Phil_M

Cabela's was never in trouble financially. They made the mistake of going public which resulted in an activist investor group buying shares and forcing the company to split off sub companies and sell. In the old days, we called this a hostile take over. The plan worked because the sell to BPS made the stock price increase and the activist group has already cashed out their shares and made millions. At the time of split and sell, experts estimated BPS and Cabela's books were probably equal but since BPS is still private, their information isn't available.

Not fishing ...or posting that's fer sho!

Nice work everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving! Been in camping/fishing in the salt, hopefully I'll be able to get out and round out my creel over the next couple of days.

Depends on where you are going to spend the majority of your time fishing. Stablity is important in bass fishing and paddle fishing is very effective. Arch vs flat bottom and stability is explained here: http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/showArticle.html?show=709&utm_source=email_newsletter&utm_medium=email All canoes are tippy, some more than others. As others have said, canoes that are not tippy don't paddle well. I have a very tippy canoe that is a breeze to paddle and I use these: http://store.springcreek.com/Canoe-Accessories/Canoe-Accessories/Spring-Creek-Stabilizer-Floats-Ethafoam-EF-Complete-Package-for-Canoe-p1588.html IMHO, if you plan on fishing from a canoe, not just the casual dropping of a line when canoeing, stabilizers are a must. They make the boat as stable as a pontoon boat. Plus you can stand up for flipping/pitching into cover. They can be raised up when paddling, which still prevents the boat from flipping but doesn't slow you down. Hope this helps and good luck.

Shoot, my favorite combo is an old Abu Garcia Ambassadeur that my dad gave me when I was 12 paired with Silaflex fiberglass rod. (Let's just say that makes the reel very old) I can almost cast with this combo as far as my spinning combos. Not to mention it warms the heart with every fish caught. What do you guys think of the lower end KVD Quantum reels? Seems like they would be a great reel for starting out in baitcasting(?)

Yeah, but all the fish in those lakes make mechanical noises and sing "It's a Small World" ad nauseam. There is one retention area right on I-4 near Disney that is a well known lunker producer.

Caught this one on Tuesday evening before the blow. All this toad talk had me using a white frog (sorry for the Blurrrrrrr) ..from the kayak...

For me, just this past weekend a Gambler Little Otter was preferred by the fish over the curly tail worm. The fish wanted movement, but weren't hitting spinnerbaits, flukes or topwater. I made the switch from curly tail when I realized the fish were nipping at the tail and not inhaling it and swimming off. Yeah, the curly tail was drawing strikes but not with same gusto as the creature bait. I guess sometimes they just need that little extra wiggle/vibration/size..whatever it is.

I got to get out and catch some of those...

Here's two from today. Lou, if you decide not to count the one with the nose chopped, it's cool. First one was on a Gambler Little Otter in Florida 5-O - One of my favorite lures. Rigged Texas on 1/0 Trocar worm hook. Second 7.5" black Cluprit rigged on weighted EWG weedless hook with spring lock.

One word: Whitecaps. (That is one word, ain't it? Or is it hyphenated?)

Countryville? Maybe. Not a lot of bait & tackle businesses? That's just not true at all. Fish-Oil: IMHO: The bait shops are not trying to force anything on you, they are selling what sells because it works. I would contact (go there if you can) Ron at Ron's Bait and Tackle in Lake Alfred, he can tell you the scoop on crawfish.

Great job everyone! Let's see if I can do this right.... Caught from kayak in the pads with a weightless Cuplrit 7.5" worm in crawdad.