Jolly Green

Welcome! May you get the opportunity to lift more than 5 pounds out of the water often.

I once read an article about Joe Francis, creator of Girls Gone Wild. His initial approach to every girl whom he intends to persuade to Go Wild: "Hey, you want a free T-shirt?" So in a universe where that can happen, "Hi, I'm Wyatt" should be fine for you. And don't say "Hi, I'm Wyatt" to just that one girl. Say it to every single pretty girl you meet from now on until you're dead or married, after either of which you're on your own, son.

Broom? How bout a flipping stick and a Live Target Mouse?

Not a bad day on the water. Congrats!

Welcome! I'm in Stoughton and I keep eyeballing Lake Leota on Google Maps; from what I've read it got a makeover late last decade and I've been wondering how the fishing is there? As for football, I grew up in Cincinnati so I've been conditioned not to get too invested. Looking forward to a nice early part of football season fishing. Although the Bears still... you know.

That's a relief. I'm no pilot but all the same I pretty quickly started wondering if I knew even less about the physics of aviation than I thought I did, but then I started wondering if Jean Claude Van Damme was going to fly in doing side splits between two bald eagles to rescue the guy.

But you gotta hand it to him for being completely upfront about his D-baggery. I wonder if he's honest with his bumped reservations about the reason he's bailing on them or if he gives them some my-dog-ate-my-boat story.

That might be a great bait, maybe it's just that nobody likes to be reminded of the first (and last) time they tasted Ouzo.

I like to practice when the squirrels are out; they will stalk and pounce like lions on my practice plug. I also have a small drainage pond out back that I can use for casting and dog-walking practice, as well as bonus entertainment watching herons yank some of the hundreds of puny bullhead out of it.

Many thanks! I'll have to check it out next time I'm in the neighborhood.

That's a Bronson Mercury No. 2550. I'm not a tackle historian, so corrections are welcome, but I believe they were produced in pretty huge numbers in the mid-1950's. It was a complete piece of crap when I bought it, but the key word is "complete"; I see them all the time in flea markets and antique stores and they are either way over-priced or missing parts. It breaks down into all of maybe 15 parts, lol, so it was pretty easy to clean and lube, and some judicious polishing shined it right up. The engraving on some of those reels is pretty cool (see: Hootie's Summit) and like nothing we're ever likely to see on reels again. I run 50 lb. braid on it because it just makes it so much easier when -- not if -- it blows up, and also because there's no drag of course. I've tossed 1/4 oz. swim jigs (with trailer) but it's really most cooperative at 3/8 oz. or higher. Other than the spool tension knob, it's all thumb, baby. When I was first learning to cast it I dialed in to where I could get 30 yards with a practice plug about every 20 casts, but in reality if you were to cast that far consistently you'd also be stuck reeling that far consistently, at 12" per turn, and your arm would basically fall off. Gives you renewed appreciation for modern gear. It's funny, I've had plenty of random people tell me that it's probably worth $75 or more (it's not, not even like new), but none of them ever want to give me $75 for it! Someday...

Spring and fall are great times for shore fishing a good-sized backwater of the Yahara affectionately known around Stoughton as "The Ditches." It's official name is Viking County Park, about 4.5 mi south of the Interstate right on County N; there's a dog park area and then there's the rest of it for anglers. Complete waste of time right now, but once the weather cools and the scum dissipates there will be a few weeks of good bass and pike action. If you bring the yak there you will have the best of both worlds; if there's no action in the backwater area you can slip out to the main river and the abundance of lily pads to be found there. Cdobber, where is the access to all that awesome structure-laden water at Fireman's Park? I've yet to catch a thing from the park side!

An oldie but goodie is the Redneck Home Security System: 1. Buy a pair of size 14-16 work boots. 2. Put them on front porch with a copy of Guns & Ammo. 3. Put some giant dog dishes next to boots & magazines. 4. Leave note on door: "Bubba: Me & Bertha went for more ammo & beer. Back soon. Don't mess with the pit bulls; they messed the mailman up bad this morning. I don't think Killer took part; hard to tell from all the blood. I locked all four of 'em in the house. Better wait outside. Be right back. ~ Cooter Sounds like you've got all the supplies covered, you just need to find someone to write that note for ya.

Nice fish, man!

Awesome fish! Man, I have that same scale and it never reads 7-5, what's up?

I bought the Oldcaster, as I affectionately call it, at an antique store, so I guess it's an antique, well worth the $7 I paid for it. The reel is a Bronson Mercury, don't recall what the rod is. I still fish it for fun every now and then, and it is a whole different kind of fight with even a 2 pound fish, but there's a reason nobody fishes with 4' steel rods and 12 IPT reels anymore. Old gear is neat, though, no question. Unremarkable fish but I recall that it was a first cast win on the way to work. 3.5 lbs is my personal Oldcaster best. Believe that's a Buck-A-Roo sticking out of its mouth.

I saw whatcha did there.

For soft plastics in general, you shouldn't need to wait longer than the time it takes to reel slack, drop the tip, and set it. For flukes specifically (and other weightless presentations), I do usually wait until the fish has turned and headed off with it and I rarely miss a fish this way, but I feel like it has everything to do with how I fish them, i.e., stupidly slow, and also the fact that there isn't a spooky chunk of lead attached. It may be in my head but I feel that I see a direct correlation between how slowly I work a fluke and the seeming lack of urgency on the fish's part. As for missing bream, just yesterday I was fishing a very clear pond and had the privilege of watching several sizable gills try to slam and slurp up my finesse worm, and failing that, they still tried with all their little might to swim off with it for a couple seconds before giving up. I was surprised at how hard they hit and tugged; I probably would have swung on them if I hadn't been able to see them. Finally, maybe consider how you might modify your T-rig to increase your chances. I favor Tex-posed style whenever possible, and on a Super Fluke I sometimes rig it so the hook point is just hiding in the slot on the belly, no plastic to punch through when it's go-time. Good luck!

I was gonna say the Helicopter Lure, but you win, dude. That is bizarre.

I never buy live bait, but every now and then a bold shiner will catch himself on a small jerkbait and volunteer to get more directly involved in my bass fishing. If I were fishing for walleye or something else to eat I would probably use live bait, but I prefer using artificials in everyday just-for-fun bass fishing.

Nice fish!

I only mention Carrot Top by way of illustrating how awful Pauly Shore is. In fairness, they are probably equally awful. In fact, when they each arrive in Hades I believe their eternal punishments will simply be to have to watch each other's material nonstop forever.

Casino, Goodfellas, and The Usual Suspects are all pretty well tied. I could also watch Spaceballs or The Three Amigos just about any time. I would rather watch a remake of Ishtar starring Carrot Top and Gilbert Gottfried than a Pauly Shore flick. YOU, sir, need professional help.

I tip my hat to anyone who can raise daughters without winding up indicted for murder. Good for you for raising one who can come to you and admit that she's made a mistake and needs to make some big changes. Some 25 year olds still choose to equip themselves with the mentality of 15 year olds and would stay with the jerk out of pride and parent-spite. Congrats to you that when she did realize things were wrong that she did something about it, if not as soon as you would have liked.