Lund Explorer

Not sure if anybody has seen this yet, but Kevin Oldham lost his battle with cancer last Friday. http://legacy.suburbanchicagonews.com/obituaries/stng-newssun/obituary.aspx?n=kevin-oldham&pid=149332515 Kevin was the the young man who was brought on to the classic weigh-in stage by Gerald Swindel on day two. Perhaps we could all spare a prayer for his family, and friends this evening. Maybe one for Gerald too as I'm sure that this will bring back a lot of memories for him as well.

Most good messages carry a lesson that is worth learning. Even if they are taught in many different ways, the important part is that we all learn and follow them. If we had that "like" function, your score would now have a more thumbs up!

I don't have that on my boat. The only way to figure out what it is though is to look on the inside of the hull, to see what it is connected to.

immaturity in teens is normal but that level if disrespect is not, at least where I came from. In the small town I grew up in though everyone knew everyone. If i had done that, if the guy at the store did not smack me, he would have known who I was and would have called my dad, personally, I would have preferred the guy at the store smacking me. Same Here! I would've been looking forward to a little "Off the Wall Counseling" as soon as I got home.

First thing you may want to do to is study what rivers/campgrounds you would be staying at. While I have never have been lucky enough to get up there, a client of mine has gone quite a few times. Fishing regulations are quite a bit different than in the lower 48. Many rivers are controlled by the property owners, both bottom lands, the water above it, and anything swimming in it. This can lead to very spotty fishing if you are limited to a small stretch of water. Contacting the campground hosts should give you an idea of what to expect and what tackle to bring along.

Exactly! For the same reason fishermen use crankbaits without rattles, not every C-Rig needs to go clickety-clack along the bottom. The key to the need to have the bait make noise deals with the amount of cover the bait is being worked through.

Good Job! It doesn't matter how many fish it takes to get the job done, you now get to play on the other guy's nickle for a few tournaments. That's got to help the budget.

From an old story on CBS News (please don't make me look for the link to it), the two parties are trying to figure out how to carve up a meager $9.2 Billion of annual revenue. Currently, the owners get the first billion with the balance split owners 40% and players 60%. New contract was going to give owners the first two billion with the balance split by the same percentages. The math work figures out to a $600 Million swing from players to owners. They also want to go from 4 preseason and 16 regular season games to 2 preseason and 18 regular games. Add in a new pay scale for rookies along with an additional year (from 5 to 6) until free agency. And just like everybody else, there would be a cost shift on who pays how much for health and disability insurance. Like I said before, it's billionaires fighting millionaires for the fans dollars. Finally, I sure hope Cam Newton can find a college that will pay him enough to go back for another year of school.

I was thinking about buying two of them. What's the old rule about a double negative?

This sort of thing couldn't happen in the world renowned SEC, could it? Until they introduce a salary cap to the NCAA, there will always be two types of college players. The first are the ones that can't follow the rules, and the other are the ones who haven't been caught!

In the last contract agreed to between these parties, the owners stated that would guarantee to pay a certain percentage of revenues to the players and their union. I would find it hard to believe that the groups lawyers wouldn't have had some kind of language that spelled out how to prove that this guarantee was met. Most likely with some sort is disclosure from the owner's financial statements. Regardless though, the bottom line is this: Billionaires are fighting with Millionaires over how to carve up the money taken from people who earn less in a year than any of these people earn in a day.

That's is going to be the plan in the front of my boat as well. My panfishing might come about for another reason though. It will most likely come from the back of the boat. Jackie IS NOT worried at all about taking a break from bass fishing if she thinks she can catch a dinner's worth of filets. If she happens across an active school of them, I just might take a break to pitch in.

Are you sure the ice will be off the lakes by the 3rd Saturday? Are you sure about that opening date? I wouldn't be surprised that the ice will last up here until the second Saturday which is the 9th of the month, and I'm pretty sure that C&R season doesn't start until the last weekend which is April 30th. You could waste one day next weekend at the GR sport show. Nothing better than paying $5 for the right to walk very slowly behind a bunch of really old fat people down crowded aisles! ;D As soon as the ice does melt, there is always crappie fishing, maybe like in the canals on Gun or Gull Lake. Usually a few dinks swimming in amongst them. Or you could go on the roadtrip. Or maybe a trip of your own down into Indiana. A weekend on Lake Wawasee maybe?

I'm pretty sure that in Michigan, a salvage title vehicle of any type is not insurable. PL/PD is okay, but you'll have whatever you pay for the vehicle at risk in an accident. You may want to talk to your agent. Unless you can afford to have somebody crunch your new ride right after you buy it, it might be that it will be more than just your truck that gets rear-ended!

In tournament fishing, you aren't going to be able to escape your weaknesses. Outside of the tournament realm, the average fisherman can fish his strengths and either do good, or simply assume that the fish weren't biting that day. But in a tournament, you'll get to weigh in against the competition, some of which will be using the baits and tactics that are your self described weak areas. You WILL have certain days when you come in after a long day with a really short sack, only to watch others come in with a limit of brutes. If you are lucky, you'll use those days entry fees not as lost money, but as tuition and learn from it. That is one of the keys to a good tournament fisherman. You'll probably use your strengths to start your day, but if they aren't working, you'll spend the rest of those days operating outside of your comfort zone. You will have a modest selection of spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and such that you will be able to haul out and give them an honest try. You'll spend more of your pre-tournament fishing using these baits as well. Finally, through a combination of learning how to strengthen your overall game, time on the water, and a pinch of luck, you will gain enough confidence in those formerly weak lures, that on some days you will actually start your day with them. You'll know how and when seasons and conditions warrant using certain baits over others. The faster you decide to work on those weaknesses, the faster you will stop donating entry fees and going home with a few other peoples money in your pocket!

I don't think physical shape should matter. Look at lineman, and some baseball players have a few extra pounds. imho anglers are athletes. I've fished tournaments and know that several days of 12 hr practice fishing and then 3 to 4 days of actual tournament time is exhausting physically and mentally. X-2.... Football players in shape? William "The Fridge" Perry! Nuff said.

You can count the Wat Dept and I to show up, though I'm not sure if we'll be drinking much vino or eating too much. After a long drive, I will most likely be hitting the bed fairly early that night. Besides, I was more interested in 7&7 being more of a drink than a time and location.

X-2! I consider a C-Rig when I want something to cover a lot of structure but at a slower pace than a crankbait. I tend to think of a C-Rig as a horizontal presentation. I will use a T-Rig or Drop-Shot when I want a vertical presentation on a piece of specific cover on that structure.

I'm not sure about the rest of these guys, but my wife fishes with me all the time. She is even coming along on the roadtrip. We have fished in tournaments together, a Ma & Pa league that she held up her end of the catch almost every day. Granted she will most likely complain to anyone that she can corner about how I "stole" her thunder one day by catching a bigger bass than her..... With only five minutes left! :'( But we go camping and fishing together quite often. I've got a daughter and several grand-daughters that enjoy fishing too. Now as far as why the women's section is concerned, I would agree with what others are saying. Just not enough ladies on here to keep the post count up. My wife gets onto her computer every so often, but I guess it just isn't her thing.

After doing accounting work for several very successful bait shops during the last 30+ years, I could probably write a book on the subject. Might do it some day. Like all businesses, the proper management can bring good profitable results. While big box stores may take away some of the customer base, the small mom and pop shops offer personal services that they can't. Internet stores also take a bite out of the sales figures for types of merchandise. But, if an owner is in tune with his/her customer base, you can stock the things that local sportsmen are willing to buy from you. David, if you are interested in looking into this venture further, you are going to want to find a good accountant that can help you work through a potential sellers records to see if the business is viable. You should work out a complete business plan that will provide you with a roadmap to success. I would also suggest that it might be worth the cost to hire a buyer's broker to help in your search of businesses that may be for sale. You must realize that if you deal with a regular real estate agent, they are contractually obligated to work for the seller, and not you. If you decide to go into this further, I would suggest that you move slowly and study this in depth. I am currently working with a long time client who recently opened a sporting goods store in my area. Times are tough economy wise, but they are making ends meet. Their investment in inventory alone was close to $200,000 on top of furniture, fixtures, and equipment. Add to that, the cost of real estate. Unless you have fairly deep pockets, you are going to need seller or bank financing. Bank financing is tough right now but not impossible, and it is normally cheaper than seller financing. If you are going to need financial help, you are going to need rock solid cash flow projections that will need to be based on the seller's historical records. This is another good reason to find an accountant that has a background working with these types of businesses. Did I mention that you are going to also want a "Line of Credit" to draw from and payoff as you transition from one season to the next? Finally, you're going to need to find a lawyer who will help protect you from the legal trappings of owning your own business. Go slow, don't jump at anything too fast, and make sure you can afford what you are looking at. Good luck. I'm not really in a position to take on a fulltime project across Lake Michigan, but if I can help, please feel free to pm me.

Maybe Amanda's hair is the same color as the truck.

The best I can come up with is by using part of your user name...... River Sticks! "Catches the H@ll out of them!"

Yup, early pad beds are fish magnets. My favorite tactic is to throw an 1/8oz bushwhacker spinnerbaits through them.

It was -3* as the sun was coming up this morning, so I'm pretty sure we won't have soft water for awhile yet. Did a real fancy dance with the bait monkey a month or so ago, and even though there's still a few things I do need this year, I have lost the motivation for now. Fishing shows were sort of interesting this weekend as I caught some repeats of shows I had missed before. FLW's college tournament yesterday was sort of interesting. I also noticed that two or three of the hosts didn't bother wearing lifejackets while running during their shows. That list included the Lindner brothers, so it must be those Lund boats are safe enough that you don't need to wear one...... Not!

LIVE Frog! Hook him through the lips with a 2/0 weedless hook, pop a big air bubble under the skin on his back, and toss him out in the middle of the pond. If Mrs. Hawg is anywhere around, this should bring you the answer.