Nightwing

I know I've not posted here in quite literally years(just on to other things and places), but that river is one I fish all the time for everything from salmon and steelhead(large migratory rainbows), to carp. Of course, browns fall into the mix all the time. The lower rivermouth area(City of Manistee area and adjacent lake front) is known for kicking out at least one or two 30lb class brown trout EVERY year, so this was in the end not unexpected. I work in the outdoor retail industry and have been able to talk to several people who know the captor as well as the guide, and both know their business when it comes to river fish. That said...hardly anyone here targets the large browns in that river, most preferring to go after the more common(in season) salmon and rainbows. I bet that changes now however...and don't be surprised to see this record fall again from the same river or nearby ones(there are at least another dozen rivers that hold very large lake browns in the fall, within a 100 mile stretch of coast here.) This photo with the angler holding the fish next to him, really demonstrates the astonishing size of this fish....it looks like a very large salmon!

I wonder where we would rank if you factored in the various costs of housing the U.N? Likely not a great deal of difference, but that is a factor.

And I voted "yes" and would further vote "yes" to all three, if they were up to vote. I ate fresh walleye last night, delicious. I ate perch all winter, taken mainly through the ice.

...and I think that those who feel that keeping a fish to eat is somehow wrong...are missing the essence of the sport, or at least what I consider the essense of the sport to be.

I have never in my life heard of that "law"..and I've fished for a good part of it. Indeed....among the earliest "laws" I learned, was that when preparing a fresh shore lunch, the best tasting fish are those just killed moments before. Usually for me, it's a couple of trout, perch or walleye, wrapped in a few strips of bacon, stuffed with (hopefully), a couple of wild moral mushrooms and chopped wild leeks. I'm glad I live in a univers where such delicacys are still allowed...instead of the bleak, joyless and ever retreating world you seem to live in. I rejoice in the taste of fresh, wild caught fish, or for that matter, vennison I've harvested myself, Rabbit I've shot, or yes, even squirrel, roasted with apple slices and onion. If it ever got to the sad point where eating some of what you caught was consider immoral...I'd quit fishing, as at that moment...we will have lost, utterly, and totally, to the forces of the anti's.

Excellent post. You would fit in well over the pond here as well, Nick. It's not about "raping the land"..it's about sustainable resources being used in a way that goes back to the begining of life on Earth...and the fact that there is NOTHING wrong with doing that.

I kill(yes..KILL), and eat quite a few of the fish I catch. Mostly trout, salmon, perch, walleye(zander over on your side of the pond), and pike. If YOU chose to practice only catch and release..great. But...judging someone who choses to keep a fish for the table to be somehow "wrong", is a morality judgment that's just a slim hair away from that of Peta. I am fully aware that the situation here in the U.S. is different..we have waters and fish populations on a scale unheard of in the UK, and much of Europe. But...that does not change the fact that in some waters even in the U.K., it's perfectly feasible to take some fish for the table,and won't hurt the population a bit. That being the case..there is no moral reason NOT to be able to do so.

Worlds turning upside down, I tell you! We've had an incredibly mild "winter" this year here in Michigan. We only had about 70 inches of snow, total, and it's all long melted. It was in the upper 60's today, bright sun. Supposed to be near 70 much of this week. Spring is here in interior North America(northern U.S. part, at least!).

Whatever it is...it looks like it would make a good bass or pike bait. Here, we would call it a "shiner", I use them for pike, bass, walley, even large trout. The work very well!

Can't say about the price of Jeeps over there, but here, they are easily found and relatively inexpensive. As to ground clearance, this is what I found for the Discovery: Here is a quote from a Brittish auto mag discussing the Defender. It quotes an 8.5" ground clearance:(the quip about it being less suited for on-road use..I would take that as a badge of honor!) So...the Defender, the off-road rated LR, has 8.5" of clearance, I am sure this is refering to the differential clearnance. The Discovery has 8.2, and 10 to the body. I measured my jeep, in the driveway today. The distance from ground level to the bottom of the rocker pannel(essentialy, the bottom of the body), was just over 17". The distance from the ground to the lowest point of the sub-frame, which I found to be the skid plate protecting the drive shaft, was just over 14". The distance from the ground to the lowest point on the differential(rear), was 10.8", front, was 11.2". These mesurements represent the minimum ground clearance, at the lowest point of the diff. Here are some factory specs for a cherokee with standar(read:tiny), tires of 225 by 70 by 15: Those show that the approach/departure angles are also superior to a disco, and that is with tires that are IMO, totally unsuited to off road use, MY tires are considerably larger, and would improve on those stats considerably. Yeah...I'm a car geek.....

Not a clue what a boot is! But...If it's a referal to the tailgate...then not quite sure what the issue is. I assume it's a claim that the tailgate won't close on an uneven surface? The uniframe chassis is actualy a bit stiffer then a body on frame vehicle, and that has never been a problem. And as Newt may attest(from some of my older posts on other forums), I DO use the jeep the way the creator intended..trust me on that one;) Point being...Elton asked for an inexpensive but I assume, capable 4 wheel drive. The Jeep is every bit as off-road capable as any land rover...period. Note..I did not say MORE capable...but just AS capable. But, I never have puddles of "mystery fluid" on the drive in the morning, and it starts up every time, even when the temp here hit's 40 below zero(yes..it gets that cold), and it gets me to my destination even if I have 5 foot snow drifts in the way:D (I think discussion cars is a bit like discussing the opposite sex in some ways..not quite sure HOW, but just seems that way....)

OK..here's some competition. It's really too bad that Jeep dropped the original small frame Cherokee(yeah...I know, over there they market the Liberty as a Cherokee...it's a vastly inferior replacement, at least from an off-road standpoint). I drive a 96 Cherokee, has 123 thousand miles on it, and I've only ever had it in the shop for oil changes, new tires, and to replace a water pump. From an off-road standpoint...those who have owned both them and Rovers..will attest that they will go anyplace a rover can, and perhaps even with a bit less fuss and bother. They have a somewhat better(at least over here) reputation then Rover for reliablity, at least as far as major components go. Rock solid drive train and engine, and excellent 4 wheel drive system. Exceptional in deep sand or mud, as they weigh much less then other similar sized vehicles. They are at least here, widely available as good second hand vehicles. I know they were sold over there, so you might look into one. Here is mine, stuck just today in civilization(parking lot of my condominium).

Excellent fish! (these could be related, they look so similar!) My upper 30's-low 40's from Michigan (yeah..I am a post whore, I admit it! )

when the frost is 2 feet thick, it becomes an issue...trust me.

Chummed the area with a 1 lb can of sweet corn(bought at the local bulk food pantry for 99 cents), and used chick peas and corn for hook bait. Chick peas were soaked in crushed salmon roe(the wonder dip!). Rig was typicaly simple, a #2 egg hook on a 10lb test florocarbon lead, 1 oz. sliding weight pegged lightly about 2 feet up the line, and 30 lb test power pro braid main line.

Not really, they are close enough that you can move your line around them while fighting the fish.

Finaly had a camera on me when I caught a good one. "official" weight of 35 lbs and change, but may have gone over 40 as the scale has subsequently proved to be off on the low end. Taken from Allegan Dam tailwaters, Michigan.

Thats match fishing for you Newt.Matches can be very peggy. I noticed the pairs in 1st and 2nd are pegged right next to each other 80 and 79. Carp shoaling to spawn? That's going on right now here. I fished a local lake today(for other species), and noticed that certain bays were loaded with carp, while other areas were empty. You indeed need to be able to convince the fish to take a bait..but if literaly thousands are in your area shoaling(as I suspect is the case), then numbers alone work in your favor. I suspect that most of the teams involved would do very well if they were fortunate to draw a peg in a spawn staging area!I'll use peg 10 as an example..it's occupied by none other than Terry Fishlock & Tony Davies-Patrick, who love em or hate em, I think all would agree are excellent anglers..yet, they have only a single fish between them. This tells me that location in this tournament was of paramount importance! Note, this is NOT to impunge the guys leading it...as has been said, you still need to put the fish on the bank..but it's sure easier if the fish are there! [ 09. June 2005, 04:01 AM: Message edited by: Nightwing ]

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/i...ate/part41.html Tied to about 1-2 inches in length(up to a 1.0 hook!). Size very dependent on the fish and the water I am targeting.

I have wondered the same Newt. They always remind me of big gold fish, the ones that just sort of "shimmy" around a bowl! I just cannot imagine them being like the long and relatively lean commons we are used to here. That being said, I've never seen one or caught one that looked like that, so who's to say? I've also wondered at times, just how do they end up looking like that? It almost looks like a disease, a tumor or something? If that's just from natural food, the waters must be amaizingly fertile! [ 01. May 2005, 04:46 PM: Message edited by: Nightwing ]

It's a different world here in the states, we have all the room in the world to stalk them(no such thing as pre-determined swims). I fly fish for carp on the great lakes, stalking the flats and reefs like you would for bonefish. I use crayfish patterns primarily...let it sink ahead of a feeding/tailing fish, and just give it small jerks to simulate a fleeing crayfish..the carp pounce like a panther at times. Have not tried surface or small water fishing, as the inland sea fishing keeps me occupied! I have taken fish to over 40lbs using this method.

Call me bull headed, but I hate files that required specific downloads from Microsoft, with all the attendent baggage. Why not use a more widely known file? Anyway...I'll pass, as it won't open on my computer, and the last time I opened anything from Microsoftinthehead, it took 2 days and a complete reformat to get going again!

Yeah, most I have shown it too accused me of making it in photoshop. All I can say is, that's not the case. I have the original hard copy, and negative...not that either really matter much in this day and age!

oh, here is the original, (at least, the interesting part!)