tgoodmanii

I'll second that order Jude!

I'm attending the outing. I don't think we will get too much rain. I guess we will know soon enough. So we are meeting at the cafe in Cherry Valley at 8:00? Man, you guys must like to sleep in. I'll have to do a couple hours of shore fishing before we meet:) Rain Rain go away.....

That's terrible.

If I have a camera with me and I feel like taking a pic, I do. If I feel like streching out a tape, I do. No matter the size or species. Photos and video capture part of the experience that I can share with others. I actually enjoy everyones reports on here no matter how they decide to do it. I do appreciate photos/video, fish sizes, and lure choices if you got them, but share what you feel like sharing.

My oldest son really wants to go out hunting for morels but I've never done it. Got any advice?

Registration is open for the River Bassin tournament being held on July 28. Just go to www.paddleandtrail.com and follow the link. Good news - bank and wade fisherman are encouraged to compete. Sign up, fish your favorite Illinois stream within the boundaries, and then join us afterward in Aurora for dinner and prizes.

Terry, I'll try and attend the kick-off June 9 also. I'll let you know for sure as it gets a little closer. Let me know how I can help with any of the signs. I'm willing to help out any way that I can. Tim

Sounds like some excellent outings. I'm planning on trying to make them all.

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to put this event together. I hope the money that was made truly helps the ISA accomplish its mission to "protect, preserve, educate, and enhance smallmouth bass fishing in our great state. This was my first Blowout and I had a great time. I'm already looking forward to next years Blowout. Thanks again everyone.

Great pics Don. Thanks for sharing!

Great meeting at Gander Mt. Very informative. It was nice to get to meet several ISA members and talk fishing. Now I'm looking forward to the blowout next Sat.

I missed it! When is the next one?

The Aurora tournament is still on for July 28th. I spoke with Drew and he said he may be able to come up for it. I thought it would be good to have him at the final tournament since he is the one who started it.. For those that don't know I'm one of the guys organizing the tournament this year. It should be a good time. I'll let everyone know when registration is open and pass on more info as the tournament draws near.

I'll be there for sure. It will be nice to finally meet some of you guys.

Are these meetings only for those on the committee? I'm interested in getting involved at some level just not committee work.

Exceptional newsletter once again! Thanks for all the hard work to everyone involved.

I appreciated the article and definately think we should handle the fish carefully as not to cause excessive damge or stress to fish. But what's excessive and what's acceptable? Hooks cause damage...should we continue to use them? We should all be willing to be educated so that we can be more responsible fishermen and better stewards, but I don't think it is helpful to nit pick everyone elses practices becaue we personally disagree with them. Lets educate, inform, and encourage one another without expecting everyone to aggree with us on every single point. We should avoid extremes in either direction.

Encourage him/her to join the Alaskan Smallmouth Alliance if there is one. If not, then he could start it.

I'm not sure how the ISA divides up for regions. I'm 10 miles south of Rockford which I would consider North Central IL.

Scott, I've been a paid ISA member since I joined the forum and my title has not changed. Could you please update it when you get time? Thanks Tim Goodman

You both did a fantastic job discussing some of the basics of kayak fishing. My son and I enjoyed it. I'm glad there was a pretty good turnout. I hope we get at least that many people in the upcoming River Bassin Tournament on July 28th. Thanks guys.

I will post the location, dates, cost, and all other info pertaining to the tournament when it is available. I'm not sure why the link I provided does not allow us to view 2011's info. I guess they may be updating the info for 2012. I had a copy of the rules for 2011 saved on my laptop but it crashed a couple of months ago. From what I have been told, the boundaries would be the same as 2011. Any stream within this boundary map would be fair game unless otherwise noted. Tournament Boundaries

My email is tgoodmanii@gmail.com.

ISA Members, I have been asked by Brooks Beatty, River Bassin Trail Director, to organize a tournament for 2012 in my area (Northern Illinois). This year it was hosted by Paddle And Trail in Beloit, WI on July 30. I'm trying to get a sense of how many people might be interested in participating. There were only 5 people in the tournament this year, but I have a feeling there might be more out there who want to participate in 2012. I'm also looking for a few people who want to volunteer to help with organizing and running the tournament with me. If you are interested in participating and/or helping with organizing the tournament you can email me. riverbassin.com riverbassintrail.com