Daniel My Brother

Great fish! Did he go airborne?

Awesome fish and pics. I'm guessing these are the days you'll remember for a long time! :)

Cool post and pics!

Bagging groceries? I haven't heard that story. Kurt was a quarterback in high school, played QB in college (at Norther Illinois), then immediately after college he played arena football (when he didn't get drafted), and then played in Europe's pro football league before finally getting drafted as a free agent. I had to pull up wikipedia...after reading your post I thought he was some guy who worked at a grocery store and played football on weekends with his buddies before he was 'discovered'. That would have been a better story I guess. He still a great QB... Here's the Kurt Warner grocery story from the Wikipedia entry on Hy-Vee...it wasn't the next year, but it's still a neat story. "Two-time National Football League MVP Kurt Warner once stocked shelves at a Hy-Vee store in Cedar Falls, Iowa. After being cut by the Green Bay Packers at age 24, he thought his football career might be over and worked there to cover bills."

Since you asked for favorite and not best, I'll say Kurt Warner. The guys was bagging groceries one year...winning the Super Bowl the next! And he played for my team! To this day, there's nobody I root for harder than Kurt!!!

The best, wide ranging, basic bass fishing book I've read is "Bass Wisdom" by Homer Circle.

Sorry I missed this earlier. Glad to hear all went well. Here's to a speedy recovery.

I live in SE Missouri, but I fish a lot in southern Illinois. Cedar Lake in particular.

They offered free shipping last year, but not right off the bat. As the holidays got closer the incentives got better.

I had not broken a rod in many years, but I've busted 2 in the past week. One I stepped on, the other I snapped while trying to free a snag. The bad news is I have to buy 2 new rods. The good news is I get to buy 2 new rods. My oldest graphite rod that I actually still use is probably only 7 or 8 years old, although I still have several old fiberglass rods from my childhood that I will occasionally bust out for old time's sake.

There are a lot of posts lately about BPS versus Cabelas gear. I think both house brands offer great value and are supported with generous return policies. I do worry sometimes that BPS offers "limited edition" versions of some of their more popular rods and reels at greatly reduced prices. Please know that if you buy a limited edition Pro-Qualifier or a limited edition Extreme, you are probably getting a lesser quality rod or reel.

If it's not actually dead, then you release it, even in poor health. If it is dead, then I would still release it into the water. I don't know if this would be considered illegal, but I do know that keeping a fish, even a dead one, in the slot limit is illegal. Tough call either way. :-/

You know how you can tell it was a great video? Because people aren't just saying "very nice", they're saying how it made them feel. This video touched folks on an emotional level. That's what great video does, and that's something you should be proud of. Again, well done!

That's a great bag for up north. Shoot, it's a great bag anywhere! Congrats!

That's just sick and wrong. Hey MDangler, I usually tie egg sinkers to my hooks, but I like your built in weight idea better.

Any non-game fish can be taken by snagging on certain waters. Gar and paddlefish are also popular targets. The regs are helpful at outlining what's legal, but they aren't much for offering tips. Right now my rig is a heavy action rod with 65lb braid and a mono leader with 2, 11/0 treble hooks, and a weight on the bottom. Pretty basic set up.

PROS If you like Daiwa's you'll like this reel. It's an upgraded TD-A with one additional bearing and the perforated spool. I like the small size, magnetic brakes, click star drag. Very smooth reel that casts a mile. CONS They haven't been on sale yet this year. I check religiously, but no luck. The whole reason for buying store brands is to save a few bucks. GET WITH THE PROGRAM, CABELAS!!!

Snagging season in Missouri opens on September 15th. One of the channels I like to fish is overrun with silver carp --the flying kind-- and I really want to pull some out. The filthy plankton eaters won't take bait so snagging is my only option. I've done some snagging in the past and had mixed results. Does anybody here snag, and if so, do you have any advice? We'll be snagging from the bank, and targeting fish that feed near the surface. I'd guess you'd call it sight snagging. We plan to clean and eat what we catch. The meat is tasty, although you're lucky to get a pound of fillets from a 10lb fish as they are very boney.

Outstanding video. I smiled the whole way through! Thanks for sharing.

I owned a BPS Extreme and it was a good reel. No complaints. If it floated, I'd still be using it. :-[ Last year I purchased a Cabelas Prodigy and it is now my favorite reel. The newer Prodigy (engineered by Daiwa) is very similar to the TD-Advantage, but with an extra bearing and perforated spool, for the same price as the Advantage. It's small enough to palm comfortably and casts a great distance. In a word; smooth. I haven't had to service it yet so I can't speak to that, but I do know that when they go on sale this fall I will buy more. Muddy, I notice you like the cabelas rods and BPS reels. I like the BPS Rods and Cabela's reels. We should be buying combos and swapping components!

I think people worry a little too much about drilling on their boat. Suction cups will fail. Screws not so much. A little silicone around the screw and you'll be leak free, and have a cleaner install. The only reason I could imagine using suction cups would be if you needed the unit to be portable.

If your job is to do state inspections, then your vehicle needs to be 100% above reproach. I don't want some guy telling me my windows are too dark, only to watch him drive away with the same. Sorry he was rough on you, but you need to set the standard. jmho

I don't want summer to end! This has easily been my best fishing year ever. I've tried more new water this year than ever...and I've targeted more species than ever. When the LMB weren't biting, the white bass were. When the whites stopped biting, the channel cats turned it on. I've had many 100+ fish days with my fishing buddy this year. On Sunday we caught 8 species - channel cat, flatheads, blue cats, drum, white bass, largemouth, shortnose gar, and common carp...and we caught 'em in number and size on everything from inline spinners to cut bait. I still love bass fishing and will get back on 'em in the fall, but up next is snagging season. Opening day is September 15th on many Missouri waters.

I'm rooting for Mizzou, but how can you not pull for Tim Tebow? The guy spends his offseason feeding starving children in Africa and knitting blankets for the elderly.