Spiel

I'm sure you had a good nap while driving home.

Grrrrrr.....

Didn't work and I am using a small resized image.

Yep, that's the one you want.

Good luck on get'n dinner. Looks like it's gonna be a beauty day.

Actually you have 'bout half of it Gerritt, Chris got the other half (recently). Remember I used ot brew mass production..

Is that your your honey hole, should have blurred out the background

Guess I'm gonna have to get back all my home brewing supples from ChrisK and start up my basement brewery again. Damn the big breweries and that tasteless swill !

Nope, he said "Bye" and I reciprocated, nothing more. If he wants to take his ball and go home because those in the know don't agree with the 20lb tag, then so be it. It would seem that most said "nice fish" even if they disputed the 20lb claim and it is indeed a nice fish. Easy to get caught up in the excitement and over estimate it's size when it's your best ever, but as I said, those in the know, know. No need to get upset if it's not a 20lb, it's still a solid fish and a benchmark for future efforts. And for the record the lack of an obvious fin clip does not guarantee that it's a wild fish.

Adios !

You and the Mrs. have a great time.

This is obviously a ruse, don't waste your time with this technique, it'll never work, seriously!

MJL's advice is solid and pretty much how I do it. However not owning a heat gun I use steam from a boiling kettle (gently, you want to warm the finish, not the rod), and remove finish a little at a time, scraping it with my thumb nail. It's a slow process so don't try to rush it. I wouldn't recommend using power pro, get the proper rod winding thread and be sure not to use to much tension when winding, the thread does have some stretch and too much tension can actually crush the rod causing imminent failure of the blank.

Nice, I'd love to try a boat trip for steel like that, someday! As for that brownie, whoa, what a tank!

Hey Dave, it was great to have you there. Sorry we didn't get to chat much but you were quite busy with the good folks who wanted to bend your ear and I was kept busy with my duties selling beer tickets. Imagine trusting me with the beer tickets....LOL You did a stellar job and I'd like to thank you again for making it out, I know you had an incredibly busy weekend which I'm sure you're now glad is over. I hope you're now well rested so you can get back to some Dave time out on the water. Be well.

Nice fish Peter! You can't beat spoon chucking for spring Browns, they're hungry fish keyed in on inshore bait schools.

Reminds me of myself at that age and to think of all the trouble I could have been getting in. Thanks for posting, great pics. I hope he's now hardcore.

Did you hear about the 4 1/2 -pound crappie? To Waterloo fisherman, this is no ordinary fish story Sunday, Mar. 28, 2010 ROD KLOECKNER / www.bnd.com Mike Zimmer and the 4-pound, 5-ounce crappie. - Provided/BND Mike Zimmer was enjoying a phenomenal morning of crappie fishing. Then, it nearly turned historic. The 33-year-old angler from Waterloo was fishing a lake in Southern Illinois on March 15 when he hooked a 4 pound, 5 ounce white crappie. That's two ounces shy of the state record caught by Kevin Dennis in a private pond on April 8, 1973. Most crappie caught are in the half- to 1-pound range. "It was unbelievable," Zimmer said. "It's probably like catching an 8- or 9-pound bass or a 70-pound flathead (catfish). Crappie fisherman know just how big something like this is." The behemoth that measured 19 inches long and had a girth of 16 inches was part of a crappie bonanza for Zimmer. He started fishing that chilly morning -- the temperature was about 40 degrees -- at 7:20 a.m. By 10:30 a.m., he was already at the dock with his limit of 25 crappie. Among the keepers were a 3-pounder and one that weighed 3 pounds, 8 ounces. The previous day, Zimmer also caught his limit of 25 in under four hours. That's why he declined to reveal the name of the lake that harbors his crappie honeyhole. "Next thing you know, they'll be people all over the place fishing for crappie," Zimmer said with a laugh. Clad in his thermal duck hunting clothes, Zimmer was one of the few fishermen on the lake that morning. The nippy temperatures didn't faze Zimmer, who said he has been fishing since he was in diapers. "For me, I've always caught my bigger ones early when it was cold," he said. "For most people, they would not even go on a day like that. It wasn't ideal by any means, but it was for me." Zimmer was using a 12-foot crappie pole outfitted with 4-pound test and a slip cork. His bait of choice was a Grizzly jig tipped with a small minnow. Knowing the crappie were preparing to spawn, he was fishing in shallow water (between 2 and 10 feet) around some downed trees. It didn't take long for Zimmer to realize he had landed on a school of crappie. Big ones, too. "I had beaten my own personal record (3 pounds) on the 12th or 13th keeper of the day," Zimmer said. "The 4.5-pounder was the 23rd keeper. I knew I only had three more fish to go, and here I catch this one." When he hooked it, Zimmer didn't think it was a crappie. "I'm thinking that's a catfish because it stayed down low," he said. "It didn't want to come up. A muskie will do the same thing. They'll put a good fight up and not come up to the surface. "After a little bit of fighting I started to see it, and I realized it was a crappie. All I could think of was that 4-pound test breaking, because I knew it was a big one. I don't know how long I fought it because all I was thinking was getting it in the boat." Once he landed the papermouth, he collapsed into his seat due to a combination of exhaustion and excitement over his catch. After he caught his breath, Zimmer weighed the crappie on a hand-held scale. It came in just under 4.5 pounds. Zimmer then had the fish weighed on certified scales at the Millstadt post office and a butcher's shop in Sparta. The fish is currently at a taxidermist, where Zimmer plans to have it mounted. Coming oh-so-close to breaking a 37-year-old record didn't seem to bother Zimmer, who is a chemical operator at a plant in East St. Louis. "It might even be better than catching the state record because I might have gotten more publicity than I wanted," Zimmer said. "Then, I would have really had to give up my spot." News of Zimmer's near-record catch has been making the rounds. "My brother, who lives in Waltonville, had someone come up to him saying 'Man, did you hear about this dude that caught a 4.5-pound, 3.5-pound and 3.25-pound crappie?'" Zimmer said. "He's like 'Yeah, I did. I seen them because he's my brother.' I guess news like that gets around pretty quick."

Catching spawning Florida bass won't deplete populations, UF study shows Tuesday, March 23, 2010. Environment, Florida, Research / ufl.edu GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Recent cold weather has delayed largemouth bass spawning, says a University of Florida expert whose research suggests anglers should enjoy the opportunity for easy catches, despite naysayers. In Florida, the bass usually begin spawning in January or February but this year they started at least a month late, said Mike Allen, a fisheries professor withUF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Largemouths are the state's most popular freshwater game fish. To spawn, male bass make shallow nests in the sand, court females, and then protect the eggs and hatchlings for several weeks. Males guarding nests are notoriously aggressive, striking anything that moves. The fish are easy to catch, but it's commonly believed that spawning-season fishing reduces bass populations. Allen's latest study suggests that notion is rarely true. The findings were published in the current issue of the journal Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. "We found that in most cases, spawning area closures won't improve bass populations, for a couple of reasons," he said. "One is, there's a lot of catch and release nowadays. The other is, if you lose some nests, the ones that are left have higher survival rates." Catch and release is the practice of setting fish free, rather than keeping or "harvesting" them. In 2008, Allen and colleagues published a study showing that the percentage of largemouth bass harvested by anglers had fallen by half since the 1980s. When nesting male bass are harvested — or if they're released after a long delay — their nests are likely to be invaded by predators such as bluegill, which gobble up eggs and hatchlings. However, the young bass that survive face less competition for food and shelter, giving them a better chance at reaching adulthood, Allen said. The study used mathematical models to predict changes in two types of bass populations. One was typical of southern states, with fast growth rates, early maturation and high natural mortality. The other had the opposite qualities, typical of northern states. Allen and biological scientist Daniel Gwinn, the study's other author, gathered data on anglers catching bass during spawning seasons in three states. The researchers plugged the data into mathematical models representing several types of restricted and unrestricted fishing. The results showed that prohibiting bass fishing during spawning season would only boost populations in waters where very high percentages of spawning bass are caught. "Those conditions are pretty rare," Allen said. To test his findings in the field, Allen is collaborating with researchers from the Illinois Natural History Survey. They'll catch nesting bass in two Florida lakes and four Canadian lakes to see if it influences the number of young that reach adulthood. If there is no decrease, some officials might want to reconsider their policies, Allen said. Wildlife managers in some northern states prohibit bass fishing during spawning, arguing that it protects bass populations. Local anglers don't always agree, he said. In Florida, no spawning-season restrictions on largemouth bass are likely, Allen said. But the study may have implications for proposed fishing restrictions on other species. "This research shows that protecting fish just to let them spawn won't improve sustainability," Allen said. "If overfishing happens, we will need a larger closing to reduce annual fishing-related mortality — closing over a longer time or a larger area."

Angler and his $800 rod are reunited An amazing catch completes amazing story for a Duluth man swept into Lake Superior. March 26 2010 John Myers / www.duluthnewstribune.com Craig Juntti suspected right away whose fishing rod his friend had snagged while they were trolling on Lake Superior off the Lester River last week. "There aren't that many Orvis fly rods out there on the bottom,'' said Juntti, of Duluth. "And you can tell it wasn't in the water very long. It didn't have any slime on it.'' On Wednesday night, Juntti's hunch proved true. Duluth angler Paul Kosmatka identified and claimed the rod as the one he lost on March 17, just a day before Juntti's friend's Rapala snagged it up. Kosmatka is lucky to have his rod back after losing it in the big lake, but he may be even luckier to be alive. Kosmatka was wading in the mouth of the Lester River on March 17 when he lost his footing and was swept out into the frigid lake. The rushing river, full of spring snow runoff and moving swiftly, pushed Kosmatka out into the lake faster than he could swim back. Passersby launched a small motorboat and rushed to Kosmatka, who was more than 150 yards out by then, towing him back to shore. He was aided by Duluth firefighters and taken to a hospital, and quickly recovered. Authorities said that Kosmatka, had he not been rescued, might have been minutes away from hypothermia. Juntti, his son and a friend were fishing about 6 p.m. the next day when they snagged the rod. He tried for a week to find out from authorities who the rescued man was, but no one seemed to know. On Tuesday, Juntti got the right name from a newspaper reporter and finally hooked up with Kosmatka. "I looked it up on the Internet and this rod goes for $795,'' Juntti said. "I figured he'd want it back. After what he went through, he deserves to have it back.'' Kosmatka said he hung on to the rod for some time in the water before realizing he was in more trouble than he first thought. "At first I didn't let go, thinking I'd be fine,'' Kosmatka said. "Then I realized I needed both arms to try and keep afloat.'' Kosmatka said he had been fishing for Kamloops trout, wading in shallow water, for about 10 minutes when he moved to take a step. He went from shallow water to over his head in a single step, unable to touch bottom from that point on. He was not wearing a life jacket. "At first, when I looked back, there were only a couple of people there [on shore] looking out at me ... but the next time I looked there must have been 20 people watching,'' he said. "At that point I was just trying to focus on keeping my head above water. I wasn't making any progress getting back toward shore.'' Kosmatka wants to thank the people who launched their small boat and reached him in time, and anyone else who aided in his rescue. He has no lasting problems from the unexpected dip and was quickly back at work as an SMDC orthopedic surgeon. "I never really noticed how cold the water was,'' he said. "But by the time I got back to shore, my arms and legs weren't working … so that's pretty cold.'' He also thanked Juntti for coming forward with the rod. Kosmatka has no plans to give up fishing. But he is adding a new piece of gear. "I've already ordered one of those inflatable life vests,'' he said.

Recreational anglers breathe sigh of relief Obama Administration no threat, officials say March 21, 2010 Steve Pollock / toledoblade.com The national rumor mills are grinding out political spin like a child's game of telephone gone bad, and the broad topic is that the Obama Administration wants to shut down recreational fishing. For the last couple weeks or so, the blogs and some Web sites have been casting about on the issue, and they have hooked and reeled in enough individuals willing to believe this scenario, however farfetched. "Obama" might as well also try to ban baseball and apple pie. Step back and think about it: No politician of any stripe would be so stupid to try summarily to shut down the hallowed tradition of angling. Only nutcase outfits like P3TA would crusade for that, and P3TA has no traction among the vast, sensible majority of Americans. The problem is that within most rumors, dissembling, and disinformation campaigns there are a few seeds of truth. These in turn are fed and watered until they grow into a noxious weed as big as Jack's beanstalk. Directly at issue is an emerging national policy for conservation and management the oceans and coasts, including the Great Lakes, being developed by the Obama Administration. The goal is sustainable use of the aquatic resources. The American Sportfishing Association, an angling industry lobby, legitimately raised the question last October, during drafting of the policy, about whether enough or even if any consideration was being given to including recreational fishing as a legitimate part of the package and to recognize what it says is recreational fishing's $125 billion economic impact to America."We don't think the [oceans] reports ban recreational fishing, and we never said that," begins the ASA Patty Doerr in response to an inquiry last week. She is ocean resource policy director for the association. "We have been working with the Obama Administration to convey the societal, conservation, and economic benefits of recreational fishing, and our goal has been to have the administration recognize and promote recreational fishing as a priority in their national ocean policy." Indications are clear that the Obama Administration "gets it." Point-walkers for the administration in the policy development said so in official public statements last week from the lead agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. "The Ocean Policy Task Force has not recommended a ban on recreational fishing," stated Eric Schwaab, NOAA's assistant administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service. "The draft reports by the Ocean Policy Task Force do not contain a zoning map and do not establish any restrictions on recreational fishing, nor make any judgments about whether one ocean activity or use is better than another," said Schwab. "Instead, the reports set up a policy and framework for effectively managing the many sustainable uses of the ocean while upholding our responsibility to be stewards of our oceans, coasts and Great Lakes. "As a member of the task force, NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, has said, and I echo her on this, that saltwater recreational fishing is vital to this nation and NOAA is committed to building a strong partnership with America's saltwater anglers to ensure that Americans have opportunities to fish sustainably for generations to come." Schwab added: "Saltwater recreational fishing matters to me on a personal level as a recreational fisherman, it matters to millions of Americans who enjoy this great sport and it matters to our economy. Our most recent economic report shows it supports a half million jobs and generates $82 billion in sales each year. "NOAA is committed to adopting policies that will ensure that current and future generations have the opportunity to enjoy the great tradition of recreational fishing." Echoing that tack was a statement from Christine Glunz, communications director at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. She said the draft of the task force reports has "included the interests of conservationists and the recreational fishing community. "In fact, one of our main goals is to ensure healthier ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes, which will benefit all recreational activities and the communities and economies that rely on them." Bryan Burroughs, executive director of Michigan Trout Unlimited, noted that TU has been watching the issue for months and has grown increasingly concerned about the "misinformation that might be floating around." Chris Wood, TU president and CEO, and Steve Moyer, TU vice president for government affairs, issued a joint statement on the issue: "We at TU hope that the CEQ and NOAA statements put this issue to rest. In our view, there is no evidence that the Obama Administration intended to use the work of the Ocean Task Force to undercut marine sport fishing. "Also, we would like to point out that [NOAA's] Eric Schwaab began his new position in February and is a superb conservationist and an avid angler. We wish him well and look forward to working with him in the coming months. "NOAA has invited TU to join many other sportfishing groups to participate in a recreational saltwater fishing summit in Alexandria, Va. in April to discuss this and other issues pertaining to marine sportfishing." Doerr said that ASA will be at the table, among others. She appears satisfied with the official stance that has been staked out. Still, she worries about "the unintended consequences thing." She cites a general concern with the early ocean policy drafts "that could eventually lead to closure of recreational fishing." The grounds for such concern may not be unfounded, as Doerr points out. In California, a state marine life protection law in 1999, which was supported by the angling community, has morphed into a no-use preservationist, rather than wise-use conservationist, strategy that has shut down one prime recreational fishing zone after another. California coastal anglers, Doerr contends, have been marginalized under the state marine life protection law. Presumably those shutdowns, and similar ones in Florida, may have been fueled by anti-fishing interests, according to the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, a Columbus-based national hunting and fishing lobby. The USSA acknowledges that despite the firestorm, a [u.S.] Department of the Interior fact sheet denies any intent to restrict fishing access. "However, there remain causes for concern," the lobby said, contending that NOAA also has "imposed restrictions on sport anglers in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, and the South Atlantic." Commentary: Whatever the final oceans policy, the Obama Administration must assure that any decisions on ocean fisheries are science, not politics-based. And it should leave any policy and management of the Great Lakes in the capable hands of the eight lakes states and province of Ontario, who are international partners of the long-standing Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

Please tell me it was Fidel's fish.

I call foul.....LOL But those trouts is very nice.

http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

Well I hope you're out enjoying some fishing Pete, it's what I like to do on my B'day. So when you dropping round to see me?