Eric

Wow. Chocolate. Nice capture on the boiling river / wave. That second pic almost has a tilt-shift feel to it.

Fox in St. Charles today. Highest / hardest I've ever seen the Fox rage:

Sandbags protecting the Herrington Inn, Geneva near Route 38.

The newly renovated Island Park, Geneva

The old (vacant) Mill Race Inn Restaurant, Geneva -- basement flooded out again!

The Herrington Inn, Geneva as seen from Route 38

Parking lot and Illinois Street bridge, downtown St. Charles

Foot bridge near downtown St. Charles, a few blocks down river from the dam

I got a new sump pump installed last year (of course, drought!) and new battery for my secondary battery-backup pump. Everything is working fine but I'm still nervous. The main pump is running pretty much non-stop with only a few seconds between on/off. The kids are home just in case I need some extra help if we need to move things from the basement to the first floor. So far, so good.

I went to Home Depot at 7:15 this morning to buy some downspout extenders to get the runoff a little further away from the house. The parking lot was packed like it was a spring Saturday during a plant sale. Of course everyone buying up the sump pumps, batteries, generators, etc. Pretty much any isle that had to do with plumbing was jammed. I was lucky in that I got four downspout extenders but they too were going fast. Lots of people panicked and on their cell phones and trying to find a solution to their flooding basements. Sucks.

Have also been marveling at the USGS gage readings all day. Just crazy. Norm is probably fishing a flooded farm field somewhere or working an eddy behind a mailbox.

Nice follow-through. Thanks.

Nice catches Ron! You're right about the girth. Amazing.

Can you call the village and find out who the contact person is regarding the clear-cutting? With some dialogue perhaps we can get through to them. Wondering if there are further plans for bank stabilization that aren't apparent yet.

Nice Ryan. Hope they treat you well.

Another good one is the LL Bean Kennebec waders. The suspenders are super comfortable and once you try them, going to anything else is tough! The are soft and grip nicely / no slip.

You are correct in that all waders fail eventually.

Ouch! Tough bite. Welcome to bass fishing. Can be feast or famine sometimes -- especially early or late season.

Sorry to hear you've been down and out. At least things are starting to green up and warm up. You'll heal up and be back at it in no time!

Congrats on the new kayak. It's a beauty. Glad you're enjoying it.

Nice! Congrats. Hope you catch some nice fish from it.

I saw this hoping it was an April Fools prank. Alas. RIP Bass Professor.

Ditto on the props for the swim jigs! Great bait and has accounted for a few bigguns for me!

Nice.

I have to ask what you are displaying them on? It looks to be some type of shirt.

Reminded me of this one:

Nice one Jim! I'm honored.

That's big news for Jackson. Makes me wonder though if Drew is going somewhere.

I always enjoyed Jim's shows on WFN.

I thought the rep they had at The Early Show in Batavia was really nice. Low-key and no pressure. He let Ron K and I borrow a few rods to cast in the yard out back. Well, Ron cast them at least. I was impressed with his accuracy in the wind!

Good luck at the event!

Great event. Thanks to everyone that generously supported the ISA through their attendance and purchases. Additionally, thanks to the volunteers and donors who made the event possible. It was a fun evening and always nice to see so many familiar faces year to year in support of a great cause. Congrats to member Craig Holderness on the recognition and earning the first ISA Youth Appreciation award.

Welcome Sam.

Very nice! I dig the 'outdoor tools gift set' Blowout prize that attendee is holding!

And, Orland Park is just a hop-skip away ... checkout the Chicago Reptile House, it's epic!

Good luck at the show Jonn.

Very nice!

That old Jitterbug in pic # 2 brings back memories. My dad schooled me with one just like that when I was learning to bass fish. Had a big largemouth all riled up next to a fallen log. Was working it too fast and couldn't get the bass to commit. My pops tried it and let it sit a while. Gave it a slight twitch and let it sit. Bass couldn't stand it and came up and pounded the lure. Valuable lesson.

In fact, looking back, seemed my pops took great pleasure in fooling fish by the least amount of effort possible. He had it dialed waaaaaay back! He was ultra patient!

Sorry about the loss of your friend.

Was driving east on I-88 late this morning and shortly before Route 31 in Batavia I saw a bald eagle soaring. Was just west of the Fox River. They're out there!

Neat. Bald eagles have become so common around the Fox River (all year long) it's rare that I don't see one or two while out fishing. They certainly are easier to spot in winter, and if you ever hear ducks and geese going crazy and then taking flight, look for the eagle to fly through shortly thereafter. They love to glide up or downriver low and scare the heck out of everything!

Congrats on your purchase Terry -- hope you enjoy it and catch many fish!