JohnF

Been there. Done that. Not the dying part - the support, and the grieving part. Dunno which is harder, but I guess one day we'll all get to find out. In the meantime tell Brad that yer coming to collect - somehow, and that he should save a place for you in the boat. I kinda suspect that the dying folk sometimes like a little down to earth (or just plain fun) talk that doesn't directly involve dying and sad stuff. They have enuf of that on their minds as is. So find a nice balance that includes the dying part obliquely with BSing him that it won't happen, cuz it will, and he knows it, and distracting him from that inevitable event coming to pass. I went thru this recently with my best friend. It sucked - for both of us - but I guess it sucked more for him. Some of us (his friends) were able to laugh at his funeral about the stuff we had said to him, and that he had said to us. I still laff sometimes at things that were said, and that makes me feel better. I hope it makes him feel better, cuz that means he's watching, and that's good. One regret I'll die with is not having the chance to talk this over with our oldest boy before he died. His death came without warning (car accident) and I'll never get over the things I wish we'd said. For those who missed it, that's advice to parents who don't talk enuf to their kids. We were on great terms, and I think very close, but I still wish I hadn't taken him so for granted. The same goes for good friends. Cherish your family and your friends while they're with us cuz they may be gone too fast. I hope we all get to come back for a critique of how our family & friends handled our passing, and we can all show them somehow that we appreciated the way they handled it, or not. I like the idea of raining fire and brimstone on those who screwed it up. I guess we'll never know what's what till we're the one being buried, but I ain't takin' no chances. End of sermon. Give Brad a thumbs up for me. It never hurts. JF

I was gonna suggest something like that. That's the reason we deal with established retailers, so we can go back to them when we have issues with the stuff we buy from them. I had a minor problem with a rod I bought a while back. I dropped in to the Fishing Store here in town and asked what I needed to do. He told me to drop it off. He'd deal with it. I like easy. JF

Sheesh! You sound like most of the girls I ever dated. They tended to leave off phone numbers and stuff. I just figgered I picked forgetful women until I figgered it out, then I married the first that gave me a phone number. I'll mail the cheque in the morning. Good job on the fundraiser. We need more folks willing to make the effort. It's fun to play but someone has to take the initiative and do the organizing. I used to do that stuff, but I got old and tired. Now it's easier to write a cheque and play (when I can find the time). I'm gonna hold you to that invitation to fish down there once I get this d----d move out of the way. I have some new rods, reels and lures that need a workout. JF

How did you get an address? I guess Ryan doesn't want my money. JF

And just blame his blushing on sunburn. JF

Mine spoils me. What can I tell ya? JF

No way! She did it for him, so he should honour her intent and get something that will make him come home saying "Thank you, dear." over and over again. She'll treasure that becuz that was what she was shooting for in the first place. JF

I wuz only parroting what I heard from folks who really know. Seems they were right. All the more reason to rely on experience. In this case it was a kid (with earrings and some tats no less) less than half my age who runs The Fishing Store in my town. Between him and his dad they know more about fishing than I'll ever know. It's easy to defer to them cuz they're usually right and I save money in the long run. It's great when we can deal confidently with someone who can sustain a business while being honest with the customers. We should all be so lucky to have that kind of local shop. JF

If you've alreay got a good assortment of gear, then blow it on something great, or at least good. Think like a guy standing on the deck of a bassboat. There should be a solid variety of rigs already lured and ready to toss to the followers. Odds are yer wife will be perfectly happy with a wacky worm on a spinning rod whilst you toss the buzzfrog on a really nice baitcaster. Everybody wins! JF

I'm not arguing their impact. I'm just wondering if there's an end to their involvement in a specific area, and the imminence of the revival of the area. Sometimes Mother Nature works in mysterious ways. This may be one of Her crazy little schemes that makes lotsa waves in the short run but in fact means bupkis in the big picture. The fact that we fisherpersons are inconvenienced, or merely offended, by the desecration/depredation of the nasty black feathered beasties isn't really relevant in the long run, as much as we tend to believe the sun rises and sets around us. These birds may only be here for a short time, not a good time, and we may well outlive them here. Perhaps they're like Zebra Mussels. They flare and fade away, to be replaced by Eastern Gobies, which may well be replaced by Asian Carp leaping into our boats as we rip and snort off the waterways at the end of the fishing day. The world goes on, and on, and on, etc. There will always be trials for us to address and deal with. As long as we come out on top we'll remain at the apex of the animal hierarchy. When we can no longer deal with the trials is when we need to learn to deal with our diminution in the chain of life. JF

Right! Like we need an excuse to buy more crap. I already have enuf fishing gear for several guys to go bass hunting in style. I seriously doubt we need camo to sneak up on bass. They're about as subtle as a bean fart in a small room. I'll put my bux into more toys. JF

I wasn't aware this was going on, but I can tell you from personal experience (my wife's) that this crap can be beaten back with will and perserverance (with a lot of help from a good diet and lifestyle). She's become a green veggy monster. Sounds like you've got the attitude to beat it, so go for it, and if you believe in prayers and good wishes, then you'll be getting a little help from this quarter. All the best in yer ongoing battle. If numbers count in this existance, then I suspect you've got 'em happening from OFC. JF

Dyslexia is the next funrdaiser, Randine. JF

I'll add one more then. If you'll also moon Dave (Ryan's already doing it) on the show I'll add another $100. It's not that I personally need or want to see yer pale butt shining in the sun, rather that I think it might be seriously funny to see how Dave could figger out how to include it in the show to get the money for a good cause. I picture Dave trying to record the show with this weird guy holding a huge bass & mooning him from another boat all thru the recording session, and Dave doing his Dave thang - that crazy loony laff, only this time pointing at a pale moon rising over the gunwale of a boat floating within camera range. I can hear him now - "OOOOO HEEEEE AAAAA WAAAA" (or whatever the hell that noise is that passes for delighted laughter), "There's a huge moon rising off the port bow, and it's scaring my fish. They're all dropping roe like there's no tomorrow. AHHH Haaaa Haaa". Or something like that. Dave's a showman. He can build lotsa drama, suspense, and comedy into it, and it's fer a good cause. I'm all for finding a cure for cancer of any kind. Too much of it going around these days. And it would be a hoot to watch on tv, just to see how he handles it, and the best part is that only you and Ryan would be humiliated. Ryan could fiddle the schedule for you so you could be hanging around at the opportune moment in the filming. This could open up a whole new genre of live fishing shows - the moonfishers. I can see it all now - Dave Mercer's Mooners Strike Again. It could be even bigger than his signature baits. Folks would watch the show, not for the fishing, but to see who would turn up nekkid next. Celebs would be lining up to moon Dave on WFN for the "exposure'. I like it. JF

I am now using one of each and haven't figgered out which I prefer. I think I toss 'em reasonably well and there doesn't seem to be a problem switching hands after the cast. Left hand crankers suggest that it saves time their way if yer tossing a fast sinking lure or when the fish nails it on the splash. Others say it makes sense with lures like frogs to have a slight delay between splash and crank to give the fish time to inhale (gulp?) the lure properly. I was advised by fairly smart people to start with mono on the reel till I got over the bird's nest syndrome, then go to braid. It was excellent advice. I wasted more than a few yards of mono before I got the hang of adjusting things and thumbing the spool. Someone (or several) here suggested going all braid when yer ready and reversing it when it gets a little worn on the working end. I get mine loaded from bulk reels at my local Fishing Store so the cost is pretty reasonable and there's no real need to save money by using mono backing. Baitcasters are fun. I don't use them often enuf but I'm gonna get a third one anyway so I can line 'em up on the deck (when I actually get to go out on a real boat with real fisherpersons) like the guys do who seem to know what they're doing. It's lotsa fun to just pick up a loaded rod to instantly throw something different back at a follower or to adjust for the changing topography and water obstacles as you let the Minnkota drag you hither and yon. Of course with the clutter of multiple rods underfoot comes the risk of stomping on your expensive new armament, but that's the cost of playing bass pro I suppose. JF

And Ryan, remember the deal. If you don't boat at least 25# of bass tomorrow you're gonna moon Dave when he's just about to boat a huge one on the show. I'm sure the watching world would be hugely entertained by his reaction to that. Think of it as another first for his new show. I'm not sure if I remembered to mention that before. Seriously, have a great day. If I wasn't in the middle of moving I'd be there. JF

I remembered this thread and thought I'd resurrect it to see if anyone had updated info/opinions on the Code reel. I was looking at one yesterday and it seems like pretty fair value for that price point. I've got 4 Quantums now (1 baitcaster & 3 spinning reels) and am totally pleased with them to date. I'm not a heavy duty user. It's just fun to have enough rod/reel setups for when I occasionally get out on a boat like Garry's. I'd never try to match his arsenal of course. There isn't room on the deck for two piles of rods like garry's, but havingan instant choice of lures at hand is kinda fun fer the changing water. So, anything new on the Code? JF

Does anyone know if they continue to frequent the island after they've befouled it? If not, does anyone know how long it takes for the island greenery to recover, or does it? JF

Yeah, but that's her Calcutta on the floor. JF

My buddy Rob has been fishing smb's for over 50 years, and though he's kinda stuck in a time warp, he catches the durned things, and he uses dime store rods and reels to boot. I talked him into buying a nice spinning setup and he ended up giving it to me for a $24.95 Gander Mtn rig I had and didn't use. He loves it. I'm happy with the trade. His favourite lure is the original grey Rapala minnow twitched and rested on the surface and he catches lotsa bass with it, and pike, at least the ones that don't bite him off. He sacrifices half a dozen of those lures to the fishing gods every season becuz he hates leaders and just doesn't get what fluoro's about. If he isn't using those he uses live worms. We fish shallow creeks. JF

I was just gonna drop in but it says I gotta dl some new software or something and I really haven't much time right now. So I'll say hi from here and catch you later. JF

Mebbe you undersell yerself. She seemed like an intelligent nice person when I met her. She was even running a fishing errand for you at the time. That in itself says a lot. JF

Hopefully nothing you or I would understand? JF

That's how my buddy Rob explained it, more or less. He said the only way of being reasonably sure of avoiding accidental hookage was to club 'em in the net and eat 'em later. I'm not a clubbin' kinda guy so I'll take extreme measures to guard against accidental hookage, and if it happens that's the price I pay for having fun. I doubt a big toothy critter can hurt me any worse than some of my bikes and sleds have over the years, not to mention the mayhem I've earned from She Who Bloody Well Must Be Obeyed. I'm okay with paying for my fun, if I must. JF

I agree. As a potential boat owner I really don't want to be told I must wear a pfd every minute I'm on the water and it's only by keeping it in front of the involved public that boat owners will avoid apathy/complacency setting in. There's nothing our respective levels of gov't like better (other than an easy tax grab) than unnecessary safety legislation that makes them look proactive. We're letting them get away with the HST obfuscation. That should be enuf apathy for a few years or more. JF