Quillback

I know no one from this forum will have any issues, but this weekend it looks like there will be some enforcement out there on the lakes in AR. LITTLE ROCK – Wildlife officers across Arkansas and the U.S. are gearing up for Operation Dry Water – the nation’s boating under the influence awareness and enforcement campaign. The nationwide event will take place June 27-29. Alcohol use is the leading known contributing factor in recreational boater deaths in the United States. During the three-day Operation Dry Water weekend, law enforcement officers at local, state and federal levels will be on heightened alert for those violating boating under the influence laws. In 2013, officers contacted 144,044 recreational boaters and made 290 BUI arrests during the three-day weekend. Thousands of law enforcement officers, along with their boating safety partners, will be on the water during Operation Dry Water educating boaters about the dangers of boating under the influence of drugs and alcohol as well as removing from the water those who choose to boat impaired. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Boating Law Administrator Stephanie Weatherington says that BUI is a big concern for Arkansas wildlife officers. “It’s no different than driving a car under the influence. When you’re driving a boat you’re putting both yourself and others in danger,” she said. “So far this year we’ve already had 26 reported boating accidents around the state with eight fatalities. Statistics show that the Fourth of July holiday weekend is the most dangerous weekend during the boating season,” she added. Last year AGFC wildlife officers made 60 BUI arrests. So far this year, there have been eight BUI arrests. During last year’s Operation Dry Water, 82 officers worked over 1,500 hours over the three-day weekend making contact with hundreds of vessels and boaters, Weatherington said. “They made 11 BUI arrests with the highest BAC level of .20 which is more than double the legal limit,” she added. Since 2008, officers have made 449 BUI arrests. Wildlife officers with the AGFC will be participating in Operation Dry Water 2014 again this year. The enforcement operation will be held June 27-29, just prior to the Fourth of July. Those caught operating a vessel under the influence will find their voyage terminated and their vessel possibly impounded. Penalties may also include arrest, fines and loss of boating privileges. Officers also will be passing out citations to kids for good behavior on the state’s waterways. The citations are good for a free ice cream cone at Sonic. "The mission of Operation Dry Water and the law enforcement officers who participate is to reduce the number of alcohol- and drug-related deaths on the water,” says John Fetterman, National Association of State Boating Law Administrators Deputy Executive Director. “Boating should be a fun and enjoyable time spent with friends and family; we are asking that boaters make sure their voyage remains enjoyable by boating sober. Too many accidents and deaths are caused by those who choose to boat under the influence.” In 2009, NASBLA, in partnership with the United States Coast Guard, launched Operation Dry Water to help draw public attention to the dangers of boating under the influence of alcohol and drugs. According to the 2013 U.S. Coast Guard Recreational Boating Statistics, from 2009 to 2013 there has been a 37 percent decrease in the number of recreational boater deaths where alcohol use was listed as the known primary contributing factor. From 2012 to 2013, there was a 31 percent decrease in the number of alcohol-related recreational boater deaths – the most significant decrease in the past five years. For more information on Operation Dry Water, please visit www.operationdrywater.org.

Just looked at the schedule and the game starts in 20 minutes!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder But good job putting a couple of those toothy wet socks in the box. Just kidding - good eats there!

Most definitely.

Oops, dang typos.

Got a late start today, left the house late because of the fog, got on the water at 0830, fished until 3 PM. Fishing was better than I expected for fishing during the middle of the day, caught 20 black bass, mostly spots, with a 1/2 dozen LM's. 3 of the LM's were 2-2.5 lb. fish, spots were in the 12-16 inch range. Most fish were shallow, which I attribute to low visibility, about 5 feet or so, and the wake boats kicking waves onto the shore. Best bite was right after the surf hit the beach, whether in front of buck brush or on the chunk rock banks. C-rigged Trick worms in some variation of watermelon were working. Had three hookups on the Ned, but none of them made it to the boat. Water temps were 80-83.

Nice, you're really getting into them!

Thanks for the info!

Very tasty looking!

Invizx is great stuff, handles like mono, you don't get the stiffness and springiness you get with regular floro on spinning gear.

Quit yer bragging..

Yeah the rolling around in fake extreme pain is something, that as someone who hasn't watched hardly any soccer, I find to be annoying. Every time someone makes contact with another player, one of them ends up on the ground rolling around like they've been shot. About 1 out of ten times it's legit.

Aaaarrrggghhhh! US scored that 2nd goal, then they just went back on their heels and let Portugal control the ball. I knew Portugal was going to score, then as time was getting close to running out it looked like they were going to get away with the win. Aaaarrrrgghhhhh!

Thanks for the report - what the heck is going on with the TW bite? It stinks when it doesn't happen.

After you oil it up, you can rename it the Ozark Valdez.

Welcome!

US beats Ghana, but Ghana ties Germany? Maybe there's hope for the US vs Germany. US really needs to beat Portugal tomorrow.

Thanks for the report, glad to see you're still getting them. I'm hoping to get out there for a day or two myself next week. Weird that the TW bite is still not going, I was hoping this bit of somewhat stable weather we've had the last week would start it up.

I did not know Chick has stripers, it is definitely a good black bass fishery - at least from what I've read.

But the stripers in this neck of the woods are introduced right? They can reproduce in some of the local rivers, but their forefathers were stocked. Of course, all of our impoundments are man-made also and contain species that aren't native besides the stripers. I'm trying to think of a lake that has stripers and is considered to be a good LMB lake also. Might help the stripers are good argument to point out some lakes that have stripers and thriving black bass populations. Grand is an interesting one to think about, it does not have stripers, but has a kazillion white bass and some hybrids, which consume shad, but the black bass do quite well in that lake. But then again, Grand is much more fertile, than say, Beaver, so that's another thing to consider.

I knew it was a ground problem (not) - glad to see you got it fixed.

What Davis did was fish it successfully in the spring and use a different bait than a creature. I'd venture to say that most of us who have been fishing the wobble head have viewed it as a post-spawn presentation with a creature/beaver type plastic on it. I'm finding out (and so is everybody else) that you can throw just about any plastic on it and catch fish. Another tool for the toolbox.

Costa Rica beat Italy - didn't see that coming. England has been eliminated which is also surprising.

I could see Scherzer pitching for the Royals, he is a Missouri boy. The way the Red Sox are playing, they might try and move Lester, looks like he'll be a free agent after this year, hate to see him go, but he wants big money.

I've caught them as far down river as point 23 while bass fishing. Might not be as many walleye as you work your way down river, but there's less pressure on the walleyes that swim in that area.