Mitch f

I could've gone all weekend without hearing that!

Thanks for the advice guys!

Nice report, sounds fun. I could never talk my wife into floating. Congrats man!!

You always seem to be going perfectly straight and all I can see is the splashing of the fish you are reeling in! I would think for a novice the temptation to cast is usually greater than the desire to correct, so they spend the rest of their fishing careers doing the wrong thing. If they would just teach themselves the correct way in the beginning, they will get at least twice as many casts, and the cast they do get will be from a better position. I guess the stability of a kayak is what makes them popular, because they are definitely more stable than a canoe. However I know the solo canoe has many more advantages once you get used to the instability. Regarding Oz Hawksley's comment, I can mostly only relate to a jet boat. The scariest scenario for me is going downstream at a slow speed and encountering a hard turn around a rock or rootwad... the current is usually trying to funnel you right at the obstacle. In this case you need to be going faster than the current (because reverse is almost never an option) so you have the ability to maneuver. However this situation is a catch 22. You want to be going fast enough to barely have the boat up on plane so you can still maneuver, but slow enough so if you do crash, no one gets hurt badly. But in any case you need to be going slightly faster than the current. I'm actually thinking about getting a whale tail (thanks Corey) this year so I can be up on plane a little easier and remain on plane at a slightly slower speed, giving you a extra second or two to react. Now, traveling up stream is always less stressful, because your boat has the current to "grab" and you always have extra control, even at zero ground speed. The un-stealthiness of a jet boat is just something I've gotten used to over the years.... what visual advantage you might gain hampers you when approaching a good fish holding spot. I have just learned to live with it...in a bigger river they have so many other advantages though!

Nice fish, always makes you come back for more. Extra man points for pulling a hog out of heavily pressured local water!

I'm the first to admit that I'm a frog novice. Because I usually fish rivers, I rarely fish areas with a lot of lily pads or scum on the top of the water. I bought a great looking SPRO frog for $10 the other day and used it for the first time today. I use a local civic park pond to test out my new lures and gave it a try. Like most all of my top water baits I usually try to walk the dog with it. The SPRO frog walks well, as long as you trim the rubber leg strands a bit. My first 2 casts produced 2 big blowups and each time the bass took the bait under the water. Both times I set the hook to have the lure fly right back at me. Man, the hook up percentage on this bait must be pretty poor. I'm obviously not waiting long enough or something. I'm also pretty sure my rod was not stout enough. Any suggestions?

A fellar could make quite a living fishin for tagged fish if he was so inclined, but it would defeat the purpose

You're right!, but not far from any of that

Suburbia rules! Not too far from the country Not too far from the city Not socially retarded Not metro sexual Not out of touch Not as much early pregnancy or meth Not as much wrapping cars around trees at 18 yrs Not as much crime or fear of getting car jacked ................ Middle, boring, predictable......

This is what I was referring to : Looks like they were confirmed by this source

Thanks for posting Phil!

Relative to this topic, I find it strange that the death toll from the Moore, Ok tornado actually dropped from 51 to 24. Seems funny they would jump the gun on a death toll.

My brother and I were cub scouts and then Webelos. We were never Boy Scouts. The scouts in Florissant MO would meet at Sunset park and shoot arrows, that was about the extent of the outdoor activities.

Welcome back! Looks like you'll be making many trips to Lebanon MO

Hog Wally, I heard those boulders right across from the ramp have eaten many a jet boat over the years...from your property you'll be able to hear the SMACK! I'll check out your property the next time I put in

Yea, I usually just stick to the fishing threads, cuz I don't know Jack about conservation, sustainable power, or Global warming. Now if you have a 70's song lyric thread....watch out Ho

I probably have around 10 go to lures and just restock them and/or replace trebles.

I guess my buddy was right about the linkage... that's a horrible story

Gems indeed! love the green rod with yellow tip!

The boxer, Simon and Garfunkel Give us a challenge Eric!!

Great story Chief, don't be serving shiners when we come down though

Great fish Andy!!

FWIW I went to Buckinghams and had a nice lunch last week and reviewed my handiwork

Turn your words around 180 degrees for the gun argument and its a bash against the dems. I have little faith that its all no more than BS no matter which side

I noticed something was different when it was being caught, just an instinct I guess. The scales above the lateral line have a more distinctive contrast around the border like a spot. As Greasy said, the mouth was slightly different than the other smallies we caught that day.