Gilly

Too funny, Bob. Headed to Stockton next Friday. I'll pm you for the particulars on how to do those interviews.

Too bad, wonder how long that was going on? Following the links it looks like a Missouri angler got 3rd.

5k is a lot of bucks especially considerimg the age of the boat. Add-ons ie; electronics, toys, etc. could add some to the price but as mentioned above in this economy, not too much. You might be dealing with an overleveraged seller, be careful. Heck, for 5k you could almost look at a new boat. They are really dealing on those.

Welcome!

Hey Bill! Welcome. We live in Papillion but we fish Stockton. Having a blast trying to fish that lake. Be safe and keep the hooks sharp and the line fresh!

Aw 'cmon, lighten up. A good sense of humor is appreciated!

I understand, Bob. My point is, exactly as you replied, the rule benders are not age or gender specific. I wish to heck that enforcement officers had an easy time of it and their current numbers were sufficient.

Why the age specific questions? Do the locals have an aversion to 'visitors'? Seems to me that most of the tourney participants aren't locals but we recognize the value they bring to the economy. Very rarely am I close enough to another boat to see their catch but wrong (illegal) is wrong regardless. Bob, you spend a lot of time on Stockton and if your poll questions reflect even a fraction of what you witness......good Lord that would frustrating! It is anyone who is on the water who needs to be responsible for it. Fisherman, sailboater, recreational, it doesn't matter. Respect your neighbors, respect the water, respect the rules. And Godspeed to all of us for there are unfortunately idiots among us.

Whew......wasn't real sure where you were headed with that title.

Been there done that, SKMO. I was mowing the field a couple of years ago. My wife rides out on the ATV to see what was the matter. "Matter?" I said. "Yeah, you've been mowing the same side for any hour.......and you're beet red." I was having trouble thinking straight. I was totally dazed. She got me to drink some water and poured the rest on my head. She got me back to the house, got me to drinking water, tossed my sorry butt in the shower to cool down. Slept for 20+ hours waking up only to drink more water when she forced me. I had taken 2 bottles of water out with me but apparently that wasn't enough. Sweated those out instantly.

I darn near went head first out of the boat this weekend. We made a run up the B side of Stockton, from Hawker to Ruark. Fished for a little bit and then decided it was too hot, headed back for the trailer. Boat wouldn't start.....what the heck. Pumped the ball up again, boat started. Got up on plane and the boat quit. darn. Pumped the ball and the boat started. Same thing, got up on plane engine started cutting out, throttled back......or so I thought. Went back, pumped the ball and the engine came up to 3/4 throttle instantly. darn near went off the back end. Me being pizzed and stupid at the same time. You know how you have those moments when things just flash before you in an instant? Yeah it was one of those....but I had my PFD on so I would have been in okay shape had I gone over. At least I'd like to think so. note: The mechanic thinks it might be crappy gas or water in the fuel. Just filled the dang thing up.

Stay cool!? It was hot, dang hot. And I must say we had no problems with any 'bass' type boats. Only 'encounter' we had was one old guy trolling right on by us. Nodded his head, not a word was spoken. But you could have put maybe 3 size 12 sneakers between our boat and the end of his fishing pole. Like you said, a lot of lake.....

We went out this morning from 6:00 til noon. HOT! Put in at Crabtree and worked points south. No keepers until we made a run past the 245 bridge. My wife wanted to try my ultralight which I had not re-strung this year. She got into a nice bass. Got it almost to the net.......yup gone. What a blast that was! Made our day. Started having engine trouble (vapor lock?) so we headed back. We'll try it again in the morning. Promised her I'd cook tonight so Bongo's it is.

[.................Maybe you guys don't look ugly enough.] naw, I've never been accused of being handsome. note: Sorry, Jason. Didn't mean to turn this into a negative thread.

[...........about the hair deal ... I don't have much left either.] Here's a weird one for ya, wouldn't recommend it though. My brother sustained a head injury in January. He's very slowly recovering, hopefully we'll get most of him back. But they twice had to remove his skull cap (brain pressure sky rocketed) and finally left it off. As of now he is growing a full head of hair. Totally bald....to needing a hair cut. Go figure.

Didn't. Read it again. What gives any tournament participant the right to be rude?

The wife choose this weekend for a trip to Stockton to fish. Not too often that she plans a trip for us. Hope not to run into too many rude tournament boats. Dang it.

So I'm assuming you're having fun!

[........ self-inflating/manual PFD's so I could wear them 100% of the time I'm in the boat. ........but that doesn't do you much good if you're knocked out or disoriented from a crash. Buy 'em, wear 'em!] Roger that! I wear mine so my wife doesn't have to wait for my body to be recovered. Seriously. Had heart trouble a few years back. I figure if I hook a big lunker and have the big one landing it I don't want my wife to wait until I float up. Once you get use to wearing a self-inflator it's second nature. Leaves some weird tan lines though.

Submarines??? What the heck kind of lures you use for them babies?

My step brother lives in Driggs Idaho. He is just retiring from the Forestry Service....avid outdoorsman, wonderful person. If that's anywhere near your area of interest I'd be happy to put you in touch.

[i could have fixed that.] ..............the getting married?

The 'older' thingy you mention does come into play for me too. Depending on where you live these weather events probably have happened before......maybe a couple generations ago, maybe more. This past winter I ranted to my wife about how cold and snowy it was, like never before I maintained. Then she got out the albums and proved me wrong. The weather patterns may vary north to south, east to west but I would guess a specific area has seen it before. However I haven't and some of this extreme weather gives me great concern.

Hopefully the dozen confirmed dead are the only ones. Reports said 300+ may have been in the area. Pray the rest made it out. RIP to those who didn't..