eric1978

Really? I don't know...there's sure a lot of bronze on that fish...

Looks like you're raising a couple good little fishermen there. Great smallie your boy had!

Pretty sure that was a smallie/spot hybrid, and one of the bigger ones I've seen.

I was a kid, probably 12 or so, and I was camping with my best little fishing buddy and his family at Carlisle lake in IL. We spent most of our time at the spillway catching white bass cast after cast on Tiny Torpedos late into the night. It was a blast. Since I was a youngin' and there was no such thing as having brewskies around the campfire, I just had to have a line in the water at all times because there simply wasn't anything else to do. We were back at the campsite and I told my buddy I was gonna catch some catfish. He was a much better fisherman than me at the time, and he told me there weren't any fish right there where we were camped, and he was probably right, but I was gonna show him. We were really competitive and there was nothing better than proving that little smart-mouth punk wrong when it came to fishing, because he was wrong so rarely. I set up a tight-line with some stink bait, casted it out a mile into the abyss of darkness, stuck my rod in a rod holder and wandered back up to the campfire. I'd put a bell on the tip of the rod because it was pitch black and couldn't see a foot in front of me. I'd just about forgotten about my rod when, about 20 minutes later, all of a sudden that bell was just ringin' like crazy. I thought I must have hooked up with the biggest cat in that lake. I ran down and grabbed my rod and gave a good yank, and I felt a HUGE pull. I couldn't see a thing. I started laughing and throwing the insults at my buddy about how stupid he was, and how I bet he wished he'd set up a tight-line, too. I didn't care what it was I'd hooked, I was just happy to prove him wrong and make him feel stupid. It was the strangest feeling, though...I could feel a BEAST of a fish pulling back hard, but I could reel the line in with ease. I was utterly confused. I kept on a reelin' and tuggin' and the next thing I know I can't reel anymore. I've got the treble hook all jammed up in the rod tip. What the hell? My buddy is next to me rolling on the ground in laughter. I look up behind me near the campfire, and one of the girls is kicking around all tangled up in something. When I wasn't looking my buddy had tied a long piece of mono on my rod tip, and elaborately wove it around some trees and back up to the campsite and set it up like a trip wire. Turns out that huge fish was just a stupid little girl all twisted up in some line tied to my rod. I lose again.

This is the recipe he sent me for it... I'm assuming he won't mind me sharing it since he posted a pic of it... Hook- 9671 #12 Thread- 6/0 Uni Weight- 10 turns .020 lead wire Tail- brown hackle fibers Hackle- brown rooster (3/4 palmered) Body- peacock herl (3) Wing- gray squirrel tail hair (extending to middle of tail) Head- peacock herl Body- Peacock herl (3)

Oh man I needed that this morning! Did you write that, ness?

That's about how I feel right now. I overindulged on Thanksgiving beer. Kevin...still waiting on the specifics on that new TB canoe so I can name it and win one.

Really nice fish....for an aquarium No, seriously...great pics...cool looking fish! Looks like you had a great time....I gotta get down there some day.

Hey that fish is like me...short, fat and has a big mouth.

LMAO...wrench

You said topwater...which lure did you catch it on?

I bet you cherish that one with your dad, tippet. Really cool pic!

I thought Creekwader's idea about before and after pictures would be a good thread for Thanksgiving, so we can share some memories that we are thankful for. Childhood...9.25 lb flathead I caught on a firetiger crankbait! At my uncle's house at LOZ. My little sister was mad at me so she poked my face out on the picture with a thumbtack. I remember I shoved a blueberry up her nose in retaliation. A couple good fish from the awkward teenage years: This one was a couple years ago. Last year we got a virus on our old computer and lost all of our digital photos, most of which I never saved elsewhere or printed out. I was devastated. For some reason this one was printed. These aren't the greatest pictures, I know, but it's the best I could do with the scanner. I know some of you ol' boys have some much better shots from back in the day...Let's see 'em! Happy Thanksgiving all.

Having trouble trying to upload a scanned photo. It gives me the error message: "Upload failed. You are not permitted to upload this type of file" It's a bitmap image of 299 KB Are these files no good? Anyone know if you can convert it to a jpeg somehow?

From a guy who bought his first Ford truck two years ago...that's good advice...stick with GM

How'd I miss this thread? Good story report, Al. Sounds like a darn good day, all things considered...

12? No way. That fish can't be over 8 pounds. Can't be.

I can't go any higher than 7...what'd you weigh it on, your dope scale? Those little tri-beams don't work so great over a pound or so.

6.25 lbs...caught on a slimy purple jelly worm. Sweet Aviators.

Really they're just long leeches if you think about it...not that that makes them any less gross. Check your undies Gordy.

My guess would be a tire balance problem and not the transmission. Have the tire guys throw the front tires on the balancer. You may have thrown a weight or something. Not sure that would make your gas pedal vibrate though, but that's the first thing I think of when there's any shaking involved.

You must be one of those guys who likes to use those little hotel soaps and pretend you have huge muscles.

+1...Exactly

I predict wrench is right but just in case I'll add this suggestion: Be sure when you take the picture that you have the fish laying next to something of which the size is universally known. Your hand is no good. A reel is pretty good, but no one knows what size rod you have and that may skew our perception. Something like a tennis ball would be perfect, because all tennis balls are the same and we all know exactly how big they are. Sounds like a fun idea though. Maybe we could make it interesting and all throw in $5.

It's all true, Joe. Can't deny it. Unfortunately, though, I'm bored enough that it matters to me... I don't have any stickers on my truck, by the way, so...