skeeter

In the new budget, but no lock-closing details. Notice the "Great Lakes Coaltion's" comments. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/4557D7C3FE337DB0862576D200164758?OpenDocument

That is "neat stuff" resorting to gene manipulation to solve this problem. Maybe that "suicide gene" can be introduced to the Zebra Mussel species too ? From a layman's point of view I kind of question the single sex reproduction strategy as we know that certain fish are quite capable of changing their sex during their lifespans. A couple of years ago the TV news reported about a plan to catch these fish and turn them into pet food in some way but either it wasn't feasible or was underfunded. I know the commercial fishermen up in the Grafton IL area have their equipment repeatedly just about destroyed by these carp due to sheer numbers of the darn things and it's made life on the Rivers tough and dangerous. Can you imagine being in a fast moving Bass rig and getting hit by one of these fish ? There was an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch Wed. or Thurs. about the recent cold snap killing possibly half of the invasive Pythons that got loose in the Everglades along with many species of non-native fish. The article went on to quote some figure in authority about the need for Federal law prohibiting the deliberate importation of live, non-native critters. At the end of the article some "deep-thinker" commented that to ban those imports would put ( in his words ) thousands of Floridians out of work and destroy an industry. ???!!! http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/lifestyle/stories.nsf/pets/story/E281EF631F55E376862576C80019B96B?OpenDocument

Gee fellers, how's it feel when the shoe is on the other foot ? A little thin skinned, aren't we, when your guy is in office and in charge and screwing up while bowing and kowtowing to obvious monetary pressures ?? Seems like the politicos really are all alike aren't they ? "Crap"? Hardly.... it's a legitimate criticism that you don't want to hear. Go back and read some of the " W " bashing that went on. Did you conveniently forget all that stuff ? Welcome to the real world, it's a two way street. It's hilarious to hear you obvious Obama backers whine about complaints and watch you squirm with disbelief at how your guy caves to the ultimate political goal.....raise campaign funds to get re-elected and to heck with the consequences. Change ??.... my fat fanny !!! Close the darn locks whether they leak or not. That waterway connecting Chi-town and L. Michigan to the Illinois R. was originally hand dug to flush Chicago's sewage down the Illinois River and into the Mississippi rather than discharge into L. Michigan and then try and use the lake for the City water supply. The Lampreys, Zebra mussels and the Goby's were/are bad enough.

Yeah, the truth hurts doesn't it ? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_asian_carp_great_lakes

What is REALLY sad is reading the last sentence in the second paragraph in the opening statement on the website.....Our wonderful President !!! Maybe we should re-name these things as the Nobamahead-carp ?

Thanks for correcting the link. Sounds like a great way to save fish. Like the idea of carefully using a thin piece of stiff wire rather than my oversized fingers in that delicate area of the gills but have a question. I'm assuming that the hook point and arch has to be gently pushed deeper into the fish's throat to free the barb then rotated to the side to free it ? Is that correct or am I completely missing something in the illustrated explanation ? Thanks.

Found this article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Thought it interesting that MO and AR governments are planning to cooperate on this issue. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/sciencemedicine/story/6E5C41735F94070E862576C50012F96D?OpenDocument#tp_newCommentAnchor

The link doesn't work for me. Anyone else having any success ?

Thanks for posting the links. It's gotten so bad in the Marine industry you need a scorecard to keep up with who owns what. I have lost track of how many times Champion has been sold. After John bought and sold his boat Company back, again, for the third time I gave up trying but that was many years ago. Champion started off in Mountain Home after John sold his Bass Trail trailer business and it looks like it may be headed back to the same general area. Long term manufacturer's warranties apparently are worthless these days. Again, it's the banks that caused all this turmoil.

After last Winter and the monster ice storm I am really greatful for the outstanding job of powerline brush and tree trimming Carroll Elec. Co-op did last year. So far, this is the hardest Winter we've had in many years. Haven't noticed the Eagles out over the lake lately and they and the gulls are usually scooping up the dying shad by now. The resident Canada geese seem to have disappeared too. But the birds are cleaning out the feeders like crazy. Good luck with the construction, last year I was doing the same thing at this time in the basement and looking forward to a lot of Winter fishing this year....oh well ! At least the sleet turned to steady rain and melted the ice on our deck....for now.

Nope, it's not a Pro XS, just the standard Optimax and I and others are really impressed with it's performance. Based on hearsay and talking to a lot of service dept. folks, I recommended it to him and he's grinnin' with the results. The gentleman had to have a leg amputated due to long term Peripheral Artery Disease and needed something with a flat deck so he could get around in a boat on the prosthesis. He sold his Stratos Fish n' Ski with a 200 Johnson Venom on it so he's familiar with higher performance boats and outboards and that Stratos was only one of many he's owned over the years. Speaking of using oil, the dealer service dept. manager who has over 30 years experience in the industry strongly urged using only the Merc Optimax oil in the new motor. We noticed Merc also seems to have quieted the air pump injection systems on the new Optimax. I can always tell without looking when another buddy is pulling into the Marina at idle speed with his older Optimax. Always sounds like something kind of "fizzing" but not on the 2010.

4fishys, My neighbor and good friend got a 2010 150HP Optimax back in the Fall on his new pontoon boat rigged for fishing. He had it out seven / eight times before weather got too cold for him and that is one great running and performing outboard. He got the "lifting strakes" on the tritoon and the thing get's up on plane and scoots for a 24 footer. "Out of the hole" acceleration is unbeleivable for a 'toon that size and it's not due to the prop as he had them prop it for cruising. Several dealer's service dept's. managers said the new Opti's are using less fuel than comparable four strokes and you don't have the oil change hassle on them. Hope yours works out for you and you enjoy. How in the world did a guy from Chicagoland hook up with Cook's down in little old Troy MO ? I'll bet that's a story in itself. Wrench and Bill, thanks for posting the info about the '05 Opti's. Good to know.

Here we go again ! Light freezing rain, sleet and a little snow this morning in Baxter area. Started down to the boat and couldn't even walk on the iced-over boards going out the ramp to the dock. Supposed to continue off and on through tomorrow (Friday) then more snow Sunday night and Monday. Darn that Groundhog !

Strongly disagree. In those seas that were running at the time the change of course the Japanese vessel made was a deliberate "hard to starboard" turn of the rudder. If they were trying to avoid the "bat boat" you don't turn into it at that proximity even if attempting a specific turn like the "Williamson" or "Scharnow" turn to avoid the "bat boat" with the stern of the whaling vessel. If the people of the Sea Shepherd group don't take action, who will ? I don't see the elitist tree huggers at Greenpeace doing squat here except a lot of lip service. The Japanese whaling interests are breaking International Law and thumbing their noses at all of us so have at 'em.

FYI, A local lawn and garden equipment dealer has tested the gas from Stations along Hwy. 13 from Branson West South to Kimberling City and all of them test negative for Ethanol content in their 91 to 93 Octane gasoline. Also, the Baxter Marina has no Ethanol in their gas, either 89 or 91 octane. Thankfully, gasoline sold at Marinas does not have to contain Ethanol by law.

Phil, You posted this in the correct area but strongly suggest you go back and view the video again. It plainly shows, and reports from on the scene agree, that the "bat boat" was sitting motionless to the starboard side of the whaling vessel's course. The Captain or helmsman of the Japanese whaling vessel clearly and abruptly turned his vessel sharply to starboard to collide with and sink the "bat boat" and the action of reversing the "bat boat's" engines is all that saved the boat and the crew from being completely overrun and sucked into the propellors of the whaling vessel probably killing all aboard her. Notice also that despite the "bat boat" being cut in half the high pressure fire hoses on the Japanese whaling vessel kept spraying the boat and the crew who had scrambled to the aft section of the boat in fear of their lives. If there is any question of the claim of "piracy" here it would rest with whomever ordered or made the turn to impact the motionless "bat boat". Was International law broken here and was this a deliberate, life threatening attack by the Japanese ?.....obviously. As someone else posted, the problem here seems to be lack of costly enforcement of International Law and until these whaling laws are strongly enforced I applaud the tactics of the Sea Shepherd in bringing world wide attention to this ongoing Japanese abuse. Remember, it was the Japanese "factory ships" that all but wiped out the Western Atlantic codfish from the Grand Banks area of the Atlantic Ocean. This was a resource that had been harvested at a sustainable level for 400 years and only went into severe, seemingly irreversible decline when the Japanese Corporations arrived. You can ask hundreds of families along the East Coast of Canada what happened to their livelihood when the factory ships from Japan arrived and started decimating the cod population beyond all hope of recovery.

In my opinion and experience, if you plan on keeping your electronic units for several years and expect to get them repaired when they need service, then I would avoid Lowrance like the plague. Lowrance has this nasty habit of declaring slightly older units, regardless of cost, obsolete and will refuse to repair them. I had this experience, as have others, with two relatively expensive GPS units that were 5 and 8 years old respectively. Seems to me if you spend over $1K apiece for a high end GPS unit the manufacturer should provide service and parts for it for at least 10 years!!! Lowrance was sold to a new owner in the past two years and I was told by a large marine dealer that they laid off over 40% of their techs and customer service people. That lay off probably accounted for the 1 hour and 45 minute wait I had on the phone only to be told my LCX-15MT was "obsolete" and I could not buy a replacement GPS antenna for it. Last Spring there were many owners of the new HD Lowrance units returning them, under warranty, due to water leaks only to find the new, replacement unit leaked too. When Lowrance finally corrected the manufacturing problem they refused to divulge the beginning serial numbers of the units that had the "fix" installed so no one knew if they had a good or a bad unit and I can only surmise they did that so merchants with defective units in stock would sell them rather than returning to the factory ! I now own two Humminbird SI units and am very happy with their performance and the support for both. Caveat Emptor !

What the ???? I must be living in a cave ! Storm lures was sold to Rapala and they discontinued the suspending Wart ? When did this happen ? Thank goodness I still have some suspending Phantom Green crayfish in the boxes.

Wish there were more clubs/derbys like yours.

Well good luck with Lowrance. If you want a model number like you mention I'd try EBay first but be sure the thing is working when you buy it. Before investing any cash I would recommend going to the Lowrance site and researching the model you want. See if they have declared it "Obsolete" like they are so fond of doing. If it is deemed obsolete, Lowrance will refuse to take it in for service and repair. I had an LCX15MT on which the GPS antenna died. Couldn't buy a replacement from Lowrance but a friendly member of this board tipped me off that Bass Pro outlet in Springfield was selling Map Create 7 kits including the unavailable antenna for $30. Otherwise that $1000+ plus unit would have been junk, thanks to Lowrance. Caveat Emptor !

Thanks for all the replies. Good to hear they use a release boat and do so carefully. I recalled several posts about that "water slide" thingy and several members were not too happy about it's use. With all the incredible tournament pressure on this fishery, a lot of bass TLC is needed at the weigh-ins and releases.

Is this the tournament operation that releases their weigh-in fish by shooting them down a water slide into the local cove ? I recall some previous posts a couple of years ago about a group that released ( ? ) their fish like this behind Ahoy's in Kimberling but cannot find it. Anyone ? Thanks.

Yowsuh, Yowsuh.

Ha ! I was thinking of trying the same thing with the high's predicted in the low Seventies the next three days. Good Luck !

http://www.eclassifiedsnetwork.com/content...p;MemberID=1191 While this sounds like a good idea it will have a negative side also. This will assist thieves in locating the dock from the land side after they check out what kind of boats are left on the lifts on a given dock. So be sure and remove everything of value from boats left on lifts.