clipper

Congratulations, your life is about to change drastically, for the better!

Forgot to put in the plug. Forgot to raise the motor before pulling up the ramp. New skeg. Forgot PFD. Forgot to pay launch fee and had to go back to ramp to pay. Fishing partner forgot to park in non-trailered section of lot and had to get car our of impound. Forgot to remove back tie-downs, boat and trailer floated, and a cross wind blew both partly off the ramp. Had to wade waist deep in cold water to get it back on the ramp. Never do that again - I hope! Forgot to quit and go home to take wife out to eat. Worst of all mistakes!

It's tough to lose your grandfather, especially when he is also your fishin' bud. He will want you to pass the tradition to his grandsons and he has probably found someone up there to trade fishing tales with by now, maybe even my dad. You and yours are in my prayers. Don't quit fishing.

I agree that killing the deer in the pen was a terrible thing to do and I think the guy got a just sentence. I also don't hold with fighting dogs or even chickens and I hate to see an animal that is starving. However, this whole animal protection/abuse thing is getting out of hand. To adopt a pet from the local pound where I live you now have to tell them how your last pet died! It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "the world is going to the dogs".

Congratulations, kids are great ... most of the time.

When I was a kid (15) my Dad bought a lot on Lake Lanier. I helped him work there developing it and hauled 12" concrete blocks, carried buckets of concrete, dug footings, cleared brush and a lot of other things. One day I asked him why we had to work all the time. He said, "I work because I love to work, I'll be happy if I can just teach you how." I'm nearly 65 now and finally understand what he meant. I also appreciate what he did for me, as the capacity to work has served me as well as my college education.

The above discussion is based on the premise that getting hooked is painful for a fish and therefore an unpleasant experience to be avoided. Is there reliable, scientific research to prove that being hooked is a painful experience for a fish? I know they squirm and flop but is that because they are being taken out of their environment? Perhaps the fact that fish can be caugth repeatedly on the same lure is evidence that they don't experience pain in the same way we do.

If you are after saving energy you can accomplish that by insulating your hot water lines and your tank type water heater. They make fairly inexpensive(when compared to a tankless heater) blankets for water heaters. You can also put a timer on it if your house is unoccupied all day and save some too.

I started out fishing shiners in the St. Johns River in Fla. Then graduated to Big Daddy Fliptails on a weedless hook split shot rig. I would still fish them if I could find some. Caught my best bass (11+ lbs) on a Fliptail in Lake Lanier in the late sixties. I would like to be throwing swimbaits to Allatoona Spots this year, but it's beginning to look like I would have to quit my job to have time to fish. Since my wife refuses to eat roadkill that probably won't happen and I will work instead of fish. :'(

You have a future fishin' buddy and a source of great joy. Boy or girl? Congratulations Grandpa.

The folks from up north and out west always make fun of us for shutting everything down when it snows. What they don't think about is the fact that while THEY may know how to drive in the snow, the guy coming down the road towards them doesn't . By the way, our water in N. GA. is HARD. Ponds and small coves are froze over.

BassResource is my bass fishing home. It's where I go when I need to relax, unwind, or research a fishing techniqe. It just feels like home.

Flechero gave you some good advice. You must be very tall to have a 32" draw length. Have you had someone measure it for you? I can pull a 35# bow all the way back to my ear, but with a 50# bow I'm ready to stop at the corner of my mouth. I would recommend buying the bow from a shop or individual where you can actually shoot it enough to know you will be comfortable with it. Good luck and good shooting.

If you didn't catch fish off the brush pile last year I would try a new location. It should be near or on some bottom feature such as a channel edge or bend, point, grassline, hump or other feature. Somewhere you would naturally expect bass or baitfish to be. I have had better success when I put out several trees in one location. Good luck and good fishing.

Jumping home made bike ramps Jumping off the garage roof Climbing 60' high in sweetgum trees Climbing to the top of saplings and then riding them down to the ground Rock battles, BB gun battles, rope swings over the creek Catching snakes Getting towed behind a bicycle at top speed wearing roller skates - no helmet or pads - they didn't exist back then Before skate boards we made our own by fastening two by fours in a T shape to the top of a roller skate. We then rode these down the steepest hills in the neighborhood attaining terrifying speeds. This was done in a sitting position with your rear 2" from the pavement. Putting firecrackers in tin cans and watching them get airborne Holding firecrackers in our hand, lighting them, and then throwing them We once put dog mess in a paper sack on the front porch of an unliked neighbor's house, set it on fire, rang the doorbell and ran. If we had gotten caught it would have meant a belt whipping that would have left scars. Knocking down wasp nests in the garage with an 8' pole. None of the above should be attempted now, we led charmed lives back then. Must have had someone watching out for us.

My Dad taught me how to bass fish. We fished the St. Johns River in Fla., Lake Seminole in Ga. and Lake Lanier in Ga. I learned on live shiners and Big Daddy Fliptails. I quit fishing after my Dad died and didn't start back until my son started watching fishing shows on TV and begged to go. I still love to fish with him and do so several times a year. I think it is significant how many of us learned to fish with our Dad or our Grandfather.

Amen to above advice about having your stone analysed. Mine was caused by eating too much chocolate (Milky Way Bars). I quit the chocolate and have not had any more (knock on wood!). A kidney stone will make you realize you don't want to go to Hell and don't want anyone else to have to go either :'(. NO FUN!

When I was a kid(many years ago) we used to loop a hyacynth bulb on the line with a loop knot several feet above a circle hook to serve as a float. Sorry, but I don't remember how far up the line we put the float. We then hooked an 8" shiner through both lips and tossed the rig right next to the hyacinth mat. When the float disappeared we let out line until the fish stopped running. When it started off we set the hook hard and started horsing. The hyacynth bulb would be cut by the line so there was nothing to catch on the hyacynth roots but the fish and it usually did. I don't remember what kind of line we were using but it was some kind of braid and had to be dried out when we got home or it would rot. We put out several of these rigs and had our best luck where hyacynth mats were anchored over grass beds. St. Johns river, Lake Dexter, early 1950s. The corps of engineers sprayed the hyacynth beds and ruined the fishing. I can still remember the excitement of seeing those hyacynth bulbs start dancing and then disappear. Caught my first 8 lb bass out from under a hyacynth bed near the Astor bridge on the St. Johns. Bass love hyacynth beds! Please forgive my nostalgia.

I applied Bow to Stern last spring and after two coats the mud line and oil wipe off easily with a damp rag at the ramp. It also is supposed to inhibit ultraviolet oxidation of the gelcoat as well. So far, I am pleased with it and it gives my older boat a nice shine. There are posts on this site that discuss it in more detail. Search on BTS.

When you wet sanded did you start with aggressive grit (320), work down to finer grit(600-1000) and then follow that with rubbing compound? I found McGuires Rough Cut Oxidation Remover to be better than rubbing compound. I have had good success on badly oxidized gel coat using this method. I then followed that with BTS (several coats over a couple of months). The sanding process will leave the gel coat dulled and scratched, the rubbing compound works out the scratches and gives it a glaze again.

If she likes fishing why did it take you 6 years to pop the question? Congratulations and good fishing, together!

Landing a fish over 8 lbs on 4 lb test is a real accomplishment that takes skill and doing everything right. Congratulations. My best on 4 lb so far is 4 - 12 and my next goal is to break 5 lbs.

I found ethanol free gas just over the Georgia line in Cedar Bluff, Alabama. It's an hour drive unless I am going to Rome for some other reason like taking the wife to shop. Then I drive a few more miles west and fill up my gas cans. I have an older outboard and have grown reluctant to use gas with ethanl. My engine seems to have lost power over the summer on the gas containing ethanol. I also have fiberglass fuel tanks. I called fuel dealers around the Cartersville-Acworth area and couldn't find anyone who knew of an ethanol free station anywhere.

I've had no experience with 36 volt systems but the first question the guys who reply to your post will ask is "how are you charging the batteries?" Are you carrying them in the house each time you go fishing?

If you fish several times a week you will appreciate a fully automatic onboard charger and your batteries will too. You just plug it in when you get home and forget about it except for checking water levels regularly and keeping the terminals cleaned and coated. The secret to long battery life is keeping them fully charged and charging them properly. A good quality onboard charger does that for you. I have had a Dual-Pro three bank charger for a little over a year that charges both trolling motor batteries and my cranking battery too. I bet the guys on the web site will be glad to share their thoughts on the best brands.