Crippled Caddis

Greg wrote: <I've been having a blast recently with a couple of old "made in the USA" 1960's to 70's vintage pflueger medalists. I bought both off of ebay - a 1494 and a 1495.> If you're e-baying watch for Medalists brand marked as Shakespeares, South Bends, Orvis and others I can't recall now. Pflueger would label them for anyone who placed a big order and you can often pick them up for a lot less than the Pflueger models now that the Medalist has assumed retro cachet'. If you haven't yet done so put them on some period fiberglass rods and fish them. As I predicted @ 5 years ago a healthy collector market has appeared for fiberglass rods since old bamboo became too expensive for the casual victim of nostalgia. But they are still affordable and you can still occasionally run across steals at yard sales, junk stores or auctions of fine old Heddons, Phillipsons, Fenwicks and Shakespeares. They are still eminently fishable and you might even find that, like myself, you enjoy the slower, more laid back casting that hearkens to a slower, more laid back era. They are really at their finest, IMO, on a brim pond or a Smallmouth river where they handle heavy flies with more aplomb than graphite and create no mental anguish concerning hook nicks or impact damage from hitting limbs or bucking brush. Fiberglass rods are the Timex watches of fishing, they 'take a licking and keep on ticking'.

<What size rod should I get? Even though I want to fish for bass and the stuff in streams I may fish for trout someday too.> Hoo boy! You don't ask the easy ones! I'm sure that everyone will have a different opinion so I'll get my licks in first. Maybe---I type slowly. You have at least given us a few qualifiers. For wading the creeks and small rivers that I fish I don't like a 9' rod even though it is the norm these days. I like an 8' unless i'll be bucking brush on a long hike into a small stream when I'll go shorter yet in order to reduce snagging on brush both while walking in and casting. But an 8' rod will do almost everything you need under most situations. The trick will be finding one you like in a 6 wt. Because for the things you specified I think a 6 wt. is what you need. It's light enough for delicate presentations if the caster is competent and it has enough flex to make a small trout or goggle eye fun. It is also suitable for casting the smaller poppers, bassbugs and streamers used for stream Smallies while still being suitable for fishing tiny flies for tailwater trout. Which puts us right back at the exact rod length and weight line that most authorities recommended for a one rod arsenal back before the longer rods became fashionable. Some things just work. CC

You knew you could sucker me into jumping into this discussion.;o) So OK-----I'm a traditionalist. Partly a function of my age and the propensity of the elderly to resist change, but frankly I just like traditional endeavors and the tools associated with them. Whether woodworking or flyfishing I have a great respect for those pioneers who preceeded me and made of the pursuit what it is today. I place equal value on my Grandfather's drawknife and a willow creel purchased in 1932 by a favorite Uncle. I occasionally (and respectfully) use the drawknife but the creel is a wall-hanger strictly out of respect for it's advancing age and the ephemeral nature of the material from which it's made. So-----I like reels with click drags. I love the sound of a shreiking clicker when a good fish takes off. Next to the sound of flowing waters it is my favorite outdoor sound effect. It is an audable measure of success. It is sweeter music than that made by man to my ears. A silent drag steals that thrill for me. I like lightweight reels which balance the light rods I prefer. Which pretty well knocks disc-drag reels out of the equation. I like the looks (and sound!) of old Hardys and Youngs although my income level dictates that I own only a few of each. I think a Medalist looks just like what a flyreel SHOULD look like. And I like the scratches, odd dent and patina of old reels that have a lifetime of faithful service behind them. They are badges of honor and help make of them icons worthy of respect. I like old cane and fiberglass rods and modern reels just look out of place and time on them. I fail to 'get it' why light weight in rods is a Holy Grail but the reels marketed for them weigh more than traditional designs. Once past the cane pole and cork stage of fishing I cut my teeth on non-freespool revolving spool casting reels where the 'drag' was the same thumb that prevented backlashes. So when I started flyfishing it just came natural to stick a finger into the spool to control running fish. The advent of exposed spools with palming rims just made it easier. I do like the quick line recovery of large arbor reels, but I refuse to pay the exhorbitant price asked. My old Shakespeare branded Young multipliers do the same thing except moreso. And balance the old rods I like to use them on as well. I like to use drawknives, spokeshaves, crooked knives and planes when forming objects from wood and I like fishing with old rods with dinged-up, almost paintless Medalists on the seat. I am a Luddite and Old Fogy, a traditionalist and respector of old tackle and I shamelessly admit it. CC

Terry wrote: <I'm just "qualifying" his statement/opinion on reels.---Yes, many fly fishermen (in my opinion) buy way more reel than they will ever use.--- IF - and chances are you will - you get into a bigger fish (and doesn't have to be a "monster") you will want a "satisfactory" drag system. Just a good solid reel with good drag will do for the beginner.> To clarify: Maybe it's just that I grew up with the sport when the only thing readily available with a drag was the Medalist and most flyfishing writers recommended a good click drag reel with a palming spool that I consider a disc drag superflous for the vast majority of freshwater fishing. I've done a LOT of flyrod bass fishing (and even a little catching ;o)) and simply don't recall that I ever felt undergunned with a palm spool reel or a Medalist. In fact just sitting here I can't recall ever having to put a bass on the reel and I've caught largemouth over 6#. A Smallie will occasionally essay a short run but nothing on the order of big Trout or Carp. And my best trout, a Brown a bit over 28", was landed in a very short time period using a superlight palming rim Ryobi MG255 diecast magnesium reel that is a POS by the minimal standards of the current era. But it balances the 8', 4 wt. Loomis it's mounted on and I feel undergunned in no fashion. So I earnestly feel that for the intended use that 'Woodchuck' specified I don't think he needs a disc drag at all. Should he later find that his target has changed and he does need a good drag, well-----by that time he'll have a far better concept of what is available, the level of quality needed to match the quarry and his preferences that have developed to that point. Time enough then to put serious $ into a reel. Right now I feel his money would be better spent on a good rod and line that will enhance the learning experience.

Woodchuck wrote: <I'd like to support the local guys so will get a reel from them> As Terry noted in Smallmouth fishing a reel is mainly a line storage device since they don't make long runs. Frankly reels have became a boutique item in the most recent upsurge of interest in the sport. As a result the vast majority of flyfishermen buy far more reel than they really need. If you need to save money save it here and spend the difference on the best line you can get to match your rod and the type of fly you will be casting. It will flatten the learning curve. Ask the guys at BCO which line AFTER you show them the rod you'll be using it on. And by all means ask them to cast the combo to be certain it actually matches the rod. <I've saved up BPS gift cards and need to use them so I'll by my rod there. I have $190 in cards so that is my budget. I was thinking about a Sage Launch or a TFO and leaning towards the Sage since it is made in America. Anyone know if TFO is made in USA?> TFO makes their rods in Korea in a factory they own. Many of the 'high end' rodmakers source their less expensive rods from offshore as well even tho their top of the line rods are made in the US. I can't tell you what Sage does in that respect. Drop them an e-mail and ask. As others have already noted---avoid the extremely fast-action rods. Not only are they a bit harder for a novice to deal with when learning but a more moderate action handles big, bulky wind resistant flies often used in bass fishing better IMO. <Do you think these rods are to high for a beginner and I should start with a cheaper one.> It's a bit like learning to play a guitar. You can learn with a cheap instrument but you'll be ahead of the game and more apt to learn quickly and enjoy it with a quality guitar. That said I must play the Devil's Advocate to my own advice. The reality is that if you do become a devotee of the long rod you'll soon replace that first rod with something you think is better. Almost ALL flyfishermen have a serious case of G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) You have been warned! CC

<The home charger cannot and will not deplete the battery. It has overcharge protection built into the little box that plugs into the wall. (Ever taken one of those apart? Resistors and capacitors galore) If it is always charged on a DC charger, therein lies the issue here. Car chargers are fast chargers, therefore over using the lithium-ion chemicals and causing degradation in their performance. Use the car charger as little as possible to ensure the longest possible life of your battery.> There's your definitive answer right there! My experience has been mostly with high-discharge applications in electric powered model airplanes with all battery technologies since the Ni-cad came along. and I don't even own a cel-phone. <Is there any way to get it to hold a longer charge?> As drew sez the 110V trickle charger will pack in the most amps the most safely. Other than that only a higher amperage capacity battery pack is gonna help so long as the battery you have is healthy.

< Her phone only holds a charge for 45-60 minutes. > Phil is probably right, but if the batteries go bad almost as soon as you buy them then you must suspect the charger. If the batteries get too hot to hold comfortably it is overcharging and 'cooking' the batteries to death. If new batteries only last a short time after charging and have little or no temperature rise during the charge the charger is probably undercharging them. That is all predicated on Ni-Cad batteries. Other types of battery respond differently. If Ni-Mis (nickel/metal/hydride) get very hot they're goners. Overcharging Lithium ions can be hazardous to life, limb and property as they tend to explode or catch fire or both. Ni-cads too can do this if the overcharging is extreme. So check out your charger unless the existing battery is just so old that a new battery solves the problem. Contact me by PM if the problem persists and we'll try something else. CC

<Have you thought about a fiberglass repair kit for a boat or tub/shower. I would think the resin would be similar.> That might not be a good gamble! The resin in the rod SHOULD be epoxy. Many boat repair kits contain polyester resin. IIRC (Betting on that could be hazardous!) epoxy can be used over polyester but the reverse is NOT true. If you want to use resin be sure that you get epoxy. The epoxies with longer set-up times are superior to those like '5 Minute'. Think of it as---the longer the curing time the longer it lasts.

Phil wrote: <Brian- I appreciate your heart... asking forgiveness even though you may not need to can never hurt. Don't think this ever got out of hand at all. Nothing wrong with discussing issues even though they may strike sensitive strings.> I offer up my own apologies to Brian, Phil and the board at large for 'coming on too strong'. In mitigation I can only offer my deep love for my country and great concern for the direction in which it seems to be headed. For those emotions I apologize to no one. <Shall we dare to start a topic on the supreme court's ruling on partial birth abortion???> I hope that even I would have enough sense to not become embroiled in that one despite strong opinions in the matter. For those who care I offer below an extracted bit of text from a 'Gun Owners of America' report to membership forwarded to me this morning by a member. CC ****************** <It is also worthwhile to note that Virginia Tech is -- because of deliberate policies set by its administration -- a victim disarmament zone, where even those with a state-issued concealed carry permit are denied their right of self-defense. In fact, pro-gun forces just last year tried to get the Virginia legislature to address the problem. The bill to allow permit holders to carry on state-supported college campuses died, due in no small part to rabid opposition from Virginia Tech itself. VT spokesman Larry Hincker put it this way after it became obvious that the bill would not pass: "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus." The unfortunate irony continues when one recalls that not long ago, two students at nearby Appalachian School of Law managed to stop a gunman at that institution. Happily, they were able to dash off-campus to retrieve their guns from their vehicles.> One wonders about the exposure of university regents to a charge of violation of civil rights. To an ignorant 'old country boy' it seems a slam-dunk. CC

<I will examine it right now...and, the verdict is...it is just the finish. Is there anything I can put on that to keep it from worsening? nail polish, super glue, what is a possibility?> I think the real question should be, "What is compatable with the original finish". Only the manufacturer can tell you that. However-----and don't take this to the bank----I haven't yet seen superglue have an effect on painted finishes, but gamble on your own responsibility.

"The society of late 20th century America is perhaps the first in human history where most grown men do not routinely bear arms on their persons and boys are not regularly raised from childhood to learn skill in the use of some kind of weapon, either for community or personal defense --- club or spear, broadsword or long bow, rifle or Bowie knife. It also happens to be one of the rudest and crudest societies in history, having jubilantly swept most of the etiquette of speech, table, dress, hospitality, fairness, deference to authority and the relations of male and female and child and elder under the fraying and filthy carpet of politically convenient illusions. With little fear of physical reprisal Americans can be as loud, gross, disrespectful, pushy, and negligent as they please. If more people carried rapiers at their belts or revolvers on their hips it is a fair bet you would be able to go to a movie and enjoy the dialogue from the screen without having to endure the small talk, family gossip and assorted bodily noises that many theater audiences these days regularly emit. Today discourtesy is commonplace precisely because there is no price to pay for it."------Samuel Francis

Examine it under a strong light and magnification. If ONLY the paint is affected and there has been no damage to the graphite/epoxy matrix it should be fine.

<a lot of seniors in high school are 18 and therefore of age. Should they be able to carry guns to class? They are of legal age after all> Not deliberately stirring the pot here; just an observation. When you reflect that they can carry guns in combat and use them in the service of their nation, and be killed in the process, that question begins to seem a bit moot. <Remember Columbine and the other school shootings over the last ten years or so.> Honest question----anyone know if the Columbine shooters were 18 or older? I don't, but I do know the Jonesboro shooters were quite a bit younger.

Brian, Check your PMs---don't wanta mess up Lilley's board with a pi$$ing match. CC

mrsDucky wrote: <I am pretty sure you meant metaphorically> One presumes. Which may be presumptuous. But the line is reminiscent of a very risque' Aggie joke.;o)

Brian wrote: <This is not meant to draw anyone's ire, but a lot of people here seem to be politicizing this tragedy.> I'm sure that I'm the culprit in that matter. But have you witnessed the media feeding frenzy to politicize it? In contrast mine is the voice of reason. Ultimately all social problems are political in some facet or another. It is the real world of 'real-politick' and it affects every aspect of our daily lives. To think otherwise is a betrayal of either one's ignorance or powers of self-deception. It is a critical 2nd Amendment issue and the Left has siezed on the event with unseemly glee, confident that it will provide entree' to deprive the American people of the most basic right of all---the right of self defense. <Blaming directly or indirectly Democrats or liberals for the crazed acts of one individual. Do you think major corporate offices allow people to be armed in their offices? No, of course not. Why should a university.> You obviously have little or no educational background on our Constitution and Bill of Rights to even voice the question. In short, by denying students and faculty the right to be armed both the Virginia General Assembly and the Regents of the University deprived them of their right of self defense under the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights, a fundamental Civil Rights violation. In so doing they are arguably guilty of reckless endangerment as well. <If that person had a knife, the death total would not have been 33. It is a lot easier to get away from a guy with a knife or chainsaw or over power him with force than dodge a bullet or outrun it.> And had there been a single armed student or faculty member armed with a weapon equal to the one used by the perpetrator the odds that none or far fewer would have been killed or injured would have been dramatically altered. THAT is the fundamental issue in the case. By denying their 2nd Amendment rights to students and faculty the regents and the General Assembly must share the guilt with the one who performed the act. They are morally (and I believe legally) culpable in those deaths and injuries of defenseless citizens. <But before you say I want to just ban guns, I don't. But think about it rationally, history class is not a place you should be packing.> Why not when it is one of the Constitutional rights 'reserved to the people'? The right of self defense is the 'first law' of human society. It is denied only to slaves or by totalitarian regimes with good reason to fear the citizenry. And the surest betrayal of intent to persecute or enslave the citizenry by a governmental body is the attempt to disarm them. <Now should the administration have responded earlier when the first incident occured, in hindsight definitely!> Yes----hindsight is a wonderful tool for those trying to assign blame. It was one of the first areas of attack by liberal media. Their delight in doing so was almost embarrassing to anyone with the power of independent reason. The inference is a cheap shot at best and simple sensationalism on the face of it. <I am not trying to insight anyone's anger or get into a big gun control debate, I have no problem with responsible gun ownership, but just thought I'd address the knee jerk "it is the Dem. or liberals fault".> My retirement project was to discover just what had became of 'the land of the free'. I have invested (or squandered) an almost unbelievable number of hours, days and weeks in researching societies, belief systems, history, psychology and political systems in the past 17 years both in the written word and on the internet. I have studied our own founding documents, those that preceded them and the people who authored them along with the debates that preceded adoption. I am confident at this stage that I have a fair handle on the root causes of the problems in World and American society and the political manueverings that have brought us to this moment in history. I have every confidence that you are a good person who wishes this country well, but I have equal confidence that due to your age you are a product of a liberal educational system that taught few if any of the subjects I cited above. But all the information to educate oneself is freely available on the 'net these days. I commend it to anyone whose curiosity goes beyond the programming of our public school system and universities. Learning can be a lifelong adventure and acceptance of the opinions of others without questioning them constitutes mental laziness at best and indoctrination at worst. I invite you to embark upon your own adventure. CC ***************** A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself. - Joseph Pulitzer "When the government fears the people, it is liberty. When the people fear the government, it is tyranny."---Thomas Paine Machiavelli advocated a nation based on a national militia. Such a nation would be founded upon: "good laws and good arms. And as there can not be good laws where there are not good arms, and where there are good arms there must be good laws, I will not now discuss the laws, but will speak of the arms."

gf wrote: <I agree with most everything you guys have said. I think however what will happen here is we will get another bunch of anti-gun laws maybe have gun ownership totally banned. The anti-gunners are already squealing like pigs caught in a gate. Of course anti-gun laws will, as usual, do nothing to address the real problem.> To ban guns will require a Constitutional Amedment or simply ignoring Constitutional rights. The latter tactic has been working well to date with over 25,000 laws or ordinances that 'infringe' on the 2nd Amendment 'on the book' at all levels of government around the country from local or city to national. For a better understanding of 'original intent' see Guncite.com for a good overview. See <http://www.guncite.com/gc2ndpur.html> for specifics of why the Founders reserved your right to be armed at all times. One of the best and most often cited explanations is from the 1803 Appendix of 'Blackstone's Commentaries' by legal scholar St. George Tucker: "The right of self-defense is the first law of nature; in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Whenever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction." William Rawle, a contemporay of the Founders wrote in his 1829 book,"A View of the Constitution of the United States' which was adopted as the textbook on the subject by various institutions: "The prohibition is general. No clause in the constitution could by any rule of construction be conceived to give congress a power to disarm the people. Such a flagitious attempt could only be made under some general pretence by a state legislature. But if in any blind pursuit of inordinate power, either should attempt it, this amendment may be appealed to as a restraint on both." Associate Supreme Court Justice Story weighed in with: "The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them." So it should be apparent that those guilty of disarming the faculty and students at VA Univ. are culpable in the deaths and injuries today through denying their Constitutional right to be armed. Anyone expect the ACLU to take them to court? ---------------------------------*------------------------------------ In 1931, a congressional report of the Special House Committee to Investigate Communist Activities stated: "The American Civil Liberties Union is closely affiliated with the communist movement in the United States, and fully 90 percent of its efforts are on behalf of communists who have come into conflict with the law. It claims to stand for free speech, free press, and free assembly; but it is quite apparent that the main function of the ACLU is to attempt to protect the communists in their advocacy of force and violence to overthrow the government, replacing the American flag by a red flag and erecting a Soviet government in place of the republican form of government guaranteed to each state by the federal Constitution." -----------------------------------*----------------------------------- "I am for Socialism, disarmament, and ultimately for abolishing the state itself as an instrument of violence and compulsion. I seek social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class, and sole control by those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal".--------ACLU founder Roger Baldwin

< Amazing that it happened on a liberal campus where no guns are allowed like all campuses.. Amazing? Where else could the nutcase be assured that he would have defenseless victims? How did it happen? Seems like the VA General Assembly is guilty of reckless endangerment and denial of civil rights from this article. As is the school itself. Any attorney worth his salt should be able to make a case. <http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-50658>

Dano wrote: <I am in that business of trying to figure young people out and what we have is a large number of parents who are apathetic to the issues of their own children.> Yes, in your official capacity you see far more evidence of parental shirking of responsibility than does the average citizen. Somehow I suspect that such incidents come as far less of a surprise to you than the average Joe. Sorry that you wound up with such a *&^%$ job but I would remind you that no good deed goes unpunished.;o) You obviously need to step back and gain a bit of perspective, So when are we going fishing?;o) Wayne wrote: <I fear that as a society and as members of humanity we aren't as prepared to shake the bounds of family, church and community as some think we are.> The dissolution of family and religion were cardinal focal points of Socialist theory and efforts to subvert Western society. Takeover of the school systems was a primary objective and was finalized in the US @ the early '70s by the NEA, a union founded by avowed Communists. The relationship between the Democratic Party and the NEA is so incestuous that no one truly knows who 'is on top'. Whatever the case the NEA is the leading union financial supporter of the Democratic National Party. Secularization of our society has been and is led by academia. Long the stronghold and refuge of Socialist theory inimitable to Constitutional and traditional American principals and values the academic community has led the attack on religion. Academics who espouse religious and conservative values haven't been able to achieve tenured chairs in the leading colleges and universities for almost 2 generations at this point in history. To be hired at university level it is neccessary to hide a traditional American value system. Check out the on-going legal issues surrounding just that that plague such institutions as the University of North Carolina and Michigan State as well as the Ivy League schools. And FWIW, as an undergraduate at Yale Hillery Rodham's campus nickname is reputed to have been 'Little Miss Communist'. "Give me your four year olds and in a generation I will built a socialist State."---Lenin "Destroy the family, and the society will collapse." --Lenin "To achieve world government, it is necessary to remove from the minds of men, their individualism, loyalty to family traditions, national patriotism and religious dogmas".----Brock Chisolm, former Director of the World Health Organization Norman Thomas and Gus Hall, perennial U.S. Communist Party Presidential Candidates, both quit American politics, agreeing that the Republican and Democratic parties by 1970 had adopted every plank of the Communist/Socialist Party and they no longer had an alternate party platform on which to run. KFF wrote: <Andy, the Walton's, the Beav! Those shows were good entertainment that always had a message attached.> Cast your memory back in time------when did such programs espousing traditional family and American value systems go away? Have you seen them in rerun recently? Does that suggest anything? I'll leave it to your own good sense to examine the implications. CC, the old cynic

Why so much surprise? We're into the 3rd generation of people raised by TV 'entertainment'. There's more violence in a week of TV than in a small war. Not to mention kid's 'games', movies and the internet. Think back if you're old enough----prior to the advent of TV being used as an electronic 'nanny' most of us recieved our 'basic training' in Sunday School, through parental instruction or at the knee or on the lap of grandparents. Those sources of training emphasized kindness, courtesy, brotherly love and getting along with our fellow man. Compare those traditional value systemss with the all-pervasive violence portrayed in TV and other forms of commercial 'entertainment' and tell me again why you register surprise at the Jonesboro and Columbine incidents. CC ----------------------------------------------------------------------- “Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged,”---Congress, Northwest Ordinance of 1787

SM wrote: <I think we need a major overhaul of ALL 3 orgs and a new division created out of the ashes of the Phoenix that is tasted with the protection and management of wildlife and recreational natural resources. EPA should regulate traditional commercial natural resources venues like ag and industry. USFWS should keep doing what they do except for their enforcement division. And the USFWS enforcement division and the USEPA wildlife folks should be sent to the new agency> A good concept but fer Gawd's sake let's not advocate an additional layer of bureaucracy! Better to reconstitute the USFWS in a new and more reasonable role charged with the duties you cite. < It's like letting Congress police itself. Oh wait! We do that too. Don't we?> 'Zactly! As you mentioned in a previous post it's the "Fox guarding the henhouse" syndrome. And therein lies the problem! GF wrote: <Feeding the government or its agency enough money is like giving a cocaine addict enough dope.> "The American Republic will fail when politicians realize that they can bribe the people with their own money."---Alexis de Tocqueville We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. ----Aesop <"The road to hell is paved with good intentions" the government is so good at propaganda that they actually get people to fight and argue over the good intentions even though most of the time the so called good intentions lead to loss of everyones rights or privilege's> "Most of the harm in the world is done by good people, and not by accident, lapse, or omission. It is the result of their deliberate actions, long persevered in, which they hold to be motivated by high ideals toward virtuous ends."-------Isabel Patterson "To be GOVERNED is to be kept in sight, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom, nor the virtue to do so. To be GOVERNED is to be at every operation, at every transaction, noted, registered, enrolled, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. It is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be placed under contribution, trained, ransomed, exploited, monopolized, extorted, squeezed, mystified, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, despised, harassed, tracked, abused, clubbed, disarmed, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and, to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, outraged, dishonored. That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality."----Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

SM wrote: <It is part of the US Army because that was the point: national defense; and because that's where most of our civil engineers were> And because it is carried that way 'on the book' it will never be reviewed by a sunset commission even though it should be obvious to the densest politician that it should come under the purview of the EPA. <all of our wetlands, lakes, and rivers are impacted by THEIR priorities. Their priorities put recreational uses LAST and natural resource conservation next to last. It's a classic case of the fox guarding the hen house.> "It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government." -- Thomas Paine

Wayne wrote: <There was never any mention of fees for recreation, in fact one of the selling points was the vast area of water recreation available for free.> May I recommend the book, 'The River Killers' about the COE? While long out of print (copywrtten in 1975 IIRC) within the last couple of months Amazon had several used editions available as low as $3.??. Common COE tactics include institutionalized lying about cost/benefit ratios. EIS fudging and massive cost under-estimation. It is by far the most dishonest bureaucracy in the federal heirarchy. And whatever you do don't make the mistake of thinking of it as a department of the Army. While it is carried that way 'on the books' it has only a few hundred (if that!) actual Army personnel with the vast majority being civilian employees. It is a bureaucracy by any definition. And we should all know by now that the major goals of a bureaucracy, in order of importance, are: 1. increase funding 2. grow 3. and with luck the original goal for which it was established An admission: While I've owned the book for over 20 years I've never read it from cover to cover. It simply makes me too angry and I'm forced to lay it aside out of concern for my blood pressure. Note: My copy is currently on loan to Fox Statler. I hope he hasn't suffered apoplexy as a result.

Terry wrote: <I think anyone who has read my stories knows about my preference as a child and somewhat still today when I'm spin/cast fishing... Zebco 33... Yeah, I have a lot of memories there... and I'm still trying to put as many of them as I can down "on paper"...> And many of us are enjoying them as much or more than yourself----and identifying with them.;o) Even though I started spinning with a Langley ultra-light open-face reel in '61 and was never able to come to terms with a closed face reel---particularly Zebcos. I will be kind and not tell you what I called them.;o) BTW, the Garcia 308 that took the place of the Langley(after wearing out the 2nd one) is still in great working order (though it and the spare spool in original container now resides in a display case) as is an Alcedo Micron (then considered the Rolls Royce of ultra-light reels) which once more graces a fiberglass rod. A DAM Quick (honest---that's the correct name!) ultra-light that came along about the same time is back in service as are my Zebco Cardinals. Even though they have became very collectable no one has yet built a better spinning reel IMO. A recent antique store acquisition, the reel that started the spinning craze in America after WW2, a Bach Brown, is still in fine working order after cleaning and re-lubing. Even back then it had a single finger actuated quick-flip opening bail though it was a half bail that required the user to pick up the line with his finger after a cast in order for the bail to engage it. It is so smooth it makes one wonder about the quality of the current crop. And that without benefit of ball bearings. I also have a first year model Pflueger Supreme with all accessories except for oil and grease and still in the original box that occasionally cries out as I pass the display case to be taken out to play once more with the Dowagiacs and River Runts. If I ever run across that good bamboo casting rod it deserves I'll do it too. Just as an old bird dog needs to visit the fields of his youth once more that Supreme deserves a day with the linesides. CC

<Will it ever be enough??? --I am a good American, but there has to be a limit to the tax we have to pay, too use something we have already paid for.> <there is no reason to pay to use public ground> <There are so many things wrong with this, that it is hard to even find a place to start. We are going to be taxed into the poor house> Slavery takes many forms. The American people (and many others around the globe!) are in fiscal slavery to the entity that was formed to be their servant---a federal government that has been allowed through inattention and apathy to become the wolf that preys on the sheep in the fold. Nor can we claim that we weren't warned. Many of the Founders specifically warned us of the danger of allowing the federal government to usurp the rights of the states and thereby the rights of the people. Thomas Jefferson, a student of the nature of mankind, gave us fair warning with: "When all government, domestic and foreign, in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated." Nor was his the only voice to speak in warning: "How soon we forget history. Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. A government is like fire, a handy servant, but a dangerous master."---George Washington The American 'Civil War' was NOT about slavery despite what your school may have taught you otherwise; it was solely about the usurpation by the federal government of states rights. And with the loss of that conflict the die was cast that has led to the current state of affairs. The current 'state of affairs' is de facto fiscal slavery through illegal confiscation of private wealth and property to which the federal government is NOT Constitutionally entitled. ALL Republican forms of government are formed for one purpose and one purpose only: for the protection of the people that constitute that government. When that federal entity itself becomes the enemy of the people it has outgrown its' validity under the terms for which it was founded and it is the right and duty of the people to replace it with a new form that once more serves the people. That principle has long been recognized as both just and neccessary: Montesquieu wrote in Spirit of the Laws, VIII,c.12:, 'When once a republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.'" If there be a principle that ought not to be questioned within the United States, it is that every man has a right to abolish an old government and establish a new one. This principle is not only recorded in every public archive, written in every American heart, and sealed with the blood of a host of American martyrs, but is the only lawful tenure by which the United States hold their existence as a nation.----- James Madison The Founders, in anticipation of exactly what has transpired, ("The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." --Thomas Jefferson) wisely bequethed to us the tools for doing just that" "The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves in all cases to which they think themselves competent--(and)-- that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed; that they are entitled to freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property, and freedom of the press." --Thomas Jefferson The Founders wisely provided that the American people could always remain armed exactly so they could defend themselves againt a rogue federal government. With the new Congress that right is once more under assault. The very fact that Congress wants the people disarmed should be sufficient warning that government wants to remove the right of the people to change it. Pay attention America!