Eric

Kevin ... other than what I wrote, it would be up to Scott or whoever manages the forum / host to open a help desk ticket with Invision and alert them of the issues. They (ISA) also need to stay on top of the forum version upgrades to ensure the latest.

The newsletter PDF has nothing to do with the forums, so if your email address is correct, youll receive it.

1. On a PC, look on the top right of the screen and click your username. 2. In the drop-down menu that appears, click "My Settings" 3. On the left-hand navigation list, click "Notification Options" 4. Under "Notification Preferences", ensure all the settings you want are checked. Click "Save Changes" at the bottom. 5. Please note that you'll only get notifications for forums and/or topics that you have elected to follow. 6. Per Scott's comment, double-check that your e-mail address is correct and also check your spam and/or junk e-mail folder to ensure the e-mails aren't going in there. *It's up to each individual to manage their own account & preferences.

Thanks for the update John, and for your time attending.

Did anyone from the ISA attend? Wondering if there's a recap from this event...

What time does this shindig typically start? I'd love to attend this year if I can swing it with family schedules and traffic.

Thanks Terry. Good luck!

Bro-in-law confirmed millipede and said it would be a juicy lunch for something. He said it probably fell into the water.

I think it's just a large millipede crawling underwater. I don't think they are truly aquatic, but can survive submerged for short periods of time. I sent the pic to my brother-in-law to see what he says about an ID. He's an aquatic biologist.

Thanks! Consider duping this info on the boating subforum.

Seems like for a while, things were looking positive for our waterways. Despite the seemingly great smallmouth fishing, I get such a different vibe now and feel like the Fox River is on borrowed time. Laws and policies that once stood to protect our waterways are being repealed and forgotten. Our state is in a massive budget crisis, the IDNR is understaffed, population around the river valley is ever-increasing, more and more land is being paved over -- increasing opportunity for additional nonpoint-source polution, and the effects of global warming are on the rise. In the background, there's always the downstream threat of bighead and silver carp. Even worse, possible war on the horizon. Technology and the availability of information are at an all-time high, yet socially and economically, we are basically sliding backwards. Action has been replaced by arguments. Our water willow plantings are a nice thing, but I don't think we can hang our hat on them. I'm hoping as an organization, we are unified in pushing for low-head dam removal to make a widespread, long-term impact on the health of the river. This does not support an agenda, it is supported by SCIENCE. The fact that the river is still choked by death-machines over a hundred years after they stopped serving their purpose for mills, etc. is ludicrous.

Thanks for posting the info. I'd really like to attend something like this but I don't know what to say that wouldn't come off as self-serving! "Don't F-up a good thing!" would be my advice. However, since economic "development" interests commonly override environmental interests, any praise for the awesomeness of the Fox River as a trophy smallmouth fishery would probably fall on deaf ears. Case in point, the monstrosity that's currently being built along the river's edge in St. Charles where the original Blue Goose market used to be. Very disappointing to see so much riverfront and green space replaced by concrete and steel. "Progress..." for whom?

The head on the Lucid Grips rotates 360-degrees, so there is "give" to accommodate a thrashing fish. IMHO, these are a better option than some of the other grips referenced -- and by "better" I mean safer for the fish. Lucid has a very similar design to BogaGrips. As with big fish of all species, it's important to secure the head and support the body when removing them from the water for a hero shot. It should be a two-handed effort.

Sounds like a nice outing. Good luck -- hope one of you lucks into a brutus. I would think floating would offer more stealth and opportunity than wading.

I got the Lucid Grips and they have been a life saver on rogue northern and musky. After getting my thumb sliced open by a Fox northern, I'm way too gun-shy to ever bare hand 'em again. I always carry the grips in my backpack. http://www.lucidfishing.com/store/p1/Lucid_Fishing_Grip-30lb_with_Built-In_Scale.html Scott, I also went the glove route when I first started musky fishing LOTW. It was a pain and got super smelly and had to be thrown away before the ride home. Switched to the grips up there too. Don't leave home without 'em!

You can condition fish to move to the surface for feeding time with all sorts of stimuli. I did a science fair on it in sixth grade. I've seen similar behavior from my koi. They associate any time someone turns on the basement light with being fed. They'll rush to the surface and begin slurping / snapping. I had a reef tank and some of the very inquisitive fish seemed to associate my presence with feeding time since I was the main person caring for the tank and constantly sitting there studying them. When I approached they'd come out of their hideouts to whatever side of the tank I was on. They picked up cues to associate me with food. Way off-topic ... from age 12 to nearly 30 I was fascinated by aquatic life and fish keeping. I had an Atlantic octopus in one of my tanks (solo) that was a blast to care for. It loved live crayfish and I got it to the point where by merely holding a crayfish in front of the glass it would turn bright red, crawl up the glass to the very top of the tank, flip a tentacle or two out and I could hand-feed it. It would cover the crayfish like a cloak and jet down to its hideout, then about a half-hour later, flush out the empty carapace. The octopus was about the size of a tennis ball and they are very difficult to care for. Not only water conditions but they need a very secure tank with lots of hideouts and things to rearrange. They can die from the stress of being captive. When out in Seattle for training, I visited the Seattle Aquarium a bunch of times and got to talk to the aquatic biologists behind the scenes. They said that the giant Pacific octopus that they have on display are wild-caught and more/less "borrowed" from local sites ... much to the dismay of local divers who are "fans" of them. They are kept on display only for a few weeks and then released back to where they were found. You want to talk about intelligence, wow! Octopus, squid, cuttlefish. Pretty darn "smart" for inverts! Amazing creatures to study. I was just talking to a guy who dark house spears sturgeon on Lake Winnebago in WI. We were talking about the "luck" of a sturgeon swimming past the hole in the ice, and how their decoys seem to appeal to the sturgeon's inquisitive nature. Not necessarily as a potential food source, but just because of their profiles and sometimes garish paint jobs. As Beavis and Butthead would say, "Fish are cool."

Same could be said about never posting pics. ;-)

There's a great discussion on line visibility versus lure action on the Indiana Smallmouth Alliance forum. BTerrill (Brenden) covers it thoroughly and I agree with his points. http://www.indianasmallmouthalliance.org/members/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4435 Many years ago, my in-laws had a summer home on a gin-clear lake in northern Minnesota. On a hot day I decided to snorkel under their pontoon. While doing so, I spied a big largemouth bass hanging out in the shadows. I went and got a soft-plastic crayfish imitation from my tackle box and returned to the area. The bass was still there. I exhaled and sunk to the bottom, stretched out my arm, and waived the crayfish imitation ... enticing the bass. In a split second, that bass darted down and nailed the plastic right out of my hand! That would have made one heck of a cool GoPro video. But that was long before its time. Often times when folks ask if I think my florescent green line spooks the fish, or accounts for "less bites" I tell them that story. I think anglers give way too much credit to fish.

I've kept up fishthefox.com since 2009.

I checked out your Wix site. Really nice!!! I like how you put the full-screen stream video as the page background and have a mellow soundtrack. Lots of good stuff to browse. Looks like you've had a lot of fun building it.

Sounds like a sweet combo! Good luck with it. I didn't get anything fishing related for Christmas. Not complaining though! Got lots of clothes and other stuff I asked for. Mark, nice haul!

Congrats on the new kayak and thank you for supporting Rocktown Adventures. Glad you got a good deal and are excited about it. Good luck with the new ride!

Nice bucket mouth!

What web browser are you using? Do you have a completely new PC, or did you just upgrade to Windows 10?

As an avid birdwatcher, I too find the sandhill crane one of God's amazing creatures ... I tell you what.