Greencoachdog

Great report and pics Mike!!! Ahhhhh! the elusive Tiny Mooth Bass!!! We don't have those here, and I'm lookin' forward to teasing a couple on Nip next month.... hope to better my PB that was also set on Nip last year.

Great pic and report!!!... that looks like a very strong fish!

This is the absolute truth!... It's called conditioned learning, and if you fish the same places long enough with the same old tactics... you won't be nearly a successful as you first were. Either change your bait drastically or go to a spot you've never been to before... I'll bet you an ice cold Pepsi you start catching fish again!

Look at that face in my Avatar, I would never do a thing like that... I'm, Brave Loyal, trustworthy.... hey look what Art's doin' over there Tom???!!!

Great report and pics!!! Looks like you could use a couple more rods and reels...

A rare fish to catch on hook and line indeed!!!... and you deserve a dozen Gold Stars for turning them back Matty!!! Here's a little info I found on the "web" about them, I hope you don't mind me postin' it here: Paddlefish, spoonfish, spoonbill cat, and Polyodan spathula are among several names given to this unique prehistoric fish. The paddlefish is the largest (over 200 pounds, six-feet long) freshwater fish in the United States and is found in 26 states that have large streams, rivers, and impoundments within the Mississippi River basin and adjacent Gulf Coastal drainages. Paddlefish are highly valued for its black eggs (roe) processed into caviar and its boneless, firm, white meat. However, they are currently available only from the wild populations. Overexploitation and contamination by organochlorine pollutants (i.e. PCB) have required that many state agencies close down this valuable fishery. Commercial paddlefish farming is necessary to meet the market demand for its caviar and meat and alleviate harvest pressure from the wild paddlefish fishery. Paddlefish have many outstanding characteristics for aquacultural development as a food fish in Kentucky and other states of the United States. Paddlefish filter feed on zooplankton throughout life, are long-lived (greater than 20 years), and grow rapidly (up to 10 pounds per year) reaching sizes up to 200 pounds. They can be harvested by selective gill nets or by seining. Paddlefish can be propagated artificially and fingerlings raised intensively up to 14 inches in ponds, then grown for meat and roe intensively in ponds with catfish or extensively in reservoirs. Paddlefish meat is firm and boneless with a beef or pork-like texture, and it is also similar to sturgeon in taste and texture. Artificial Propagation Currently, broodstock are obtained from wild sources. Typically, males are smaller (by one-third to one-half in weight) than females, and have tubercles on their head and opercular flaps that feel like sandpaper. In contrast, mature females have few, to no tubercles, and the abdomen is round and extended during the pre-spawning period. Broodstock must be held in circular tanks (8 foot) in the hatchery. Water temperature of 60 to 65°F, flow rate of 2 gallon per minute and water saturated with oxygen are optimal conditions. Broodstock should be injected intraperitoneally with hormones to induce spawning. For milt collection, tubing attached to a syringe is inserted into the urogenital pore and collected from the fish. Large volumes of milt can be obtained from one male. Milt from two to three males should be used to fertilize the eggs so as to increase genetic diversity. Milt is checked microscopically and 75-100% of the spermatozoa should be motile. Milt can be collected several hours before use and stored in sealed containers on wet ice. For collection of eggs, any one of several methods can be used: hand-stripping, caesarian section, or the Minimally Invasive Surgical Technique, MIST. Hand-stripping is labor intensive and often requires three individuals 8-10 hours at about 30-minute intervals to remove the total volume of eggs. Caesarian section is a relatively quick surgical method (30 minutes) to remove eggs through a 3-4 in abdominal incision; however, suturing is time consuming and muscular stress on the incision usually results in poor retention and less than 25% survival of broodstock. The MIST is minimally invasive and permits quick removal of ovulated eggs and requires much less handling time than the other methods. This method of egg removal involves a small incision in the dorsal area of the oviduct which permits direct stripping of eggs (10 minute) from the body cavity through the gonopore, and bypasses the oviductal funnels. Greater than 90% survival of broodstock is expected. The eggs should be fertilized using the "wet method". Milt is added to water at a 1:200 ratio (milt to water) and then immediately poured onto the eggs. The fertilized eggs are stirred for one minute then coated with Fuller’s earth suspension for 20 minutes. The eggs are then rinsed free of Fuller’s earth, volumetrically measured and loaded into McDonald jars at about 70,000 eggs per 2-gallon incubator. Larvae hatch in approximately 6 days when eggs are incubated at 65° F. Larvae must be held for another 5 to 6 days before they will consume food. Nursery Phase Larvae can be grown in fertilized earthen ponds or in tanks. In ponds, live food such (Daphnia spp.) must be present in order for the paddlefish larvae to have appropriate food until they are large enough to accept extruded pellets. In tank culture, paddlefish larvae can be trained to feed only on prepared diets (i.e. RangenR Trout/Salmon diets). For pond culture, site preparation should begin about two weeks before spawning. Ponds should be drained and dried. After fish have been spawned, the pond should be flooded with well water or from filtered reservoir water. Rice bran is recommended as the organic fertilizer for paddlefish nursery ponds to promote zooplankton i.e. (Daphnia). Once the fish reach about 3.5 inches, they can be trained to eat a 1/16-inch extruded pellet (45% protein). Survival rates can range from about 50 to 80%. It takes approximately 6 weeks for the paddlefish to reach about 5 inches at which time they are able to filter feed. If fish are trained on a prepared diet, they can remain in the ponds and will continue to grow up to 0.5 pounds and 14 inches in about six months.

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You're still sucked into the Bermuda Triangle Dude!!! Once the BT has you in it's hypnotic icy grip, it's nearly impossible to escape!!! Electronics won't work, usually starts with the motor... the the GPS and fishfinder... you keep trolling over your line, over and over again!!! All the water around you boat (within casting distance) stays completely void of fish. Your offerings to the Fish Gods are spat upon! The only way to break this curse... is to send an Alabama Redneck your best Muskie rod & reel with several brand new Muskie baits!!! Hope this helps!

The price of gasoline has increased??? I hadn't noticed. I just fill up the truck and go, what're ya gonna do?... not buy it???.. or just b i t c h about it? There's nothing you can do about the price except get used to it (just like this title implies). The tips are acurate, except the windows down one... you're absolutely correct MTP! I rember back in 1970 when gas jumped from $.25 a gallon to $.50 a gallon and everybody thought it was the end of the world.... not quite...

What?... no Devo??? WHIP IT!!!... Whip it Good!!!

Hence your moniker...

Dammit man!!! How can y'all stand it up there??? Excellent report and pics!!!... and I never knew that Pelicans inhabited the Great Lakes.

The hell you say?... Care to rebutt that Photoz?

For $5 I'll tell ya what you're doin' wrong.

Those guys really make me laugh!!! They're such typical Canadians!

Dang Tom!!! I screwed up and sent ya the Trout rod instead of the Walleye like you wanted, just bring it with ya to Lakair and I'll swap it out for a nice Walleye for ya. I'm glad ya finally had a chance to break it in, a good quality can be the edge you need sometimes between landing and not landing a nice fish... and may have been why you landed fish and you bud didn't. The Good Karma that goes with that rod didn't hurt either Excellent report and pics!!!... but that snow skeered me!!! I've been workin' on the fence all weekend without a shirt on and gettin' a nice tan, and there you are with wool gloves and snow. I sure am glad I live where I do! That Rainbow is a dang football!!!

BassPro has more marine carpet and vinyl than you can shake a stick at! Check it out: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...RINECARPETVINYL

Holy Crap!!!... ya mean I actually gotta work for a livin' now???... what a novel idea! I've got my moped reserved for my T.O/Lakair trip, so if a blur with 2 large suitcases and a rod tube passes ya in the fast lane doin' 150kph.. honk, it's me!!!

'Bout time ya found the Blues! Ya aint gonna find'em in no skinny water, that's for sure. Excellent report and pic! Catfish stealin' is a "Walk the Plank" ofense around these parts, I wouldnt've blamed Art a bit if ya had to swim home. Next time ya get one like that, get a magic marker and put freckles on that baby... the Canucks will never know the difference, that's what I'm gonna do!

It's the Palomar knot Rick, I haven't had very good luck with it... but I wish you all the best! Ya may wanna take a look at these: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...t=SearchResults

Who cares???... there's nothing up there anyway! Just kiddin' Tom... hope ya don't roast yer weenie!

Yer as sharp as a Bowling Ball.. aintcha Bubba?

Batteries for the camera???... I'm soooo tired of those sooo lame "my batteries died" excuses.

The Wall-ice bite when the boat rental place is closed.... early in the mornin' and at night, it's in their contract! You may get lucky and catch a suicidal one during daylight hours... but they will be few and far between.