friarfish

Nice fish - Congrats! Did you eat 'em?

A five minute fight is a long one for a bass. If your tackle was too light, you might have played them too long. That, coupled with 2 minutes in the 29 degree air might have finished them off. Like others said, just a guess based on what you reported.

There is a 56", 39 lb. 'ski in the tank in front of the two guys in the picture and they're checking out the girl on the dock behind them. Nice.

I'm sure the same argument was made about seatbelts before they were made mandatory. Now I wear mine without thinking about it - No big deal. I wonder how many people would even carry a lifejacket in the boat if it wasn't law? Accidents happen and they don't happen the way you'd expect them to. If you fall out of the boat and knock your head on something, you're toast. A life jacket might improve your odds of surviving - I say make it mandatory.

I'm in! I can use all the info I can get.