JohnF

Your place looks great. JF

Quit yer griping. At least yer barber goes home to bed with you. JF

That's a lot of ego to be on the floor at the same moment. We saw how much of a team player James was in the playoffs. I guess the strategy is to have 3 individual attacks happening concurrently to confuse and overwhelm the opposition. Should be interesting to see how expensive it is to keep #6 on the King's back. I might have to start watching bball again just to see how this strategy works. I'm also curious to see how the refs deal with Bosh's videographer following him around the floor during play. JF

I wonder if what we're experiencing is a kind of tribal ethics thing. We may bicker like siblings about little things but we don't want to betray the group trust. It's something we can take pride and confidence in all at the same time. I like it. JF

That's politics in a nutshell. I don't get it how anyone with a brain in their head continues to buy into the hypocrisy politicians shovel our way. The idea of that otherwise intelligent folks blindly defend everything any one party stands for is stunning, and I don't care if it's GOP & Dems or Liberals & Conservatives up here in Canada. The only constant in politics is that politicians will always end up making liars of themselves. The only way to keep up is by waffling. If you wanna espouse a principle long term then be prepared to change party loyalties a few times. JF

I'm no expert but the answer to both questions is "probably not". If it were to go to his insurance company, or if your company was to accept liability (I realize you don't want to go thru the insurance companies), they would not likely pay out an amount in excess of the book value. His company could settle with him if he has collision coverage and then subrogate against your company. Knowing they would have to subrogate and that your company would not likely pay more than book value they sure wouldn't pay out more themselves. As for the other question you might try offering to buy the vehicle for book value ignoring the damage. Then you'd be able to address the repairs however you wished and he might be content with the cash. Otherwise you're on the hook to reimburse him for the damages if that's what he wants. I have no idea how you deal with a repair cost in excess of the book value without litigation which will mean legal fees and costs. JF

I agree. I think my Pilot had more power than my Flex does and it hauls Garry2rs Ranger just fine. I noticed a guy pulling a bassboat one a single axle (so presumably in the 17' range) with no apparent diffculty using a Ford Escape and another guy pulling a bassboat about that size with a RAV4. JF

I would talk to my insurance agent. That doesn't commit me to running it thru insurance but it gets me an informed idea of my options. JF

There's obviously a high trust factor present in our group. That's great. Hopefully no one abuses it for their own profit. JF

I'm always on the watchfor those things, particularly the deep water after a riffle. There are a number of such places in my usual haunts yet none of them have been particularly productive, even when the lower end of the pool holds fish. I also cast ahead behind rocks but without much luck. But then that's what I mean about predictability. As for the crabby graphic - I'm sure crayfish are popular forage given the numbers I'm seeing. I could trap a few live or use the stinky plastic ones I bought. I've had some luck with those. JF

Not sure about the park. Are you talking right in town? JF

My buddy Rob uses nothing but the old original grey floating Rapala minnow twitched slowly on the surface. It works for him. I'm too impatient to work that slow. The other day he lost his last Rap and had to load on a #9 size minnow in some other pattern. He just knew it wouldn't work and of course it didn't, twitched slowly on the surface. I suggested he try walking the dog. Once I explained it to him he tried it and guess what - strike on the first cast. Then he got a succession of hits and hooks. Of course he immediately went out and stocked up on the old faithful grey #5 Raps and will forget the walk the dog style completely. JF

I think what he does with yer ass should be just between the two of you. JF

So I’m trying to think like a smallmouth (bass, that is). Specifically one who lives in a rocky bottomed shallow creek with no cover or depth and next to no shade. When would I feed most aggressively? When would I be looking up and when down for food? If there is an abundance of natural forage (craws & minnows) would I be more likely to go after something completely different or something that resembled the natural forage? Am I most likely to be sucked in by a reaction type bait or a still or slow moving bait? Do I react best to live bait, and if so, what? Do I school with other smb’s or look for a nice private spot as my kingdom? Now lets look at it from the pov of a human fisherperson. Is there a best time of day for small creek smb’s? Is there an only better time? Is there an absolutely pointless time? When to go topwater like a twitched minnow or a buzzbait? When to go bottom like a wacky worm or bounced tube or jig? Is there any rhyme or reason to a smallmouth’s thinking in these water conditions or is it just luck of the draw? Do I fish in the shadow of trees and banks or in direct sunlight? I’ve spent the last 4 years trying to figger this out and I’m still getting surprised constantly. It shouldn’t be rocket science. There aren’t that many options for the bass in my creek. When I fish with some of you in your own stompin’ grounds you seem to know where to look, when to look and what to use. Now, after 4 years of diligent effort I have yet to get a clue. I have a pretty good idea where to find bass and where to find pike but that's about it. The 18 incher I pulled out of 12” of water at noon on a hot sunny day kinda shredded much of the paradigm I’ve constructed. Any thoughts would be appreciated. JF

Nope, but I remember her. I actually had hair when she was here. JF

I hadn't even seen it when I chucked the tube out. I suspect it might have been mid-trip from one pool to the other and I just happened to put the tune in the right place at the right time. JF

So what's yer point? JF

I think you just failed the test. JF

Is this a test, Roy? JF

That's like telling everyone not to touch your full beer while you hit the head at Lakair in June. JF

If we're talking about the same pike pool my buddy just called last night to say he just pulled his best smallmouth so far this year out of there. I've never had much luck with bass there myself, only pike. Are you talking above St.Marys under the willow trees? JF

Don't worry about payback. I'm lousy at accounting anyway. It's really just an excuse for another day in/on the water. C'mon up. JF

I'll bet Johnny's a good guy. He just takes some of this stuff too seriously. I learned long ago not to sweat the small stuff. There's way too much heavy stuff way too close to each of us to worry about without fussing about the stuff over which we have no control. I'd fish with him. We'd probably get along fine. We'd sign an agreement not to mention HST beforehand. JF

Perfect. Actually I remember one of our baby docs telling my wife it was good to drink a little Kahlua before nursing the baby. He said it calmed them down. JF

I think I've already posted it here, but part of my plan for this summer is to get some smallmoutns on the fly. Mebbe you could give me some lessons on my water. That's a great trade for me. JF