Bird Watcher

Check out the Flambeau storm front line. you should be able to find them for less than 50$ dozen. But yes, everything is more expensive these days. Make a good jerk rig for hunting water. If you are going to attempt field hunting, just buy spinning wing decoys to start, later look at some GHG mallard shells. My thoughts on texas rig short drops? (4' or less). Ducks like shallow water. there are times they raft and roost in deep water reservoirs, but unless you plan on seriously investing in boats and gear, those ducks are going to be unavailable to you anyway. target them where they are feeding and you should never have to hunt water deeper than 2-3'. texas rigs are awesome. You can also get adjustable clips for them if you want the ability to float them a little deeper. Within reason of course. Your calls will still work. you might want to refresh the cork and reeds. I've landed a lot of ducks wearing faded and dirty cotton duck (i.e. carharts and dickies). I think unless you are hunting flooded timber or brush, if you are relying on the camo pattern of your outerwear to conceal you, you are already losing the game. Check out some layout blinds. Rogers always has a good deal on their house brands. It's still going to set you back 100-200$, but it doesn't matter what you wear inside one of those.

Ness, keep an open mind. I see a lot of guys struggle with preconceived notions of how their duck hunting should be. (i.e. "I'm going to build a blind on that pond and put these decoys out") Ducks are extremely mobile and you should be too . If you are where the birds want to be, as doty said, you can have a lot of success with a minimal decoy spread. Rule#1-be where they want to be. Binoculars that I can look through for hours and a 4 cylinder scouting vehicle are probably my two most lethal pieces of hunting gear. Drive and glass, rinse and repeat. Rule #2 Hide. I'm not a big believer in artificial camo. Maybe some fast grass or killer weed has it's time and place, but for the most part it's natural vegetation from the spot I'm hunting and lots of it. If you mind these two rules, the rest will take care of itself. Decoys, for the most part, are for hunters. They are necessary, and I've got a trailer full of them, but IMO they are less important than rules 1 and 2.

One time while on anchor, mine kept spinning in a CCW rotation until the coiled cord was completely wrapped tight. I unplugged it, let it sit for 30 seconds, plugged it back in and never had a problem again. I researched it and found on a walleye message board some guys discussing the problem. I guess on some units It can be a lasting problem, but that if you contact motorguide they will ship you the necessary equipment to perform a software upgrade that fixes it. This is on a Xi5.

That's more important to me than any political discussion, M&P. Right back at ya I agree those are good rules to live by Hank, but please tell me how that fixes Social Security?

So, this is the question I always pose to my father as he foams at the mouth about all of this during the middle of one of our fishing trips. What can we do about it? Vote? Ok, how is that going to change anything? I vote every chance I get. I'm sure most on this discussion do as well. Do you honestly feel like your vote has significantly impacted the course of this country in the last 16 years? No, I mean tell me how I can personally make a difference and impact change on the national situation and I'm all for it. If you can't give me something other than "go vote", don't bother with a suggestion. Tell me how I can make a difference and I'll devote energy to it. Otherwise, it's just a source of stress and frankly, we all have too much of that as is. I'm going to go fishing, love my family and friends, and live my life. I feel that as an individual it's already out of my hands so I'm not going to worry about it. I always hear the first verse of the serenity prayer in my head when I think about things like this. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. I believe this country will go through a hard reset in the future. I don't know when, but I think it's inevitable. Maybe it's like OP says, maybe it's a civil war, but I doubt it. More like a real depression. Not this last little deal we started in 08'

Gotta say Ness, you said it better than I could.

It feels like arthritis in the joints of my fingers if I wrap my hand around it. It doesn't have to be in water. It can be on the trailer. Do the fish care? I don't know. I've heard it conjectured that if there are a lot of boats in shallow water with their electronics running it will bother them. One boat with electronics running doesn't seem to bother them. I've caught countless fish right underneath them in less than 10 FOW.

I guess I'm different. I'm more of a "don't hate the player, hate the game" when it comes to this. The culprit is the one and done rule, not the coach that has found a way to exploit it, IMO. this wouldn't be an issue if the age requirement was, say, 21 to enter the NBA.

That's all I use on my crappie rods. I use the 4/10#? I think. it will straighten any light wire bronze hook. Can't even guess how much money it's saved me in roadrunner heads. That's the only thing I use it for though. I can't stand it for any other type of fishing. I take that back. I have a snagging rod from the days I when I would snag paddlefish that still has 80# Power pro on it.

I wasn't in any way commenting on the catching ability of a guy in a 14' boat. Just the opposite. It will always be the indian and not the arrow. There's just immensely more information to interpret. As you put it, "The science of catching". Now my gps remote control trolling motor, that's a game changer. I can never see going back to a trolling motor that I have to stand on top of at the front of the boat to operate or needing rope and an anchor to stay on top of my spot.

Agree. interpreting sonar is as much an art as anything is. Sure it shows you fish, but what kind of fish? and what mood are they in? that's what most guys with 5k worth of electronics still can't put together. So I guess, in a way, the more things change, the more they stay the same? There is more information to digest these days than there ever was, but the ability to make sense of it all still remains a skill learned through experience.

there's also maybe a couple motels up at the town of Stockton. I think tradewinds is the name of the place Dutch is referencing

What part of the lake?

Sorry Phil.

You sound like a hall monitor with the whole "mission statement" thing over and over. You are a resident of AR. Fins, it's not even your tax money. relax, go sell some brooder minnows and sight your bow in for Monday.

X 2. Life is short. This is 7 or 8 hours one Saturday of the year. If you don't want to be around it, do something else that day, pretend it didn't happen, and let JoeD see if he can get lucky.

I've seen small clousers work well on a fly rod when all else fails. Something about the neutral buoyancy seems to trigger them.

Are houseboats large enough to have a poop deck?

I wouldn't be surprised to find out they listen to Rock n Roll music, gyrate their hips when dancing, or that the males have long hair. It's probably a satanic cult.

Jim, Keep watching craigslist. You can definitely get 520C,527C Lowrance units for 200-250, I've also seen some Gen1 HDS5 in the 300 range. http://mankato.sv.craigslist.org/spo/4599348116.html http://houston.craigslist.org/boa/4577265293.html Transducers are 50$ Power cords are 30$ Gimbal bracket are around 30.

I've had those exact thoughts. there seems to be a correlation between extreme infestations and latitude. Does anyone know of the point furthest South to experience an infestation along the likes of what Troller described?

One place that I fish has crystal clear water (10' vis) and is loaded with shad this time of year. Mats of them that it looks like you could walk across. The predator fish (LM, hybrids, whites, catfish) live right among them. It usually looks just like something off the Discovery channel as the predator fish swim through the schools of shad. The shad school parts at the predator swims through and for the most part the predator fish seem to ignore the shad, until one breaks rank and acts erratic. Then it's instantly game over for the shad. I'm always amazed that I can present a single, live, free lined shad among millions that look just like it, but my shad gets bit over and over. The difference between the one on my hook the other million right in front the predator fish? All I can figure is that the one on my hook is constantly struggling against the hook and line and therefore appears erratic compared to the slow, fluid, pace of the undulating pace of the shad school. I guess what I'm saying is, at least in my mind and based on observation, is that one bait presented with an erratic motion would tend to outdraw 2-3 motionless baits. Regardless of how realistic they appear.

I'll get back to y'all as soon as we have 3 consecutive nights below 10 degrees. I don't do mud and waders and anymore.

I'll pray for you Al. I can't even imagine how horrible it must be to live through this remodel of your vacation home out west. #whitepeopleproblems

This is the reality. It's inevitable. I probably wouldn't have taken the shot at biologists, but there is no provision in the form of regulation or sign posting that is going to stop the spread of invasives such as these. To believe otherwise is a unicorn hunt.