joeD

You guys are correct. I am jealous. I have personal problems. I have much to learn and am petty and frivolous. Plus, most importantly, there are WAY better fishermen than me out there. Math time. 200 fish a day is: 1. Awesome 2. Who counted to 200? Really. Count to 200 yourself. 3. That is 20 fish per hour for 10 hours straight. Without fail. 4. A fish every 3 minutes. For 10 hours. Without fail. 5. Nevermind. You win. I am an angry and frustrated fatso who fishes and pukes negativity out of his piehole. I'll stop now.

SLU SLU Yessir boys. Number 10. We are tough. Just ask VCU and Shaka!

No, there is more to it. 1. Who the f*** carries a clicker? 2. And why? Basically, no, I don't believe Ham. Because it is at odds with what I have observed on the White in the last couple weeks. Especially when it comes to browns. The fishing this winter has been sporadic at best, and claims of 200 fish days and more I meet with a healthy dose of skepticism. (which is where a cameraphone comes in handy huh). Then again, I have been wrong so many times in my life...

H

This was last week. We saw boats all over, No one was catching 200 fish. When they reduce generation, fishing slows down considerably. Go to Jimmy Ts website. Look at the fish his client caught. They'll dine out on that for weeks. We were right next to him. Doesn't compare to (some of) ours. But that is not my point. You catch 200 fish, you catch big fish, then, you post pictures. Otherwise, well, you may as well be, a, a, a, well, a, a , ,, well a fisherman. In our media age, there is no excuse for not having pictures and or video of our fishing exploits and catches. Stories without media proof are just that...stories.

Good times! Where are those pictures bro? A trip that epic has to have pictures right homes? Yo, you put a number out like 200 bro, you must have pictures, right holmes? Dude, everyone has a camera these days! Show your big fish homey! I was down there too bra! It wasn't epic homey.

Good times! Where are those pictures bro? A trip that epic has to have pictures right homes? Yo, you put a number out like 200 bro, you must have pictures, right holmes? Dude, everyone has a camera these days! Show your big fish homey! I was down there too bra! It wasn't epic homey.

OK Mr Sour Grapes here: REFEREES SHOULD NOT DETERMINE THE OUTCOME OF A GAME You just cannot call a ticky tack foul against ANY team with less than 5 seconds to go. Unless a player is tackling his opponent, you have to let it go. Let the play on the court, or field, determine the outcome. I'm tired of refs wanting to be seen, and be a "factor" in major sports.

Before any of your lures hit the water, you first, and must, go to streams that actually hold fish that you can catch. As you might have noticed, most, if not all, big fish pictures taken, and posted, have come on a motorized boat on a large stream. No canoes. No creeks. Fishable water comes first, lures, a distant second. And I do mean distant.

My recommendation is to buy what you can afford and feels good in your hand and appropriate to your quarry. Everything else is noise. Too much information and too much choice leads to indecision and buyers remorse leading to the condition of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). I mean, look at: Cars: Honda Chevy Acura Ford Dodge Kia Mercedes Suburu Buick Cadillac Volvo Nissan Olds TV: Sony Samsung RCA Vizio Panasonic Pioneer LG Zenith Cereal: Cap N Crunch. Well there is no need to go on, Everything else pales in comparison to the Cap'N. Poor example. Anyway, point being, there is so much out there, and most of decent quality, there is no such thing as the best. You can't make a bad choice. It's your choice, and therefore righteous. Unless you choose Cocoa Puffs. Then you have problems son.

Love it! Barry is a good coach, How many times have we heard the media whining about coaches who say nothing of "value" or give stock, meaningless answers without passion? Then, when a coach does have an emotional outburst, usually after a loss, the media have a field day, usually in a snarky, supercilious and condescending, head-shaking way (wait, that's me! Oy,). Andy Warhol was(is) right. In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. A college basketball coach was upset after a game, Big deal.

Get a shimano. Or, Daiwa makes good reels. I hear Bass Pro Jonny Morris Series are pretty special. Don't discount Zebco though. Pflueger appeals to those who think they are in the know. Of course, All Star cannot be denied. Thank you for your service. Mitchell? Oh my! Okuna? How could you NOT? Shakespeare is on the move. Quantum you would be remiss to ignore. Penn might be something to consider. Abu Garcia just sounds sexy. Hopefully I've cleared things up old chum.

Dear Old Plug: Get a new plug, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbU4Cb4A4-o

Maui Jim, Go to your eye doctor. He will know your prescription strength. Then order, through your doc, sunglasses from Maui Jim. It will cost quite a bit. Don't argue. You don't have a right to free or inexpensive sunglasses for fishing. If you want something good, then you have to pay for it.

You know, sometimes otherwise good teams, even great teams, regardless of the sport, run into a team that, for whatever reason (and there is none) just plain outplays you in every way, and there is nothing you can do about it. Happens all the time.It's just part of sports. Also, specifically, the notion that the Mizzou coaching staff failed to make "halftime adjustments" that would have altered the outcome is complete nonsense. In fact, the idea that college or pro head coaches make these wholesale changes to their game plans at halftime is a fallacy. It makes fans feel better about their respective teams, but, in reality, any changes are usually slight, and, outcomes are mostly due to effective effort, not strategy. A different approach by the the Mizzou defense would not have mattered, in philosophical opposition to the expert knowledge voiced by grade school football coaches everywhere. As former Alabama and St.Louis Cardinals football coach Gene Stallings said: "It's about players making plays."

Sometimes, in sports, it just isn't your day, and it is a spectacular day for your opponent. Happens all the time. For example, in professional baseball, how many times has an otherwise "average" pitcher thrown a no hitter? Or a 1 or 2 hit shutout? Often enough. However, one cannot draw an accurate negative conclusion about the hitting abilities of the opposing team, because it would be incorrect. On that particular day, that particular pitcher, and his team, beat this particular opponent in a dominating way. Nothing could or would have prevented the outcome. Just sports. And life. And that's it. That it happened on national TV in a big game just made it worse. Miissouri is an outstanding football team. They just met the wrong team at the wrong time.

Going to to the Illini game at Scottrade. Should be quite a battle this year. Both teams are playing well, yet, I think neither team has an "identity," and therefore the game will be a toss-up. But a good one though. Really looking forward to it.

I'll buy it Brian, if it is still available. Joe

I drive a van. Soccer dad dontcha know. That was a good zinger stlfisher, I have to admit. Still, unless you have property on the MF, you are stuck with Hwy F, Hazels campground, Hwy 47, and Kingston. Not optimal, but, you gotta do what you gotta do. Forget about fishing in late fall and winter. Not worth it.

I I thought I had mad skills....(IDIOT!!)

Maybe you should watch "Walking Tall." You: Nobody Them: Somebody. With money. With power. Law enforcement. Family. Connections. Result: You are screwed. Good luck though.

Trout... See how quickly we devolve... Rainbow trout are Christians... Brown trout are Lutherans... Cutthroat trout are Episcopalians Flyfishermen are Muslims, or Islams, or Buddhists or gay... Baitfishermen are heathens and pagans... Minnows caught by mistake by spin fishermen are Baptists.. A fly-fishing Muslim who catches a 6 inch rainbow trout in a little creek can be ... What? God? Trout Part 2 forthcoming...

Alternatives? A and B? General intent? Vision? Good grief. Our government has no intent to do ANYTHING, ANYTIME, soon, to ameliorate ANY perceived problem with the ONSR. We don't want to offend the hoosiers who live there. There is no political will to influence representatives from those areas, for fear of being labeled, paradoxically, an "elitist," ( God forgive anybody who has earned the "elite" status. After all, we wouldn't someone who is "elite" flying our airplanes. Or an "elite" military group raiding a terrorist compound. Or an "elite" group of research doctors trying to find a cure for modern diseases). Yes my brothers, "elite" is a curse word in many scenarios. Instead, I think our government should decide. One can't accuse them of being elite.

Mizzou will be OK. SLU will be OK. Not great, but not bad either. Not too fired up about either team for some reason. Let's see how SLU does with the weight of a senior class and expectation on their shoulders. Regardless, I'm still fired up for college hoops.

I want to write about a pet peeve of mine, "reverse elitism," but not now. What I do know, with complete certainty, is that, after years of flailing for big browns on the White River in Arkansas in January, Smithwick Rogues suck. Because of their cheapness, Because of their inability to cast and retrieve reliably. Because, well, they just suck. When our group switched to Pointers and Spro McSticks, Xcalibers, and the like, things changed for the better. You know, there is no shame in being able to afford nice things. In fact, nice things that cost money are more often than not, better than things that cost less. It's just the way it is. Don't make it a monetary moral judgement. There are no points, or fish, for being a martyr.