Fishnwire

I checked out that Volteaus...I was less than impressed and would have to agree with Cudz. I did buy one of the Fenwick Highlanders that was on sale. It was normally $90 on sale for half price (I think) it seems like a half-decent rod for $45. I usually break (or have broken for me) a rod or two ever year. I just can't deal with the heartbreak of busting $200+ rods anymore.

I hope you have a really good career going or are an heir to a good chunk of change because the property on the bay is out of the reach of most working people.

Thanks for the advice, guys. Hopefully the guy is reasonable.

Thanks for the input folks, but here's what I'm after... "My question is this; Can I be liable for an amount greater than the BB value of the vehicle? I think it's posssible a body-shop repair bill could exceed what the truck is even worth. Secondly, if I write him a cheque in the BB value amount, do I then own the truck?"

I backed into a guy (my fault) while he was making a left-hand turn behind me. I scraped him right at his gas-cap lid. It still opens and closes, but the panel has about an eight inch ding in it. The thing is, it was a '95 Dodge Ram (regular cab, I believe)...I can't find the Black Book value because most on-line calculators don't go past '97 or so. There was some rust on the body (not a whole lot, considering the year, but it was far from "rust-free") and there was an existing ding on the same panel which he admitted was there before. We agreed not to involve our insurance companies, and I told him it was my fault and that I'd make good on things. My question is this; Can I be liable for an amount greater than the BB value of the vehicle? I think it's posssible a body-shop repair bill could exceed what the truck is even worth. Secondly, if I write him a cheque in the BB value amount, do I then own the truck? What are my options? Thanks, folks.

That baby dos and don'ts was one of the funniest things I've seen in a while> I'm still laughing.

That was wild! The second guy is a bit of an idiot, but the first guy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. What are the chances? Good vids. Thanks.

Last year I caught a decent-sized walleye out of my lake but one of the trebles on the plug I was using got deep into his eye and and when I extracted the hook, most of the eye came with it. This was a good sized fish (4-5 lbs) for the body of water so I released it as soon as possible to breed . Afterwards I thought about it and wondered if maybe I just should have just harvested the fish. I was worried about it dying from infection at the eye or slowly starving to death, it's new handicap preventing it from catching regular meals. I posted a topic here saying as much. Several members chimmed in to assure me the fish would survive just fine. I wasn't 100% convinced. Last week I was throwing a Spook at a small rapid's edge and "SMASH!"...I tie into something with shoulders. I real it in and net it. It's a long FAT walleye...a particularily good catch for the water I'm on. I have a closer look and realize it's missing an eye. It's the same fish! This is not a large body of water, there are not a lot of walleye to start with and even fewer big ones. The eye socket has scarred over nicely. His colour was excellent and his belly full. That answers my question about whether or not a big walleye can survive (and thrive) with only one eye. I hope some of you got as big a kick out of that as I did. Sorry no pics...when I turned on the camera it said "Change the Batteries" then turned off.

----- Thanks Bosh...you answered my questions fully without a hint of a patronizing tone...and even took the time to PM me to point out something I was ignorant about, in an effort to save me embarrassment. Like I already stated, you're a class act. --- I nominate bosh for "Type of member we hope to encounter of OFC". I curtailed the amount of time I spent here a few months ago because some posters left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm going to be coming back more often now that I've had such a positive experience.

Bosh pointed out (by PM…class act) that botanists study only plants, and not all living things. I suppose an ichthyologist is the kind of specialist that could answer my questions in an instant. - Any out there? .

I could have sworn I heard the smallmouth and largemouth bass are not as closely related as their names imply...the same way a koalo bear is more closely related to the racoon than the bear. I'm sure I've read that the SMB is not a "true bass"...whatever that means. The quote that I seem to remember is "A SMB is not actually a bass, but closer related to the sunfish." Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species We all remember that "King Philip Can Only Feed Green Spoons"...so where does the SMB, LMB, and cichlids such as the firemouth branch off?

- I thought cichlid was a genus...a subgroup of a family. Perhaps sunfish, SMB and (for example) firemouth cichlids are all in the "Sunfish/Centrarchidae family"...but are they of the same genus...that being "cichlid"? - Like I said...I'm no botonist. Maybe I'm way off on a lot of things.

I tried looking on some fish-keeping boards but there seems to be some debate. It is my understanding that smallmouth bass are not actually bass...but closer related to the sunfish. I have also seen sunfish listed as chichlids, and have seen them on chichlid websites. It is also my understanding that the term "chichlid" is taken somewhat loosely in the hobby...I'm no botonist. - Can anyone clarify things for me? Thanks. - \PS...Am I even spelling chichlid right?

How long a leader do you use? I like mine about two feet...I never reel in that much. When I'm throwing casts I want at least that much line between my top eye and bait, when I store or transport my rods I use the hook keeper (5 to 6 feet of line), and even when landing a fish (with a net or by lip-locking) I don't reel that swivel in.

How are you handling/storing your live bait? You probably are doing everything right, but just to be sure...Leave your minnows sealed up with oxygen in the bag from the baitstore until the last possible minute. Keep it out of the sun and cool until you get to the lake. Once there, transfer your minnows into a decent trolling bucket and keep them in the lake as much as possible. When the bite is on and you're in there every few minutes, it's tempting to leave them on the deck of the boat. A half an hour in the hot sun is all it takes sometimes to start killing 'em. - Sorry if I'm telling you stuff you already know.

I'd just keep it. You'll be lucky to get anywhere near what you paid for it. Even with those low kms, and depending on what you owe on it...you may walk away with virtually nothing in your pocket. --- Put some Stabil in the gas tank and park it someplace safe, dry and out of the sun. In a couple years when you decide you want a machine to take your oldest out on the trails, you'll be all set. Even with two kids, there's comes a time when Daddy needs to go for a good rip.

I'll probably always want live bait when I'm ice fishing...but in the summer, I have no use for it. I haven't really used GULP! but I know that my Power Bait lizards, worms, chiggers and tubes get hammered by the smallies I go after. Also soft plastic doesn't die, it doesn't have to be kept cool, it doesn't require water changes and takes up way less space. Live bait is an enormous pain in the butt, compared to soft plastic.

Fireline Crystal is the only mainline I have used since I discovered it. It's amazing...8 lb test bends hooks stuck in logs, but you need gloves to free snagged line because that stuff will cut your hands before it breaks. - I like a flouro leader about 150% the strength of my mainline (8lb test Firelire = 12lb test Seagar InvisX) and generally join the two with a good quality (that is important) ball-bearing swivel. A double uni-knot works well if you need to forego the swivel. - The only thing I really don't like about Fireline is the price. It's pretty freakin' expensive as far as I'm concerned. $25 for a 125 yard spool?...that's borderline ridiculous. I ordered a 1500 yard spool and it works out to half price. Even still, I backfill my reels about a third with whatever crappy mono I have laying around before I fill 'em with the good stuff.

If I was a man a Darryl's carriage, I don't think I'd draw attention to the fact that I make a pig out of myself every time I go fishing. I don't watch his show partly because it turns me off to see him fill his live well, and then his face, every single episode. I hate to think about the fish he keeps when the camera is not rolling. Given the choice between harvesting an important breeder or doing without his mandatory shore lunch, I’m fairly certain I know what the big guy would do. - He’s just not the kind of fisherman I’d invite in my boat, so why would I watch his show?

Thanks guys. I'll let you know what I decide to do.

Thanks Irishfield. But do you still have to hang the heater above your head, or does the bilge pump in the tank push the water through the heater with enough force to lift the heated water to the height of a shower head? Do you understand what I'm asking? -- This one looks like it would do the job, but it's probably more than I want to spend. http://www.zodi.com/web-content/Consumer/zodix40shower.html

I was just looking at that one. The price seems reasonable, but I want one that runs off a 20 gallon propane tank and I want it to include a 12 volt pump so that the water comes right out of the river, into the heater, and onto the showeree...no carrying or filling of bags or buckets. - Without getting too graphic...it's my Father-in-law who, after successfully battling prostate cancer, is a little "sensitive" in certain areas, and requires a hot shower every day or two to keep from being irritated and sore. In the past he cut short trips to camp because the need to get cleaned up became overwhelming. I'd like to see him be able to stay for longer stretches of time up there. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll use it too, but if it was just me I wouldn’t bother.

I want to be able to take a hot shower at camp. My buddy stayed at a fly-in resort last year and told me they had little outdoor showers that pumped water from the lake, heated it with a propane on-demand hot water heater, and away you go. - Does anyone know who sells such units, or where I could go to look at them? Also, any idea how much $ I'm looking at for this little luxury? Thanks.

It fails to explain one of the most important aspects. That being that those who created the problem and have benefited from it are not the same people as those that will bear the costs. You can be sure the international bankers will come out of this unscathed...all the profits they accrued making loans that must now be bailed out will remain exactly where they are...right in their pockets. The responsibility of making good on all those billions of wasted euros will fall squarely on the shoulders of Europe's working people, of this you can be sure. The really scary thing about this is that since these rip-off artists come out of this apparently without blame...there's no reason to think they won't just keep on doing it, or at the very least, resume doing it once the heat dies down. - Maybe I'm wrong...perhaps they have a different culture in Europe than we do here as far as just sitting there and taking it goes. Hopefully they are less spineless than us.

The amount of voltage doesn't really determine how fast the battery charges...the amount of amps does. While electronic chargers do modulate their voltage depending on the relative voltage (internal resistance) of the battery being charged, the higher the amp setting, the quicker the battery will charge. At the same time, the quicker a battery is charged, the more heat that is created. You want to avoid that heat, whenever possible. - Take two identical batteries and two identical chargers. Always use the lowest amp setting on one charger and battery and the highest amp setting for the other charger and battery. Assuming both batteries are discharged in a simular fashion, you can be sure the battery that was always charged slower will have a longer life.