Long Mike

Today it was 102, tomorrow the forecast is 101, then 100, 99,99.

The only one who gives a crap about your avatar is you. What does your over-inflated ego tell you to do?

Oh, the stories I could tell. I've drank a lot booze, chased a lot of tail, raised a lot of hell, and generally thoroughly enjoyed my younger days. I'm proud to say that I have few regrets. Other than smoking a little pot every now and then, I've never used any illegal drugs, so I don't have those ghosts in my closet. As a man in his sixties, my plumbing is shot, so all I have are those very fond memories. Remind me some day to tell you about the girl I met in Norway...

In my younger years I encountered several of those women. I'm glad to say that I am still intact. ;D

Damnn! I wish you didn't live so far away! I would have loved to have been there for the maiden voyage. That leg humping thing really intrigues me. ;D

Well DUH! Ask a stupid question and you will get a stupid answer. My whole purpose in bass fishing is to catch pretty bass. I don't care how much they weigh, so long as they are really pretty.

I use both tactics AND strategy. I also like both country AND western.

Lloyd, I used to fish out of a SeaEagle 9 (www.seaeagle.com) until I bought my Tracker. I loved it, but wanted to fish bigger water. The raft is very stable and almost impossible to sink without the use of a hand grenade. It has five flotation chambers. It's also very rugged. I've never had a leak. The boat is currently for sale for $550 and includes the SE9 fisherman's package, a trolling motor and depth finder. All are less than three years old. I will be headed for a private fishing preserve near Moberly this Sunday (Fathers Day) and can meet you in Colombia and show you the boat if you wish. Alternatively, I can meet you next Tuesday on the way back. PM me if you are interested. Here's a pic, showing a few of the modifications I've made.

Oklahoma. Water temp 78. Last Saturday my buddy and I went fishing at a local lake (Fort Gibson.) We were fishing one of the bays near the dam in about 15' of water. The night before we launched there was a violent rainstorm in the area, but we were now under blue skies with very little wind. As we were moving up the bay toward where the feeder stream entered, we began to encounter huge masses of shad. The lake was about 1/4 mile wide at this point. Shad were roiling the surface as far as we could see in all directions. There must have been tens of thousands of them. I don't have much experience with shad behavior, but to me they acted like they were feeding on something. There were very few panic-like jumps, so the bass didn't appear to be actively feeding on the shad. Thinking we were on a bass gold mine we started fishing. We threw top-waters. We dragged crank baits and spinner baits through them. We threw deep divers under them and we even fished jigs. Not one bite. My buddy and I have never experienced such a huge gathering of shad. It was almost like being dropped into the middle of some SI-Fi movie. If anyone has experienced this phenomenon, can you provide any explanation as to why this situation occurred?

Greg, those ribs look awesome. Alas, the Big Green Egg does not lie in my barbecuing future. I can buy a LOT of rib racks for $750.

Solution: Get off your lazy butt and get a job.

Unless you have something to hide, there is no reason NOT to have your fingerprints taken. If you think it's an invasion of privacy, get over it. Homeland Security will guarantee that this is the way things will be. We will no longer be anonymous individuals. That's not entirely a bad thing.

All of my rods, both spinning at bait casting, are spooled with braid. All of these rods have a 6' to 9' flouro leader. I get the strength, durability and lack of memory of braid and the invisibility and limited stretch of flouro. Plus, I can still break off when I need to. On my spinning gear I use 30# braid with a 12# leader. On my bait casters I use 50# or 65# braid with a 25# flouro leader. Works for me.

OK. It's official. I hate you. Your boat is nicer than mine. Never speak to me again unless you want to take me fishing. What year is it?

BL for what it's worth, two stroke oils are pretty much all the same. I mix and match them all the time. Today I put 13 oz of Quicksilver and 13 oz of Pennzoil into my tank. I've been doing it for several years. My 89 Johnson/Evinrude still runs like a top. There will soon follow a number of posts telling you what an idiot I am. ;D

ATTABOY, KELLY!

Some days you are the windshield, and some days you are the bug. Glad everything worked out.

Great looking fish! When are you going to publicly announce that new Rage Tail Ruler? ;D

Glen, that one made my stomach hurt!

8 gauge minimum 6 gauge would be ideal. do not use the 12 gauge. X2

Patience guys. There has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes in trying to find a lake and resort that can accommodate our growing numbers. We are getting close. I predict that Glenn will make the official announcement within the next thirty days. One the other hand, he might elect to perform additional research. Glad I could narrow things down for you.

I don't know what sin Cart committed, but the twenty lashes stuff won't work. I've heard he likes that sort of thing. As for forcing him to be a Road Trip Coordinator, that would be a death worse than fate! Besides, a person can't be sentenced to this form of purgatory. One has to be dumb enough to volunteer for it. P.S. I just saw what Cart did to deserve punishment. I'm voting for the shower in JJ's.

Wasn't this same topic beat to death about two weeks ago?

There is no Best. There are only opinions. Five fishermen already have supplied you with five different opinions. I could give you my opinion. That would make six. Others will come behind me and give you their opinions. So, you will have learned nothing. about which is the "best." Find a rod you like in your price range. In your hands it will soon become the best. That's how everyone else decided their rod was the best. BTW, I wouldn't take Muddy's advice. He cuts the bottom out of his pants pockets and plays with a different rod. ;D

My personal opinion is that Lowrance uses the general public to do the beta testing on any of their new products. I wouldn't touch one of the HD's for at least a year.