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I was curious as to what other guys do to get rid of unwanted tackle such as rod & reel no longer used or buzzbaits etc that have fallen out of favor ? I don't want to be one of those guys who keeps on accumlating tackle without some means of reduction. I think all fishing trade in specials for rods & reels are over and I do need to get anything new in those areas right now besides they give you so little in trade in value. Is there such thing as Goodwill store for fishing tackle. I hate to throw stuff away if its still good. For example, I was given a huge bag of plastics (worms & tubes), I don't really care for any of it and have used very little in the 4 years I have stored it. I just want to keep things fairly simple and organized. What are some of your ideas, thoughts and or suggestions ?

_{Is it lefty or righty ?}

Thanks, I will give it a try.

When trying to post a picture, I realized that anything over 2.98MB is to large to post but often times my pictures are larger than the limit. How I do fix this ?

I have read all the input about wading boots and was narrowing down my decision however when the sales person asked what kind of waders do I wear, I replied either thermals or none. Obivously this was puzzling to them, appearantly nobody buys wading boots without waders. My problem is that I'm tired of all the rocks, shells, etc getting into my river shoes so I thought I would purchase some cleated wading boots for warm water wading. I have been real lucky with my thermal waders so far except for lack of traction but bought some clip on traction for them, so I should be set for spring and fall. Is my line of thinking off base about summer wading ? I just like to wear old clothes while wading in warm water, I often take a dip when wading the Dupage, I feel its pretty clean. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated on this issue.

Before reading Terry's post I called Cabelas about to see if they still sold Falcon rods, sales guy informed me only two left and were no longer going to carry them. Then looked at the link about the boots, sold! Picked up a pair of felt bottom with cleat option & the last Falcon baitcaster (medium fast) in store which was marked down from 140$ to 80$, it couldn't have gone any better. Then I headed over to Three Floyds Brewery for some awesome beer & food with a couple of buddies that tagged along. Thanks Terry, I owe you one.

I have read all the input about wading boots and was narrowing down my decision however when the sales person asked what kind of waders do I wear, I replied either thermals or none. Obivously this was puzzling to them, appearantly nobody buys wading boots without waders. My problem is that I'm tired of all the rocks, shells, etc getting into my river shoes so I thought I would purchase some cleated wading boots for warm water wading. I have been real lucky with my thermal waders so far except for lack of traction but bought some clip on traction for them, so I should be set for spring and fall. Is my line of thinking off base about summer wading ? I just like to wear old clothes while wading in warm water, I often take a dip when wading the Dupage, I feel its pretty clean. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated on this issue.

I was reading the most recent issue of the Outdoor Notebook I picked up after spending some money at the Bass Pro and happened upon a really nice add promoting the ISA, I felt proud to be part of this organization, keep up the good work.

I looked into this option too since I'm on my 5th phone in 2 years. For 30 bucks I got phone drying/recovery service for two years, signed up figured it was a no-brainer with my track record. They have the machine at the verizon store on Weber rd in Removille.

Last winter the ISA had a few fly tying classes put on by Rich I believe, followed up by some pizza & few adult beverages. Although I'm not much of a fly guy, it opened my eyes to a whole new world of fishing and it was an excuse to get out of the house. I was hoping this winter the ISA could offer an IT class to help with such things as picture quality, ISA website navagation, etc. I admit it, I'm awful with the computer and all that goes with it. Example: I just learned how to take the picture off phone and attach to forum posting but sometimes it tells me image is too large to attach? It is same as other pictures I took, wtf ? I guess what i'm saying is a need someone with superior skills & knowledge to walk me through it. The whole point of the forums is to share with others one's fishing experience right? Often times I cannot do this and its frustrating. I'll buy the pizza, any thoughts?

Its looks like Big hammer is finally jumping on board to what Keitech swimbaits have been producing. I feel the action is far superior to big hammer however my problem is Keitech baits are not very durable and @ 8$ a pack they don't last long. what is your feelings on durability of the new big hammer product ?

Thanks to all who responded to the questions, I was hoping for a variety of answers & input. Got to put some of this good knowledge to use and step my game up.

Apparently I did not get the TPS report that this was fly rod event only so I left my baitcaster in the car and ventured into the world of fly fishing. I thought this was a really well run event & I got a free lunch out of it. Normally I would go back to my traditional way of fishing but as luck would have I won two prizes during the raffle, so now I own a nice fly rod & box of fly's tied by rich. I'm pretty excited, I stocked hybrid red ears in pond near the house a few years ago and have not been able to catch one but will now ! I just need some more tips from Tom L. pretty sure I saw him tie a knot in the air while 60' of line was whipping around, unreal ! Thanks to all who helped at this event and to the small group of ISA members that hit up some local ponds in the area for some afternoon fishing.

I guess this question rather series of questions would fall under this category and would be directed towards Eric. After reviewing his second report where he describes how they attacked the dupe by holding positions and sometimes floating back to hit area second time, I realized how inept I am in this area. I struggle when fan casting an area that has potential to hold fish or have a difficult time when quartering up good areas. I find myself doing more paddling or repositioning to hit sweet spots. How does one do this without anchor? what are some of the techniques guys use. Does it depend on the river or areas (inside/outside bends). How much does the cfs play a factor in the way one approaches, in normal flow suitations?

Our latest Smallmouth Magazine lists a central region outing under "Upcoming Events"...

 

September 20 (Saturday) 7am

Vermilion River Wade Fishing

Meet at the Pontiac Wendys

 

PM Dana Lee for more details or with questions.

 

I've attached the full page of Upcoming Events in PDF format here.

 

Upcoming_Events.pdf

Thank you

I know I read about a few upcoming float trips but they are not listed on the calendar and I cant find them on old posts. I thought I read something about the vermillion float? Am I missing something or not looking in the right spot ? A little help anyone.

After reading all the post trip reports, my first thought was that if I lost some weight that fish might look much bigger? My second thought was how grateful I was, that Nevin's hires really good looking help to help ease the pain of a long float with little success. Thanks to Bart for putting this together, learned some new water, and had fun sharing head shaking blank stares with Scott, Mark. I have fished the Duper dozens of times the last two years & like we were discussing with a few cold ones (ok Scott, semi cold), the river has serious issues right now. I know rivers & streams have many cycles, but I'm jumping on ronk's bandwagon, you better believe "less numbers, less size, etc" are real problems. Until someone proves otherwise, I'm going back to Nevin's.

I swear I read a post on here the other day by someone looking for some info on sugar creek in Indiana but cant find it for the life of me ? I just waded a small stretch and talked with a few people about it. Here is what I found out: Do Not float this on weekend !!!! Big time tubers, they have a nice public lunch in Crawfordsvile and you can float a 10-15 mile stretch to Shades state park or Turkey run. I have never floated this so I cannot verify but hope info will help. It is tough to make out in picture but gas is $ 3.00, that's worth the drive alone, no ?

Im in on this trip Bart

Hey Ed, count me in as well. Eugene said is bringing my contribution to the pot luck for me.

The man to talk with is Gordon P. he knows this river with several different stretches. In fact we did a float trip from Merrill last season. If you are fishing solo it will be tough without a ride back to takeout but it can done according to Gordon with some pedal power. Send him a pm or I have his number if want to get a hold of him. I would love to hit that area again, we landed several big northern & I my first muskie. I can also give additional if needed, I agree about not calling the guides but think they are more in the Stevens pt area anyways. If you got room hit me up.

For baitcasters, I think flouro by segear, 10 or 12 lb is the way go.

They say better late then never right ? I wanted to thank a couple club members for providing opportunities to fish different areas. I had the chance to fish with Eugene C. on a river in NW Illinois, had a great day with several different species including my personal best smallie at a touch over 18".

Bart D. put together an outing at 3 Oaks; and although it was a very difficult day, I learned a new

place and will be back someday. Thanks again !

I was just asked to attend the Blackhawks game at Soldier Field on sat night, they are expensive seats with a parking pass no less.

The problem is I have already purchased my blowout ticket and have not missed one since joining the club. This is a true dilemma for

having played the sport for many years and the game being played in an epic setting ? On the other hand, good food, fanatic smallie

fisherman and Jim J. on the mic dishing out prizes? Hmm what to due? What would you do in my shoes? Maybe I will see you and

then again maybe I won't.

Santa would like to bring me a depth finder for my kayak but needs some advice. I would love some input on personal experiences

with them, pros & cons, favorites ? Unfortunately, Santa does have a budget of around 200$. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hey Terry, I think you right, after I posted my question yesterday, I got to thinking sometimes you really don't want to share the water with others with the possibilities of catching a large smallie.