WookieeJedi

I prefer mono for them as well. I use 20#-30# Cajun Line primarily. This will be the first year I try out braided line on them. I have some 60# braid strung on a rod just for using the Bama rig. That could get interesting.

For me, they were gateway metal. The metal health album got me into listening to Judas Priest, then it was on to Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Motorhead.

Previous to getting Gaston, I had kept herding dogs, mostly German Shepard Dogs. I had to retrain myself to training Weims, they don't just listen like herding breeds. Once I taught myself to use food incentives as my primary training tool, I found that the sky is the limit with these dogs. You can really train them to do anything, and I do mean ANYTHING. There are some ground rules to living with a Weimeraner. 1. Unattended food is fair game. 2. It isn't a fence, it is a puzzle. 3. The word "indestructible" on the label of a dog toy is a lie. 4. Excitement will not be contained physically. 5. That leash is there so YOU can keep up.

I'm glad there are some other Weimeraner folks on here. They aren't for everybody.

Zara Spook and Chug Bug

Yes, then it will be lifejackets and beer coozies.

I have taken as many as 5 with me in the canoe when fishing alone. In the kayak, the max is 4. I would rather have just one or two, and I shrink the number of rods when I think I can get away with it.

Abita Amber

If it were mine, I would be tempted to touch-up the color on the back some; but I don't think it is to the point of necessity, especially if the fish still like it. I would definitely take a little red paint and rub it into the scratches on the sides. I like mine a little zombified.

Retired NOPD, due to injury. Now I am a Contract Arbitrator or Mediator, depending on client needs. I am also a Master Lure Tinkerer and Designer!

I have a spot like that. I usually hit it at least once if I'm on that end of the lake. Twice in 20+ years it has failed to yield a fish, and it has only given up a couple of dinks, most of them have been 3+. It is really strange, that spot has changed a lot over the years, and even had a boat house put in right next to it. It is a fish magnet.

Joe Satriani is the guitar Chuck Norris.

I love Newfs. I babysat one for a buddy back in school over one summer. We went swimming nearly every day. I would have wound up getting one if not for the hair and slobber. I had a lot of fun with that dog, and he could catch a regulation football in his mouth. You just didn't want it back.

I went to Dick's website, and they only have 3 colors of bang-o's, none of them with a spinner. That's OK with me, it's a start. I hope they make it. I'll chip in a few bucks for sure.

I had no idea they were back in production. I will have to check them out. I would love to pick up some balsa bang-o lures.

Why would I blame Merc? I'm more familiar with OMC, so I would most likely use one of theirs, but I got nothing against Merc. I don't mind going a little over budget on a project like this, if the upgrade is good enough. There are only several thousand things that can go wrong when you start something like that, it isn't so bad if you go in eyes wide open and don't mind the taste of grease on your sammich. The whole thing sounds like fun.

My grandfather, easy. He was into bass fishing before it was much of a thing. I remember he had this Terry bass boat that was the state of the art when he got it. Foot-control trolling motor, sonar flasher (nobody had those back then), and a genuine livewell under the center bench complete with "electrical" water pump. He even beta-tested some Smithwick lures for the company. I still have a few of them. I can see why they never went into production. I would like to take him out on a new, fully-rigged boat, just to show him the gadgets. 360 sonar, digital imaging, 4-stroke motors, GPS, LED lighting, trolling motors, even the materials used to build the boat would blow his mind. That's before we even get to what's in the tackle box, or start using baitcasters that rarely backlash, and weigh less than 2 pounds, or fish with a spinning rod with 20# line. That would be a fun day.

I wear Vibram 5 Fingers a lot. I got 'em to help with a low back issue, but now I'm so spoiled to them, I wear them everywhere. They are really good for fishing, especially out of the kayak. The only thing I wear other than those are some old-school white pull-on canvas boat shoes. $5 at wallyworld.

Core fee? That sounds just like New York. I'm a little further South, and Boudreaux and Geautreaux don't have core fees, just back lots full of stuff. Stuff with wasp nests, snakes, and animals living in them. Plus, you get a discount and a free beer if you get bit.

I remember my Grandfather fishing with a 4'6" True Temper rod with one of the old baitcasters strung up with dacron line. The handle would spin when he cast it, and it weighed a few pounds. That's probably why his forearms looked like Popeye.

I may just. I have a boat build planned. I have two other builds to do first, so it will be a while before I start it. That would make a good thread. I did a similar thing once before. I had sold my first rig, a Tidecraft Spitfire, and bought a Pro Gator. The Gator had a Evinrude 85 with a bad lower. I found another boat with with the same unit, just a good lower and bad motor. The I wound up buying the whole rig. That upper had great compression, and lasted for years. I swapped out trolling motors, and got a 65 Merc to put on the back of the swap boat. I had to do some work to get it running right, but wound up selling the swap boat for more than I paid for it, and I had an upgrade trolling motor and parts hog for my Evinrude to boot. I only ever used the water pump, though. I got these "problem" boats so cheap, it was almost like a free boat. Very satisfying experience when you do something like that.

I know of a couple of places around here that have some outboards for next to nothing. Some of them have bad lowers, some of them have bad motors, and the lower is just fine. A motivated gearhead could probably buy a combination of units, do a little work, and have an entire custom-made running motor for under 5 bills.

Hyper doesn't begin to cover it. He still doesn't think 75 pounds is too big to be a lap dog. They do settle into a groove after the puppy stage. Any unsecured property left in the backyard is still forfeit, though. Being blind only slows him down when we take him out of there. He has the whole yard memorized, and he uses his nose more than ever. I had him trained to track deer, and I still think he could do it if I kept him on a leash for the search.

4 y/o Weimaraner. He's a good dog. He got stabbed and clobbered over the head by what we assume was a prowler while we were away, he's fine now, but he has gone blind from the head trauma. I hope the clown who did it has a big scar, to remind him how lucky he was that I wasn't at home.

When I first started kayak fishing, I got burned up on my ankles just above my feet. I always wear some kind of shoe, too many things in the water here to not, and I like to dangle my feet. Now I keep two lower sections of some zip-off pants in the boat. I just slip them on.