eric1978

Why? It would have been the same result. Isn't that what we're saying? That it doesn't matter how you get there, as long as you get there?

I am not ridiculing the man. He seems like a great guy and I think I'd enjoy having a beer with him. I don't know how to say it another way, but I'll try. I don't have any ethical qualms about how he caught that fish, nor that he kept it, and I defended him on both counts. Then someone took it to another level and said he deserved "respect" for catching it. Sorry, but I have a different perspective on angling. If you guys don't draw a distinction between tricking a fish and feeding a fish, why do you ever use anything but bait? Great guy, great fish. Don't tell me I have to respect his methods, and don't blow my comments out of proportion...it's only my opinion. The only value that fish has is the value that the man who caught it gives it. It's only a number to the rest of us.

Well I clearly ruffled some feathers so let me try to clarify. It was a spectacular fish, and I said, there was nothing wrong with how he took it, and there was nothing wrong with him keeping it. If I were to meet the man I'd shake his hand and tell him congrats. He caught that fish legally and fair and square. No doubt about that. But then someone mentioned how we owe him respect. I don't agree with that. I'm not a tackle snob...I do use spinning gear. But you can't sit there and deny there isn't a difference between fishing with lures and fishing with bait. He's got the state record, no one is going to deny that. But I'm allowed to have the opinion he caught it in a way that is unsportsmanlike. Sorry, that's my opinion. Am I not allowed to say what I think? I'm not being mean about it, just realistic. If he would have taken it on a Rapala, or any LURE for that matter, he would have my respect, just the same as if he had caught it on a fly. Personally, I'd rather not catch a game fish than catch a game fish on bait. Do you respect someone who wins the lottery? No, you're happy for them, but respect is not part of it. I respect someone who builds a business from the ground up and becomes wealthy out of hard work. And I respect the sportsman who doesn't take the easy way out because the fish aren't biting...he finds another angle. That's the difference between a sportsman and a fisherman, for those of you who asked.

My apologies too. I overreacted. I didn't expect such a long thread...I was just looking for an easy explanation. I have zero hours on Taney.

Well put and very true. Hard to argue with that.

And to me. Respect? C'mon. He was drifting Powerbait. Sure, he had a functional drag and was patient enough not to horse the fish and break off, so I'll give him credit for that. But it's not as if he took the thing on a personally tied fly and 6x tippet. It's a great fish. It's a state record. There was nothing wrong with the way he caught it and there was nothing wrong with keeping it. But I'll save my respect for the guy who catches a 2 pounder the sportsman's way.

I started this thread. And it was just a hypothetical question because I didn't understand why Taney didn't have more smallmouth. The White did, and the water above and below Taney do now. Why is it such a stupid thing to ask? We're on page three so apparently a few people were somewhat interested in the topic. If you think it's so silly, I would recommend spending your time posting about conversations you find more relevant, instead of wasting it mocking other people's curiosity. And by the way, smallmouth can and do eat scuds...guaranteed. Gammarus scuds can reach 20mm, plenty big enough to attract a smallie.

Bingo. Trust me, I'm hard-core C & R, but a state record? That fish was an old man, and unless you released him right away, he's pretty much guaranteed not to survive the stress of what he went through, and even if he did, how much longer does he have to go anyway? By the time you get him to a certified scale, you might as well hang him on the wall, 'cause he's toast. The part that would spoil it for me is catching it on Powerbait...but that's me.

I'd spend a couple days hiking the Buffalo River Trail...then head up to the NFOW. Or just camp at NFOW and forget the hiking. The Buffalo Trail is a great one, though, if you've never done it.

He's cool looking. Be a good addition to someone's freshwater aquarium. I read sculpins can live for several hours out of the water if they're kept moist. Great pics!

Since I can't tell if you're joking or not, I'll just make sure you know...strangercreek is an OAF member, not a stream

But lots of scuds. Smallmouth will eat whatever is available...I don't think forage is the problem, but the habitat and the water temp most likely are, as you mentioned before.

In Tonganoxie, KS

I bet that guy lives near brownieman.

I laid new hardwood floors in my house last year, and I looked into soundproofing a little bit. Ultimately, I went ahead and skipped it since no one lives in the basement. After I pulled up the old carpet, I took a nail gun and put about a million 8 pennies along all the joists and especially where there were seems. Then I spent a little extra on a few cases of construction adhesive and applied a liberal bead to every plank of hardwood before I nailed it down. There's not a creak to be heard and it's actually pretty quiet downstairs, too, but all in all we have an inch and a half of wood with the 3/4 subfloor and 3/4 hardwood. This was the stuff I was considering using but didn't...they have a product for every floor type...don't know if you're putting carpet back down or something else but they have products for all applications. You could always just double up the subfloor with a second layer of 3/4 plywood, but this stuff would probably be easier and better, though possibly not cheaper, plus you'd have to adjust your doors and moulding to accomodate the additional 3/4: http://www.soundseal.com/impacta/impacta-home.shtml

Are you saying you don't want to hear the floor creaking when you walk on it, or that you don't want folks downstairs to hear stomping around upstairs?

Or build your own. You'd be amazed what you can do with some oak plywood and a table saw...piece o' cake.

Yeah that would totally work. I'd build in some storage compartments in the back of it for all your stuff. It would be cool to be that close to your beer when you're tying.

Not so sure about your theory OTF. How do you explain smallmouth doing so well in Canada? It's pretty cold up there. I lean toward the problem being more to do with spawning habitat than water temp.

I agree with Wayne...I'd rather be looking down at a fly than at eye level. But whatever works for you. I would make sure I had a stool or chair with a back on it, though.

No problem...I'm not against the Taney trout program. I was just curious why smallmouth didn't do well there.

What's going on with the bottom lip on that second one? He get that at the hatchery?

Right. It's not managed as a smallmouth lake, but if it was, would they thrive?

Really, I just don't know. I would assume that smallmouth could survive in a lake that supports trout in the upper parts and LM in the lower parts. Couldn't smallmouth survive somewhere on the lake, and wouldn't that be a more befitting species to spend money on supporting? Why aren't there any smallmouth in there? Or are there?

Well it's kind of political by nature, since it's a story about an (ex) politician...but the original post in itself was harmless. POST EDITED