jdmidwest

You should be able to shape it with sandpaper. It is not that hard, just like sanding down a piece of soft wood. After you get the desired shape, go to a finer grit and finish it all off smooth.

Surely you are talking about a cork grip, if so some sandpaper will customize it to fit. If you are wanting to replace the grip, it will be more involved, the adhesives used to attach the original grip to the rod may be hard to remove. More info is needed.

Yeah!

Nice. We had 100 percent cloud cover here, have to wait 476 years till the next one falls on the winter solstice. What time was that photo? It was all supposed to happen in the wee hours of the morning and I was not duck hunting due to the stiff water everywhere.

You waded, that does not count. You might as well had carried a gig and gigged them. How did you catch one trout, were you on the upper Eleven Point? And you carried 2 rods, why not 3? The regulations state you can fish with 3 rods on most streams. Come on Christmas. Did I state we are working Christmas eve and not getting a day off for Christmas this year? Full day on New Years Eve too.

This is similar to the models I wear in my yak, it is made by Stearns and offers a full range of movement for paddling, fishing, or shooting at ducks. I have a camo and a green one and they are pretty comfortable, it has straps or mesh instead of the web shoulders. In the summer, they are not hot. In the winter, they fit over a pair of waders and a hunting coat. Will they float me if I fall in, I really don't know for sure, never tried them out. Maybe this summer I will dump myself in full hunting gear and make sure I can float. I hunt a deep lake that is over 30', it gets choppy in the best of duck hunting and hard to paddle across safely. I hunt in breathable waders, wear a belt, and don't carry ammo in my coat and the rating on the vest exceeds my weight so I should float. If you wear neoprene, it is buoyant also, so it adds to the flotation. I always wear a PFD in the winter, cold water can shock you and you can not swim. Added clothing and waders just drag you to the bottom. I have an inflatable belt model by Stearns also that I use during the summer in deeper waters by myself. My thought process is, if I get tossed, I can pull the cord and float on it. I have wore it wade fishing by myself in the winter also, I have had some exciting stream crossings in the winter time that almost pulled me down. I really don't wear a PFD during the summer in most rivers when I am with others. My yaks float fully filled with water and unless knocked out cold, I will have flotation nearby, just grab it as I go out. Or I can just stand up. Stearns Fishing PFD

If Global Warming was real, how come we can't buy our Carbon Credits anymore to offset it? Seems like that business went south with the economy. Or was it that most of the world was jarred into reality after the 2008 election and started to realize that the government is not really here to help us? Looks like the poll speaks for itself. The other side is doing a piss poor job of trying to sell their point.......

Tell us where Al, I was busy dealing with the public. We need a good fishing story.

I see what you are saying but the truth is, all of the products I have sold have been the best quality, backed by service and experience. The current product I sell is the industry leader, it is the product spec'd in the bids for all to match. We have a franchise, and the support of a nationwide dealer network, and only sell the brand our franchise allows. Others in my line of work can pick and choose products based on pricing and drop them when a cheaper one comes along. Our buying capacity does allow us alot of freedom to compete with the others but we have never compromised quality to get a sale, it causes too many headaches in the long run. We end up replacing, repairing, re-doing our competitors work all of the time and usually the customer figures it out in the long run, but not always. I have never sold the product where I could walk up and say that it does the same thing as the other guy and it is cheaper than theirs.

Is Phil out of town again?

Thanks, but you called me first. BTW, I am white, don't call me bro.

Having been in sales of some form or another for over 35 years now, it never ceases to amaze me what a customer is thinking at the point of purchase. From my grandfather's little country store to high end Point of Sale Systems and Building Components, the customer mentality really varies. I have only sold the top of the line, the other guys, my competition, had the lesser value products and I have adjusted my sales mode to achieve my goals. At a jobsite yesterday in a meeting with the owners explaining how to prep for my product, there was a ordeal going on behind me with a steel building contractor erecting a building. The first owner stated "have you ever seen such an unorganized mess?". He also asked me if any of them looked like they knew what they were doing. The job trucks were unmarked and no company logos on anything. No safety gear, hard hats, or fall protection. No organization or leader ship. One crew on one side of the building was working against the other crew on the other side of the building. I went on about my business and near the end, the second owner mentioned my quote was a slight amount higher than my competitor. I thought this strange as myself, the owners of my business, and a few employees of my business patronize his business without questioning his prices. The competitor does not shop there and has no employees. He even mention taking some of the bill out in trade with the owner of my business, but still complained about the price. It was like the small amount was going to be a deal breaker. I told him that the pricing I gave him in August was for more product than actually measurements so the final quote would be less than the difference with better quality. At that time more commotion over my shoulder drew the owners attention. They started in on questions again about what I thought about the steel building. One asked me if I had ever saw any use cable for structural bracing on steel building, I stated no, most use steel rods. They concurred, stating that all of their other buildings used steel rod bracing and most were 30 years old or more and still standing. It was at that point I had to ask "did you put the building out for bid?" They both stated yes, this company was by and far the lowest bidder.... I chuckled and both just looked at me, but neither caught the message I was trying to get across. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

I only gig frogs, not fish.

I figured some would not be able to comprehend the post. Looks like all missed the original Post, NO DEBATES PLEASE.

A game fish is a fish that is pursued as sport by a sporting method. Whether the MDC classifies it as a Game Fish is a mute point. To Oneshot and others, carp, suckers, and buffalo are fair game fishing whether by gigging, snagging, or hook and line. Nobody in the sporting society should condemn a legal method or a legal fish or there could be repercussions from the anti-sporting groups that would try to take away all of our sporting rights. Just because you don't gig or snag, there should be no condemnation of a sporting method as long as it is done legally. Just because you don't choose to try a particular sporting method, don't condemn others for doing it.

From the looks of some of these posts, Natural Selection should have eliminated some of the population on this board. They would have drowned looking up in the rain during a storm..... Global warming will only last till the next Ice Age, then we will have to do some research to change that also.

Having fished out of all 3, a kayak is always my first choice in any kind of weather on a river of floating caliber. I have only used tandem, 16' or longer kayaks, so a solo canoe maybe a close second. My yaks are the most comfortable, quietest, most stealthy way to fish any stream. I fish alot of streams that I could not wade the banks without a lot of hassles and catch more fish using the kayak. If fishing with someone else in kayaks, we can split up and fish separate sides of the river and cover it better. The sit on top rides higher giving me better casting angles and control than a sit inside. Jet boats are great when you have a shorter time to fish and want to cover water, you can pick and choose fishing spots, but they are in no means stealthy. Canoes of the kind I am used to tie you to a partner and spook fish more than a yak. As far as game fish go, if there is a season, a limit on a fish, and you can catch them on a hook with bait or lure, I would consider it to be a game fish. I have caught suckers, carp, and buffalo on a rod and reel, 2 of the 3 on fly rods. If you can hunt it, fish for it, or catch it in any way, then it is a sporting game. Bullfrogs are game, I gig them, and I need a fishing license to do it, and I do it from a yak or a boat. I don't think they are game fish.

I second the matter about the used waders, you are looking at a cold miserable damp day. I can't think of any reason to sell a pair of waders used that were still waterproof. Same goes for buying at Walmart, always check and make sure they are factory originals and not a pair previously wore for an outing and returned.

By yard carp, are you referring to Snow Geese? I live on the other side of the state, but will chase a local Canada Goose if it is bothering some yard or pond. If the geese are in the campgrounds, there would probably be a rule where you can not shoot them there. Same goes for swimming beaches and other developed areas in a public place. If it is private, and we can get the owners permission, I can assure they will not return after they realize there are things that go boom there.

That is probably what we will do now that it is freezing up. I noticed the Canadas working the goose pits on Duck Creek pretty good Wed.

Saved my time off for my best time of the year, Duck Season. Wed. 12/8, reservation at Duck Creek. In and out of the headquarters in record time, 15 minutes. Cold morning, sheet ice about 3/4" thick, found our pool with some open water and lots of ducks that had kept it that way overnight. We busted a boat lane with the big boat and took the yaks into the tree line for the ducks. Few birds early when they flew off the roost, main force at 10:30 to 1:00 when they returned. One of our party was bored and had to see the blind, it was a sunken pit full of water. We blew the average out of the water that day with one limit of 6, one with 5, and 3 for me. Few mallards, ringneck, and lots of shovelers. Sat. 12/11, poor line at Duck Creek. Rain all day in the forecast, crappy pill. Drew 33 with only 23 spots. In and out of the headquarters in 35 minutes, bigger crowd. Hunted the Dark Cypress section with a 1/2 mile hike to a water puddle. Took a few dekes and a Robo, set up in the cockle burs. Showers turned into steady rain. Buddy nailed the Robo on a fly by from a Hoodie merganser that had landed in front of me in the dekes. He missed the Hoodie. I took a mallard drake and a shoveler before the rain gear failed and I started to drown and get cold. Brought the wrong clothes for that day, went home early. Had water running down both sleeves into my gloves, running in both shoulders and starting down my back into waders. Time to buy new hunting coat. Buddy stuck it out and had Gadwall, Teal, and Shovelers till noon. Picked cockle burs out of clothing, decoy bag, waders, and other stuff for an hour after I got home. I could have filled a coffee can with them. Mon. 12/13, pill 7 in the Quick Draw at Otter Slough. Negative number in temps, cold, 1-2 inch ice on whole place. Quick draw is a misnomer, still a cluster, have to wait for poor line to draw all hunters in party and watch some of them get in front of you with the way things work. 8 out of 25 internet quick draw parties showed up for the morning draw today, don't really know what the average is for the year. Listened to pretty speech, one guy even commented that we should have held a collection plate. Something that was to speed things up still took us over 1 hour to get out of the place and to our boat dock. Busted ice to the blind and opened up a hole and barely made it before shooting hour. Set out a few dekes and a Robo or 7 and did not get much action, cooked a big breakfast and huddled the propane heater. Till 11, then things picked up. Had 4 ducks on the water at closing time from the last shooting frenzy. Mostly pairs and singles drawn to the open hole we made. Ended the day with 12 ducks between the 3 of us, 4 mallards and rest shovelers. Seems to be a bumper crop on the corn scoops this year. Good crop of cockle burs too. Gotta love it, still 3 weeks to go.

If it is for a garden, you can buy kits and do the test yourself. For larger plots, County Extension office is where to go. Around 10 to 15 bucks for a sample tested. Larger plots you will want to test a few samples to see what you really need.

Interesting link, pretty well sums it up. Younger generations are more involved in facebook than the outdoors. Parents have less time to take kids out and enjoy the great outdoors. Too many sporting events to knock off and take the kids hunting and fishing, just soccer, little league, football, and others. Hunting Traditions sag as land, desire disappear.

Maybe you should ask him for some sort of commission for using your site.

The urban trout program is subsidized by the city that sponsors it and local supporters. MDC just handles the transport and signs on what is their managed lakes anyway. And it is not just taxpayer dollars. The local urban trout program is sponsored by several local businesses, Walmart is one, City Park monies, and the local TU was purchasing the lunkers last time I talked to people that know. MDC kicks in something I believe, but I don't know how much. And from all of the bluegill that I caught after the stocking this time, they may have dumped some in too while they were there, but I doubt as they would have come from a different hatchery. This year has been the first year the trout program here has been good. First few years, the lake was silted by runoff from construction in a local subdivision. Last year, disease hit them early and killed them off. They were restocked, but the lake froze soon after and you could not fish for them. I did hit some at the Feb 1 catch and keep. This year was nice, lake was clear, weather was good, and we fished it several times after work till the DST change.