Quillback

I use green for mono and clear for fluoro, mainly as I can tell what I have spooled on a reel.

I actually watched the game, fun game to watch. Pens certainly looked like the better team, at least for that game.

That's a nice mean. The state record is 5 lbs. 10 oz.

I have watched about 20 minutes of hockey all year. I once worked for a company that had it's HQ in San Jose. So I have a very sketchy reason to pull for SJ. I might even watch a game or two.

Have you read any of the Hornblower series? Great stuff, in my opinion. Do a search on "Hornblower" on Amazon, there's plenty of reviews. Author is C. S. Forester - his most famous novel is the African Queen, which is another good read.

Nice one!

Ketchup - All the online tackle retailers are out of the green pumpkin and watermelon colors. It used to be you could order direct from Normanlures.com, but I haven't tried it since they posted a message saying they had moved their inventory to the Pradco warehouse. I might try their 800 number next week to see if they still have stuff in stock. To get some of the colors like Ouchita Special, I had to order direct from their web site.

Crowder peas - My grandparents on my mothers side of the family were farmers in the MO Bootheel. Every year my grandpa would set aside a couple of acres for what he called a "Truck garden". He always grew some crowder peas. Grandma canned them, and she also canned some sweet tomato relish. Mix that relish with the crowder peas, that was good stuff. I even liked it as a kid.

I am not an attorney, but from reading that article, there's nothing more that the prosecutors office could do as it was a misdemeanor and the culprit accepted the citation and paid the fine. I do agree that the law sure is weak as far as the penalty applied for poaching. It's basically a speeding ticket.

Love those Deep Little N's. If you have a favorite color, better search the web and your local tackle shops and get them before they disappear forever.

Here's my favorite "Ouchita Special". Green Pumpkin with an orange belly. Orange belly doesn't show up to well in this image.

Looks like my favorite colors, anything green pumpkin, and a few other colors are gone. I suppose some will show up on Ebay in the colors I like, but I haven't seen them there. Lots of crank bait manufacturers make baits in shad and chartreuse colors, but not too many make green pumpkin and some of the other unique but effective colors Norman made. I have a stash that will last me for a few years thankfully, and there is always the Rock Crawler.

Good stuff Billet. I am getting broccoli now, lots of it. Weather has been good for it, but it will soon be done as once daytime temps stay over 80, it goes to seed. Fresh broccoli is so much better than the frozen stuff, but you guys know that. Sugar snap peas are coming in well also. And some of the tomato plants are setting tomatoes. Cantaloupe and Honeydew plants are up, but slow, they need some hot sunny weather.

I have some, somewhere - thanks for the reminder.

Don't know what is going on with Luck-E, but it has suddenly gotten tough to get some of the Norman crank bait colors, lots of the retailers are out of stock. I will not be happy with Pradco if they quit producing some of the colors I like for Deep Little N's and DD22's.

That's what I was thinking, smaller flutter spoon, but fish it horizontally, cast out, let it sink a bit, work it back to the boat. Or I would try swimming a Keitech. But, getting 10 nice keeper sized smallies, well that is not a bad day.

The "Dave full body hook set" is becoming legendary. We need a video.

I blame it on the high water we had this winter. Lots of "nutrients" were washed into the lake. How is that knee replacement doing? Looking at one for myself.

Got out today with board member Huntest, we fished from 0530 until 1230. Top water bite just wasn't as good today. We caught fish, had somewhere in the area of 45-50 by the time we left, with 10 or so keepers, and normally I would say that's a good number of fish, but it just wasn't as good as it was last week. Maybe it's just a one day slow down, but I know that the great top water bite won't last forever. We got most of our fish on Whopper Ploppers off points and cove mouths. We did spend a bit of time throwing Ned's and picked up several fish on the Ned. Had one or two fish on jigs, spoons and the c-rig with a Speed Craw. Mix of spots and largemouth, with a couple of smallies. Water temp at the surface really jumped, it was at 74 when we left. Water is still that stained green color that it has been for the last couple of months.

I've seen them in the White channel, usually they are up briefly and then disappear. I would not bother targeting them myself, at least in that area. I'm picking up one or two around the black bass, but the lures I'm using are a bit oversized for the whites.

I sure won't be out there. But if I was going to go, I would launch no later than 5 AM, and force myself to get off the water by 10 AM. Being that you're coming from Fayetteville that would be a long drive for a little bit of fishing.

Teenagers are so hard to please. But seriously, that is a great day!

Say it ain't so...

That is an impressive fish!

Good deal Hammer - I'm making sure I put some jigs in the boat.