Olebiker

I have a couple of inexpensive Daiwas that are just great, a Revo SC that I will probably sell (it has been a major disappoinment), 2 Quantum Accurist PTs that are very nice, but nothing is as smooth and reliable as my Pflueger Trion baitcaster. It is a 5.1:1 retrieve that I bought for crankbaits and large spinnerbaits. I plan to buy another one after I sell the Revo.

I pull my 17 foot Bass Tracker using the bumper on my Mazda B2500 with no problem at all.

Born in Sunfish, Kentucky. Grew up in Louisville. Now happily living in Tallahassee.

My 1984 Bass Tracker Tournament TX is rated for 80 hp.

I looked at some Xpress boats yesterday and some red flags went up immediately. There seemed to be a lot of creases in the aluminum where the hull made the transition from the bow to the side of the boat. It looks like a real candidate for a stress riser. As far as comfort in an aluminum boat. . . I have an easy chair in my den. I don't need one on the water ;D I would swap a little bit of a rough ride any day for not having to do all the maintenance and babying a glass boat takes. I can also get by with a lot less horsepower and burn a lot less gas in my old Tracker.

They told me there wouldn't be any math. . .

I'm 57. I am reminded of what my father used to say, "Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes." (Long Mike: We missed you around here.)

Well, I have the open line of credit and enough husband points built up. I dropped the boat off this afternoon and it will be ready in about 10 days.

It would cost about $2,500 to rebuild it and I would still have a 24 year old motor. Besides, it doesn't have power trim and tilt. When I lived in Kentucky that was no problem, but down here in Florida it is necessary.

I'm getting a 50 hp Mercury four stroke. It's a previous year's model that the dealer is giving me a great deal on.

I'm having a tough day at work. My boat is sitting in the parking lot waiting for me to get off so I can go to the dealer and get a new four stroke Mercury installed. I'm antsy. What I am wondering is this: Is the old motor worth anything at all? The old motor is a 1984 Mercury 50 hp. It starts fine and runs smoothly but just doesn't have much power. The compression on the three cylinders is 150, 140, and 135. hould I just have the dealer junk it?

Wench: Winch:

Darn, looks like I was misinformed.

One of the nuns that taught first grade at St. Thomas More in Louisville had a moustache. She was scary.

Nice wedding dress.

Flooger has the same deal. Nice long sleeved T-shirt, though, and well worth the shipping and handling.

I think that nun taught me in the fourth grade at Our Lady of Perpetual Hysteria.

OKEECHOBEE An Okeechobee teen lost his arm to an alligator early Sunday, after he tried to swim across a canal. Kasey Edwards, 18, was drinking with some friends at about 2 a.m. at Nubbin Slough, a canal that empties into Lake Okeechobee, when he went into the canal, said Okeechobee County sheriff's Detective Ted Van Deman. An 11-foot alligator rose from the water and bit Edwards, trying to drag him down. Edwards fended off the attack by grabbing an orange buoy in the water, Van Deman said, but the alligator bit off Edwards' left arm below the shoulder. Edwards swam to the other side of the canal, where his friends met him and called for help. Edwards was flown to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne. Rescuers captured the alligator and found Edwards' arm in its stomach but the arm was too damaged to reattach, Van Deman said. Nubbin Slough is a fishing spot that is well-known for having alligators, Van Deman said. The detective said that while at the site on Monday he counted 13 alligators.

You boys have a serious death wish.

Thank goodness there are restrooms at the ramp. By the time I get there that coffee has kicked in and you will see me legging it trippingly toward the facilities.

I have the boat hooked up the night before and my fishing clothes laid out in a spare room so I don't wake SWMBO while getting ready. I have a bagel already schmeared and in the refrigerator ready to go. All I have to do is brush my teeth, put the tackle and Playmate cooler in the boat, and kiss the bride good-bye. I pick up a cup of coffee at the local Petro station and get to the lake well before dawn. I hate to go without shaving, so I will often shave before going to bed the night before so I don't feel so grubby. The lake I fish has a lot of shallow stumps, so I dare not run to big motor until daylight. I will start fishing a topwater close to the ramp until safe light.

I'm a sneaky devil. My wife wants one for her birthday which is coming up in August. I bought it from Bass Pro Shops so I could get the reward points. I bought her a TomTom One XL 330 based upon what a couple of friends have to say about their TomTom units. With TomTom, you don't have to pay for updates. They are free.

Oh, they got that superfund site cleaned up?

I got approval from the War Department to get a 50 HP Mercury four stroke for my Bass Tracker. I am really looking forward to having power trim.

I wish I was fishing, but I AM having fun. My daughter and her husband are out of town for the weekend and we are watching my 2 year old grandson. We spent the evening watching Happy Feet and A Bug's Life and eating Teddy Grahams. Tomorrow we are going to buy him a life jacket so he can go out on the boat with me for the first time. He loves playing in the boat in the driveway. I am curious to see how he likes being on the water. Being a grandfather is a lot more fun than being a father.