eric1978

Brian, I don't think anyone's trying to crap on your dad's dream. It's just that unless he's super-freakin' rich, it's not looking good. I mean does he have millions of dollars to blow? Maybe he does...not sure anyone here is gonna have the right info for you though. I hope he gets there. Good luck with your search.

Guess I need to get out and play around with them. I was supposed to take a trip today, but my buddies and I got a little carried away with the tequila last night, and I woke up with a massive headache. Missed the last great day of the year to fish. I've been meaning to order some different brands of trailers, I just haven't gotten around to it. Really don't know how to improve the keeper, except maybe using a little thicker gauge wire, or making it a little longer. You're right though, those Gambler Creatures do tear up really easily.

Climbing up on Big Bluff in AR, which I just discovered is the highest single-faced bluff between the Rockies and Appalachians=a tank of gas and some Beenie Weenies for dinner. If I want to experience space, I just turn off the lights.

I am generally disappointed with the action of most Megabass lures. I had more than 100 of them at one point, but ended up selling most of them and replacing with LC baits, which are slightly cheaper and in my opinion better baits. Megabass does have the best colors and paint jobs, though, but the fish don't know that. Sammy better than Dog-X Pointers better than Visions Warts better than Griffons, although I still use Griffons sometimes on small creeks I love the Pop-Max

Climbing a mountain....$0.00, and you can breathe (kind of).

I based the design on 2 crawdads in a 69. I agree Ronnie, I don't think they care either. Those little details were definitely more for me, and I'm glad I'm over it because the jigs will be much faster to tie in the future. I'm noodling on how to improve the trailer keeper, and then it's off to get the Bass Pro contract.

Team Eric is happy to hear his bait didn't disintegrate upon first cast. Team Eric likes seeing his bait in a smallie's face. Team Eric lives too freakin' far from decent fishing. Team Eric is jealous. Wrench, I figured the trailer keeper might be a problem. Got any ideas to make it better? The antennae aren't necessary at all and I won't be tying them on anymore. It means a lot you spent the time just trying the thing! I wish I could've sent you a bag of trailers, but they're just too darn expensive. It's good to hear it's kinda weedless, though, since that was really the point of the experiment. Now Team Eric just has to get his butt out and field-test his own baits....Big River sounds good if I wake up in about 4 hours.....

I always say "album," and my friends always look at me sideways. It's the format I learned from Pops, and he was drilling it into my head from the day I was born. I still prefer listening to his LPs over any digitally remastered whatever that's out there. Sounds like a cool show...I'll definitely check it out!

Sorry bm, didn't mean to derail your thread. I said my piece, now carry on with your light-hearted banter.

It's taking a lot of strength to fight the urge to list some of those facts. I guess if it's not taken down in a few days I'll know it's okay to make politically charged comments, and we can let the debate begin.

Do you really think Phil wants us to get into that here?

You're right Wayne, I don't believe they are as filthy as we make them. I recently saw a documentary about a hog farm. The camera was hidden and the documentarian was "undercover." Every hog there was routinely injected with antibiotics and some other stuff I can't recall exactly, I think it was steroids or hormones. They were beaten and brutalized and confined and tortured. "Unhealthy" piglets were swung by their feet and their heads were smacked on a concrete wall to kill them "economically." They even had footage of a lame hog being hung to death, hoisted up by a frontloader. The owner of that hog farm was prosecuted for cruelty to animals, but the judge was having none of it and he was given a small fine and a slap on the wrist for some trivial offense. It was small-town cronyism at its worst and it's the reason we have toxic food and why it's not getting any better. Is it enough to keep me from eating pork, or store-bought meat in general? Nope, but it probably should be.

So an owl's stomach must be like an attic fan or something? I think "vent" is their nice way of saying poopshooter. Yeah, but bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good. (Travolta...Pulp Fiction...nevermind) Yes, pigs are filthy animals and they may not sweat, but we've been eating them for thousands of years and if it weren't for our horrible farming practices there would be absolutely nothing wrong with eating them. I'm more worried about eating what we put into them than eating what they're made of. We put the same garbage in other livestock, too, so don't go thinking your porterhouse is like healthfood or something. Until you eat only organic food, you've got just as much to worry about as pork-eaters. And if you think McDonald's is any less toxic than a pork loin, you should have your head examined.

Gavin, those look good. I really like the chartreuse one with the white head. What did you use for the trailer on that one?

Yeah, tying jigs doesn't have to be all about the fish. Adding little details can't hurt and it's fun to tie cool looking stuff.

You guys are killing me! Nothing like some good butthole talk to start a day. What do you think pee and poo is? Pigs do that don't they?

Oh. Sorry Brian. I thought you had to be kidding. Yeah, I hope Dad's a rich man, because it's going to be expensive. I don't think 100K will cover it.

That's when that "O-face" guy's advice from Office Space comes in handy. "Hey...wear a rubber dude."

And it's spectacular! I went on a 3 day backpacking trip with two buddies and we spent the second morning climbing up that bluff (on the trail, not straight up) and killed the rest of the day just hanging out on top. I felt like an Anasazi cliff dweller up there and it was the most incredible view I've seen short of the Rockies, and in fact it is the tallest single-faced bluff between the Rockies and the Appalachians. We camped at Hemmed-In Hollow the night before that, which is also really cool. It was a great trip.

Okay then. Here are some pretty commonly known facts about smallmouth from the MDC website. Maybe someone won't know them and will learn something. At least it might get us back on track. Facts Small fin The smallmouth bass was given the scientific name Micropterus dolomieu by the French naturalist Count Bernard Germain Etienne De La Ville Lacepede. Micropterus is Latin for “small fin.” The second name, dolomieu, was after M. Dolomieu, a French mineralogist for whom dolomite, a rock type, is also named. Nicknames Smallmouth have a number of local names. They include: brown bass, brownie, bronze back, green trout, jumper, Oswego bass, redeye bass, river bass and smallie. The unbass The smallmouth bass is actually a member of the sunfish family (one of the largest freshwater sport fish families). Smallmouth are also grouped with the largemouth and spotted (Kentucky) bass which are collectively known as black bass. Cool fish Smallmouth bass shun waters with temperatures that commonly exceed the mid-80s. Temperatures over 90 degrees F are lethal. Smallmouth bass also need a great amount of dissolved oxygen. A dependable stream flow, streamside shade and modest current are also important to riverine smallmouth bass. Spring spawn hazards Research on smallmouth bass has shown no relationship between the number of spawning fish and the success of the spawn. The strength of the year’s hatch depends solely on water conditions–in particular, a sudden cold snap or muddy floodwaters can kill eggs and fry. Tail fin ID The tail fin on young smallmouth is distinctly tri-colored with a black vertical bar separating the yellowish fin base from the whitish fringe along the rear margin of the fin. Follow the feeder An interesting habit of smallmouth bass is to follow a large turtle or sucker as they dig or root along the bottom, pouncing on any insects or crayfish disturbed by the feeding activity. 18-year-old fish Smallmouth bass have a maximum life expectancy of about 18 years; however, only a few ever live even half that long. For the record The current Missouri state record is 7 pounds, 2 ounces, caught in 1994 from Stockton Lake. The largest smallmouth bass on record weighed 11 pounds and 15 ounces and was 27 inches long. It was caught in 1955 from Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee.

I took Chantix for a month, wanted to blow my brains out, quit smoking 4 months (no thanks to the Chantix), now I'm back on 'em. I'm going on 15 years of those horrible things, and it's starting to worry me. Let me know if you're still off the cigs in a couple months and I might give it a shot. I can do a few weeks cold turkey, it's the long term commitment I have trouble with, especially when I see my buddies and have a few cold ones. So hard. I've tried nicorette gum, the patch, even auriculotherapy....all worthless. You gotta be determined...and I struggle with it. I HATE cigarettes. They should be outlawed.

Interesting stuff, Al. I look forward to reading that article when you finish it. Will you be posting it on the forum? My knowledge of colors is as vast as what you learn in 7th grade art class, so aside from primary, secondary, complimentary, etc, basically none. I guess it would be tough to find a better source of analysis on colors than an artist. To be quite honest, I'm somewhat color blind, which makes evaluation of certain colors a bit challenging, and therefore something I tend not to do. I sometimes have trouble distinguishing whites and pinks and grays, and also where lines are drawn between yellows and greens and greens and blues. I once bought a pink shirt that I thought was gray, which my friends thought was just hilarious. So my buddy bought another shirt to poke fun at me, and it says "I Love Color," but all I see is a bunch of dots. Aside from that, though, I have 20/20 vision. Go figure.

Ditto. Exactly how I feel. I just want to say that this will be my last contribution to the subject because I know we're getting close to overstepping some imaginary line, although I think everyone here is friendly and respectful enough to have this conversation without any rancor. So I'll just pitch in my two cents and move on, too. I have no problem with what anyone believes. I won't go into the problems I have with organized religions and the problems I believe they cause in society, which is very different from individual faith. If you really believe something, deep down and without a doubt, I say good for you if it doesn't hurt anyone else. More power to ya. Buck, buddy, some days I really do wish I could believe in God. I really do. I think it would make a lot of aspects of life easier. But I have a scientific brain, and like you said before, there is no evidence of His existence, so I just can't make the leap. For many people who were not raised by religious parents, and even some who were, the idea of a biblical God is simply absurd. It makes no logical sense to believe something that is so drastically antithetical to reality. One day I'm here, the next day I'm gone. In the meantime I eat, breathe, sleep. Make some good friends, have some kids, go fishing. One day I'll be worm food and that's just life. It's okay. We don't have to go on forever. Why can't we just be here now and enjoy it while it lasts? If I were to worship something, it would be nature, because that's what I believe put us here. Being out in the wilderness and interacting with nature is as close to God as I can get, and my God is called Earth.

Yep, and as your sponsor I expect to see some glowing reports posted even if it sucks. That's what all the other pros do anyway.

Oh man, your avatar is cracking me up! You've got too much time on your hands.