Lund Explorer

Tyrius, You bringing up the subject of fish feeders made me chuckle. One of my clients developed and patented one of these things, and while I would agree with the fact that the fish can become conditioned, sometimes that behavior couldn't be exactly be classified as smart. Case in point was a customer who wrote them about how the fish were not only attracted to the feeder's automatic feeding times, but because the feeder had an manual feeding cycle built in, that the fish also became accustomed to rushing to the dock anytime he walked out onto it. Probably because he often hit this manual feeding cycle, the fish "learned" to trust this guy, led a few of them to an early demise. That's because one of the local Great Blue Herons "learned" about the easy fishing to be had from his dock. This bird would land on the dock each day, and walk out to the end of it near the feeder. This led to all of the SMART fish to come screaming in from all directions for the free meal, only to become the main course themselves. I'd say the jury is still out.

No problem Paul. The War Dept (A.K.A. Mrs, Lund) has been telling me for years that I'm easily confused. ;D

I have a sneaking suspicion that bass are only as smart as each fisherman needs them to be.

Thanks for helping me think about this one..... Maybe Saturday morning will find a pig-n-jig used instead of a sinker.

Trying to stay on here, but I guess my post belonged more on the Broken Fin thread. It would post here, but it got through on there.

Just to give you guys another view of why someone can "lose his way" in the game of bass fishing, I thought maybe it was time to tell you my story, and the story of my partner Mike. Mike and I first met back 40 years ago in high school. I was a sophomore when he came in as a freshman from the local Catholic school. Our mutual enjoyment of fishing cemented a friendship that lasted for a very long time. Even though our paths separated during the time we were both serving in the military, things seemed to pick right back up after our five year hiatus. Each year found us chasing trout in the spring, bass and walleyes during the summer and fall, and then right out onto the ice after bluegills and pike each winter. It was Mike who first came up with the idea about joining a bass fishing club. He had a few of his friends from work how belonged to a club, and he enjoyed the challenge that tournament fishing gave him. I guess it was only natural that I would follow in his wake. There were times when we fished against each other, and other times when we fished as a team. But regardless, we always had fishing in common. After 17 years of crazed bass fishing, that all started to change back in 2001. That was the year he learned that he had contracted ALS, what you may know as Lou Gherig's Disease. At first, it didn't change the drive that either one of us had for the sport. As a matter of fact, it never did diminish Mike's enjoyment of the sport, even when his body couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't tell you how many times he told me that his mind was still going 100mph, but the speed his body was going always got slower. This disease attacks in a slow but relentless way. For the first year or so, Mike was still able to fish basically like he always had, and we even continued to fish in a few tournaments. But some days, he just couldn't make it for the whole day. Then he progressed to that stage where a life jacket had to be worn all of the time. His balance was going along with his leg muscles, and the only safe way to be on the water was sitting down in a chair. That winter, he stopped by the house one day with his arm in a sling. A slip and fall had resulted in a broken elbow that would never heal completely. So now Mike, a guy who lived to throw jerkbaits, crankbaits, and spinners anywhere a smallmouth lived, was limited to living the life of the worm fisherman. But it didn't stop him from fishing. The tournaments were over with, but he still enjoyed the occasional day on the lake. Sure, he cussed more than normal, but it was simply frustration, and he never gave up the desire. The last time I got to visit with Mike, I had to tell him that I gave him full credit for saving a day when my wife started out kicking my butt. We were on a hot topwater bite that morning, or at least she was. Down four fish to none, I was a little worried and returned to my tackle box to find something that I could use to hold my own. And that is when I spotted a lure Mike had turned me onto years ago.... The pink Pop-R. Oh the stories that lure brings back. And this one morning got added to the list as those fish couldn't leave it alone. As I told him the story, the smile returned to his face. His body almost completely worn away by this time, his voice slurred his approval of not only the lure, but my choice in tying it on that day. It was only a few days later that his battle ended. I know this forum's rules say no politics or religion, but I hope Glenn will understand when I say that I hope he's found the chance to return to fishing in his old way. But for me, tournament fishing is now pretty much done. After Mike had to quit, I tried a few tournaments. But it just wasn't the same. Maybe a realization that mortality stares us all in the face had something to do with it. I have turned a corner, and I'm now more selfish of my own time left. Now the desire to fish is more of a drive to spend time with my children and grandchildren. I know that somewhere down deep a flicker of that old flame still burns. I feel it every time I watch some guy on TV tossing a worm under a dock, or pitching to a stump. I can almost feel the tap, and the urge to swing into a hookset is strong enough to make me want to put down my coffee. Maybe someday I'll get back into that game, but for now I live with the memories of my friend, and I try my best to make new memories for the younger members of my family.

I can't really speak about that specific Rainbow, but as a guy that has fished the waters of Lakes Michigan and Huron for a number of years, I don't think that Brown was doctored. For the most part, this fish is just like all of the other lake run fish, just bigger. These fish swim most of their lives in big water eating a very rich diet of smelt, sculpin, and alewives. The fish was also probably lucky that it most likely survived numerous spawning runs where she was either never caught, or if she had been, released to live another day. Most of the really big browns caught here are during the spring of the year right after the ice moves out. The fish follow the smelt up shallow during their spawning run and can be caught during that time. To expand on J Francho's quote that "Record fish are all a little weird.", you can add that this fish was actually making its spawning run much earlier than normal. Most lake run browns move into the rivers to spawn after the season for keeping them ends on September 30th each year. It isn't very often that you see these big fish in the rivers this time of year, but especially this year. Near shore water temperatures have been abnormally high this year which has led to a reduced the number of fish (Kings and Cohos) that have even started upstream. Had this fish escaped capture for just one more month, it would have been illegal to keep it, and hence no new record. It makes me wonder if this fish hasn't already been caught a few times. There have been "Triploids" planted in the Great Lakes by Michigan's DNR, but they were limited to a short term experiment with King Salmon. It was an attempt to see if the lake would support fish that would approach the size of the fish you see coming out of rivers like the Kenai <sp?> in Alaska. The idea was that a sterile fish would remain in the lake to grown and wouldn't move into their natal streams during the 3-4 year of life. As far as I know, that effort, which failed, has been stopped. Also, in case it hasn't been said before, this fish was caught on a Rapala Shad Rap. The fishermen were using the drop back method using a west coast style drift boat. This style of fishing is normally done by anchoring upstream of a deeper hole and allowing the baits to work downstream of the boat. These guys were actually targeting King Salmon, which while they are not really feeding once they enter the stream, will attack a bait that sits in their face until they get aggravated enough to hit it. That is the key to the drop back method of fishing, as the bait will work in the current, but not really move/change position in the hole.

That isn't hard...... Try sending Glenn a PM and tell him you're a long time listener, but first time caller. ;D

Just wing it, but start with the following..... "Sorry folks if I kind of stammer through this, but I didn't have time to prepare for this. What with all the trouble I had finding the perfect stripper for the bachelor party and all, I just didn't have the time. But I am happy to see that she accepted my brother's invitation and did make it here......." At this point, it really isn't going to matter what you say. Half the crowd will be starring daggers at the groom, and the other half, mostly the guys how didn't make the party, will be busy trying to figure out who "SHE" is!

A person only needs to look at their state's fish consumption advisories, or the invasive species lists, to see that mankind has made a huge impact on our aquatic environment. The same story holds true on dry land. Its a whole lot better than it used to be, but I'm sure that there are many things we could still be doing to protect our natural resources.

Excellent post Hidepounder. And then add to this the cities such as Grand Rapids, Michigan where an inch of rainfall can cause a spill of up to a million gallons of raw sewage into the Grand River system. Also, though I can't remember the exact source, I've seen this issue covered in the media prior to this. I think it dealt more with RX drugs that were passing through water treatment plants.

Dave and his buddies were hanging out and planning an upcoming fishing trip. Unfortunately, he had to tell them that he couldn't go this time because his wife wouldn't let him. After a lot of teasing and name calling, Dave headed home frustrated. The following week when Dave's buddies arrived at the lake they were shocked to see Dave. He was already sitting on the dock, fishing rod in hand, and drinking a beer. His buddies asked, "How did you talk your missus into letting you go Dave?" Dave replied. "Last night I came home and slumped down in my chair with a beer to drown my sorrows thinking how much I wanted to go fishing. Then the ol'lady snuck up behind me and covered my eyes and said, 'Surprise'. When I peeled her hands back she was standing there in a beautiful see through negligee and she said, 'Carry me into the bedroom and tie me to the bed and you can do whatever you want'. SO I DID AND HERE I AM!

I can understand why people like a topwater bite, but I think anyone who has a 5 lb+ Smallmouth hit a jerkbait with the power that almost (and in some cases does, if you are not paying attention) rips the rod from your hands would put a jerkbait bite right up there (if not above) a topwater bite. x3

Dang Koop, 134 points? Must be you've got Drew Brees on your roster.

Accountant. And after 33 years, Semi-Retired!

Not sure what 40 acres holds, but I've seen what Lake Michigan can do during the winter. Poor Koopa sits in Wisconsin some mornings when its 15 below zero, and when that same air hits here its at 15 above. All we have to deal with is all of the extra snow.

Lost a bow mount trolling motor once. Running on Lake Michigan and one rouge wave submarined me into the wave ahead. When the bow popped back up the trolling motor was in the down position, but just for a few seconds before it blew four ugly holes through the front deck. Thank God I had good insurance!!!

Hmmm, great idea for a new thread..... "Regional Names for Critters!" Up here, our favorite name for Seagulls in The Dump Chicken! Always a real good idea to keep a pair of leather gloves in the boat when you have to remove a hook from one of those darn things.

You know something Roger? It almost makes a guy want to sell his bass boat and buy something he could use to troll for fish like that..... Say a Lund Explorer! Seriously, the near shore waters from Manistee north to Frankfort are a great place to tie into one of these brutes. Most of them are caught during the spring of each year (April 1st - June 1st). I try to get over there at least a couple of times to troll for them, because you just never know. We long line Rapalas either right behind the boat or to the shore side using planer boards. I'd hate to say that so far that the biggest I've ever gotten weighed just under 13lbs. A decent fish, but only a great, great-granddaughter to anything that size.

Imagine the size of the hush puppies!

Maybe not painting a musky, but the last State record had to go into the DNR's lab to make sure it wasn't an Atlantic Salmon. These big lake run browns have a bright silver color until they make their fall spawning trip up the river. From the color of this one, I'd have to say its been in the river for a few weeks. Here's a picture of that previous record.....

This just seems like a really stupid question, but where were the two guys that got thrown out of that boat? While it makes a rather intense video for you tube, I have to wonder if anyone bothered to try to find them. I'm afraid I would have been more concerned about the victims.

Rockford angler Tom Healy just may have caught the world record brown trout at 41lbs - 7oz! Here's the whole story as report on MILive.com.... http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2009/09/rockford_angler_tom_healy_hook.html Wow!

Hey Palomar, Welcome to the wonderful world of phishing! The IRS never emails anyone, including us preparers. Here is the real link to the IRS website were you can report this scheme. http://www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=179820,00.html?portlet=1

Howdy Neighbor! You've just set down on one of the best honey holes on the net. So drop you're trolling motor and cast around a bit. It's amazing all of the things that you can add to your livewell of knowledge here. LE