Jim J

That is a great article and pics etc.

6lb mono is too light for river smallmout fishing and you're finding that out. The fish and lures you're losing are telling you that. Very few river smallmouth guys go that light. (see Eric's post) You can pull a truck with 20lb braid and you're only fishing for 2lb fish. 10lb braid, Suffix, PowerPro, etc. It has the line diameter of 2lb mono which is thinner than the mono you're throwing if you're worried about the clear water factor. The other thing some guys do is tie a fluorocarbon leader.

You guys are FANTASTIC! Great volunteers working in a great organization. Many thanks to all and especially Mike who always is on the front lines! Mike, you're right. Unbelievable amount of opportunities for our members. THANK YOU!

skill stick? HA

Don, I just got a pair of these Orvis boots and I really like them so far. Couple of things. Higher on the sides giving you a bit more ankle support. The Vibrams seems to work fine without studs so far. Best thing is a side zipper. When you're done wading just unzip and slip off. That is a great help when bending over and trying to pull off wet boots. They were on sale a few weeks ago, like 30 or 40 buck off. http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=2E0C&dir_id=758&group_id=11059&cat_id=5421&subcat_id=10664

Enbridge digs up leaking Illinois pipeline By Scott Haggett CALGARY, Alberta | Sat Sep 11, 2010 3:01pm EDT CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc on Saturday started digging up the pipeline that halted nearly a third of Canada's crude oil exports to the United States when it sprung a leak two days ago, but the company does not have an estimate on how long repairs will take. Enbridge said removal of the damaged pipe is complicated by utility lines and sewer pipes near its line, forcing workers to dig by hand or use high-pressure water to expose the oil conduit. It can't yet say when that will be completed or when shipments might resume. "Excavation has begun, but it's a busy corridor," said Gina Jordan, a spokeswoman for Enbridge. "There is still no estimate on when we can restart (the line)." The leak was discovered around noon on Thursday at a stretch of pipeline in Romeoville, Illinois, about 30 miles southwest of Chicago. Enbridge quickly shut down its Line 6A, the largest of its three major lines that take Canadian crude to refineries in the U.S. Midwest and on to the Cushing, Oklahoma, oil storage hub. The line can handle 670,000 barrels per day but was transporting about 459,000 bpd before the leak. Canada shipped 1.75 million barrels of crude to the United States in the week to September 3, making it by far the largest foreign supplier. Saudi Arabia, the No. 2 supplier, shipped 1.16 million bpd to U.S. markets last week, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S. oil prices surged $2.20, or nearly 3 percent, on Friday as the leak on the 467-mile line from Superior, Wisconsin to Griffith, Indiana threatened to slash oil supplies to the Midwest. The latest incident also comes less than two months after a smaller Enbridge line on the same Lakehead pipeline system that includes Line 6A was shut after spilling nearly 20,000 barrels in Michigan. Calgary-based Enbridge has still not been allowed to restart that line. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is supervising Enbridge's clean-up at the spill site. It said on Saturday that the oil had been contained and the company was removing spilled oil in a retention pond near the site of the leak. Some oil spilled into storm sewers, forcing the temporary closure of a waste-water treatment plant. However, that oil has also been isolated in the plant's lagoons and is beginning to be removed. The EPA is still unable to estimate the size of the leak and said it was unsure whether oil continued to drain out of the damaged line. "We haven't exposed the line yet so we don't know if oil is still leaking," said Sam Borries, the EPA's on-scene coordinator at the spill site. "But it's no longer bubbling up to the surface."

Hey, you jokin.. There's this Center up the street... Oh, I used that one already.

OK more comedy school time: This is going from comedy 101 to comedy 102 A dissection of the sentence in question and why it's funny. Ron, there is a center up the street that takes in cases like yours. The detox doesn't hurt a bit (they tell me) I've never been there myself. "A center up the street" How many people actually have a center up the street? The odds are no one. So it's an obviously false statement to set up the rest of the humor. "The detox doesn't hurt a bit" Everyone know there is isn't a detox for this kind of condition. A funny statement because you can't "detox" this kind of thing and detox is serious and fishing is not so it juxtaposes seriousness with a light situation. And the word detox is funny. "they tell me" an old joke coming from the school of "I've got a friend...." "I've never been there myself" The jokester has obviously been there but is trying to put on like he heard about the Center. A final injection of self depreciating humor. Now of course someone reading the sentence would actually have to think about this to find the humor in it. Someone reading it and thinking I have a Center up the street and there is actually detox for this may actually need a Center. HA Schools out.

Isn't HA enough. I come from a minimalist comedy background.

The better judgment was humor.

Ron is fine with me kidding him. He always takes it well and knows I'm joking. Now you on the other hand.... Have you ever hear if using humor to defuse a situation? Like duct tape... I never did get that case I needed.

I agree with John. Ron, there is a center up the street that takes in cases like yours. The detox doesn't hurt a bit (they tell me) I've never been there myself.

If you want to make sure that the fish won't jump and throw the hook, switch to walleye fishing. That was funny...

A character on a show called SCTV Bobby Bittman was a character who played a comedian right out of the 60's and 70's. Sort of a Catskills kind. One of the funniest shows ever done. Basically it was a satire of all TV shows. They made fun of news, comedies, soaps, movies. Basically any genre that was on TV. Their takeoff on Fantasy Island with John Candy playing Tattoo is really over the top. Here is a list of the cast: John Candy [series 1,2,4,5; guest 6] Robin Duke [series 3] Joe Flaherty [series 1-6] John Hemphill [series 5,6] Eugene Levy [series 1-6] Andrea Martin [series 1-6] Rick Moranis [series 3,4] Catherine O'Hara [series 1,2,4; guest 5,6] Harold Ramis [series 1,2; guest 5] Tony Rosato [series 3] Martin Short [series 5,6] Dave Thomas [series 1-4; guest 6] Mary Charlotte Wilcox [series 5,6] Check this link to see who these actors impersonated. The lists alone are funny. http://www.sctvguide.ca/characters/#players

Is there a band called Bobby Bittman?

I keep telling you guys... no age jokes...

Cause I like the Rifleman I don't know the answer to the other question. Though I am changing my name to Bobby Bittman.

I really tried to find a picture of a stripper in a basket but could not.... Darn... Google pics let me down.

I'll tell them they're hardly used...

HA It was talking to me.... The sole fell off halfway through. What was left was soft inner material. I could feel every rock, pebble etc... Sort of wet down there too.... (No age jokes needed)

They are real and they are spectacular HA

it's not losing the fish once it comes off a hook. That's because the keeper hook is not locked straight. It flexes. That's the advantage of a Honeybuzz. The hook is hinged giving it the same characteristics as a keeper. they can be made to knick each other and create one heck of a commotion. This commotion can be the only bite some days. The Honeybuzz blade can be slightly bent to make it knock like crazy off the beads ( sounds like a lawnmower) or it can be slightly bent away from the bead and run more quietly.

HA

420