JohnF

I think anywhere in the Thames will produce carp. We've covered it pretty well from Mitchell down to a few miles below St.Marys and there are carp everwhere we go. I was checking out a new spot yesterday just south of Mitchell and there were carp literally swimming around my feet. JF

Some of you baseball freaks may know a guy who works with me, Arden Eddie. JF

Did anyone suggest "Itzadundeel" yet? JF

Dayum! I was out fishin' when you posted. Sam Kinison, the guy I hated to admit made me chuckle. JF

Glad to see I'm not the only one whose thought processes run tangentially. JF

Yup. That would be the place. My sister was actually on the committee that originally started the HOF project. She still gets emails etc from some of the inductees she's met since the opening. JF

Amen to that. JF

I have TBBE terminal bassboat envy JF

Air pollution, destruction of the rain forests, nuclear waste dumps, ground water contamination, contaminated industrial wastelands, total or partial extinction of species, decimation of non-renewable resources, and so on - definitely we're at the apex for the moment, and we're surviving (sort of), but should those things really be a part of the natural order? We have come to a belated acknowledgement of the harm we're doing, and are taking steps, albeit inadequately, to fix the problems we've created, but all in all our imprint on our world has not exactly covered man in glory. That being said I agree that man's impact is an absolutely intrinsic part of evolution. But as the apex critter we have to rein in our collective ego and greed and appreciate that we have an obligation to responsibly manage the resources, not just exploit them to our advantage. And a very small part of that responsible decision making has to be whether we have the ethical or moral right to redesign nature simply to provide better sport fisheries. Remember the law of physics "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." That applies here. Unfortunately the equal and opposite reaction isn't always too easy to predict. Back to the bunnies in Australia. Sorry if I'm belabouring this. I just find it an interesting exercise. I'm certainly no fan of Green Peace or P3TA. I think they started off with good intentions but have fallen victim to their own whackoness. Oh, and one other comment - there are some who suggest that man has ceased to evolve and has actually begun the devolution process, kind of one step forward, two back. I'll quit now, JF

Well, a tube is one thing, but a friggin' camera????? Make sure they at least warm it up first. JF

I heard they taste like grits. JF

You can let it all hang out at Lakair. JF

And it's Friday evening. What a coincidence. I'll take you up on that suggestion, several times. JF

Even I wouldn't do that. JF

Jeez Cliff. Even the smell of fresh baking bread makes us old guys fat. Think raw veggies. JF

If you ever get to spend time in an ECU or ICU you may change yer tune. No way you want a plumber doing what the nurses do. JF

Who is the final arbiter in deciding when we subordinate to the Grand Plan? Not to be too argumentative, and frankly I suspect we agree on this whole thing, but at what point does man accept subordination to the best interests of the critters. For example, is the protection and advancement of a really good sport fishery (muskies) as important as the natural order of evolution? And again, I'm just playing devil's advocate here. I'm all for great sport fisheries. JF

Sometimes us amateurs experience things differently from you pros, and since we have to pay for our gear, perhaps our opinions are at least as meaningful to the manufacturers. It reflects on how good a job you guys are doing fronting for their products. JF

There are lots of inequities in our system and they should be fixed, but not with retroactive clawbacks. Change the future, but leave the past alone. And I'm no union fan. If the nurses had above them a hierarchy of management and employers all demanding profitability nurses would make a lot more, and deservedly so. I think nurses are the most underpaid employees in the working world, given the crap they have to work with. Of course some plumbers work with crap too. JF

I have limited experience with either but for what it's worth, I'll take Power Pro over Fireline. The Fireline gets frayed too fast and seems to have a little more memory than PowerPro (or the heavier Stren I have on some of my reels). Granted I've only used lighter weights (15#) in the Fireline and PP. JF

If they could be done retroactively. JF

Oh, I suspect that before this is over you'll feel like you've been forked enough. JF

Arguably it's all a form of meddling, and there's always a downside to meddling, even when it's done with the best of intentions. Fishing is good, but hardly free. I just dropped in to the Fishing Store. That always costs me. JF

By the same token neither are the Pike. They're just doing what comes natcherly. Now bunnies in Australia are a different story. It's unlikely they'd have established there but for man's interference. It probably seemed like a good idea at the time, like kudzu. JF

That's part of it. But what actually got me thinking about it was the post about turtle nesting season and the difficulties we've created for the turtles in their procreation. Having spent a lot of hours over the last few years fishing the same creeks I played on as a kid in the 50's I can tell you for certain there are fewer turtles of all varieties nowadays in their old haunts. We don't see mudpuppies or Kingfishers any more either. I guess the cormorants are nature's payback. JF