holleybob

I've always heard that Grand children are God's gift for not killing your own kids. Sounds like you got your prize!

Years ago George Cochran was talking to a bunch of idealistic wanna be pro fishermen. We were all in our twenties. He was talking about slowing down, analyzing and making every cast count. He talked about being a good fisherman when he was young but being a really good fisherman after learning patience that only parenthood can teach you. Just think how your forced lessons on patience have helped your fishing

Uh - oh.. I just read the "caught in Mo" part. I guess I'm disqualified. Sorry.

Laker that is a beautiful fish. I think you take the prize !! I have a couple that are memorable: 50 in 35 lb(approx ) Northern Pike from lake Medford near Waussau Wi. Caught on a white buzz bait while fishing a bass tournament. 40 lb braided line. 30 minute fight. Never would have come in without the braid. Had no idea I was fishing a trophy Northern Pike lake. 45 lb King Salmon From the Milwaukee River caught on a gaudy Las Vegas fly on a 6/7 weight St. Croix rod. Another 30 minute fight. We were both spent! 35 lb lake trout caught in an unnamed river in the NW Territories on a spoon the size of my hand. 10 pounders were as common as pond perch. It was cool! All were returned safely although the King was gonna die anyway.

Cam definitely lost points with me after the game but I'll say this, he answered the questions he was asked and furthermore he didn't say things that he could have said like: "My O line could not hold", "the play calling was not aggressive","my receivers dropped balls that hit them in the hands", "the refs should have called Talib off sides". Let's remember too that he's 26 years old. Hopefully he'll learn how to better present himself in the future. As far as whether the NFL should have post game interviews, this is a ratings game guys! The NFL does not give a rats azz what is said, they want the rant, the pout, the fist slam. Those things keep the ratings high and the money rolling in. Google best NFL rants.. they are all post game settings. They've got to miss Herm Edwards and Ditka !

I have launched at this location many times. It is in a neighborhood and passes right next to a house. The launch and road to get to it belong to the COE. The only issue as mentioned before is parking. I happen to have a friend that has a home and a dock withing walking distance so I have always launched, parked the boat at his dock, then walk back to the truck and drive it over to his place for parking. It's kind of a pain when its just me but I have a small boat and I like to launch where I fish if possible.

I read somewhere a general rule for swimming in cold water. I'm going by memory but I think it was" in 50 degree water and more than 50 ft from the bank (or boat I guess) you have a 50% chance of survival". The only way I'm swimming in cold water is if I go overboard. Forget the boat I want to go home!

I believe Charlie Nuckols, creator of the float n fly, died that way on Percy Priest Lake back in the 90's. Boat got away from him and he swam after it but never made it into the boat. I fish solo a lot also and use the rope tied to the trailer method. Never had a problem but you got me thinking about checking my rope. Jeff

Idiots in general are what forms my attitude about CCW

For all of those wanting to conceal/carry there is something you need to consider. Law enforcement has taught an edged weapon self defense called "the 21 foot rule" for many years. Basically if a guy with a knife is less than 21 ft away from you and you have a holstered handgun, the guy with the knife will likely get to you before you can fire your weapon. Your first reaction in this situation is to ALWAYS back up first creating distance as you unholster and prepare to fire. I don't pretend to know what happened in Dylan's case but even if he was carrying he may not have stood a chance if the confrontation was at a very close proximity and he had not had proper handgun training. Truly a sad deal. As mentioned earlier I cannot fathom the loss of a child. And for those still wanting to carry please, please practice your self defense skills. These things happen very fast and practice creates the muscle memory that your life may very well depend on. For the record I am an advocate of open carry and conceal carry. Jeff

I watched a guide do the same with an Orvis rod trying to muscle in a fresh river run coho. My moto since that time was ALWAYS keep your hands on the cork no matter how much your arms are burning.

....and the forum goes quiet as everyone scrambles to locate their Ebay password.

Wow. Good for you. That's a return on investment that any Wall street investor would be proud of !

I realize that some of you out there really love your Wiggle Warts but here is a guy asking $90 for a single Wart. Could this be right or is he...well.. a little high ? https://springfield.craigslist.org/spo/5416100990.html Jeff

I tried ice fishing once. I could not get past the idea of setting in a shack with a heater cranking to 80 degrees and then drilling a couple holes in the ice that was holding up the whole works. All for a couple hand sized perch.

A tent doesn't make much of a bear barrier either. For that matter neither would a car door/window. If they want in they are coming in. I'd be more concerned with wild hogs than I would black bears. Every black bear I've ever seen was headed in the opposite direction as fast as he could go.

Did the Lindsey family re-open or did someone else buy it and keep the name ?

Just guessing that Gavin could probably hang with Bear Grylls. I don't mind roughing it but I don't function well with little or no rest. I can't sleep with skeeters.

Thanks Gavin. What do you do about bugs in the warmer months ?

I actually and more concerned with warm weather and bugs than with cold weather. But I do believe I would be restricted to cool, not cold weather. I have a pop up camper that I have used in sub zero weather. The sleeping area on a pop up hovers over open ground and cold open air. My remedy was to wrap the bottom,open area with a tarp letting the tarp hang down to the ground. I then would take coals from the campfire place them into a metal 5 gallon bucket and place inside the area covered by the tarp (under the sleeping area). Worked great and I never even used my portable heater. Jeff

Al, I've been trying to fit that square peg into a round hole all of my life! It's taken many years of being the most misunderstood guy in the room to finally realize that there are some advantages of thinking that way. Everyone knows the saying "thinking outside the box". I was 40 years old before I realized there was a box! Anyway your comments are certainly appreciated and they hold great value. There is usually a reason for the "norm". Maybe I'll pack both on my first go round and just see what happens. Jeff

I'm wanting to do a few over night floats this spring,summer and am starting my planning. I am 51 and have camped and floated since I was 2 years old but I have never done an multi day float. Originally I had planned to pack a tent and sleeping mats for camping on gravel bars. Pretty standard stuff. Last night I had someone mention hammock camping. 2 hours of You Tube and I'm intrigued to say the least. Now I have always been an anti conformist (4 dollar word for rebel) so the hammock appeals to my nature of doing things differently than everyone else. But I still try to be sensible. So here's my questions. Has anyone ever camped with a hammock vs a tent? Also would anyone see an issue with hammock camping on a river vs a woodland landscape? Obviously you need 2 trees 10 to 12 feet apart to hang a hammock. Trees and gravel bars usually don't go together. Any advise is appreciated, Jeff

Good to know. Thank you. That's my favorite place to launch. Any idea how they clean up all that mud? It was a real mess before. As far as taking out in heavy current it sure would be nice if they put the ramps in angling downstream. It makes it so mu c h easier to load.