Mark H

Great fish!!! I have been up there 7 times with a youth group many years ago. Hard work but a great trip every time. Any idea what lake that fish was caught on?? From what I remember, Bass Wood, Silence & the Man chain for use gave up some nice fish. Can't wait for my kids to get a bit bigger, would love to get back up there!!

I believe it was caught on Ensign Lake. You are right...it is alot of work...but it is worth it!

My son just returned from a trip to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota. One of the members of his group caught this smallie from shore at one of their campsites. I am jealous.

Congratulations Nick. I am thinking of buying the Manta Ray 10. Where did you buy your 12? Did you install the Scottie and flush mount rod holders or are they factory installed?

Pics and report posted at www.tennesseebassguides.com

Once a celebrity, always a celebrity. And they say it is all down hill after leaving such a lofty position. Good one! An unexpected source of humor!

Full grown cottonmouths are usually very dark...almost black however Steve is correct...it is an Eastern Cottonmouth. Copperheads are usually lighter in color, shorter, thicker with broader bands and wider heads. There are plenty of both in Shawnee.

http://www.chameleoncounters.com/venomous/...cottonmouth.jpg

http://www.eitangrunwald.com/SC3-04/SC3-04...opperhead1c.jpg

I agree it is much different than most of the rest of the state. 280,000 acres provides some fairly remote spots. The eastern side is less-populated with quaint old river towns. It is beautiful in the fall.

It looks like you have that Nikon D50 down pretty good to me Steve. Glad to hear your daughter enjoys the outdoors. It is nice to share the joy of nature with kids. Were you referring to the Snake Road in the LaRue-Pine Hills area? That is on the west side of the forest. I grew up in Harrisburg so I know the eastern half pretty well. Let me know if you ever have any questions and I would be happy to point you in the right direction.

Mark

Steve,

Those are some terrific photos!! What type of camera did you use? I bet your daughter really enjoyed her trip. Where did you take the pics? I stopped to visit my parents Wed/Thur on my way to Nashville. Things were really greening up...the dogwoods were just beginning to bloom.

Mark

Congratulations Gregg!

Rich:

We fished Smith and Stones Rivers. Also fished a tributary of Hurricane Creek. They really have some nice water down there. The Harpeth runs through Franklin. The Buffalo, Duck, Elk rivers are also in central Tennessee. Not to mention Pigeon and Gatlin in Eastern Tennessee.

Scott:

The guide did not fish for the most part. He brought along an extra spinning outfit (we could have used his but wanted to use our own since they were new and we had not fished with them previously). He did make casts but would hand off the rod if he was getting any action. I was doing pretty well so he spent alot of time working with my son. He was very attentive. He fished for about 10 minutes late in the day, right before we left and landed a nice 17" smallie. We were with him from 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and he only charged $175. He provided lunch, snacks, transportation, all tackle, etc. Not bad when compared to other guides prices.

I had a chance to visit Nashville over the weekend. My son and I spent most of Friday with Mike Dial of Tennessee Bass Guides. Mike specializes in fishing the small creeks and streams of Middle-Tennessee. We got a late start, getting in the water around 9:00 a.m. on a bright, warm, humid day...temps were in the 80's. It has been an unusually hot and dry spring...not enough rain to push the larger smallies upstream. Nonetheless our first stop netted 10 smallies in a little over 1 hour. The smallest was around 12", two were in the 17"-18" range. The next spot brought us another 15 fish including two more 18". Our final destination proved to be the most productive, resulting in 25 fish including several rock bass. We caught a couple of 17" and two 19". All fish were caught on spinning tackle. We had to stop around 4:30 because we had to attend another function that evening but the fish were still going strong. Mike did a terrific job putting us on fish and attending to every need. His price is extremely reasonable. We plan on going back...maybe in the fall. On a side note, I dunked my digital within 30 seconds of getting in the first stream so it was on the fritz all day. Mike took some pics though. I will post a few after he emails them to me.

Thanks guys. It is a thrill seeing one. This is a good time of year to find them. They did not see this one until they were almost on top of it. Then they heard the rattle. You can see the rattles in the pic. I counted seven buttons.

My son just returned from a weekend camping trip in Shawnee National Forest at the southern end of the state. And took these pics.

Hmmm, thanks for the tip Mark. A co-worker has the camera and has not reported any issues (yet). Still, hearing this makes me a little leary. Common to Canon or just this model?

It must have been common to Canon. It is referred to as an "E18 Error". This should shed a little more light on the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E18_error

Tim

 

I carried my SLR around my neck last season, and besides being risky, its rather uncomfortable. I'm going to buy this little camera to keep in my gear:

 

http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/a530.htm

Steve,

I owned a Canon A530. I thought it did a really good job capturing images however I had a problem with the zoom on the lens. Afterwards I learned that problem is quite common to Canon but they refuse to address it. It costs almost $150 to have this problem fixed so I would purchase an extended warranty. I just bought an HP M425 for a $110. Just a basic 5.0 megapixel, 3x zoom digital for recreational use. The pic quality is not as good as the Canon but I will be happy if it works for more than just 1 year.

I saw your report. I bet that carp gave you a pretty good fight on that float n fly rod. I just got back from checking another flow and clarity is definitely a problem. It shouldn't be too much longer if the temps stay up and the rain stays away.

Good Luck, Tim!! I hope you have a good report!!!

Attaboy Jonn!!

According to McCoy customer service, Cabela's will no longer carry McCoy. Apparently this decision was made by Cabela's. The line will still be available via McCoy's website or through dealers. In the meantime you can pick up some good buys on McCoy as Cabela's closes out the line. Happy Shopping!

Welcome aboard, John! Best of luck to you!!

Hey Mark,

Where do you find the Paca Craw? The website doesn't show any Illinois dealers and no way to purchase on-line.

Gregg

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Hi Gregg,

Bass Pro Shops has them in their newest Master Catalog. I suspect you might be able to find them at local dealers also. I live in Central Illinois and I know of at least 3 dealers who stock them in this area. Watermelon Candy is my favorite color. The Papa Chunks are nice too.

Mark

I watched that also. I counted 7 lions in that pride! Also saw a few hyenas.

NetBait Watermelon Candy Paca Craw...hands down. If fish are hitting artificials they will hit this. http://www.netbait.com/pacacraw.asp

Joe,

Lusk is not an easy stream to canoe for 3 reasons. 1) Water level fluctuation 2) Log jams 3) Accessibility

The bridge on the Eddyville/Golconda blacktop is the only road that crosses it and the most scenic miles are upstream of that bridge. The only way to access the upstream portion is to drive as close as you can to the creek then hike the rest of the way in...carrying your canoe.