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.

That's a good price range for quality used ones. A lot of folks buy kayaks and realize it's not what they thought it would be. The two main questions are do you want to be able to stand up in it and how are you going to transport it. In general, shorter kayaks are better when fishing, longer kayaks are better for paddling. Just as an example: You can get a barely used Tarpon 120 in that price range; you can't stand up in a T120, the weight isn't too bad (for transport), it is a perfect length for fishing and paddling and it's design and layout became the standard for fishing kayaks. I haven't met a T120 owner that was unhappy, most folks upgrade to a kayak that allows for standing. Hope this helps and good luck!

Thanks and congrats! Went out tonight, only small ones. Boy did I read this front wrong.

In.

If the plastic is black, Mother's "Back to Black" is awesome stuff.

Thanks everyone!

Great site and forum! I fish from kayaks and my 10HP Gheenoe. Recently got into some small tournaments and really enjoyed it. This website has been very helpful to me and look forward to learning more. -Phil

On my home lake, poachers can be identified by their trips to the bank to swap out identical coolers and down here in the time of budget cuts, the Fish and Game guys love to be called even if it turns out to be nothing. My kids grew up watching me throw everything back. One outing my daughter caught a flounder and was about to throw it back. She looked at me like I had 6 heads when I said, "No no no, this one's coming home with us." After dinner, she understood.

Lake Kissimmee, which has large gators that will take your breath away: the state park there rents kayaks. I'm really not trying to sound crusty, but here it goes: I have lived in Florida all of my life (except for two tours in the Navy). I swam in lakes as a kid, had a classmate get mauled by a gator in college, and currently kayak and boat in waters that hold very large gators. I have been hissed at, growled at, etc. JD's advice is right on. I only know of one gator "attack" on a kayak (other than the recent video of the gator going after the dog). http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=20020204&id=HL8wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pP0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6384,4381127 You be the judge. Paddle-craft are very stealthy and you can unintentionally sneak up or worse, on top of, a submerged/rising gator. When this happens the gator will cause a ruckus (read "water explosion"). I have had this happen next to me while canoe fishing and I know of at least one instance where a kayaker was blown off his boat. This happens more often with the "gentle" manatee. None were attacks, just a freaked out large animal trying to get away. There has also been the occasional deliberate gator bump to a kayak which is probably a warning shot. I have heard of at least 3 occurences of this. When folks ask me about kayaking and gators, I always ask, "Do bears keep you from hiking and camping?" No, because your knowledge and respect gives you confidence that you will be safe. When a gator sees you and submerges, this is passive behavior. However, if he raises his back and tail high, this is a challenge. In response, I turn my kayak parallel to him and show him my 16 feet of orange "what the hell is that???!!" kayak and that usually makes them submerge...if they don't, I find somewhere else to fish. When this happens, I watch to see why the gator wanted me out. It has been due to baby gators in the area that I did not see, I was in his hunting grounds, or I was in his path as he was going from point A to point B. Hope this helps, Phil