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2006 Season in Review!
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t3pt6k
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Port: Grand Haven, MI
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09/24/2006 15:07
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Admin
Posts: 2447
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What a wonderful season!
Fishing started off strong and never really stopped excluding those few tough days mixed in. Started the season early, splashing Salmonhead April 1st in St. Joe for early season action – water temps were not favorable – but even on that day we managed to go 5 for 5 including our first fish being a beautiful king. We also had every layer of clothing we could find aboard … got to love that early spring wind on 40 degree water.
The season progressed well with a couple of weeks out of St. Joe and South Haven where the action that was simply outstanding. Pre-fishing for the South Haven Steelheader’s tournament was an incredible experience, fishing on both Salmonhead and Verdict III for more than a week and absolutely hammering the fish. Blucrop was kind enough to lend the bunkhouse to Team EO and hanging with blu and crew was awesome, even the key lime margaritas.
Grand Haven fishing was very good and challenging but a great time was had by all. The run down and back to Ludington was great, and the hospitality put on by Thunderduck and crew was greatly appreciated. Team EO managed to win the 333 Port Championship and have a much better showing than the previous year.
Manistee Bud Pro/Am was a blast and the fishing for most was good during the prefishing and marginal during the tournament. Sandpiper (Kevin Hughes) ran the greatest captain’s meeting of all time, started exactly on time and finished quickly; I guess that’s what you’d expect from a high school principal. Fished the barrel for the first time just north of Onekema – hard to beat a 150 foot deep 2 mile hole in 50 FOW, although we didn’t catch all of our fish we had a really good time up there, hanging with lots of EA members and talking fishing.
Ran down and back to Muskegon for the Cabela’s shootout and had a really good time, we finished poorly but did manage to get our limit on day 2 and day 1 was just a case of having the right number of bites but not putting the fish in the boat. Saint and the Muskegon Sportfishing crew put on a great event, everyone that is in the area should get this one on the schedule. Pig roast and a off-the-hook Christmas in July party was the talk of all the docks.
Returned to Ludington for the remainder of the season and the Ludington Offshore Classic where Team EO had a very good week of prefishing and an excellent finish for Team EO. We got our limits both days 9 kings – 3 trout and finished 12th out of 75 Pro boats in the toughest pro competition on the lake – the Offshore Classic is the biggest Salmon tourney on the lake with nearly 250 boats participating.
The fishing during the Educated Angler outing was off the hook and as good as it gets – getting 11 fish on Friday night in a few hours and 19 for 28 during the Saturday morning event. Food was great, many adult beverages were had, and the party was quite fun, topped off by a 26+ king being weighed as the big fish. Fishing remained strong all the way through the holiday weekend as evidenced by our slaughter fest with BFG – ask him about the 30 minute night bite in 45 FOW – he still may be bruised.
Our fish were very healthy and bait seemed prevalent along most of the east coast of Lake Michigan from “The Joe” to Onekema. We didn’t have a unhealthy fish, excluding the mutant hump back Laker that Salmonhead landed, and most came in with full bellies all season long; I would estimate a 10% or maybe even 15% increase in the size of our kings on average. Steelhead action was good when we needed it and this year we targeted Lake Trout and caught a bunch, unfortunately during the Grand Haven tourney most of ours were below the legal limit but none the less lots of fish.
But most of all it was a great season where we made lots of new friends, hung out with an amazing group of wonderful people, and fished our collective butts off. Few more weeks of fishing left and then we will see the Team boat hitting the winter storage, planning will begin for next fishing and tournament season and equipment will be getting cleaned, oiled, and readied for 2007.
Thanks to everyone especially our Educated Angler family who has made 2006 a season to remember!
Let’s hear your review of 2006.
 
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Re:2006 Season in Review!
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FLATRATE
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Port: Manistee
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09/24/2006 19:36
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Admin
Posts: 466
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I too had a great season and I want to thank Greg and the rest of Team EO for the opportunity to fish with them again this year. Unfortunatly " Flat Rate" never got put in the water this year and if it wasn't for Greg and Tom I wouldn't have had near as much water time this year as I did. Thanks again and hope to be part of Team EO again next year. Fishing with Greg , Tom ,Jen , Jim and Paul is a great time but more importantly , I am glad to call them my friends.
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Re:2006 Season in Review!
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Medic
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Port: Manistee, MI
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09/28/2006 13:24
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King
Posts: 413
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It was a short, but awesome season for us this year. We wasn't able to splash the Just Right until the weekend of the fourth of July. Since then, I think Denise and I only missed one weekend that I was off staying on the boat. Fishing was absolutely awesome out of Manistee and we NEVER (knock on wood) skunked this year.
The highlight of the year was the oppertunity to fish with Bob (Big Papa) and his wife Carolyn in the 2006 Educated Angler Outing Tournament. We had a blast together and jelled flawlessly as a tournament team. Oh, yea, I almost forgot..We WHOOPED FIN and dominated the tourney taking first place and big fish with my wife Denise's 26.7 lb hog!! Where's that siggy, Greg???  Getting to see everyone from EA again and meeting a few new folks was the best!!
We are already looking forward to 2007 and I can't wait to get our team together again to fish a few different tourneys.
We thank God that everyone here remained safe this year which seemed to be loaded with mishaps on the lake. So, here's to friends both new and old. May your seas be calm, lines be taught, and fishboxes be heavy for the coming season! Thank you to all that make this the best fishing site on the web!!!
Bill Brock
Semper FIsh Sportfishing Team
Boat.. Just Right
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Re:2006 Season in Review!
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Medic
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Port: Manistee, MI
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09/28/2006 13:26
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King
Posts: 413
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WOW!!! Ask and it appears!!! That was quick!! Thanks, bud!! 
Bill Brock
Semper FIsh Sportfishing Team
Boat.. Just Right
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Re:2006 Season in Review!
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Josh
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Port: Milwaukee, WI
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09/28/2006 14:29
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King
Posts: 302
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I had a marginal season, although it was hard to top 2004 and 2005.
We started January first with some decent Bender brown trout action and hope to finish the same way at the end of December.
I fished 3 salmon tournies and one walleye tourney and didn't do particularily well in any of them. Had a lot of fun doing all of them though. The Red Hook Tackle Outing in June was AWESOME! I couldn't have asked for a better event, except we could have used some better fishing. Still, everyone had a great time, no one got hurt, and we made couple of sick kids from Child's Wish smile. I'm looking forward to expanding our involvement with Child's Wish next year.
We didn't boat any really big fish this year. For the third year in a row I only had one king over 20 lbs. The fish we caught all looked healthy and full of bait, however, so I expect better things in the future.
With all the reports of great offshore action for 2 and 3 year old kings that I keep hearing about, I'm hoping those fish stick around into December like they did 2 years ago. Last year we never really got them going. I'm looking forward to putting a few more silver kings in the boat yet this year and also really looking forward to two long weekends of Little Bay de Noc walleye fishing in November. Last year we put two fish over 30 inches in the boat along with several in the 28-29" range. I'm hoping its even better this year!
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Re:2006 Season in Review!
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BirdDog
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Port: Dubuque, Iowa slipping in Kenosh WI 2006
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09/28/2006 17:23
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Coho
Posts: 177
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2006 Was A BLAST! 
My first season with my own rig was unforgettable and very successful. I owe it all to the numerous guys that took me out over the past few years and showed me the ropes. From my first big lake trip with Josh to several with Trollinator, Red Rider, Playin Hooky (even snuck in a laker trip with Coz) on the WI side to trips with Pucker and Salmonhead on the MI side, just to mention a few. I would have to say that I had a unique opportunity to learn from some of the best out there!
The most rewarding thing about this season was being able to include my family more in this addiction, the kids had a GREAT summer!
Overall, numbers out of Kenosha were very strong all year. Spring cohos were plentiful and healthy, Kings started early and were well fed and powerful. I flirted with 20# several times this season without breaking it. Missing the whole month of August probably didn't help much either! I can't get over the amount of bait we saw this season. Almost all of our fish had full bellies and we marked huge bait balls all season. Promises good things to come!
Thanks again to all my EA friends for their assistance in another fabulous season.
Bob Vohl "Ka-Bob Master"
Official Iowa Delegate to Team Heavy
Super-Sized Fishing Specialists
www.teamheavyfishing.com
bob@teamheavyfishing.com
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Re:2006 Season in Review!
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Verdict
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Port: Ludington, Michigan
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09/28/2006 20:59
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Coho
Posts: 200
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I think the best way to describe the 2006 season is that it was outstanding. Both in terms of the fish caught and the company I spent it with.
Anytime you start the season with a new boat, there is obviously great anticipation along with some apprehension. Thoughts like, "will it troll as well as my last boat?" or "I hope there will not be a huge adjustment to fishing this rig". With those and many other thoughts having run through my mind over the off season, looking back I my expectations were met and far exceeded.
We started the season off with a bang... A quick shakedown trip out of Ludington, then off to South Haven for a 9 day fishing bonanza with Greg, Paulie, Ken, my crew and others to pound on the spring kings and lakers. Despite the misfortune of a blow motor by the end of the week+ of fishing, we also ended up a nice finish in the SH tourney, some hardware and a some cash.
Greg and Jen were kind enough to get me on the water while a new motor was put in the boat in June, and I was able to experience amazing hospitality and some very difficult but rewarding June fishing. From there it was off to the Manistee Bud Pro/Am, a personal favorite annual event. We didn't have nearly the success we have experienced at the Bud in prior years, but were able to muster a decent 333 result and some break in time for the new powerplant.
The first couple weeks of July were slower than expected, but my the middle of July the fishing off waters near Muskegon and Ludington was in full force. My first trip to Muskegon had me very impressed by the quality of the fishing. Prefishing for the Cabela's Salmon Shootout (which I highly recommend - thanks Vinny!) was nothing short of HOT (both temperature and the action). We only did half our job during the tournament days, catching only one limit, but fortunately redeeming ourselves with some large fish. After three tournaments, we had yet to walk away empty handed, which was a very pleasant surprise.
The next week we were back home to Ludington for the Gander Mountain Offshore Classic and some redemption from the year before. The fishing was superb (with the exception of a double hook rig attached to my calf and a nice salmon's jaw), with large salmon in abundance with a healthy population of trout mixed in. Despite our inability to catch that one last legal trout (we threw back 4 undersize trout on day two), the Verdict III crew had our best performance and showing of the year with a top 5 finish in the pro division against the toughest competition on Lake Michigan.
If July was a great month, August may have been better. Fishing around Ludington and Frankfort was nothing short of phenominal. Fast limit catches of adult kings was the norm. We brought some very heavy boxes to dock throughout the month. We finished off our tournament season in Frankfort where we failed to place as well as we hoped due to a failed water pump on day 2 (though we still boxed 18 fish that day).
September's fishing was a bit slower (but only slightly) than July or August, but wasn't plagued by the crowds which was refreshing, as was the cooler weather. The boat is getting pulled on October 7, so the end is quickly approaching, but we will be readying for 2007 on 10/8.
A big thanks to everyone we met and spoke with over the year, but particularly Greg, Tom, Jen, Paulie, the rest of EA gang, the crew of the Wood Wrocker, our team sponsors, and my crew (tournament and non-tournament) for a very memorable year.
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Re:2006 Season in Review!
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BFG
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Port: Anchor Point, Lake Erie
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09/29/2006 12:02
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King
Posts: 991
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2006 Great Lakes Salmon Fishing Season...Wow..where to start??
Started the year off right with a 2-day adventure with Paul, Greg, Tom, and Rick at St. Joe. Landed some very nice fish, including a 14# king that required the assistance of Greg (loop in line on spool) and Paul (gunwhale net job) to land. Came up a little shy in the outing on Saturday, but it was a great two days nonetheless. Hoping that Tom's editing skills are in good shape, as he'll certainly need to cover a few slips here and there during that battle.
Hooked up with Puckstop for a one-day trip out of South Haven in early May. Fought long and hard to scratch out 8 fish. Once again, the Proline performed flawlessly, and reinforced my opinions regarding those craft.
Middle of May saw me venture to Kenosha for a weekend with Bobby and Corrina. Kyle and fiance' Jen, along with Special Ed, attended as well. Murdered the cohos over two days...something crazy like 50 fish between the two boats. Great to see Trollinator again, and share some beverages on the dock Friday night with a bunch of friends.
Took most of June off to golf. Judging from the fishing reports, it was a good idea. Took out the salmon fishing frustration on Lake Erie walleyes with Conman. Awesome...
July found me with Bird Dog for a week at Racine for Salmonarama. We fished with Trollinator in the Silver Challenge, and Team Heavy made its official debut at the Two on a Boat tourney. We fished well, weighing in a very respectable box, even though we came up 4 fish short. Bird Dog's 18# 7oz. king was on the leaderboard for some time thereafter. Learned a lot about tourney fishing and each other over that week.....and will be much better for it in the long run. Sharing the cuddy with Bird Dog for the week was great...I don't think I've ever laughed so hard for so long. Experienced true dehydration for the first time. Egads, not good.
Got to meet Capt. Rich again, along with Greybeard and Chinookeith. Red Rider showed up mid-week to provide some much needed sustenance, along with a lot of laughs and guidance. Special shout out to Shirley, the Team Heavy Den Mother....thanks for everything babe!!
The EA outing aboard the Salmonhead in August was awesome. Period. When Puckstop informed Bobby and I that he would likely not be able to attend, we were concerned (for about 8 seconds) that we would be without a ride for the weekend. Enter Capt. Paul and Reid...and the rest is history. Medic is lucky we didn't weigh more than three fish that day....LOL Unfortunately we were unable to fish on Sunday morning...but that's ok...as I partied like a Rock Star on the dock at Harbor View on Saturday night. My head was a bit fuzzy come Sunday AM. It was great to see Bob (Broken String), Big Papa (and wife), finally meet Blucrop (what was that stuff you were drinking anyway?), and to watch Jen's relatives fall asleep on the dock from intoxicat..err...exhaustion.
Made the trek to Lake O. to fish with Werner for a day. Tough conditions and warm water out to 800' made for an interesting trip...but it was a riot nonetheless. Werner is a great guy and incessant fisherman. Bro in law Todd caught his first king on a 500' copper rig...LOL. Watching that 15 minutes of forearm burning misery made my day...
Labor Day weekend nearly put me in labor after I landed on the gunwhale of the Tiara in the middle of the "45fow fire drill" on Saturday evening. With the deck of the Tiara covered with 4 yr. old kings, the last fish hits, I go for it, my feet totally go out from under me, and THUD!!!! Luckily for me, nothing was broken, although I still have a golf-ball size knot on my elbow from the Vector tree, and a tennis ball size knot on my side from the gunwhale. Words cannot explain how hectic and crazy those 38 minutes were.....unbelievable. Special thanks to Greg and Jen for the invite for the weekend. Your boat is something to be desired...awesome fishing platform. And now I know where to stand while under power ("uh G...where do you want me to stand dude...".."huh?..what in the Hell are you talking about Clarkie, this boat weighs 20,000#!!!?"). I think Greg still finds that quite hilarious.
Hooked up with Little Dandy a couple times for Erie walleyes as well, and learned a bunch about the big board program that he runs. Caught more fish than he did with Salmonhead in May, so at least I can say that I out-fished Paul at least once in my lifetime.
All in all, and awesome season...and guess what? It is FAR from over for me....Central Basin walleyes, winter steelhead, and before I know it, the fish will be in the Maumee again.
Thanks to all from the site for inviting me to fish with them this year, and for helping to feed my addiction for fishing. Were it not for this site, and the many "most excellent" friends that I have made over the last 18 months, my fishing log would have been somewhat incomplete.
Best wishes,
BFG
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Re:2006 Season in Review!
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salmonhead
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Port: Muskegon, South Haven
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10/02/2006 11:10
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Moderator
Posts: 828
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Fantastic season again for me. Fished hard even after the birth of Breanne in June. Started chartering this year and that has been a success thus far. I ran more trips than I thought I would so that is a good way to start.
Had fun fishing tournaments early on, but couldnt make it for any later in the season.
I broke my personal record for amount of fish boated this year by quite a bit, but I think that is mostly a function of having more people on board when the fish are biting. I fished about the same amount and actually have a few less hours on the boat this year, but there is still the month of October to go after steelies.
I had a great time fishing with other people again this year. That is actually what makes it so much fun. Had Clark on board a couple times, Team EO, fished aboard Waypoint 1, fished with Little Dandy on his boat and mine, fished on Bad Habits, had Reid and Bird dog on for the picnic with Clarkie to make up the Quad state fishing team, plus all the dockside social and inter-boat communication. 2006 has to go down as a top year in all aspects. Looking foreward to a few more trips in October and then next April.
Show season will be upon us soon enough and we will all be itchin to get out there again.
 
www.salmonheadcharters.com
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Re:2006 Season in Review!
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RedRider
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Port: Port Washington WI
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10/02/2006 20:03
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Coho
Posts: 294
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 I had planned on starting by saying what review as I was still planning on fishing till mid. Nov..that came to a close 10-1 as the little Honda got a bug.After 23 years I think she needs a new set of rings as I now have excess oil in carb. area and gas in crankcase..
Back to the past season; definately down from the past 2 in number of trips and fish average.They were much plumper for the lenght this year which was a pluse.
Thanks again to EA for thr great frienships from across the pond. Already have vacation booked for next years outing if Paul will have me back.
If anybody gets the chance to fish with Bird Dog and Clark for SAR. its an experience you'll never forget
Learned a little about tourny fishing and need to learn LOTS more but had fun trying and thats what this is all about. FUN
almost forgot, thanks for the great CD. Bob.
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Re:2006 Season in Review!
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BFG
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Port: Anchor Point, Lake Erie
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10/03/2006 08:23
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King
Posts: 991
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LMAO @ Reid....
"Bobby....turn on the rocket launcher lights...I can't see $%#%!!!"
"Use the damn headlamp that I gave you the other day dummy.."
"I gave it back to you....AND I STILL CAN'T SEE WHAT I'M DOING HERE DUDE!!!!"
"Screw it then...pull 'em and let's go in..." All this while the fish finder screen is lit up like a Christmas tree on December 24th...
Quiet ensues aboard the Playinhooky for about 11 minutes....
"Sorry Bobby...."
"Whatever whiphead..."
Believe it or not....I finally did find that headlamp Reid...and it was right where I put it...in my tackle bag in one of the side pouches...
Could have sworn that I handed it back to Bird Dog....and I'm sticking with the story that I did, and he MALICIOUSLY put it in my bag just to cause confusion and unwanted angst on the boat.
If anyone has an inventive side to them, consider developing a headlamp that will work for a guy who wears bi-focals....
Poor Reid....Head down = light to see = but still can't see as he's looking OVER his glasses. Head up = no light = still can't see crap, even through his bi-focals b/c it is dark...
LOL
Ah yes...some choice words off of good 'ole Wind Point were spoken that evening....
Thank God at least a few fish cooperated the next morning....I was afraid that Reid was going to take his coolers full of food and beer back to Port Washington and start telling all his buddies bad stories about us...
BFG
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Re:2006 Season in Review!
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BirdDog
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Port: Dubuque, Iowa slipping in Kenosh WI 2006
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10/03/2006 09:54
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Coho
Posts: 177
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Oh Man, I am sitting here at my desk with tears rolling down my cheeks from laughing so hard. Just thinking about that 20 minutes in the dark off wind point with you crying about being scared of the dark and Reid with the cap light pointing up when he tilted his head back to use the bifocals.....
I think I might have just peed my pants!
How are we ever going to top 2006???
Clark, do you think we should take Reid's comment "If anyone gets a chance to fish with Birddog and Clark at SAR. its an experience you will never forget" as a compliment???
Bob Vohl "Ka-Bob Master"
Official Iowa Delegate to Team Heavy
Super-Sized Fishing Specialists
www.teamheavyfishing.com
bob@teamheavyfishing.com
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Re:2006 Season in Review!
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BFG
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Port: Anchor Point, Lake Erie
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10/03/2006 10:32
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King
Posts: 991
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LMAO...
I was wondering the same thing Bobby...what was Red Rider REALLY insinuating with such a comment???
We're not bad guys. We only played Ultimate Fighting Championship three times in one week in the back of the boat (I still want a re-match)...but everyone needs to understand that it is difficult to beat your opponent when his center of gravity is slightly north of Beijing. I know...excuses, excuses....
Head up, head down...head up, head down..."I STILL CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!!!!!!"
ARGGGHHH!!!
Don't forget..we also improved our dance moves by learning the Trollinator pirouet!!!
Good thing Bobby took down the "Racine Hottie Hotline" number...we'll put that to good use next year, eh budro?? LOL
"Hey baby...you lookin' to party..my name is Shaytasia and this is Fantasia..??" "oh yeah Shaytasia...slip #1, white Sea Sport, really clean and shiny boat...my name is Steve and this is Dave...just come on down, no need to knock, we've got the A/C on full blast.."
And Reid thinks we stuck him in a bad spot for two nights....
LOL
BFG
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Re:2006 Season in Review!
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BirdDog
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Port: Dubuque, Iowa slipping in Kenosh WI 2006
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10/03/2006 11:15
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Coho
Posts: 177
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Jeez, thats right! I totally forgot about trying to steer the "ladies of the night" over to surprise Steve and Dave. I would have given anything to be a fly in the cabin of the Trollinator as the two party girls let themselves in....
2 days of dehydration makes you a little punchy I think!
We might have gotten  from the Trollinator.
Just for the record I whooped you in our UFC bouts like your Buckeyes whooped my Hawkeyes last weekend!
SAR 2007 Rematch, Grudge Match. Maybe we can get a pay per view setup. Maybe the proceeds from the PPV would help pay our beer and gas bill?
Bob Vohl "Ka-Bob Master"
Official Iowa Delegate to Team Heavy
Super-Sized Fishing Specialists
www.teamheavyfishing.com
bob@teamheavyfishing.com
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