Feathers and Fins

OP, I think a lot of it has to do with population increase and more people fishing. I grew up fishing a great Catfish lake but as population increased catching them became harder each year, my dad says he hasn't heard of any being caught in a very long time. Regulations are great but they don't account for extreme populations changes. Catfish biggest enemy is themselves and their tasty meat I do believe. Then again I have seen pollution do it as well. I remember the Salton Sea when Corvina were king now they are gone.

I have thought about that but the bottom dollar is the bottom dollar. By that I mean there is lots of money coming from the communities around the lakes and not giving them tons of lead time would take away the money generating machine that is the PRO circuits so it wont happen. Now in a realistic setting they could do like they do in saltwater and do a grid system where anglers are only allowed to fish a certain grid of the lake that would cut down some of it. Knowledge is a great thing but in tournaments its suppose to be an even field or as even as they can be. But when a pro has a huge following his amount of knowledge will be increased by his fans and that is an unfair advantage. Like OP just said I have seen it myself, watched one pro run up on a large brush pile that was only 4 weeks old, no way in this world was it on any lake map and not yet very common knowledge also not in a place anyone would expect it to be there he had knowledge that was NOT public knowledge so he had an unfair advantage. Could he have found it in pre-fishing? Maybe but where it was I seriously doubt it

Wharf, my center compartments holds up to 8ft rods total of 8 dedicated slots. Side compartments are loaded with tackle, First aid kits, Throw nets etc etc more than enough stuff in them I run a 90 optimax and by myself it pushes 50 with doc in the boat and his coffee it gets 47mph boy cant live without coffee Trolling motor is a Motorguide wireless. Motor in gear it will troll between 1.7 and 2.5 mph ( Big motor) and its very quiet Trolling motor is tied to a Optima Bluetop and last all day no problem on lower setting I can get it to pull me at .3 up to 1.5 after that the big motor gets turned on. All in all its a multi-species fishing boat and a Waterfowling boat. I have had NO issues with it of any concern and still have more modification I want to do that will be simple. The really nice thing about it is I can take it in to very shallow water 8inches where most boats cant go and being metal I do not have to worry about bumping a rock or other obstacle and damaging the fiberglass

I sometimes wonder how "elite" some of these guys would be without so much "help"? Before the net they went to a lake that was unfamiliar and had to learn the best they could in a short amount of time what they could. They may have had a few people they could go to and talk to or even in non-tournament season go to the lake with a guide to help better learn it. I wouldn't call that cheating but now! With the internet and cell phones etc I think the edge swings to Pro's who are popular and have big followings. Are they really that good or are they given so much information from so many "fans" they can stick with the hot bite, pattern, locations that other less popular anglers cant.

Chris you are NOT FUNNY. These freezes are messing with my Crappie and Walleye fishing!

Maybe this will help.. with so many manufactures having websites with overviews of the boat now its simpler than when I use to crawl on a roof and take a picture. Go to the sites save the picture and then play with it on one of the DRAW programs to see what you can do with it. Here is an example..

Its what you want to do out of a boat more than anything. Mine cost me 18,000.00 out the door, Add in the HDS system 5grand more, downriggers 350.00 spider rig stuff 200.00 wireless trolling motor 700.00 so for 24,000.00 roughly I have a boat I can fish for any species comfortably for, I can handle very rough water safely I can employee numerous styles of fishing from casting to trolling to bait fishing. I can hunt out of it or pull a skier if I want. I have owned Mako's, Rangers, Carolina, Bayrunners and Donzi's. Road any many others my favorite of all boats was my Mako and their are days I miss it, but for fishing these lakes my tracker is actually more suited to them and better. I do miss the mako though but she was a labor of love. 24ft wetdeck twin 200's double outriggers double down riggers more dam electronics than a fat kid in front of a tv. I built her from the shell up and never worried about anything when I was in her. I guess what Im saying is find the frame you want to do what you want at a good price and build what you want. That's what I did with my tracker, it had the right bones at the dealership and I was able to do the cosmetics myself.

With the right conditions and location you can catch cats on Beaver with spoons or crankbaits but the conditions have to be right. If we get the shad die-off im expecting in the next couple days to a week maybe two then spoons will be deadly on them. The other time of year they are predictable is spring heavy run-off rains in creek channels.

I have heard so many stories about Pro-anglers and what they or more to the point their fans will do. Posting on a forum full GPS then 15 minutes later deleting or editing the thread. Getting a group together and sitting over an area for the days up to a tournament so others cant fish it and they were not ( spoiler spot for their Idol ) Pretending to fish a spot on a tournament day then when their Idol showed up bailed off it ( their lures had no hooks but made it look like they were fishing ) E-mails and phone called from fans or pros during the tournaments The list goes on and on, If there is a way to skirt the black and white line and play in the fuzzy area people will do it.

20 yards maybe

Ok does this look like something you want. It hunts waterfowl, Trolls for all species, Bass fishing if I want or running planers to give many presentation and lets not forget it now has two spider rig mounts on its bow. Bow shot, Wireless trolling motor I can control from anyplace on the boat, Two forward rod holder, Two down riggers Plenty of rod storage and tackle storage. Not shown in Bow pic is the spider rig mounting brackets. Cockpit view. Two rod holders plenty of storage under seats Back end has plenty of storage 90merc during duck season 8 12slot decoy bags ride on it nicely.

So long as you follow the rules you are good to go. Only major issue is early season when you have a flight of Geese coming in and a striper bites your line it makes for hard choices. In Arkansas no shooting within 150 yards of a house, No shooting 100 feet from centerline of road, No hunting in the parks. No heading the birds and Motor must be off on the boat and motion stopped etc all simple rules to follow

Striper need a #9 Walleye TNT

So far interesting except allow me to bring up a small topic. Wanton Waste.

LMFAO. I knew there was trouble makers when I saw the weight. Why do I have a feeling we might see a 100 pound walleye this year

Quill, I was watching the game and giving a friend who is a die-hard Seahawks fan a lot of grief and all through the game i told him your going to when the Ref's are letting the seahawks deffenders all kinds of mugging rights and giving bad calls in their favor. By the end of the third quarter even he was saying they had the refs on the payroll. The Kicker call was wrong it was obviously by rule roughing the kicker not running into. The Fumble i replayed it many times and no less than three refs you can see clearly looking at it. Those are just to of the most blatent ones. No way could the 49ers beat Seattle at home and the Refs at the same time. I hoped for a good game said it here even but what i saw was the refs being the key factor in the outcome and that should never happen. As much as I hate replay delays I really think calls should be reviewed on the sidlines for the rule and its correctness and that any turnover or possible turn over should be reviewed. time to take the refs out of the game if possible at least i nthe bad call area.

Say what you will but Seattle didn't win that game the Refs won it for them. To bad.

Eggs Row tomatoe tomato.... But I got some popcorn out right now just waiting.

Marty I really think the trivet is the key, It allows for all the watery juices to flow off and better caramelizing of the spices on the meat. Basically keeping bloods and other juices from tainting the flavor. The baking bag was a neat addition as it allowed for the meat to be very moist and tender. I cant wait to use it on crappie and walleye.

I was thinking of new ways to prepare goose so I went way outside the box on this one. First I love using baking bags for Cornish Game Hens, Pheasant and Chicken so thought to myself WHY NOT? Then I saw my trivet sitting on the counter and thought It really helps the flavors set in but keeps the meat out of the juices could work in a baking bag? I opened up the cupboards to see what I could find, Hmmm Pure Maple Syrup! Ok. A1 Sauce hmmm oh what the heck! Eww ya brown sugar why not? I mixed 1/2 cup A1 in 1 cup Maple syrup and then added a 1/4 cup brown sugar. Placed the goose in 1/2 inch thick fillets on the trivet and covered the meat in the concoction. Baked on 350 for 20 minutes in the baking bag. As crazy as it sounds it was AWESOME I was hoping to have left overs but I do believe my wife just walked past me with the last fillet in a sandwich!!!!

This is a tough one for me I like Seattle and the 49ers. So I get my game today. I also Like the Broncos but not the Pats so its possible I get two games in a row. I will go with Seattle at home and Denver at home for todays winners. Leading to what should be a very good Super Bowl FINALLY! Now if they bring back the Bud Frogs all well be good in the world.

And guys back east brag about killing a 10lb goose lol. I wonder if these are migrating North from Nuclear 1 perhaps checking them at dark will confirm if they are.

Bigun

Honestly Brit I know most the locals on site they are typically between about 10 and 14 lbs this one Is not one I had seen before it dwarfed all other birds that were with it. Its bad to say but I know the local population that good. You see them day in day out year in year out something like this stands out like a soar thumb. Combined with it had Beans in its gut free of the typical junk I find in local birds its a better bet it is from parts not around here. Sure it could be one I have not seen before but the odds are probably better its not a resident.

John I have a good friend in Mass that uses Bleach Bottles to hunt Eiders. Heck I use to use diapers ( cloth ) to hunt snows and 1/4ed tires for honkers. Decoys sure have come a long way.