Lost?

Hmm… Been fearsome confused for a month or two, but I ain’t never been lost.

I heard a bus driver talking about this once. She said something to the effect of “Could you imagine trying to get 30 plus little kids unbuckled after an accident?” Seemed like a valid point to me.

I think you’re right. Maybe even sooner. I need to get some bait together, get my gear in the truck, and get ready. It’s looking like I might actually get to do some fishing this spring, if I time it right, and the Ruins ain’t far from work.

I read a lot. Pretty varied material, too… mostly fiction. Jack London, Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Clancy, Tom Robbins, Michael Crichton, lots of others too numerous and random to list. I’ve been on a real Clive Cussler kick lately – just the Dirk Pitt series, though… I haven’t found the other stuff to be as good. Just started Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose, and it’s really good so far.

Wife got me a Kindle for my birthday. Lots of out-of-copyright books are free, so it looks like I’ll be digging into the classics again. Might try to get through Moby Dick again… wish me luck.

I was 10, fishing for channel cats with my cousin on a small river. He caught the intact skeleton of a piglet, hooked through the nose cartilage. After the initial freak-out, we laughed our butts off.

Happy birthday, Bob! Hope to run into you on Nokomis one of these days.

My son had jaundice. They sent us home with a bili-bed and we had him on that for a few days. About a week after we were home, the doc sent someone over to check my wife’s c-section incision and take a blood sample for his bilirubin. Within a couple hours, the doctor called and told us to head to the ER. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he wanted it checked out ASAP.

When we got there, the ER staff discovered that his oxygen saturation was super low. He was breathing very lightly, and basically acting like a premie. And he still had the elevated bilirubin, which also required treatment. That was probably the toughest night my wife and I have ever gone through – exhausted, hungry, and worried sick – with our little boy blindfolded, under the big lights and heaters, with tubes and IVs coming out of everywhere.

I know how it feels, man. Keep your head up as much as you can, and you’ll get through it. The doctors know what they’re doing.

And the Huskers break my heart yet again. I thought it was going to be a good game after the first quarter, and then the wheels fell off.

The Badgers looked pretty good out there last night, and it certainly didn’t hurt them when Martinez threw three interceptions in the span of 12 plays. My theory is that, since he’s used to throwing to guys in red jerseys, he just got confused. NU has plenty to work on, particularly in the secondary.

Sigh.

I haven’t bet on the Huskers since the Colorado game in 2001. I have had too much heartbreak in the last 10 years to talk smack or make overly bold predictions. Wisconsin has not played anyone yet. Neither has Nebraska. I haven’t seen enough from either team to give me a good read on this game. But I will be glued to the screen until the fat lady sings.

The estimate of 20-30,000 fans is just the fans who are travelling to Madison. There will not be that many in the stands, but you can count on seeing quite a few inside Camp Randall. The rest will be in the parking lot. And hey, you should get to know them. There will be some a-holes, just like any school has (and, like any school, the a-holes are the ones who get noticed), but most will be pretty cool, win or lose.

I know I’m a bit biased, but I think Pelini will have this team ready to go. Huskers by 7. Go Big Red!

Pier, yeah, that’s how it’s been this year. And most of last year. And with another one on the way, it doesn’t look like it’s gonna change anytime soon. The next one’s due date is around deer opener, so I kinda shot myself in the foot on that one.

Thankfully, I can watch the kid and football at the same time. It’s a decent consolation prize.

I have a radio. That means football AND fishing. Why not have both?

There’s nothing quite like sitting bankside or in a boat, watching the river roll by while listening to the Vikes or Gophers get beat. Any fish that happen along are just icing on the cake.

Growing up in Nebraska, I used to use them for channel bait all the time. They are best fresh, but I doubt a hungry channel would turn up his nose at a frozen one. I just chunked ’em up into bloody, stinky 1″ pieces as needed.

I hear Joe Montana is in the best shape of his life, thanks to Sketcher Shape-Ups! Vikes should see if he’s available.

Neither. Beard.

Pick one? Yeah, right. I can maybe narrow it down to some albums in the 99th percentile…

Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
Neil Young – Harvest
Mountain – Nantucket Sleighride
Radiohead – OK Computer
Mahavishnu Orchestra – Visions of the Emerald Beyond
Primus – Frizzle Fry
The Beatles – Abbey Road
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magic
Willie Nelson – Red Headed Stranger
The Meters – Look Ka Py Py

Man, I could go on and on…

I have the best luck with corn in lakes, crawlers in rivers. I use a smallish hook, somewhere in the neighborhood of #4 to #8, on a flouro leader with a sliding weight.

They are spawning around here now, but once they’re done with that silliness they’ll be hungry.

Good luck!

What a beast! Nice job.

As the share of prime time given to reality shows and talent contests increases, I find myself reading more books. Not necessarily a bad thing.

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I like fishing at Mill Ruins in the spring and people are constantly asking if I keep or eat the fish I catch there. I need to think of a good come back. Down there maybe just, “Absolutely, I do”, would work.

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Any time I fish Mill Ruins, or any other spot on the river in the city, the questions are exactly the same from everyone:
“Catching anything?”
“What do you normally catch here?”
“What’s the biggest one you’ve caught?”
“Do you eat them?”

The best, though, was when a lady who was standing about 30 feet from me asked what kind of dog was sitting next to me. As there was no dog near me, I had to figure out what she was seeing. “Um… That’s my backpack.”

In keeping with the theme of the thread, though, I’d have to say that my favorite quote was from my Grandpa, as my cousins and I were getting ready to go fishing. My cousin said something about how his socks didn’t match, and Grandpa said, “Ah, he!!. This ain’t a dang fashion show. The fish don’t care what you’re wearing.”

The halftime show is never good. In fact, it’s almost always so bad that it makes me cringe. They could take just about any of my favorite bands, put them at midfield, and make me hate them. I expected the Black-Eyed Peas to be awful, and they exceeded my expectations.

First- I hate medleys. Play the song from beginning to end, or don’t play it. I’m sure others disagree, but medleys bug the snot out of me.
Second- How is it we can put a man on the moon, but the biggest TV event of the year can’t get decent sound for the halftime show? Not that it would have changed much, but you’d hear some junk the way it was meant to be heard, I guess.
Third- Slash, what the heck are you doing? I’m sure you got some serious money to show up and play that little bit, but I will always remember you standing there with Fergie. I have lost a little respect for you, man.

Halftime is for taking a leak, letting the dog out, refilling your cup, and getting some more nachos.

Very sad to hear this, Bob. I don’t know where to go now…

Hope to see you out on the water some time.

Nice ‘fin! Sure looks healthy.

About two weeks ago, while fishing for bowfin, I caught a 12″ tiger musky on cutbait. Followed it up 15 minutes later with a big perch, also on cutbait. A couple days later, a walleye and a largemouth bass also took my cutbait. It has me reconsidering the versatility of cut sucker.

I’m gonna need another cat rod pretty soon.

The fully intact skeleton of a small piglet. The only flesh left on it was the snout, and that’s where the hook snagged it. I was six or seven at the time.

Yup – cut bait is the ticket for me too. The oilier, the better. Shad, shiners, suckers, chubs, a few fatheads sharing a hook…

I think it was never true. My take: There is a line that says you can not deposit fish parts into the water. That, as anyone who’s ever watched Shark Week can tell you, is chumming. Throwing handfuls of corn is also a form of chumming, but without the fish parts. But, since people know that “chumming is illegal,” they figure you can’t use corn. Actually, I don’t think the word “chumming” appears anywhere in the regs. I think it’s kind of a knee-jerk reaction here in Minnesota to assume that something is illegal and err on the safe side.

One thing to be careful of is littering laws. A handful or two should be fine, but if you’re pre-baiting your area with a grain shovel, it could get you a ticket. I guess that’s one of those gray areas that is open to the CO’s interpretation.

Again, that is merely my take on the issue. Don’t quote me or hold me responsible for unwanted outcomes…

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you might wanna check the laws before you take corn with you next time

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Which law? I have looked through the regs, trying to find the law that makes it illegal to toss in a handful of sweetcorn. I understand that using fish parts (chum) is illegal, and depositing harmful substances into the water is a no-no, but a handful of corn?

I’m not trying to be defensive or anything… I would just like to know.

I’ve been fishing lakes for carp, and have been finding them in shallower bays that are warmer than the rest of the lake. I generally pre-bait a few spots with corn, then fish for 15-20 minutes per spot unless I’m getting bites or seeing fish (or the tell-tale bubbles).

They are hungry and cruising right now. Best time (in my experience) is mid to late afternoon. I’ve been using corn and crawlers, with better luck on corn. Most of mine have been within the margins, in less than 4′ of water.

Good luck!

Wow, C&B. All very nice fish. That black shark is beautiful!