state they don't fish for spawning bass. Because if you fish for bass during this 3 to 4 month period (pretty much all of spring), you are fishing for spawning bass. So just to clarify my yes vote: I do fish for spawning bass, I just don't repeatedly cast into a clearly visible bass spawning nest or bed in an effort to catch or take bass in PA. And I do fish for bedding bass in NJ, as it is legal to fish beds (but you must release your bass as it is catch and release only during their closed season). And in my opinion the bass fishery is far better in NJ than it is in PA. Go figure!

I don't say a prayer He's right there with me. I figured if God isn't everywhere, then he's nowhere. I think I posted this once before A little prayer I came up with long ago, that also served as my co-angler checklist the night before a tournament. Now I lay me down to sleep, A box of tackle at my feet. My rod and reel perched by the door, My life vest lays upon the floor, A rainsuit if there's storms ahead, Hat and license sit beside the bed. Water, lunch and snacks to eat, Sunscreen and shades to beat the heat. Now if I should die before I wake, I pray, dear Lord, it's some mistake, For I just know the very next day, It's 20 pounds that I will weigh.

I grew up in Pennsylvania Dutch country pan fried scrapple was a mainstay. And while growing up we had REAL scrapple, not the watered down FDA acceptable version of today. Back then it included whatever varmints the farmers rid from the fields including groundhog and rabbit, in addition to the other parts of cows and pigs not fit for human consumption. Hmmmm Delicious, just can't beat grey meat!

Good sense of humor LBH!!! glad you picked that Popeye quote, and not his other famous one: That's alls I can stands, and I can't stands no more ----------------------- Now... hoping to not get myself in too much trouble... here are some computer terms - New England versus Redneck New England Computer Terms Log on - Make the wood stove hotta. Log off - Don't add no more wood. Monitor - Keep an eye on that wood stove. Download - Getting the firewood off the truck. Floppy disk - What you get from trying to carry too much firewood. Ram - The thing that split that firewood. Hard drive - Getting home in the winta. Prompt - What the mail ain't during the winta. Window - What to shut when it's cold outside. Screen - What to shut during black fly season. Screen saver - Duct tape for the torn window screen. Byte - What the black flies do. Bit - What the black flies did. Megabyte - What the BIG black flies do during trout season. Chip - Munchies for TV. Microchip - The crumbs in the bag after you've eaten the chips. Modem - What you did to the weeds growing in the driveway. Dot matrix - Old Dan Matrix's wife. Lap top - Where the beer spills when you pass out. Software - The dumb plastic knives and forks they give you at McDonalds. Hardware - Real stainless steel cutlery. Mouse - What makes the holes in the Cheerios box. Main frame - What holds the house up, hopefully. Enter - The only way to win those magazine ad sweepstakes. Web - What a spida makes. Web site - What's found in the corners of high ceilings. Cursor - Someone who swears. Search engine - What you do when the caa dies. Home page - Map you keep in your back pocket in case you get lost in the woods. Upgrade - Steep hill. Server - Waitress. Mail server - Male waitress, darn few in Maine. Sound card - One of them technological birthday cards that plays music when you open it. User - The neighbor who keeps borrowing stuff. Browser - A problem moose in the garden or blueberry patch. Network - Mending holes in the fishnet. Internet - Complicated fishnet repair method. Netscape - What haddock do when you don't do your network. Online - Good sign there'll be clean clothes this week. Offline - The clothespins let go and the laundry falls to the ground. Redneck Computer Terms BACKUP - What you do when you run across a skunk in the woods. BAR CODE - Them's the fight'n rules down at the local tavern. BUG - The reason you give for calling in sick. BYTE - What your pit bull dun to cusin Jethro. CACHE - Needed when you run out of food stamps. CHIP - Pasture muffins that you try not to step in. TERMINAL - Time to call the undertaker. CRASH - When you go to Junior's party uninvited. DIGITAL - The art of counting on your fingers. DISKETTE - Female Disco dancer. FAX - What you lie about to the IRS. HACKER - Uncle Leroy after 32 years of smoking. HARDCOPY - Picture looked at when selecting tattoos. INTERNET - Where cafeteria workers put their hair. KEYBOARD - Where you hang the keys to the John Deere. MAC - Big Bubba's favorite fast food. MEGAHERTZ - How your head feels after 17 beers. MODEM - What ya did when the grass and weeds got too tall. MOUSE PAD - Where Mickey and Minnie live. NETWORK - Scoop'n up a big bass before it breaks the line. ONLINE - Where to stay when taking the sobriety test. ROM - Where the Pope lives. SCREEN - Helps keep the skeeters off the porch. SERIAL PORT - A red wine you drink with breakfast. SUPERCONDUCTOR - Amtrak's Employee of the year. SCSI - What you call your week-old underwear.

Okay, I'm dying here... I've been waiting and waiting for Burley's New England Accent Rebuttal where is it? Burley, in case you're looking for some dialect here are a few of my favorites. Ascared: Scared Awed: Odd Cawna: Where two streets meet; sometimes, a small neighborhood. "Did you evha drink at da bahs on Field's Cawna." Chowdah: As in New England Clam Chowder Der: An interjection indicating disdain for someone else's stupidity, as in, "The old Gahden was way betta than the new Fleet Centa, Der!" Down Cella: The basement. As in; "Run down cella and get me a dishtowel outta the drya." Fraid: Afraid Gahbge: Garbage or Trash Gawd: God Green Monsta: The Green Monster - the big green wall surrounding Fenway Park. Hahbah: Harbor Howahya?": How are you? Kah: Car or Automobile Kegga: A Keg Party Pahk: Park - "Mary did a wicked pissa job pahking the car. She hit everything but the lottery." Saddadee: The day after Friday. Sha-pee: A Sharpie Marker Skeeza: Girl with a "bad" reputation: "That skeeza was all ova my man at Joey's kegga pahty. Suppah: Meal served around 6 p.m. Tie-ed: Tired Weeyahded Out: Pronounced wierded out. When one feels weird or uncompfortable about or in a situation. Wicked frick'n pissa!: Something that's just absolutely too cool for words. Wifebeata: The white undah shirt (either a tight Tee or, especially a white Tanktop) Witcha: A short way of saying with yah or with you. "What's up witcha today?"

Don't have much to add just like the word conundrum. But... several times I tried fishing the release spillway of a local dam. Overlooking the water, I often saw the bass rise and fall in the fast moving water, but was never able to catch any of the good ones. So I gave up!

4 rainbow trout Lunker City Fin-S Fish 4 alewife Lunker City Fin-S Fish Royal Coachman wet fly, tied with 6lb fluorocarbon 18 behind a silver original floating 4 Rapala (removing the back hook of the Rapala), and replacing the center hook of Rapala with a larger size red treble hook. The following used only in tough times as I have a limited supply left: 3 purple Bobby Garland Hard Times Grub (no longer made) 3 pumpkinseed Bobby Garland Hard Times Grub (no longer made) 3 green Bobby Garland Hard Times Grub (no longer made). (all used on a 1/8 Spider Slider head jig) 3/8 ounce and 1/2 ounce Reef Runner Cicadas in gold w/chartreuse foil.

I've met several interesting characters good and bad, from a guy who was pure evil and became a murderer, to a neighbor who was a hiding nazi war criminal. But one I met on the water stands out in particular. About 15 years ago, while fishing alone, I started up a conversation about what was working that day with this guy in his boat. Later that day after I loaded up the boat, I saw this guy in the parking lot tying down his boat. We started up a conversation over a beer. He went on to tell me of his exploits in the Vietnam War. He claimed to be one of the top snipers during the war. He told me of some of his hits, in blood curtailing details, and the bets he and his partner would make as it turned into a game for them (according to him it seems snipers worked in groups of two). He told me of several of his military and political marks, and their strategic purpose. He even told me how to make napalm. At first I thought it was just some guy telling tall tails, but his details were very good until he opened up the back of his van. Although I saw nothing that would be considered illegal, what I saw in there scared the heebie-jeebies out of me. I quickly thanked him for the beer and hi-tailed it out of there. And I didn't go back to the lake for over a month.

I don't have a problem with LBH's NE accent, it's his speed of speech that gets my head spinning. I swear the guy can do 10,000 words a minute without taking a breath!

I can't believe I haven't seen ZZTop in concert. Some of the groups I've seen in concert are (and there are others, but I won't admit to like Madonna): 10CC, Aerosmith, Beach Boys, Billy Preston, Black Sabbath, Bo Diddley, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springstein and the E Street Band, Bryan Adams, Climax Blues Band, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, David Ruffin, The Dobbie Brothers, Edgar Winter, Eric Clapton, The Turtles, Foghat, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, George Harrison, George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers, Hall & Oates, J.Giles Band, Jethro Tull, Joan Baez, Judas Priest, Kansas, Kenny Loggins, Led Zeppelin, Nazareth, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Frampton, Peter Noone, Phill Collins, Ravi Shankar, REO Speedwagon, Santana, The Cars, The Four Tops, The Hooters, The Pretenders, Tina Turner, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Weather Report and Yes... BUT I HAVEN'T SEEN ZZTOP... I'LL HAVE TO CHANGE THAT.

I get mad too at times. I'm of Czeck & Irish decent. Do you know how many times I walk into a store and see the sign NO CHECKS ALLOWED, and have to get up and leave. Man, talk about prejudice, I thought we were beyond all that!!! Seriously, I have come to realize I do have some prejudices. I have a problem with many lakeside property owners, more than any inane city versus country people issues. I've often come across lakeside property owners who think they own the water. They use my tax dollars and fishing license fees to pay for, and keep their lake/dam in good condition, yet they don't want me fishing it.

Nope, not in my case! Had the problem right from the start. I had a dealership mount the brand new MK PowerDrive 55 Trolling Motor I bought from them when I bought my boat. I took it out for the first time the other weekend, and when I went to put the TM down, it only went about 45 degrees until the shaft hit the bow. The unit barely went into the water and the shaft couldn't lock. So the TM was mostly useless because every time I used the foot control, the TM came up out of the water (I looked like Muddy_Man holding it down and steering that thing with my hands). I LOOKED LIKE A MOOK! I called the marine and they said ooops, they screwed up, and they were willing to fix it if I brought it in (75 miles away). I said if it was anything else, I wouldn't mind taking it back, but the problem was sheer carelessness on their part. I suggested they send the guy who did it wrong out to my house to fix it yeah right! Because of principles, I wasn't willing to take an entire day to get the thing repaired, so my son-in-law and myself redid the work ourselves. Everything is good now and alignment is correct, but I still have the problem described in the post.

I've got the same problem with my 55 MK Powerdrive, although it's new also. If it doesn't loosen up soon, I'm considering removing that dang locking handle and installing a Rod Saver strap to keep the trolling motor secure when its up and out of the water.

Deals are out there if you do your homework and do some legwork. This winter, I picked up an 89 Javelin 18.5 F&S w/150 Evinrude for $3,900 at a marine, (and the deck and carpet was new on it). Of course when I had them add a new Trolling Motor, a GPS/Fish Finder and a second Fish Finder, ladder, taxes, titles, licensing it came up to $5,500. Also I spent $50 to have everything checked out by another marine, who said the boat and motor were in excellent shape. So there are some really good deals out there.

When I fish at night, lighting up a George Burns Churchill sure helps to keep the skeeters away. You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old. George Burns