farmpond1

So, I guess joining me at the hungry heffer buffet is out of the question, huh? Well, I'll be happy to join you wherever you want to eat. If you want to admire many attractive women folk simultaneously, you'll have to position yourself strategically so as to avoid whiplash. Oh, and try not to trip on your tongue.

Well, I certainly have a passion for the sport so I guess I'm a great fisherman. As to whether I'm a consistently successful fisherman, that's a different story.

Ditto. It's better to just take a deep breath (sigh) and move on.

This could easily spin off onto a different thread but sometimes it's actually useful to let the spinnerbait or inline spinner break the surface every now and again. I believe the sudden..."change" can provoke a strike. I've seen it happen numerous times.

It's my understanding that solar chargers are only good for maintaining a peak charge on batteries (thus extending the battery life). They are best for houseboats, etc. which sit in marina's for days on end without much use. They would not, in any meaningful way, extend your time out on the water.

While there may be no apparent cover, unless the lake is perfectly round, smooth and bowl shaped, there will be structure in which the fish relate. Even without clear structure, they will favor certain depths at certain times of the day, year, water temperature, etc. I'd recommend you spend the first day or two just cruising around, observing things, and studying the electronics. Then make notes about what you see.

Mark Zona gets my vote. On the other hand, I'd like to beat Charlie Moore...with a stick.

Having an honest wife is worth far more than 150 bucks and a reel. So yeah, it probably chafed at you but in the long run, you'll be happier. JMHO.

I was waiting to see how long it would take for this entry. ;D

Just last Thursday I was sitting on 8 inches of ice. Now it's 52 degree's and supposed to get warmer. Come on global warming! Do your thing!

Good gosh! I'd love to catch a crappie like any of those pictured! I'm thrilled if I catch a 14 inch crappie!

That's hilarious. I think wives are secret agents of PETA, or USHS ;D Honeydoo lists and weekend weddings are the two greatest threats against sport fishing!

1. Brook trout 2. Cutthroat trout 3. Largemouth bass over 6 lb 4. Smallmouth over 4 lb 5. The fish that grants wishes if you let it go.

You can thank the sue happy people of the world and their parasitic lawyers for that.

Guilty as charged-sort of. Last weekend I went ice fishing at a neighborhood pond. I ran into the lake manager and some friends of his who were pulling out tons of small bluegil (that's bream for you southern folk) Anyway, the lake manager said there were way too many bluegill in the lake and they needed to thin them out ("Reduce the biomass" as he called it). So they were tossing the smaller ones on the ice for the crows to eat later. I contributed a small number to the pile myself. In retrospect, I wish I'd picked them all up and carried them out of there. Any none fishermen (or even many bonafide fishermen) might very well have misconstrued that pile of panfish as a wanton waste and give all fishermen a bad reputation. I regret what I did and I won't do it again. Had the lake manager not done it, I probably wouldn't have done it in the first place. Ah, well, live and learn!

Do you think I put this up as a bit of a joke? It was missed by me. That's what the little smiley face thingamajigs are for. But thanks for clarifying. :

Worse case scenario: You could lease it out as a 5 family dwelling. ;D :

It may not be the effect you were looking for but it is still a good job. I doubt the bass will turn their nose up at them.

Having mulled over what I wrote earlier (see above), I guess I'd like to amend what I said. You'll probably think I'm schizo: I hate to say it but too many Americans have been living too fat for too long. We want to earn huge paychecks so we can buy everything we want and to retire when we are fifty. In a perfect world, that'd be great but when there are countries who are hungry for business and willing to work twice as hard for a third the profit, it's tough to compete. I'm not saying we should expect to live dirt poor or work our fingers to the bone but we have to realize that we don't operate in isolation anymore. We are going to have to become more lean or we are going to starve completely. UAW had better make some concessions or they won't have any members to represent.

I wonder. Do you suppose the oil companies really care whose auto's their fuel goes into? They'd likely be just as happy to fuel Japanese or Korean cars as American vehicles. Do you think companies who outsource really care about their neighbors losing their jobs? Don't think so.

Is composite that flimsy? I wouldn't have guessed it.

I hear what you are saying. It may be too slick. Gatorblazer might be right too. It might still scratch my boat. Still, as you suggested, I may carpet over it. I wonder how hard it would be to sink staples into composite decking. These are all good food for thought. Keep 'em coming! Thanks!

Gang, I'm replacing the bunk boards/pads on my boat trailer (the old ones rotted away) and I've been thinking. Instead of using treated lumber and indoor/outdoor carpet for the pads, I've considered using plastic/composite decking material. It may not be as pretty but it is water and sun-proof and seems strong enough. Plus it's slick enough and would provide, I think, reasonable cushion. Does anyone have any ideas on the subject?

Very often, yes! Especially if there is vegetation nearby! They are great when the sun is high as they provide shade and cover.

Okay! Thanks for all your help!