fishinwrench

I live/work on the Gravois, but the only area I don't fish regularly is the Tan-Tar-a and Glaize area. I just don't care for wide expanses of deep water and skinny coves with tiny little backends.

Wearing heels in a bassboat is no worse than flip-flops ! Just ask Smalliebigs. ?

Don't take this the wrong way, but possibly the least classy thing to do....Is for a guide to go around crowing something to the effect of "So and So wouldn't have cashed a check if it weren't for ME showing him how to catch'em". Whether you got paid or not that's just yucky. I got paid, so I considered any success they had during the event proof that I did what I was expected to do. No further thanks necessary. Even when I fished tournaments it wasn't uncommon for me to pre-fish with guys I was competing against.

When I guided I had tournament competitors schedule pre-fish trips quite a bit, but there wasn't anything unethical or unsportsmanlike about it. They needed to put in a day or two on the lake in different areas and for whatever reason they didn't want to haul their boat here and have all that charging battery and boat babysitting to deal with. Basically they just needed to ride around, check water color, sample the bite, look at a few fish, and discuss what the bite had been like in the last several weeks. If you are a competitor that has to buy his own boat.....It is smart to save the hours on that rig whenever possible. It was never a "Put me on fish" kinda thing.

I have a good trailer (just needs tires) that someone can have for free. The only stipulation is it has a POS open now runabout on it, so buy 2 tires and get rid of the boat and you can have the trailer.

When it starts crowding 80mph I stop watching the GPS and start wanting to hug my wife and kids again.

Nothing drives me crazier than somebody with a engine problem that only shows itself after 6000 RPM. My standard answer is "Your tach is off a little, slow down a bit or get a steeper prop". Because even if I wanted to take it out and run it at 6k I sure ain't getting back there to diagnose anything. During training we got to experience standing face to face with outboards on dyno's running over 6k. Talk about something that'll take your breath away! Thankfully I earned a piece of paper that says I'll never ever have to do that again.

Yeah it would be a good place for you to discuss your Pond Prowler woes.

I still read the outboard forums just to keep abreast of common issues that people are having. There are 2 guys on the J/E board that are sharp and obviously good techs, but the Merc and Yammie guys have said some stuff that I wouldn't touch with a 10ft. pole.

I got banned from there quite awhile back myself. I didn't insult anyone or anything, I just said that I quit flying a flag at my place because I got tired of keeping up with all the rediculis "flag etiquette". Up/Down/Up/Down, replace PROPERLY when faded or torn, ect. Those vets over there took that as a direct insult and before I could even talk my way out of it I was banned for life. Whatever

I have a feeling that if it rises much they will suck it right back down. Right up until just before Memorial day. Big project at the dam beginning in April.

Davy Hollow cove. ?

What rain ? There hasn't been any measurable precipitation in this area since September.

Good grief. Can't this country produce anything for itself anymore ?

Actually it has been decided that is a bad idea. If all bolts except one are removed and the gearcase drops off at speed it can flip the boat. Nobody can be trusted to inspect their gearcase bolts everytime they use their boat. Just removing one bolt will set up a vibration that will loosen all of them. The bolt under the trim tab (often left off by shadetree types) is THE most important bolt there is, because without it the others will not stay tight.

I haven't even tried to catch any yet, still have some in the freezer from last Fall. I expect they will be up on the bank and easy pickin's here in a week or three.

Why ?

That is sacrelige! Ain't no reason for anyone from Missouri to be eatin' Vietnamese catfish.

All outboard tilt systems have a manual release valve. Not being able to tilt it electrically is no big deal. Just loosen a screw and lift it right up.

Johnson/Evinrude outboards have a shift pin that has to be disengaged at the powerhead before removing the lower unit. Mercs and Yamaha's have a splined shift shaft that pulls off clean. It's foolish to think that this many boats can sit alone all Winter and no thefts will occur.

More like brothers that can't stand each other. He pops me upside the head when my back is turned, and when he isn't looking I spit in his beer. When the SHTF though we know where we need to be.

You and Al huh? Al keeps coming up with different ways to say the same thing, and you keep coming up with ways to keep him doing it.

Shipping as a whole is a crazy business that I obviously don't understand. I started ordering my fly tying materials from Bob Marriot's out in California, because it gets here 2-3 days sooner than when I order from Feather-Craft in St.Louis. And Yamaha parts from Japan often beat orders coming from Wisconsin. It defys logic.

In taking a turn away from all this crap that has to be proven to everyone's satisfaction......If the goal is to either create a better smallmouth fishery, or to sustain one that is presently good enough, then how (and why) does a person intentionally argue against the common sense that says IF the spotted bass weren't in there then the smallmouth population would be much better off? The only reason for debating that point has to be just for the sake of having something to argue about. I'd much rather debate whether Zebra mussels are beneficial or detrimental to a fishery. At least there you truly don't know the outcome. To me the smallmouth/spotted bass thing is just plain common sense. You can only grow so many chickens in the pen. So which breed of chicken do you want the most of ? Really, the science and debating can stop right there because the outcome is 100% predictable. Chicken farmers don't have to be that smart. The longer they take to decide which chicken they want, the longer they go without a quality chicken farm. So everyone needs to make up their minds and get busy....before we're all dead. This is why nothing related to wildlife management ever shows progress....Too much discussion, never any action. *Throw the spots up on the bank or eat them.... Your choice, but get rid of them. *Kill every feral hog you see, and eat them if you want also. But even if you don't, kill them anyway. *Harvest more deer until the population is once again healthy and back under control. And start TODAY. That's how things get done! Geeze! Too much time is being spent wondering if we are smart enough YET to make decisions. Once all the "problems" are dealt with.... then if you wanna tinker with Elk and crap like that, then fine. But until then some genuine focus (on the issues at hand) would be nice.

Very cool! Are you gonna do a Niangua Darter ?