k olson

Where the hell is Eric ? Rumor has he may be posting on some different forums ? Did somebody piss him off ? I know he is fishing somewhere unless he lost his arms but I bet he could use his feet and out catch most of us. Where art thou ?

Really you were watching judge judy ?

I learned yesterday that Boogerman buzzbaits have gone out of business, this sucks, they have been my go to topwater for several seasons. I have been on the internet & to a few bait shops, nothing left in 1/4 & 3/8 oz wtf ? I was considering buying a few honeybuzz until Eric posted the design change so I figured I would stay with Boogerman, now I cant get either one ? If anyone is skilled enough to build a nice loud buzzbait where the prop hits the shaft let me know, I will glady buy it.

When posting topics in the forums can one save what they have written so far and go back and work on as needed before truly posting ? Don't see where this can be done, just curious, any input would be appreciated.

Eric, can you please repost the pictures & write up you did on the float n fly. I seem to remember you did posting about a year ago describing the technique & pictures of how to set up properly. Thanks.

I bought a pair of Korkers from Cabelas about 2 months ago that have the sole that swaps out, moderately priced, so far so good, usually rise off and hang upside down like the rest of the guys responded with.

Bass pro has limited sizes & selection, I had to order stout, because most of stock were for 6' or taller.

Finally broke down and bought some breathable waders, had to special order them from bass pro. They seem to fit ok, the problem is I don't know what to compare them to for fit or how are they supposed to fit. They do seem a little big, I have no issue squatting down but when standing seem to have a lot of room. I can take them back if need be and get next size down. When I compare them to others in the club and how their waders fit or the pictures on line they seem to slightly on the big side, debating on whether this is the right decision to keep ? Any suggestions, they sure don't fit like my thermals.

I meant the bands

there is no way you could remember all that.

This is BS, I knew someone would be jealous of my water willow planting fame !

Well apparently no one from the ISA reads the Sun times, not one mention about the water willow write up by Dale Bowman one week ago. My guess is that people are afraid to approach me after a huge color picture and several quotes used by Dale. I can assure I'm the same guy; however I would like to take this time to thank the ISA for providing this opportunity as stepping stone for a new career. Since the printing of the article I have been approached by several upscale nursery's & fishing organizations to be the lead water willow planter. This has been a dream of mine for quite some time and although this was my first experience planting, the picture clearly shows that i have textbook form. I have purcahsed a gold plated spade and I hope to sign a multi-year contract with one the leader's in the industry by mid August. Once the contract is signed I may not have much time to participate in upcoming events or fish which greatly saddens me. I promise not to forget about my roots with the ISA and plan on attending next years planting pending the language in my contract which may not allow me to volunteer without a small fee and bug spray.

I plan on attending for round 2 of planting.

Good stuff Eric, hey Eugene how do you feel about bass pro & don't hold back ?

After reading a few reports & looking at USGS, I ran down to Wilmington to grab some dinner at Hayden's pub and check out the river. It was pretty awesome to see 38,000 cfs. Lot of people fishing on the north island where carp & cat were easy pickens, also watched a couple of guys with bows looking for what may be surfacing in the grass areas. South island was closed due to flooding, river not really out of its banks just lots of flooded low areas, dam was nearly level, not much drop to be seen. Lots of big items floating down river even saw a cow on a roof (name that movie) ?

Part A- My current PFD is one from my tourney days, its hot, bulky & not really meant to be worn while fishing. It's great when going 60+ on a bass boat but not so much in a kayak. I'm sure which to buy ? The one's that seem the best that have that little rip cord are a 100$ and don't make sense to me anyways. If you fall out of your yak and hit your head & knock yourself out, who is going to pull the rip cord for you ? Just need something small, light, breathable, and cheap. Any suggestions ? Part B- I have an Abu Garica promax baitcaster that was working fine until I managed to cast it catching my my other pole that was in holder on coosa yak (design flaw, back poles are pointed in). Once I cleaned up the terrible back lash that was created, the guide the spools the line does not really work anymore. This reel is over a year old, warranty is up. Is it worth having it fixed, & who fixes them or is it history ?

Yea the wristband worked really well, just gotta keep that fish from floppin once you get it on the bump board. The tricky part was the mouth on the fish had to be closed or it is a deduction, so once you get mouth closed, you place your hand on the fish (wristband on that hand of course) then snap picture with free hand. Most guys used 30 inch Hawg trough measuring boards, I thought they were going to be to big but it actually worked out pretty well when placing on lap for picture, they're just in the way when not in use. Normally drag chains are pretty sufficient; however with the wind and the way Mazonia is set up (strip mines), everything was swirling really tough to anchor on this day. I think wristbands will work great for the river bassin tourney in July, although fly fisherman should start of with some type of handicap right Tom ?

When I joined the ISA a few years ago, I had just finished my brief stint on a few tournament circuits. I realized as a co-angular that there was no way I could devote the time or money to really be competitive; however having played college sports the desire to compete is always there. The KBL or kayak bass league provided this opportunity. I fished my first tourney on sunday at Mazonia state park. I was hoping to represent the ISA in grand fashion but was not meant to be. I managed one fish in between storms and it flopped back in the water as I was taking picture, wtf ? Rules were pretty simple, wrist band on in picture, 12" minimum, best 3 fish. It was a little disappointing since I prefished this area twice with decent results. There were some good fisherman there, about 28 guys competed, 48" won 1st place on drop shot and big bass was 18.25". It was good learning experience & the 1st place trouphy was really sweet, would have liked to got my hands on that ! I thought the guys who organized it did a good job; however the weather was the biggest factor, I spent more time paddling & repositioning then casting which is my biggest gripe about kayak fishing in general, I would rather wet wade any day if I had to choose. I also found it interesting I was the only one with coosa style yak, all others were sit in. Next up is Evergreen Lake, anybody have tips or advice?

Maybe I should go with packing tape too, I read the booklet 20 times & still screwed it up applying, sticky stuff on the outside. Dont ask me how I did it but everthing sticks to the side of my yak now.

Not only are you a good fisherman, you can write too ! Thanks for writing that piece, I really really needed to read that after my last trip, you must have been reading my mind.

Thought you appreciate this one, especially the Dupage guys. Saw this in today's edition of the the Herald news, maybe someone can find the link & post. I have fished this area with several of you I believe, nice to see that the system works once in a while.

And the one's you recommend ?

There has been lots of discussion on boots, so now I have some decent wading boots but appearantly I need some breathable waders due to fact of almost passing out in my insulated one's while fishing last week. Plus there was some valid points made on whats in the water. I found some made by white river (osprey edition), good reviews, reasonable priced. What are some of the waders guys have liked or disliked ?

I have been toying with the idea on rigging up a front mount anchoring system for my Coosa. I have a drag chain set up for the back but feel a front drag chain would allow me to hold in better locations espically on windy days. I discussed this idea with another fellow ISA member, who was going to do the same thing. I made list of the pros & cons and the one negative that I seem to be stuck on is that with a front mount drag chain, my rope/leash will be at a 45* angle in the water upstream, probably in the 15-20' range. I will be casting near this or futher upsteam. I'm worried that I run a high risk of tangle or break off because of tangle with anchoring system. I had not thought of this before but now I'm really considering scrapping this whole idea but I really think anchoring from the front will help put myself in a better position for fishing. Any input, ideas, or personal experiences on this topic is greatly appreciated.

I happened to catch Frank Hyla's fishing program the other day, I believe it is called "Time on the Water", he was filming a show on a lake just south of Madison. They were targeting smallmouth. The guys the host was fishing with, called themselves "The Cast Crew", they are catch & release group who mainly fish the Chicago lake front & harbors. They have their own line of jigs called "Tight rope". I looked them up online, they seem pretty sweet. Has anybody else heard of them or used them.? Since they are filming tv shows, I wonder if an affiliation with ISA would help our cause ?