Daniel My Brother

I was going to guess that fish came out of the Illinois when I saw you were in central Illinois. I grew up in Quincy and would cross that river often on the way to Jacksonville. These days we also use a lot of Asian Carp for catfish bait. They seem to work just as well as shad, and they are easier to catch. I wish we could use them live for flatheads, but the regs say they must be killed immediately. Oh well. Keep on catching! Dan

Great video and fish. I've enjoyed watching your head first transformation into a swimbaiter!

I don't know what you guys are talking about. I graduated 23 years ago but I still like to put on my class ring and letter jacket and go out and toss around the football with uncle Rico.

It's gonna be a loooooooong season for us Ram's fans.

Great fish! I won't ask you to be too specific with the location, but how and where did you get him?

Funniest title ever! Nice fish. (and way to be a great Dad!)

If you like the gear you use and you're happy with the results, that's all that really matters. Keep on catchin' Dan

Simp! You are the man!! The only way I could be happier for you is if they'd delay draining your honey hole. Congrats on 2 incredible nights fishing.

If you plan on eating your catch, no reason to bother with a livewell. Just pack a cooler with some ice and toss the fish on top. They are easier to clean after they've sat on ice for a bit. I'll suggest keeping the little ones. They taste better and are more abundant in most lakes.

Great fish and great scenery. Looks like an awesome place to be outdoors!

My 18 year old daughter calls Bass Resource "Facebook for old men" ;D

I've got a buddy who uses an Ugly Stick for inline spinners, crankbaits, and live bait with circle hooks. He catches a LOT of fish with this rod. It is not a good rod for soft plastics, the tip is soft and will not transmit those real subtle tugs. The slow fiberglass tip also makes it difficult to set the hook. The Ugly Stick is durable and popular, and the newer ones even offer a little more backbone...but if you're looking for a rod to worm fish, there are better choices in the same price range.

I did this on my jon boat 3 years ago and haven't looked back. It works best when I let the guy fishing the back of the boat run the outboard and I run the trolling motor. Switching seats is a pain. I use the trolling motor mounting bracket from BPS...a lot of guys don't like it because it has a lot of flex, but I guarantee you'll appreciate that flex when you run into a stump. Good luck with your project.

Beautiful fish and picture. Congrats on the new PB, I would have guessed over 10 pounds from the pic alone!

The professor from Southeast Missouri State University was excited to see this. It took him about 2 seconds to identify it as either a juvenile male mastodon or an adult female. He says it's a terrific find, but probably not enough on its own to start a big (expensive) dig. He's given us some information and wants us to keep looking for more. Actually he wants to look with us but Mark is not ready to invite strangers out. I have to coach soccer games the next 2 nights so I won't be able to tag along. The 9 year old boy agreed to put it on display at a show later in September, which he's very fired up about. Today he took it to school for show-n-tell. Can you imagine that?

Tough to guess, too many variables. But it is certainly a nice fish!

Thanks for the replies. I think Valascus is right, it does appear to be some sort of mammoth/mastadon jaw bone. We're taking it to the local university today to try and learn more. I don't know that there will be any way to "cash in" on this...but it was certainly a neat thing to witness. I am a little concerned about treasure hunters invading the area...although it's awfully remote...we'll just have to deal with that if/when it happens. I'll keep you all posted when we learn more.

Went fishing tonight with my friend Mark and his 9 year old son, Dillon. While we fished, Dillon went exploring and found something amazing...at least to my untrained eye. We were on a remote section of stream that's at least a 2 mile walk from any kind of road. There had been a lot of erosion, and in the middle of the bank Dillon discovered what appears to be a dinosaur jaw! We marked the spot and carried this heavy (petrified) chunk of history back to the truck. Should we have left it for experts? Probably. But we weren't about to take any chances with it. Hopefully we'll find out more about this tomorrow.

I hope nobody thinks I was raggin' on Senile. I have a lot of respect for him and his concern for the welfare of big bass. My suggestion was just offering a way to get the pic he wants without that hectic "I've got to release this bass quick or else" feeling.

Reminds me of what a friend's dad used to say when we would go Oscar Mayer fishing..."hot dogs are for people who are too lazy to dig worms." (but they sure do work!) ;D

Rondef, You're raising the bar and making us all look better. You the man. Dan

Excellent fish! Welcome to the boards.

I didn't think this was a tax. I thought that they would be paying a little extra for health insurance. You can call it what you like, I was just going by the subject line of the thread.

Do you have a picture with less face? :-/

I was wrong. My wife informs me that Swiss Cakes (MMMMmmm Swiss Cakes) are now $1.19. But you can still pick up Sam's Choice cola for .88 cents everday. You guys keep discussing this....I've got to go dig up $1.19 out of my sofa cushions.