Lund Explorer

A simple google search of "studies on released fish from bass tournaments" will give you a ton of articles to read on the subject. From what I've read years ago, some fish will return to their original capture site while others will relocate to suitable structure closer to the release site. Biggest factor is that most survive the ordeal to still be catchable. That is a vast improvement from the days when fish where brought to the scales on stringers.

How many more does your wife need for that sled team? Mackinaw Mush is just around the corner!

26 cu/ft isn't all that big when I had to feed the size of the tribe we had. Once a year we stuffed a whole cow into it, along with at least 1/2 a pig, a couple of deer, and untold amounts of fish. Those salmon aren't small! My favorite time of the year was when Jackie took all the kids to pick strawberries for freezer jam. So how big was the walk in freezer aboard that ice breaker?

Morning A-Jay! Some good advice so far, but a few other things to consider. First, buy the biggest unit that will fit the space you have for it. Keep the unused portion of the freezer full by putting in bottles/containers of ice water. The more in the freezer, the more efficient it will work. The stored ice will also help in the event of a power outage. Second, see if you can find some containers to store your frozen goodies in. I've used the older style plastic crates that they used to use for milk products. In our 26 cubic foot job, you can stack them two front/back, two deep, and five wide. We sort out product by type and make sure we rotate what goes into it. Third, buy a vacuum sealer and bulk bags. They do help fight off freezer burn. Label all of the bags with the date you put it in the freezer.

I can see it now, Clayton is sitting on some mountain top in the middle of BFE Afghanistan in a few months when his phone rings. "I'm hungry....... Come home and make me a grilled cheese sandwich!" My suggestion is to get her used to it now. Go fishing in the morning. 1st cast is with the phone into the middle of the river. After that, toss anything you want in peace and quiet. If that doesn't work, sit outside the bathroom door anytime she goes inside, and ask her endless questions. You have a two year old so you have the perfect example of what to ask. The moral of the story is that no relationship is going to last if you are required to share certain life sustaining organs with your spouse. You might as well teach her to be somewhat self sufficient now, or get yourself fitted for a shock collar.

Of all the votes for Canada, yours listed three of the top reasons I'm with you. And I couldn't care less about bacon or ginger ale!

It doesn't have to stressful at all if the boater and non-boater understands and obeys the rules. In the OP's post, he stated that those rules gave the non-boater the right to run the trolling motor for half of the day. I've fished several clubs that gave the non-boaters that option and I never had a problem going to the back of the boat for half the day. It gave the other angler a chance to setup casting angles, and at times when we were fishing docks, it gave him the first chance at some of those fish. Having boaters and nonboaters competing for the same prize money while giving the boater control for the whole day is a recipe for a failed club that has nothing to do with the nonboaters in it. Maybe it is the boaters in the OP's club that need to look for something that fits their needs better.

Because bass are a lot like trout and have many fans that enjoy their beauty. Probably the same reason why pork chops are eaten by more people than lamb chops. I mean, Mary had a little lamb, whose fleece was white as snow. Aside from Charlotte, who was friends with a pig?

Take the time off and spend it with your son. Take along a camera and get some good shots that you can take with you. Send a copy of a few them to your son on a regular basis while you are gone. Money? You're going to be in Afghanistan for a year, so what are you going to buy? Put $25 from each paycheck into a savings account and you'll have that $600 by the time you get home. Bottom line is that your son is only going to be this age once, and it's time that you both need before you go. As a matter of fact, you should probably take some time off when you get back home to spend with him again.

I smell a mystery challenge..... You might have the right lake, just the wrong end of it. The pros will be able to run into Lake Erie, but the tournament starts out of Lake St. Clair!

Welcome to the forum Leslie! Hopefully you guys have all those boat issues fixed by now. That area you guys are from have a number of great bass fishing lakes. Once you've got them patterned, I think you'll see more bass coming into the boat.

While not too many hurricanes come blowing through West Michigan, we see our fair share of weather warnings. From blizzards to tornados, it seems like half the year is spent preparing for one disaster or another. I know it's better than it was 100 years ago, but this current 24 hour a day weather/news cycle is starting to look to me like the worst of reality television programming. Just like the constant reminder that at any moment some truck is going through the ice on Ice Road Truckers, we get constant updates on the spot and on scene during every storm. If I want constant attention from the weather channel, I'd just as soon ask Stephanie Abrahms out on a date!

Does that mean I can stop pouring coffee on my computer?

I can think of a number people that don't get a chance to fish, but we'll get through it. Dwight's choice of guide got me to thinking about my own fishing lately. 13 Days for the entire year, and seven of those days were in Kentucky at this year's road trip. There were three days in May, and then again in July. Not that I would have chosen this limited amount of time on the water, but I HAVE been doing just what he suggested. I've been guiding an elderly parent through life's trials which doesn't allow for the time to go. I'm not complaining though, because I know that several other members here are helping to guide their fellow soldiers through deployments and still others who will be taking their place within the near future. Those people make my problems look small in comparison. Regardless of what has taken some of us away from the sport, we'll be back on the water at some point. I just consider myself lucky to be able to come on here during this time to enjoy fishing with the help of all your stories and posts.

Not bad looking..... What's the story behind that 50hp Merc?

Would've been a bear if his girlfriend had said he didn't make the length limit!

You'll have fun A-Jay, a lot of pomp and ceremony goes with the raising of the banner. Next in line is getting to go to see the Cup when each of the championship players is given the chance to travel with it during the off season. Now if Chris Kunitz had been playing for anybody but the Ducks.... It would have been perfect!

I think there's a bass fishing tournament/classic going on up there around that time. Are you one of the qualifiers?

IMHO I could care less what you do with your money, but I just have to wonder why you need to announce your arrival minutes before you get there with the playing of ear shattering pollution. I also have to wonder what your thoughts would be if someone else did the same thing next to where you were fishing for "Mrs. Big". I guess I will go to my grave trying to figure out why some people feel they have the right to disturb other people's lives with their choices of music, boating skills, etc., etc..

Sounds like you're getting up there right at the start of prime time. Fish the rocky points on the eastern shores of both Burt & Mullett, and work the sunken islands on Mullett too. Mullett has been overrun with gobies recently, so you should know which baits work there. Both lakes have a good population of perch which is also a good forage base. If you happen to catch any walleye, look to see if they are tagged. Some tags are worth a few greenbacks when they are turned in.

The sad but true part about raising kids is that no matter what you try to protect them from, or how much of a good example you are to them, most kids choices are decided by their peers in school.

The cables are dirty and it causing them to stick. I've had a mechanic say cleaning them will add to their life, but my advice is to replace them.

What kind of water are you going to be fishing on? That Lund is a true V-Hull, and I think the rest of those are Semi-V's. If you get into any kind of rough water, you'll be a lot happier with the Lund.

Some of you guys need to go back a re-read that article, and this time read it "S L O W L Y" The article says "It's designed to be used as a drop bait". Notice the lack of the word shot anywhere in there. Even the instructions on how to fish it talks about inserting a 1/16 to 1/8 ounce jighead into the bait. Of course most of the old timers on here can remember when Bobby Garland came out with this bait. He even had jigheads designed for use with the Gitzit. And you fished it basically as the instructions in the article stated. When you casted it out and let it sink on a slack line, the bait spiraled down to the bottom much like a dead baitfish might sink. My favorite colors were a medium smoke color with either blue or green metal flake. 99% of the hits came on the initial fall, and if you were good at watching the line you would see the bite even on that slack line. I remember one tournament I was in where I caught 17 keepers in 17 casts using nothing but a smoke/green flake Gitzit. Since those early days, fishermen and bait companies have adapted this type of lure to many other uses. Why are they called tubes? Because Bobby Garland made the mistake of getting a trademark on the name Gitzit, but never got the patent on the design. So today, only the old timers may remember the original name of these baits.

Awfully expensive gadget, but they do make them. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/Boating-Electronics/Temp-Depth-Sensors%7C/pc/104794380/c/104707080/sc/104626980/ClineFinder-Temperature-Sensor/738056.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fboating-boating-electronics-temp-depth-sensors%2F_%2FN-1100526%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104626980%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BRCcat104793480%253Bcat104707080&WTz_l=SBC%3BRCcat104793480%3Bcat104707080%3Bcat104626980