eric1978

I thought the same thing. Looks closer to 6. Still a nice fish.

That bass looks like a smallie/spot hybrid.

Here you go, Joe, a little "presearch" for you: Discovery 119 To commemorate 25 years of the Discovery Series, we're bringing back the Discovery 119. Just like the others in the series, this solo canoe is agile, stable and easy to handle. It's even well-suited for a double-bladed paddle. And thanks to our construction process, it's tough without being too heavy. Let the Discovery 119 help you explore new territory. Contoured seat with adjustable backrest Well-suited for double-bladed paddle Durable, yet lightweight Solo use Colors Green, Red Material Three Layer Superlinear LINK to Disco: http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/canoes/general...covery_119.html Length 11' 9" Width 32.5" Width at 4" Waterline 31" Bow Height 19" Depth 13.5" Weight 43 lbs Max Load Range 450-500lbs Suggested Retail $589.00 ($400 for camo Guide 119) Pack There's enough versatility packed into the 12-foot, 33-pound Pack to keep it going from dawn to dusk, with every member of the family taking a turn. The Old Town Pack is made of tough, lightweight Royalex®. It's so light that anyone who can paddle solo can carry it; on a portage, to and from the water, on and off the car top. It's 33 lbs. of freedom — the Pack goes where other canoes can't. Polyethylene decks with grab handles Well-suited for double-bladed paddle Durable, yet lightweight Black vinyl gunwales Wood web seat Solo use Colors Green Material Royalex® Length 12' 0" Width 32" Width at 4" Waterline 31.75" Bow Height 16.75" Depth 11.5" Weight 33 lbs. Capacity 578 lbs. Suggested Retail $799.00 US LINK to Pack: http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/canoes/huntingFishing/pack.html The Pack definitely looks like the better canoe going strictly by the numbers, but is it worth the extra money? The age old question continues to plague us.......

You're making me itch for a trip back to Fork. Love that place.

I think I would have used a rat snake or one that was less...uh...deadly.

Maybe you should re-read this part of my post: "1) The day that a legislative body, left, right or center, decides it would be politically advantageous to take away anglers' rods and reels will be the same day that pigs take flight en masse. A politician who signs a bill that removes the right of a citizen to catch and release gamefish in a stream that his taxes pay to manage, will be signing one of his last bills as a Congressman. If you thought the "anger" over health care was impressive, wait until you see tens of millions of disgruntled lure-tossers march on Washington. Legislators, both state and federal, know this very well, and it simply will never happen. The recreational angler will never lose his right to catch fish. Fishing for fun is just too American to be stopped. It would be like outlawing baseball because deforestation is a problem and bats are made of ash." This isn't something the President has the right to mandate under executive order; it has to be a bill. If the final legislation looked, as you wrote, something like this: "it shall be unlawful to disturb any habitat native to species for the purposes of recreational or commercial fishing...What if this means you can't even hit the bank with a lure?? And maybe that can be inturpreted to mean less access or no access to streams." then I believe, as I said, that that legislation would never pass any house of Congress, state or federal. And if it did, I would be right there with you, sign in hand, protesting. And by the way, it's not a "carte blanche" approach to ecology. The government's power is not unrestricted or unconditional. We have elections, remember? We all have an opportunity every so often to speak our minds in the form of a vote. If a Congressman signed a bill that took away our right to fish recreationally, he would wind up with many less votes the next election cycle. Don't think they don't know it. Why are you so afraid? The government is not out to take away your rights. If they did, they would be out on their butts, and they think about it every time they go to push that vote button. You should stop listening to propaganda. It dilutes one's ability to think rationally.

Certain Dick's locations still have the Guide 119 at the $400 price, but the only color they have is the camo. The newer model of the Guide 119 is what they're calling the Discovery 119 25th Anniversary model, which comes in red and green for $600. The red is really cool looking, but I don't think it's worth the extra $200. The Kaynoe is also identical to the other two models, is a tan color and says "Field & Stream" on the side, and I believe is $500. All things being equal other than color, I went with the Guide, and at the $400 price, I still can't say enough good things, especially after moving the seat, which you would have to do on any of the 3. All three of the above models are 43 pounds (same as the Wenonah Vagabond, my first choice if I had the money), 10 pounds heavier than the Pack, but much cheaper, and unless you're a girl, you shouldn't have any problem moving it around. The Pack is about 3 inches longer and and slightly less deep than the Guide. If I were to spend the money on a Pack, I'd probably just go one better and go Vagabond. I don't really see the great advantage of going Pack over Guide other than the 10 pounds factor, especially for the difference in price. The superlinear material that the Guide, Disco and Kaynoe are made of is supposed to be slightly tougher than the Royalex the Pack is made of. I'm pretty sure there's a Dick's in Columbia. I'd look at their website to find a closer store if they have one. If they don't have the model you're looking for at a particular store, they told me they can order it from another location and have it shipped there. You may want to see what Bass Pro has available. The one in St. Louis didn't have much, but ours is smaller. If you go with the Guide, Disco or Kaynoe and want to move the seat, I've already done half the work for you and posted the dimensions of the custom seat thwarts if you decide to go that route. Go to this thread (New Old Town Guide 119) and check it out: http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?a...;hl=&st=25# There are pictures of the canoe and lots of modifications to get you thinking and even more itchy to get your new toy. Good luck with your search!

Now all I need is my own lake.

Yep, because remember: Foggy=Ghost

Very cool pic.

It just said "not recommended," not illegal, so...

No links, but common sense would say you can. If you have the right to take the fish, you have a right to keep it alive (how about so it's as fresh as possible before cleaning and cooking). And if you own a pond, who says you can't throw him in there? Now if you were taking a fish from one public body of water and putting him in another public body of water, be prepared for some trouble. Your own pond? Why not? Note: I'm sure I'm wrong and it's illegal. Oh, and last I heard, MDC will stock your pond for free as long as you open it one day a year for public use. December 25th sounds good to me.

Think I'll wait until summer to play around with the anchor. Getting swamped in winter would be a real drag.

Wayne's right, foil is the way to go. Here's a simple way to cook fish without carrying much weight: Bring a fillet knife, a small bottle with a few ounces of olive oil, and some kind of seasoning like Lawry's, or even just salt & pepper, whatever you like. If you want to get real fancy you can pack a lemon, too. I prefer to fillet the fish first so I don't have to pick through scales and bones while I'm eating, and you pretty much have fillet them to cook them this way, though you could do it with the whole fish, gutted with the heads and tails cut off. Filleting is also better IMO so you can pick out the nasty little worms or scratch the whole idea altogether if they're really bad. Put a few drops of oil on the fillets, just enough to keep them from sticking to the foil, and sprinkle with seasoning. Wrap in foil. Take a few scoops of coals out of the campfire and set them aside. Place foil packs on the coals. Make sure they're not too hot, or your fish will turn to mush. Only takes five minutes or so to cook, depending on the temp of the coals and the size of the fillets. It's not the fish you would eat in a five star restaurant, but I can tell you if you're on a 5 day float and you've been eating dehydrated meals and hot dogs long enough, it's about the best thing you'll ever taste. Smallmouth taste terrible and are poisonous and will kill you if you ingest them. Spotted bass are delicious.

They should go straight to the electric chair for that one. No trial, no jury, just straight to the juice. Man, people are cruel.

1) The day that a legislative body, left, right or center, decides it would be politically advantageous to take away anglers' rods and reels will be the same day that pigs take flight en masse. A politician who signs a bill that removes the right of a citizen to catch and release gamefish in a stream that his taxes pay to manage, will be signing one of his last bills as a Congressman. If you thought the "anger" over health care was impressive, wait until you see tens of millions of disgruntled lure-tossers march on Washington. Legislators, both state and federal, know this very well, and it simply will never happen. The recreational angler will never lose his right to catch fish. Fishing for fun is just too American to be stopped. It would be like outlawing baseball because deforestation is a problem and bats are made of ash. 2) Biologists will be making recommendations on proposed regulations. The word "overfishing" implies that fish are being kept for harvest, not caught and released. If a biologist (who we will assume knows more about biology and ecology than we do) deems it necessary to restrict the gross tonnage of cod that can be harvested in a given time on a given area of ocean, then who am I to argue? I'll eat more chicken. As Al pointed out, it may be possible that any regulations enacted could impact commercial fishing, the same as it may also impact other environmental detriments such as industrial waste management, etc. That is a problem for those who make a living exploiting the planet. I know everyone has to make a buck, but if some folks have to lose their jobs in order to save parts of our ecosystem, so be it. The world's health is more important. 3) I also read the "Task Force" report, and found within its text nothing that should alarm recreational anglers. Contrarily, we should be looking forward to seeing the results of the yet-to-be-proposed regulations, since it appears the goal of the project will be to clean up certain bodies of water and return them to a healthier state of being. I welcome them to start right here in Missouri, on the Meramec. Get to work scientists! I look forward to your assessments and proposals. And do you know why I'm not worried about it? Because on the list of factors that contribute to the degradation of stream ecology, recreational catch and release anglers are at the very bottom of that list, if they're on it at all. So I welcome new laws and regulations pertaining to my favorite waters. They will only make the river cleaner, the species healthier and the fishing better. Once more into the breach dear Task Force. Once more or close the wall up with our smallmouth dead.

I thought about that. What do you guys use? In warmer months I've always just stuck my leg out to hold myself in place, but when it's cold and I'm not wearing the waders...

bump

Bingo. Just what I was looking for. Thanks buddy. Those Erie Jigheads look pretty sweet. I like their inline buzzbaits, too.

Al, Yep, the seat isn't perfect. The molded butt does keep you pretty much sitting straight forward, but you can turn to face another direction a little bit for short periods of time. It doesn't inhibit any torso or arm movement, which is really all you need to make one last cast behind you to that awkward spot. If I were to do it over again, one thing I would definitely do differently is use 6/4 or maybe even 4/4 Ash for the seat thwarts. The 8/4 is totally overkill, and just takes up space and adds weight, so lesson learned. The seat is durable and dryable and quite comfortable, too, and I'm happy with it overall. I will say, however, I think my modifications are probably prettier than they are practical, even though they work fine. The same results could have been accomplished with an oak 1X10 and a sitbacker, but I enjoy woodworking, so no big loss. I still have more room under the seat than the factory mount gives you, and I'm still in the process of rigging up a storage unit under there. There is enough room to fit two Plano boxes, one deep one and one standard size one (not sure about the numbers) which is plenty of tackle for me for even a week-long float. The rod holder works really great. I keep the rod I'm consistently using on the holder, and keep the other rods resting on the thwart on the other side.

I'm looking for some weedless jigheads for tying. Looking for football and round, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16 sizes, unpainted with wire weedguards. Anyone know where to get them or am I gonna have to pour my own?

This would be a good conversation to have if we could all stay away from partisan rhetoric, but we clearly can't so I guess I agree. The temptation is too great and it just sucks you in. It's like that last cast of the day...you just can't seem to stop.

Let him slide. He's not convincing anyone who doesn't think like him already. No big deal to me.

I buy the majority of my fishing gear on Ebay, not to mention all kinds of other stuff. There are incredible deals to be found there and I've never had a single problem over the course of hundreds of transactions, buying and selling. You can always avoid fraud on Ebay by buying from reputable sellers with solid feedback profiles, and by paying with paypal, which offers buyer protection against fraud. The Stella is a very fine reel. I used mine a few times and was blown away by how smoothly it performed. But you can almost get two Stradics for the price of one Stella, and to me the difference between the two reels is not that great, except the Stella is prettier and slightly higher quality. If Shimano came out with a reel that was supposedly better than the Stella, the Stella would still be a great reel, even though there would be one better. Same goes for the Stradic now.

I had a Stella a few years ago, polished it with a diaper for a few months, sold it and bought two Stradics that aren't too pretty to use. The Stellas aren't for fishing, they're for mounting in platinum and wearing around your finger.