vernon

Nope. Can't do them babies either. Same deal - throat swells near closed and heart goes crazy. Can hardly breathe. Been a long time since I was stung but it's also been a long time since I went near em'. Who wants to address spiders since we're talking about things that are just "normally" terrifying? Not even Chuck Norris will go near snakes, wasps or spiders!

Yeah!! What Smalls said! You, sir, are a genius! Glad to see somebody around here that's rational.

I guess maybe back in "The Day" it was looked upon as no big deal. You know, like airplanes. Big sky, little airplane has long been a common term among pilots when addressing the likelihood of a mid air collision. Likewise, "Big lake, little boat" might have been commonly accepted. What could go wrong?

And that the few that do know would adhere to.

I still think it just comes down to a lack of indoctrination over nearly countless generations. Just think if there had NEVER been a requirement for drivers licenses? If everybody and anybody could just go buy a car of any size, power or speed and take it directly to the highway with no instruction or guidance whatsoever? Just plop down your cash and "Yee Haw" interstate here we come! AND, better yet, with a cooler full of beer and a fully stocked wet bar on board! Pot and other "recreational" type drugs optional. Similar to our lakes, it would probably be like driving in Columbia (and I don't mean Tiger town!)

Apparently not - darn groundhog.

Don't you dare go there! I just finished serving my forum suspension as a result of my "fringe" involvement in a previous thread that one of YOU guys suckered me into!

While I've always been terrified of them, the deal that tore the sheet forever was farm pond fishing with good buddy back when I was in my early twenties. My friend was getting started learning the guide business in Montana and later Alaska and, like his mentors, always carried a .44 magnum in case of a bear attack. Well, not in northeast Kansas I guess but it had become a sort of habit whenever he was in the "bush". Or "wild" or whatever you wanna call it. Outdoors would probably suffice I suppose. Anyways, we're in this rickey old wooden john boat at his uncles pond when he got his lure stuck in a bush on the bank. As I eased the boat up to the bush so he could retrieve said lure, a snake fell out of the bush and into the boat. While I'm trying to decide between pooping and peeing and in what order, my pal pulls out the .44 and starts blasting. Well, he hits the snake probably four out of the six shots which I guess is good since it's a much smaller target than a bear but now there's a washtub size hole in the bottom of the boat and, along with shredded snake remnants, we're going down like a sack of rocks without the sack. As the pond is surrounded by woods and brush that would rival Cambodia, we now have to swim/wade back across to the only area of egress - a distance of probably only about 100 yds. but under the circumstances seemed like the English Channel in foul weather. Now aptly terrorized and completely and totally irrational with fear of more snakes (the pond was virtually infested with lily pads and moss) we make it back across to the gate area only to find - you guessed it - a friggin' rattlesnake sunning itself in the middle of the trail! Not to be denied, my now hero friend unholsters his waterlogged cannon, reloads and starts firing away at the rattler. By this time, I'm a complete veg and am undeniably scarred for life. So anyways, he misses the snake this time but it takes off into the underbrush and we're able to scamper (as in sprint) back up the trail to the truck where we collapse soaking wet and totally exhausted. We both felt as though we had just escaped a bombing raid over Berlin in 44' and were equal parts proud and relieved to have survived an otherwise almost certain demise. Now I'm happy to report that we both recovered to the degree of being able to carry on somewhat socially adjusted and reasonably productive lives but I NEVER returned to his uncle's pond even though it was one of the best dang fishin' holes ever. AND, if I'm now surfing channels on the TV and even happen upon so much as a commercial with a snake in it I am instantly pounding the remote to skip to the next channel and if the serpent is nefarious looking enough I'm also standing on my "man" chair just in case the sucker tries to get out of the TV! Moral of the story? Call me Nancy if you must but no more slims for me!

Why I don't fish bluffs! Well, at least not any more!

STOPPPPPPPP! No pictures!! Somebody needs to delete this!! In the immortal words of Judge Smails, "You sir, are no gentleman!"

Oh yeah? Snake Charmer!

Listen to you! The guy that needs a bigger basement! I'm surprised you haven't moved the Ranger out of the garage to make room for more tackle! I don't know if your area has an HOA but if so I bet they don't know that there's a storage warehouse located on property. Some of us "minimalists" are just fine with a more practical amount of gear. Personally, I find that 25-30 rod/reel combos is more than sufficient and I can get by just fine with only a 22 foot boat and a little ol' 250 horsepower engine. I'm just not into excess and materialism like "some" people I guess!

No, no, no. You guys are completely missing the point. We're talking about SNAKES here not bunny rabbits! Dead, alive, in suspended animation, it DON'T matter! The only good snake is the one that never existed in the first place! Even PICTURES of snakes should be banned. Now there. That's it. No more snake talk!

Again. Noooooooooo! This was sounding like a pretty cool deal up until the snake part.

Noooooooooo! That would mean you have to TOUCH it!

On the recommendation of another OA member last year (I apologize for not remembering his name at the moment) I picked up this little bag from Academy Sports. I find it to be perfect for Ned paraphernalia and at $14.99 I don't know how it could be beat. Small box for heads, two mesh pouches for extra glue and scissors and ten ziplock style see thru ring binders for Zman's, Zero's or whatever.

It was the 49-50 at the dam that got my attention.

Is it just wishful thinking on my part or are the water temperatures unusually high for this time of the year? Early spring? Global warming? Climate change? I'm ready for some thunderstorms!

Ahhh, OK then I guess. Just be careful not to be drawn to the light! The sorcerer's chant of Charlie Ingram can sometimes be irresistible. I can almost hear him now droning, "Honda outboards, Honda outboards, Honda outboards, Hon............"

Dang. If that's what you have to look forward to after church maybe you should either stay at church a little longer or it's time for an intervention of some sorts! Friends don't let friends watch Fishing University!!

My bad. They're in Chargers. Forgive me for not paying close enough attention to the specifics! Obviously my recollection and judgement was unfairly clouded by the incessant ranting about "stuff"! And, nothing against Chargers or Cedar Creek beef jerky either by the way. Just ban the show and it's all good!

Guy thinks of everything!

I always just cut and glue up two or three first thing before leaving the dock or while idling out in the morning. If that doesn't last the entire day there's always plenty of breaks along the way to rig up a few more. I do get frustrated though if I don't have more than one ready to go and have to start the process from the beginning. Especially if I'm catching fish. I don't know why but I've never liked rigging them up a couple of days or even the night before and storing them though. Laying on the deck is one thing but they just don't seem the same when I put them in a bag or a box. Painfully anal sometimes.

Make America Great Again! I hear he's also gonna ban all boats over 25 ft. from inland waterways! Now if he could just address that stocking program issue......

I'm still a "cut" man and will remain so until The Godfather indicates otherwise!