Scott Ferguson

The Orvis Company, America's most respected country lifestyle brand for over 150 years as well as the world's leader in fly fishing pursuits, is seeking an experienced Fly Fishing Manager and other fly fishing enthusiasts who'd be interested in joining Orvis as Full time or Part time Retail Sales Associates. The store is planned to open in October at the Yorktown Center. If interested, please email your resume with salary history and requirements to retailcareers@orvis.com. Please make sure you include "your name - Lombard" in the subject line. We offer a tremendous lifestyle, competitive wages plus sales commissions, a generous discount, excellent health and other benefits. To learn more please visit www.orvis.com/careers. Did you know Orvis donates 5% of pre-tax profits annually to organizations that protect fish and wildlife habitat? Visit www.orvis.com/conservation for information on our latest projects. Thank you again for all your help!! Best regards, Aniko

Last Monday's lightning storm that caused a lot of damage throughout the region caused some problems in my home. Relatively speaking it was pretty minor compared to what happened to many people, but I'm giving this warning to let you know some potential problems that can happen to you. A lightning bolt struck VERY near to our home. There was no structural damage but one of my wife's business computers went totally dead, my computer had the built-in ethernet board fried (took out the internet access), our internet router was damaged, and our Dish network satellite receiver got messed up. My wife's computer is still under warranty so that won't cost anything, a new ethernet adapter for the Mac was $29, Dish Network already sent out a new receiver and I had an extra ethernet hub to work around the damaged ports. Everyone of the damaged devices was connected to a (cheap) surge protector and was turned on at the time of the storm. We had just started shutting everything down when we got hit. We never lost power, and none of the surge protectors even tripped. I did have 2 circuit breaker shut off, not trip, just went to the off position, and had 2 GFCI outlets trip. One of those was where my freezer in the garage was plugged into and we did not notice it till the next day when we found thawed meat in the freezer. We always shut off our appliances during a storm but had never come close, as far as I know, to having any problems before so I wasn't in a hurry this time. I was lucky, things could have been MUCH worse, but it's still been a big inconvenience. Next time there's a storm, I'm shutting things off quickly and I'm investing in some higher quality surge protectors.

The thorium removal and river restoration is still going on just north of that area. I'm not sure exactly what part is being worked on right now, but I am sure that that is probably the main source of silt that you are seeing.

Here's a picture of a snake making a meal of a madtom that I took on the DuPage in early summer 2007. I knew there were guys who were catching some cats on the DuPage but I never would have guessed that there were nearly as many as there were smallmouth. I never caught any even by accident. Never even saw one as far as I could tell. Interesting.

Uh...Ken, finding them and getting them to bite, that's what we call fishing.

You do have to register them. The last time I checked, you don't have to put the numbers on the boat as you would with a regular boat. Just keep the registration with you.

I judge by feel when I think my pontoons are full enough. I'm not familiar with Madison pontoons, I've got Water Skeeter pontoons and there is no easy way for me to check them. Even if I could, I don't know what the recommended pressure is. I use an electric pump that will not get them all the way full and have to finish the job with a 2-stage hand pump. I suppose you could mount a pressure gauge to a "T" fitting in the hose you use to fill the bladders.

I also don't buy the "Bluebird Sky" means poor fishing. I had one of my best days ever on a day when there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the bass hit all day long. It may be the rising barometer that brings in the cool dry air after the front goes through that affects the bite. Maybe the change upward in the barometer makes the fish uncomfortable and switches them to a negative mood. Another thing that I feel turns off the bass is that along with a rise in current flow and high water usually comes dirtier water. Bass are sight feeders and when conditions change it may take them a while to adapt. In rivers that are almost never clear, the bass don't have to adapt they are used to it. I have no way to tell if this is correct, but it is a possibility.

Anyone can renew online using the new member sign up. If you want to make sure we know it is a renewal (I usually know) you can put down renewal in the space provided today.

Top 10 Things You'll Never hear A Fisherman Say 10. It's too early to fish. 9. It's too big, better throw that one back. (Ol' Jeff isn't ISA material) 8. Load the cooler up with cokes. 7. I hate baiting those hooks! 6. Let's go in, we're catching too many. 5. You know more about fishing than me. 4. Not this weekend, I'm going to a wedding. 3. We should ask permission to fish here. 2. I promised my wife we'd go to the movies. And the number one thing you'll never hear a fisherman say.... .....Man I wish I was working today!

It's ok to put the list on our forums. I just assumed that's where they were going to go.

What makes you think the list of 19 were not welcome on the ISA web site? It's really too bad you feel you have to add comments of that nature, they don't do anything to support any of the valuable information in your posts.

I've used drop shotting in some heavy current where you had to get the bait down near the bottom which was covered in lure eating rocks. Putting the sinker on the bottom using a lighter line than the main line meant if you did get snagged, you only lost the sinker and not your bait. I was using some of those new expensive swim baits and the drop shot worked well and let me catch this big drum. I know, it's not a smallmouth, but the system works in current too.

I see a need for an instructional brochure (with our name and logo) that explains the program, gives instructions on how the various tools are to be used, and any other pertinent information that would go along with the kit.

I got mine in the mail today.

In-Fisherman did an article that was not about Berkely or Rapala lures? Now that's news!

Just the act of casting and retrieving with a spinning reel, ALL spinning reels puts twist in line. Look at how the line comes off the spool when you cast and how it is put back on when retrieving. Ever use a garden hose? Or an extension cord? Take a coiled extension cord, lay it on the ground and then pull one end away. Now pick up the remainder of the cord and wind the wire back on and see how the wire becomes twisted. A spinning reel works the same way. Mono has more resistance to being twisted than superlines do so it shows the ill effects sooner with the same amount of twist. An easy way to get rid of line twist especially in a river, is to cut off your lure and let the current take out your line at least the length of a full cast. Reel the line back in pinching the line between your fingers as you reel. A baitcaster takes line off and puts it back on exactly the same way so line twist only becomes an issue if you have lures that spin.

The water levels as of now are falling rapidly. Without a lot more rain, by Saturday, it could be wadeable. Why don't you wait a couple more days before making a decision.

I'll be there.

Jim, I do need pictures from the sign posting. Send me all you have.

Norm, things are filling pretty fast with this issue. Feel free to send me whatever you want. At this point it's hard to tell what will make it into this issue and what may be saved for a later edition. It's nice to be able to have so much to choose from.

An article about summertime patterns would be good.

If you have an article or photos you'd like to submit for publication in the next Bronzeback Bulletin, the deadline is May 12. Send any submissions to; isalliance@sbcglobal.net Photos need to be high resolution. Text should just be sent as an email. The next issue should be arriving (depending on the post office) around June 1.

While Fireline is my line of choice, Ken is correct about that fact that it looses it's color over time. I haven't seen it go white (that's what Fireline crystal looks like new) the "smoke" colored line that I use does turn grey.

You can try to glue the felt back on. You will probably repeat the process several times if you don't loose at least one of the soles while on the water. Make sure the next pair has the felt soles sewn on. Preferably, two rows of stitching.