JohnF

I was worried about it catching some folks. It came up so fast here that suddenly there were dust clouds flying horizontally and they then turned to vaporized rain for a few moments before the heavy rains and hail came. It was a very crazy storm all in all. I surely wouldn't have wanted to be out in an open boat. JF

Hopefully no OFNers got caught out in that wind yesterday. It was pretty fierce for a while here in Stratford. We lost power in part of the town for a few hours but I didn't see any signs of significant damage. I was keeping my fingers crossed that no one was caught out on the water. It came up pretty quickly. Some really black clouds out to the west and a few minutes later the power went out. Then the wind rose really fast and the rain and hail started. JF

Assuming it was fpr work on an Ontario property, slap a lien on the property - quick. That way if they try to do any new financing etc they'll have to deal with you first. JF

Funny. It was diving shows that clued me in, too. I was, for a while, very impressed with the death defying dives these guys were doing until the day it occurred to me that there was a guy behind the camera doing exactly the same dive, except he was totin' a big cam. I became very cynical from that point forward. Actually got to talk to one of those behind the scenes guys one time on a dive boat out of Pt Dover. He was driving the boat and we got to talking. Turns out he was a safety diver for National Geographic (I think that was the show). He had some great stories to tell. JF

So how do you get away with being so smarmy? If I did stuff like that my wife would assume I'd done something bad and I'd be suffering all kinds of grief. I made the mistake of giving her flowers recently and she's still questioning me. There's just no room for romance in our marriage. The only way I get decent treatment is by being a clod. ..... hmmm, .... okay. End of rant. JF

I think what I related to most was the obvious fear in his voice when he realized he had to deal with the monster all by himself. As a modern day fishing neophyte that's always lurking in the back of my mind when we're fishing pikey waters - what happens if I hook into a big'un standing out here up to my ass in the river with a shortage of appendages to hold the rod, grasp the monster, and remove the hook(s)? Fortunately I only catch dinks and dehooking is not an issue. I doubt that I can grip a 40 incher behind the gills with one hand and twist out the hook with the other under my normal circumstances. Hell, I got rattled last summer when I brought in the big smallmouth whilst standing bellybutton deep in the creek. I dropped my rod in the water that time as I recollect. My knees are actually really good for an old fart but that crossed-knee yoga crap makes them hurt just watching it. My knees wouldn't bend like that when I was young and limber. I'd explode something if I tried that today. JF

Well, I've got the belly for it. Unfortunately the knees are a tad creaky. JF

I would think that you'd get lots of takers. Of course the rest of us would start having nightmares from all the ghoulish artwork we'd be seeing here. JF

This is a truly interesting thread to me as it addresses all the emotions, objections, and attractions I experience when fishing. I gave up fishing for years (more of them than most of you have been alive) because as a young man I just got turned off the whole idea of killing critters for fun, or even hurting them. Perhaps it was just a result of coming into my adultery during the peace and love years, and living in a home where Dad did the fending at his job, not out in the bush or on the creeks. Whatever, I really turned off the idea of killing anything except germs. Not enuf to stop eating steaks and ribs, but I was definitely averse to turning my own hand to harming the little critters. Some time in the last 5 years I guess I finally came to terms with the hypocrisy of my thinking and figgered what the hey, get out there and have some fun like all the other fisherfolk. Forums like this convinced me that one can fish ethically and have fun without doing serious injury to the fish (most of the time) and as long as I was prepared to put the meat to good use if and when one of the little guys swallowed a hook or ripped a gill I was acting within acceptable (by my own ethos) limits. I started doing a lot of reading on fishing - the hows, the whys and the history of it. I was particularly interested in one anthology I picked up in Ohio that included stories starting from several hundred years ago right up to relatively modern times. One of the things I noticed was that the fellers writing about fishing in the earlier days without exception assumed one killed each and every fish taken, like they were all modern day Gobies, or mebbe just from conditioning that said a man kept food on the table. With that in mind it's hard to be too critical of any fisherman who gets caught up in the wonder of catching a huge fish like the one in the vid. Methinks that fisherman was a victim of atavism (kill what ya catch), an adrenalin rush and a bit of male ego. I'm not surprised (and am in fact comforted) that there are so many of us offended by his killing of that musky. On the other hand I'm not unhappy with the fact that there are those here who relate to killing/keeping the trophy. Someone will always need to feed the rest of the world and if we all lose the ability to harvest nature's provender we're kinda screwing ourselves. That instinct is natural and necessary in all of us. It's not a bad thing to keep in the gene pool. When I started typing this I thought I knew what I meant to, or at least what I wanted to, say. Now that I'm done I'm not sure I got it right but I dunno how to change it. Man is by inclination a hunter, a provider. Natural selection is a cornerstone of modern biology - we gotta feed ourselves to survive. Some of us have stifled that instinct in the pursuit of civilized behaviour but we can't lose it as a society or we won't survive. As uncomfortable as that video made me, I have to admit that I can relate on several different levels to how that fisherman felt. Dunno where the lines get drawn but in my foggy little peabrain they're pretty fuzzy. IOW I'm glad there are still those among us who espouse the hunter/gatherer lifestyle. That's what will keep our breed going & growing. Sorry if this is a little cerebral. I had a bad day at the office and had to air out the grey matter. JF

I passed your question on to my brother who knows something about guitars and electronics. Here's his reply. "If the amp doesn't have a master volume on it and just the input volume, you gotta drive it to make it break up. I have lost touch with the technology on amps (I don't use an amp much anymore because I mainly do session stuff and there are all kinds of decent "models" that work for me just fine) but there used to be something called a "Power Soak" that sucked all the power out of the amp and allowed you to run it hot but quieter. If the amp has a master volume, then there shouldn't be any problem with sound vs. volume. Other than that, stick the amp in a closet with pillows all around it and hope for the best!" Probably doesn't tell you anything you didn't already know but just in case .... JF

Thanks for the tip, Tom. Any MCI members in my area who can help me out here? JF

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'll check the retailers around here and in Cleveland first, then go to mail order. JF

They only have to work once to be a great investment, but I have a toolbox full of sidecutters from cheapies right up to Snap-On and all have wrinkles in them from cutting wire too hard for them to handle. The EMT shears just spread open popping the object being cut at right angles to where it started and I really don`t want a hook snapping around while I`m attached to it. I wanna just cut the sucker off, and cost is not even a consideration here. I`m too wimpy to be cheap. If I can get it cut quickly I may be able to stay conscious long enuf to finish the job. I`ll find the ones suggested and xperiment. If they don`t cut it they`ll be relegated to the toolbox and I`ll try something else. JF

That`s the name. Thanks. JF

Governator's latest thread and the vid about the Musky/Kayak hook-in-hand scenario got me thinking. I don't have a lot of confidence in my sidecutters (and I have quite a few) to cut a hook upon which my lily white body is impaled. None of you are familiar enuf with me to know that I cringe at the sight of any blood and swoon like an Atlanta Belle at the sight of my own blood. I have had the pleasure of sharing a treble hookage with a small fish. Good thing it was small cuz between fighting off the urge to pass my hand dramatically over my eyes (a la said Georgia belle) and yakking my breakfast, lunch and dinner (along with a kidney and a small hemorrhoid) on the poor unsuspecting Rock Bass, I was reduced to squealing like a preteen of the female persuasion. My fishing buddy was appalled, but not enuf that he doesn't remind me at least a few times each year, usually in the presence of comely lasses (Artists are terrible for working every angle to score with comely wenchs). I thought I had the perfect solution when I discovered trauma shears like the EMT guys use. The darned things will cut a penny (and I proved it to 2RR's and HTHM one day on Garry's Ranger) but I later learned through trial & error (without the fish attached) that they don't do hooks, even smallish hooks like a Rock Bass would be inclined to stick me with. A while back there was a discussion about a premium side cutter or bolt cutter that was unbeatable. I honestly did a search for the thread but to no avail. Would some kind soul please enlighten me as to the brand and perhaps where one would acquire one. I would really feel much better having one in my kit when I`m fishing. Thanks JF

There are some nice pike in there. I haven't fished it as much as I'd like but there are a few folks on here who are more familiar with it. JF

I suspect you've nailed it. If it's an item that Cabela's doesn't stock in their warehouse the supplier may not be interested in dealing with border brokerage issues. As for the paint it's likely just as someone said already - certain volatile materials are not as easy to ship, particularly by air and across borders. JF

My buddy just uses old running shoes. He cuts a few holes for drainage. JF

Musta been a young beaver. It just grew up as it chewed. JF

I think Terry's bait looks a lot more appealing. The scowl on this one would scare off anything less than a big shark. Reminds me of the look on my wife's face when I pass gas in the family room. JF

She can sing like that, and ski too. Awesome. JF

So if ya decide to try the black ones ... remember not to let them cross yer path. That's worse than a banana in the boat. JF

Three minor surgeries and a concussion. JF

Hmmmm. She doesn't look all that damaged to me. Would that all our wimmen had suffered the trials of pregnancy lookin' that good. Some of us may have not even taken up fishing. JF

It's important to be methodical with yer balls, even when carp fishing. JF