Daniel My Brother

Bitter cold in Southeast Missouri.

Now this is my kind of club. Here's the wide view. $99 Hand controlled trolling motor mounted up front, with the head flipped around LED lights run for 2+ seasons on 2 DD batteries. Fuse holder for fish finder (top) and TM (bottom) Front deck is removable for cleaning

If I'm fishing out of the back of my friend Craig's boat, I try to land the fish without a sound...easier to do with smaller fish. Then I shout "CRAIG!" and when he spins around I'm already holding the fish. I call it Ninja Fishing.

That's the sweetest / funniest thing I've read all day!

All good advice. Here's what I'll add: 1. Cane poles catch more sunfish. Small children have a hard time with setting a hook when the bobber goes under. Usually they just start reeling and end up missing the fish. With a cane pole the hook set is automatic. Plus, sunfish hang out near shore and under docks, while the older the kids are trying to see how far they can cast, the cane pole is always where the fish are. 2. The Right Rod. If you're going to use a rod and reel, find a rod that's about the same height as the kid fishing it. I like any push button reel. 3. Don't try to do to much. This means you don't get to fish if you're taking more than 1 child, you just get to help. Your job is to take fish off the hooks, and bait hooks for the younger ones. You're also there to teach the older ones to do this for themselves. 4. Pick your spot carefully. My kids get bored easily. A pond at a neighborhood park is perfect. The little ones can play on the playground when they get anxious, while the older ones get to fish a bit longer. 5. Bring snacks. A hungry kid is a crabby kid, and crabby is contagious. 6. Bring a bucket. You don't have to keep the fish you catch, but your kid will be thrilled to watch it swim in a bucket for a short time before you release it. 7. Don't stay too long. It's better that they leave wanting more. 8. Take lots of pictures. Someday you'll want to remind them that they used to like you. 9. Gold Aberdeen hooks with a small bend and a long shank are perfect. The short bend will help you hook more sunfish. The long shank will keep the fish from swallowing the hook. Plus, aberdeen hooks bend easily when you get hung up.

I'm really not a big fan of this whole "Elite Member" concept, BUT if you keep picking guys like Alpster, I might change my mind. Congrats Alpster, this honor could not have gone to a more deserving member!

My wife runs a preschool at a local church. A few days ago I asked Gail "How was your day?" She replied "Good, Rush Limbaugh asked me where the bathroom was." I thought that was funny.

I really enjoyed that! Thanks for sharing!

Hey Fishin Psyantist, I think a lot of time when a friend tells me "my wife won't let me" what he really means is "I don't feel like fishing, but I know YOU won't understand that, so I'll just blame the wife"

Catt, I see your numbers and I think to myself that I've got to commit to becoming a better structure fisherman. I'll never have a year like that if I continue to spend 75% of my time beating the shorline. You've inspired me to spend my winter with Buck Perry. Thank you, Dan PS Congrats on a stellar year!

LBH, she's pretty active in her own right. She plays softball and bunko regularly and does the annual trip with her girlfriends, but these are just hobbies, my fishing is closer to an obsession. Here's beauty and the bald...

I read in another thread where a member was upset with a fishing partner who always had to get his wife's permission to fish. For some reason this struck me as odd. My wife is the mother of my 4 girls, the manager of the house, she pays the bills on time, buys the groceries, and keeps the schedule for all 6 of us. Plus she has a regular job where she works as hard as I do. The last thing I would think to do would be to go fishing without clearing it with her. If I did, I'd probably miss my own child's graduation. I'm guessing I went fishing 40 to 50 times in 2007, sometimes all day, sometimes just an hour or two. I also go on 2, 4 day fishing trips every year. But I never go without permission. So...does this make me ?

Someone who has access to private lakes I couldn't get into on my own.

I keep mine next to the transom. I fish alone most of the time and I always fish from the bow. I have a deck, plenty of gear and my trolling motor up front on my 1436 jon. I don't want anymore weight on the bow, and space is already limited. No problems yet getting the boat on plane...even with my little 9.8 merc.

Bass'n, one solution to people giving you grief about your big motor on a TM only lake is to remove the prop from the big motor. Just a thought.

My first thought "Oh dear god, that boy's lipping a muskie!" That's some funny stuff (sorry 'bout your thumb). ;D Way to brave the elements, even if the fish weren't cooperating.

Backatcha Carp! ;D ;D

I agree. You all need to stop changing your names!

Only if my kids are playing. Otherwise, not so much...but it's growing on me.

I used to be Daniel My Brother, then the artist formerly known as Fourbizzle dropped the izzle, and I was able to pick it up cheap.

2 recent fishing shows come to mind. The first was a Bill Dance show where he was catching bass left and right on the end of the lake where major shoreline construction was going on. He couldn't buy a bite on the quiet end. The second was an episode of Ultimate Match fishing where one of the competitors caught a keeper from under a dock AS IT WAS BEING BUILT. He pulled that fish out while hammering, drilling and sawing was going on. (It was 14 degrees on the ride to work today, fishing shows will have to do for now.)

The sale is on the Bass Pro website. Sometimes you won't see the sale prices at the store, but if you ask for the internet sale price, they will give it to you no problem. Same with Cabelas.

I used CXX on my spinning gear in 6# test and love it, extremely strong and plenty manageable. Based on that I bought a big spool of CXX 12# for my baitcasters and I just plain do not like it, Very strong line, but like RW said earlier, a lot of memory in the higher pound test.

Hey Bassn, I've got a 1436 Jon boat that looks very similar. It's a great boat when it's just me fishing, but a 36" wide boat gets pretty tippy with a partner...especially a big, clumsy partner. I do love my boat, but if I had it to do over again, I would probably wait for a 1442 or wider. Dan

Congrats on your first bass! Here are a bunch of articles on catch and release. http://bassresource.com/fish_biology/about.html#fish There are a lot of differing opinions, so take your time and decide for yourself what's best for the waters you fish. Congrats again! Dan