eric1978

If you live in Texas, you can go outside and shoot two intruders of your neighbor's house, on the front yard, in the back, and while on the phone with 911 and not face charges. I'm sorry but that's just wrong. If someone is in your house, I say blow his freakin head off, but outside, that's up to the police. Too many people think that because they have the right to own and possibly carry a firearm and the right to protect themselves that they also have an obligation to act as neighborhood commando. Of course I'm not talking about you, Joe. You seem like a completely reasonable person. And yes, I do have both a shotgun and a 9mm in my house, but they never leave the house unless I'm heading to the range or the field.

Can you tell someone (me) who knows nothing about trout how you can tell the difference between the wild and hatchery fish?

I can't tell you how much I hate it, but lately I've been just carrying a cheap plastic box-cutter with me when fishing the Meramec system. If I catch a spot I sever their spine and toss em up on the bank. I hate hate hate killing anything, I don't even like killing bugs...but with the spots it's the right thing to do, so I do it. I like eating fish, but like you said, dragging them around all day is really a pain and those worms are a real turn-off to me.

Well it definitely sounds illegal if nothing else. I hope I don't see any man-boy love on the river today.

Never heard of NAMBLA but I think you're laughing at the thought of me looking it up. Not gonna do it.

Sorry...science is a stubborn thing. Just can't seem to shake it. I do believe in Mr. Hanky, though. Everyone knows he's real. Hideeho!

That's wild, never heard that. Nice factoid. Guess I'll be goin' counter-clockwise from now on.

Those sound just about perfect. Good luck!

It is a spooky image. Too bad it's not a ghost since they don't exist.

If the water is clear, go with something lighter colored and natural looking. If the water is stained or the sky is overcast, I might try something a little darker. With a reaction bait like a Sammy, I'm not TOO concerned about color, as long as it is visible to the fish and looks like something that lives in the area. I love a Sammy this time of year until the leaves make it impossible to use.

You are an eternal optimist, sir. Well played.

That's a great point. I've caught some big fish that I really didn't appreciate because they weren't a perfect specimen. While I always enjoy the anticipation of holding my prize, it can be quite deflating to land a humpback or a fish with other deformities or scars. The second biggest largemouth I've ever caught was missing its left eye; there was just this empty socket there and I can tell you it was UGLY. That fish doesn't mean nearly as much to me as some of the rather small smallmouth I have caught that were absolutely perfect and beautiful. So you're right, it's all about what you value. I know some guys would say I'm nuts that I'd rather catch a pretty 2 or 3 pound smallmouth than a half-blind 10 pound largemouth.

That's right, it's a mess, but there are still fish there. I usually only go if I get a new piece of equipment or tackle and want to play with it. Or if it just seems like the perfect day to fish but I only have a few hours. If it wasn't so close I might never go. (I'm right next door to you in St. Peters)

Nice lakes, especially Table Rock. You'll be stunned by how beautiful it is.

Me neither. Some idiot once told me he spreads peanut butter all over his ankles and sits there like that for a few hours and he's good as new. I've never tried that, nor will I ever. I'd rather go out to the garage and smash my finger with a hammer to get my mind off the itching. I think the only cure for chiggers is prevention.

I'll bet your vet was left-handed, and that's why he turns them counter-clockwise. I'm pretty sure ticks are symmetrical, so I can't see the advantage of one direction over the other. Once I was told to put a red-hot pin on a tick's butt, and he'll come out. I had two one time...the first one sure enough backed out right away, but the second one just stayed there and cooked so I had to pull well-done tick meat out of my thigh. Yuck. I don't think the first one was buried very deep. Once they get in there, I think they're pretty much locked in.

Yep, he's right. I got my watch out and really looked at how long a second is, and 1 twitch per second is slow. 2 is much more like it. Once again I find Al's attention to detail is far superior to mine. I guess that's why his paintings look like photos. Good call Al.

Walking the Dog takes a lot of practice to perfect, but once you get it, you get it. The only thing that's still tough for me is when I'm in a tight spot and I can't keep my rod tip down.

Those could all work. During the summer months, I always start with a smaller spinnerbait, a fluke, and a WTD lure like a Sammy. Make sure you try some kind of dog. You may not change lures all day. If the leaves are falling you can forget that idea though. If they're not hitting your chomper, try a small hair jig the color of the stream bottom or a 4" or 5" Senko. Good luck!

Never gone after the musky, wouldn't know how to go about it if I wanted to. You're right about the pressure. Tons of fishermen throwing everything from live bait to beer cans into the lakes. Even the lakes I went to the other day that were as far off the main roads as you could get had beaten paths around them, garbage everywhere, and old mono hanging from every tree limb. There is one lake that I won't mention that has always produced decent numbers and bigger fish for me, but you can't really access most of it by walking the bank, which is probably why it's better. Late fall and early spring have always been better for me at Busch, too, when the masses aren't out there. My guess is that the fish do most of their feeding at night during the warmer months, since the park closes at 9:00 P.M. I know that's what I'd do if I were a bass in one of those lakes. They gotta feel like a German on D-Day during the summer and say screw eating...I'll wait till dark.

I use a palomar with power pro. Knot strength is fine, just like mono or flouro. You just may want to double it up if you are using really small diameter, because it will have a tendancy to slide around the eye of the hook. It's never happened to me, but I believe it could be possible to slip through the gap where the end of the eye meets the shank. Power Pro is great. I don't even use a leader. I've seen fish in gin clear water swim right past my line to eat my lure. I'm not saying they can't see it, but they aren't trout, and I'm not sure smallmouth really care. They see food, they want food, they eat food. Finicky winter smallmouth may be different, we'll find out in a few months.

I'd like to put my canoe in that little lake near the office that's closed to fishing for "aquatic research." Something tells me there'd be nothing boring about that.

Which lake will you be fishing?

Looks like the muscles in his neck are about to pop out of him from straining to hold that beast. What an incredible fish.

Yep. 1.7 Million to tear it down? I'm thinking I'll come down there with my sledgehammer and trailer and charge a cool million...they can keep the change. Think they'll go for it?