Lund Explorer

Stocker Trout - They're just another variation of trout found in small streams or the Great Lakes. The biggest difference is in how they were raised and the food source that stocker trout feed on. That's going to be pellets, the kind that float until the fish eat them. 1st - Go down to the local Feed & Seed Store that carries Purina Fish Chow - Predator Mix. Buy enough to fill a lunch size paper bag. 2nd - Pick up some Berkley Power Baits that match the size/color of those pellets that you can rig onto a aberdeen style hook. Tie a casting bubble onto your main line, and the hook onto a 3' leader. No Weight Needed. 3rd - When you get to this pond, start tossing out small portions of the pellets until you locate a school of these fish. Once you have them located, cast you line into the middle of the frenzy. Once the school spooks, move along until you get more fish coming up to those pellets.

Only once back in the days of Coho Fever did we ever see the CG on Lake Michigan. That was in the days before everybody carried safety gear, or radios. Eleven miles NW of Portage Lake's breakwalls, your comrades came out to warn all of us off the lake. Most made it back, but some didn't. Riding into the waves until they ran out of fuel the waves pushed them ashore. Next wave crashed over the stern and sucked them right back into the surf. We were one of the lucky or semi-smart ones that wrapped up and headed for shore pronto. Still it was quite an adventure to go between the waves and see nothing but water on all sides that first time. You'd crest a wave and see boats all around you when a moment before you would have sworn you were all alone. After that, we learned to keep a sharper eye on the weather.

Hopkins Spoon?

As well as some real tragedy. A few years ago one of the local news stations replayed the radio calls between the Coast Guard and the Arthur Anderson which was the ship ahead of the Fitzgerald as they were trying to seek shelter behind Whitefish Point. Unbelievable that they turned to in that storm to go back looking for them when they went off radar. I've been in some white-knuckle trips on Lake Michigan in waves a mere fraction of what they faced. Makes me question my sanity every time I pass the end of the breakwalls.

I had the pleasure (?) of going to the classic when it was held in Chicago. Weigh-ins held inside Soldier Field, the audience wrapped around the endzone from about the 20 yard line. Parts of it were interesting while long periods were down right boring. Hardly anything I could say wanted to have me standing and screaming. On the final day, other than not knowing if Woo was going to pull it out, my mind kept returning to a four hour drive home after getting out of miserable parking. If BASS wants to see more emotion involved in their showcase event of the year, then they need to figure out a way to not hide all of the action that is taking place on the water.

J - Waves like those always reminds me of the words to a song: "With a load of iron ore 26 thousand tons more, than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty......" My answer to the original question is YES!

There you go, let them put on an air show! Half the fun of hooking into a big smallie is watching to see how high he/she can clear the surface.

I wish I was in the boat with them!

For the last two games, they've done themselves wrong. Granted with Datsyuk out that they had to shuffle the lines around, but all I've seen is a bunch of guys who have lost an edge so to speak when it comes to puck control. At least they did pick up another point last night and I'm sure they will figure out their other problems soon enough.

Not sure that your new addition to the pack should be nipping at any of the human members, but hopefully its just a one time thing. As your wife should be the one that controls all of the others in the home (while you're gone), it would be a good thing if she was to learn more about how to read your dog's body language which in turn will give her an idea of what the dog's state of mind is. Many of those lessons can be passed along to your boys as they get older so that they can recognize telltale signs when they meet other dogs in the future. A simple Google search came up with several good links that you may wish to share with her. http://www.aboutgermanshepherddog.com/how-does-your-gsd-communicate http://aringsburgkennel.blogspot.com/2009/01/understanding-german-shepherd-dog.html We all become better pack leaders when we understand what our dogs are trying to tell us.

I hate to say it, but I've only recently started watching your show. Finally got that fancy cable teler-vision out here in the sticks. Good news is that even the older shows are brand new to me and I really enjoy them.

Okay Mike, your show is on NBCSP & WFN at the same time. Which show is the current year? BTW, I decided to watch your day on the lake with Louie!

Agreed! 5" Kalins Grubs have been a go to bait for smallies for many years. I've fished them on an assortment of jigheads and t-rigs. They're also good baits for largemouth when they move off the deep weedlines in the summer. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of these new grubs a while ago when the Big O tossed one at me and said; "Your a smallmouth guy, what do you think of this?". Once the natural cramp left my hand, I reluctantly gave it back to him knowing full well that I'd have another weapon to add to my grub/tube bag this spring. I can only imagine the action that tail is going to give off. Like a 8" smallmouth, the saying will most likely be that this grub thought it was six foot tall and made of dynamite! Now I only have to wait for the water to turn soft and warm up just a touch.

I absolutely agree with preach4bass when he says that he doesn't look down at a tradesman. Most of my clients are tradesmen, and they are some of the hardest working people I've ever met. From the home building trades to an auto mechanic, they all have the gift to make and/or repair the things that we college educated folks couldn't live without. Some of the best meals I have ever eaten were prepared by a person with the title of cook rahter than chef. Everyone has God given talents and abilities that differ across a wide spectrum. It doesn't matter if you are the CEO of the world's largest company or the guy that digs a ditch, when a person can find that talent and works to the best of their abilities they deserve our respect.

After all of the threads dealing with guys trying to get into shape, diets, etc., I figure we should give equal time to those goodies we all love. For myself and many others in The Mitten, the Polish pastry called a Paczki is a can't miss today. #1 selling brand is filled with prunes, but I have better luck with the blueberry or raspberry type. So what's your poison?

The loss of a dog is tragic to everyone that has learned the joy of having them in our lives. Your post brings up the thought that some day we will have to do the same with ours. Perhaps the reason I copied Glenn's previous reply on this subject. While there is grief in your post, I also found it heartening that you've chosen to rescue a new member for your pack. Candi's luck has changed for the better.

Not only do we get to watch the red hot Red Wings, now with 23 straight home victories, we get even more quality hockey action right here at home. Big Rapids, Michigan - Home of the Ferris State Bulldogs - #1 in NCAA Division 1 Hockey. Not too shabby from a school with only a fraction of the students many of the other schools have. Sometimes nice things happen on the ice!

For every marriage that goes south, there is another that has endured throughout the lives of the spouses. Guys like BassinSoldier just happens to have ended up on the wrong side of odds and now has a spouse that thinks it is her life's work to his life miserable. The best any of us can do is to join with Scrutch in his efforts to offer moral support and to agree with the advice Wild Bill and others have given with regards to seeking legal help. But don't worry, this whole situation is a guy thing. We circle the wagons because we all know that at some point we're one moment from having to go through this same type of thing. The good news is that it isn't too late for you to join!

I'm afraid I don't qualify. When I hit 50 the kids were all gone, no debts including the house, and the wife's job provides our health insurance which is the only reason she is still at work. She has 3 more years before her retirement kicks in with insurance included. The cost of her insurance, which is top of the line - $1450 per/month for the two of us. It goes up 10-15 % every year so do the math from 50 to age 65, if medicare is going to be available. So how many more years before the mortgage is paid off? IMHO, 50 is old enough to change jobs if you have maxed out the current pension, but too young to not look at another career. Like others have said, take all your finances into a qualified advisor near you and have them lay out the options you have both short and long term.

I would suggest starting out $1,500 higher. You can always give a "Bass Resource Discount" to a member here, but from my days in the military, service members can get raked over the coals when a local buyer knows you're short timing a move. Give them the chance to whittle you down in price to what you wanted all along!

I sure hope nobody is happy and/or chipper about that!

Spring!

"Anyone who says that onions are the only vegetable to make you cry never had to use a cob to wipe!" - Larry the Cable Guy "I once had a date with a cougar. On second thought, with all those liver spots she was more like a leopard!" - Same demented source!

The lesson being to only launch on weekdays!

Hey Jeff, my opinion would be to put in on the market seeing as you'll be gone for up to three years. While it is hard to give up something that fits perfectly today, I'd venture a guess that new technology in that time period will make your next purchase just as good. As far as value goes, I would say you should be looking at 80%-85% of the $23k invested which is based on the old depreciation rule of 10% per/year for tin and 20% / 5% per/year for glass. Good news is this is the time of year to sell a boat in many parts of the country as fishing season is getting ready to fire up. Good luck in your travels, and here's hoping that some kind of fish is available where you're going. Steve