FishnDave

Leave it to the guys at the hatchery to create bizarre hybrids, right? 😁 Maybe its a Brownbow? The head looks like a brown to me...the body looks like a rainbow, and the tail looks like a brown. Maybe some sort of Chimera? Here's a tail of a brown that definitely has its share of spots... (not my picture, I found it online):

That's amazing! When your bass average 8.1 lbs, and everyone else's bass average 3.8 lbs... you're doing something REALLY right. Congrats to the winner! I wonder if he had the Panoptix Livescope?

I icefished one day this weekend....nice weather, hit the low 40's each day. 9" of ice. Fishing was not good for me....very slow. Fish would show up, but most did not want to play. I ended up with around 16 fish, a mix of bluegills and bass. 2nd to the last fish of the afternoon was a very good bass, 21.5":

Yes, exactly. Length means more to me than weight. About the only time weight matters is when you get a new State Record, or close to it. My biggest smallmouth was a 20-incher caught in northern Illinois. I released it and didn't have a camera with me that day. I was super-bummed. Several friends have caught bigger ones in the Des Moines River, but I haven't been that lucky yet. Most of the big smallies in Iowa come from West Okoboji Lake. You guys are sure getting some really nice ones in Missouri!! That's great!!

Some better bass showed up this weekend. Biggest 3 bass for me were 18.5", 18", and 16.5".

Its a participation trophy. In an age where participation is reportedly on the decline, it can't hurt. It might encourage some folks to go visit places they wouldn't otherwise bother with. MDC already has the patch deal where you collect patches from 4 locations if you catch an 18" or bigger trout from them. Similar to the program in the first thread entry, but tougher to earn. Everybody is different....this will be fun for some, just like tournament fishing is fun for some, or sitting on a cooler with an adult refreshment watching your line or bobber is fun for some. Whatever gets you outside, do it.

This sounds interesting. Gotta start somewhere. The Iowa DNR has a Master Angler program. Might be similar to what MO has? I haven't checked into MO's yet... They've had one for as long as I can remember, where if you caught a fish species by legal methods that met a specified minimum length or weight, they would send you a certificate. In 2011, they started a NEW Master Angler program. You still get a certificate for each Master Angler fish you catch/submit, and now once you catch 5 different species that meet the minimum length or weight requirements, you get a "silver" medallion. When you reach 10 different species, you get a "gold" medallion. In a way I was bummed when they started the new program, because I don't fish the same way I used to when I was younger. At this point, I'm mainly flyfishing, so I'm unlikely to catch some of the species I used to, such as Flathead Catfish. But you can view the records online now, so that's kind of interesting. Anyway....I got it done. First person in Iowa to do it entirely by flyfishing. How about that? 😁 Looking forward to moving to MO in a few months!

Catching was tougher while icefishing this past weekend. Caught some, nothing very big.

Wow! That's quite a first chapter! The mix of personal stories, facts, and history is fascinating. Well done, Al!

Yes, that's the best and preferred remedy. When Ma Nature deals the cards, you play the hand you're dealt. 😉

The ice has been on the local ponds for the quite a while, but it wasn't thick enough to fish on until we had the deep-freeze temps a couple weeks ago, when we had high temps in the single digits for about 4 days in a row. My buddy Jay and I visited 3 ponds this weekend. He caught fish at all 3 ponds, I got skunked at one pond, but did pretty well at the other two. Here's a small taste of what I caught (all fish were released). I'm a bit envious that most of you guys here on OA have open water nearly the entire winter...so for me, icefishing is a great way to diminish the winter-time cabin fever.

Rainbow puddle?

I'm sure I remember gas locally being $0.25/gallon in the 70's....Here's a link that shows the national average gas prices over the years: https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/planes-trains-and-automobiles/average-gas-prices-through-history/

Cute little fellas.