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About Crawlerman

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    Sr HotSpotOutdoors.com Family
  • Birthday 02/17/1982

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  • Location:
    IGH, MN
  1. As people pointed out, it is illegal to wantonly kill fish by leaving them on the shore to rot and die. Not only does this make a big stinky mess for other patrons and the city/county/what have you to put up with and clean up after, but a common misconception is that all carp are "bad". Quite the contrary, common carp, the gold kind help control plant overgrowth in many lakes in the state. They co-incide with other fish in a lake and fill their own niche. An inbalance of ANY species of fish in a lake can cause problems, and this is not limited to, and is espically true with game fish. Too many Northerns and Muskies in a lake will cause a lake that is full of small northerns and muskies that eat all other fish, including themselves, and never get to any real size. The end result is a lake full of nothing but hammerhandles. Another common occurence is an overpoplulation of sunfish or bullheads. They become stunted in growth and take up a large bio mass of the lakes population and become too numerous for the few preadator fish in the lake to control, substituting their massive numbers for Biomass that could otherwise be filled with bass, pike, walleyes what have you. If you found a lake that was overun with pike or muskies and decided it was a good idea to throw a few small ones up on the shore and brag about it, you'd probably get shot at. Remeber the problem with the term "Rough Fish" or "Garbage fish" is that designation can change depending on what decade you are in and area of the world you live in. If you were to go over to the UK and state how much garbage fish Carp are for example, and brag about throwing them onto the shore and watching them die, you better be wearing a bulletproof vest. Only a few Decades ago, Catfish were considered "Trash fish that eat garbage that need to be killed..." and now they are one of the fastest growing sportfish in the US. They are now regulated, but at one time it wasn't allways so. At one time, Northern Pike were considered a nussiance and a "Monster" because they would eat more "important" fish like Trout and Walleye. We are talking no more then 50-60 years on Northerns and Muskies being considered Evil walleye and trout killers that should be removed from the lake at all costs. What makes matters worse is there is one species of carp where the DNR have stated it IS illegal to return the fish to the water. And that is the Asian Carp AKA Silver Carp or Grass Carp. The short list of invasive species is short for a reason. This particular species multiplies faster then the common carp and becomes a nusiance to boaters in the form of schools measuring in the thousands. These fish do deplete a lakes' natural biosphere quickly. Not the case with their more common golden realitives. So because of this, Carp haters have another barrel to stand on. Because the DNR tells you to kill one species of fish, you need to kill all the other fish of the same family. A very good example of this mentality would be the Ruffe. The Ruffe is a small invasive Perch that has a diet consisting solely on the eggs of other fish. It is illegal to return this particular perch to the water. Guess what other fish is a member of the Perch family? Walleyes. So because Ruffes and Walleyes are related, and Ruffes are invasive; this means we should go and kill off the Walleyes as well, correct? Just remeber, Common Carp are one of the biggest sport-fish in the World. Just because people in the US think they are "trash fish" doesn't mean that view is shared with most of Europe. I remeber reading a story about a carp in a pay pond that was found dead in the UK and there was a big investigation because the local DNR believed foul play was involved and the fish did not die of natural causes. There was like a 5000 euro fine if an angler was caught killing a carp out of one of these said ponds. It is all strictly catch and release. They are more passionate and protective of carp as a sportfish in the UK then we are of Bass and Walleye in the US. "Sport fish" is a word all in the eye of the beholder.
  2. The main reason I want to fly fish for carp is when they are visably active feeding on the surface on a calm day. If they are feeding on the bottom, I'll switch to a casting rod and doughbait, breadball or corn. I've had plenty of days where the carp are only top feeding and won't touch a single thing thrown on the bottom. This is espically true when they are in extremely shallow water. So what are some good Dry Fly patterns for Carp? I tried a piece of popcorn on a fly hook but they just ignored it. They went crazy over bread on the surface, but it is too brittle to cast with a flyrod. I'm thinking of making my own out of some foam if I can find the right stuff to look like a hunk of bread. What works for topwater carp? I've seen them feed just as actively on the surface then on the bottom espically on hot, windless calm days. I've been thinking of running more stuff with the plain hook rig like mini Marshmellows or puffcorn, but they seem to pick a lot of other things off the surface too...
  3. So I of a few lakes and ponds with a good number of carp in them. In the past I've had luck with whole kernel sweet corn; but now all the carp do is sit and sun themselves, mocking me. They won't touch the corn, even with chumming a half a can all around my hook. They are creating lots of bubbles and jumping, so they are active fish, but they won't so much as sniff at my hook. What do you guys use for bait when corn goes cold turkey? I've used bread rolled up in a ball around the hook before, but that's allways seemed to be more of a summertime bait. Nightcrawlers seem to work for river-carp, but I've never caught a carp out of a lake on them; I think partially because the bullheads and sunnies get to it first. There are premade carp baits out there, doughballs and such, do they work well for finicky carp? Or for that matter, work at all this early in the season? The carp seem VERY active in these lakes, but I think too many people have fished for them with Corn that they are wary of it. Changing the hook size doesn't help as they won't even come close to the corn in the first place...
  4. I've only seen a bowfin ONCE, it was caught by someone fishing off the launch on Linwood lake. There are a number of lakes in the metro where the DNR has caught Bowfin in their surveys. Along with Shortnose gar, they seem to be one of the hardest fish to "target" because they are never a dominant predator species, much lower in population then say bass or northerns. Same goes with Gar which seem to be indengonus to the St Croix/ Mississippi/ Minnesota rivers and makes them even harder to target. I've caught one sturgeon off the St Croix, a very small one- maybe 2lbs at best. To date this is the only "prehistoric" fish I have caught. The bowfin and gar still elude me. I'd love to catch one sometime, just so it can be crossed off the list of fish I haven't caught. That would be a neat ambition- to catch every species of catchable fish that resides in Minnesota waters in a lifetime; however crazy of an ambition that would be.
  5. [Note from admin: Please see forum policy before posting again. Thank you] There's more I could tell you about the differences between IS and what a "fast lens" is but I don't want to clutter the board for what has likely been adressed a hundred times
  6. Yeah, Tamron lenses with Image Stablization are called VR; to my knowledge they have atleast two long lenses with the VR- both are all purpose "super zooms" the 28-300 and the 18-270. Neither is cheap; in the 600-800 range (but still a lot cheaper then L series lenses) Canon does make an entry level long zoom with Image Stabilization, and that's the 55-250 EFS IS (the NON USM model) this lens retails around $300 which is half the price of the IS USM lens at 70-300, which was the one most shops will try to sell you because it costs $600, heh. You have to look around for the 55-250 because it is a newer lens, and a lot of places still don't carry it. It is supposed to be the accompany lens for the 18-55 EFS IS lens that is the kit for the XSi. Also a hint: Image stabilization is useful on long lenses but it is ONLY useful on non-moving targets. Using Image stabilization on something that's moving, IE a running deer or a Dog chasing a water-toy will actually blur the picture more because your A. using a slower shutter speed usually and B. the IS mechanic does funky things with a moving target. Thankfully most IS/VR/OS lenses let you turn the IS on or off.
  7. I still need to figure out how to make the Black Bass NES theme into a ringtone; short of pumping up the volume on my TV speaker and recording it through the cell phone, since the quality is just not there. When I get bored enough; I'll figure it out.
  8. I only have the fishing controller for the Dreamcast; the Playstation 1/2, Xbox and N64 fishing controllers are harder to come by. Many of the Wii fishing games come bundled with a fishing controller to slide the nunchaku and wii remote into, or the third party ones are a dime a dozen. Sadly the games themselves all hover around $50, minus Sega Bass fishing, which is a reprint of a game I allready own for the Dreamcast. The 360 has a few fishing games: They made Alaskan Adventures for the 360 as well as 2 Rapala Fishing games, the Orignal one and Tournament Frenzy 2009- which is the new one. I'll pick up one of these when they get a little bit cheaper.
  9. It doesn't beat being on the water for sure; but there are plenty of times when the ice is too thin to icefish, and for those of us who've given up on icefishing- espically on a record cold winter with no heater and nothing but a hand auger. Add to that days with storms in the forecast or days where the fish well.. just ain't biting. You have to do something to get the edge off, right? So over the years I've amassed a collection of fishing games; mostly console games since the problem with PC games is that you can't run them anymore after 5 years because they are too old to work with the newer hardware without a lot of tweaking, which is more headaches then it's worth. I'll list my PC games here as well, but sadly for that reason, all but one of my PC games are no longer playable under windows XP except under an emulator which requires a little effort, and it's much easier to just pop a cartridge into the old SNES or Genesis without the wait. So without further adue, my list of fishing game geekery. Mind you, being on a limited budget means I can't buy a lot of the newer fishing games; which means there is still a lot I'm missing from this list. Console Systems NES Classic Black Bass USA The Blue Marlin Sega Genesis King Salmon: The Big Catch TNN Outdoors Tournament of Champions 96 Bass Master's Classic Super Ninetendo Bass Master's Classic: Pro Edition Super Black Bass Bassin' Black Bass (I just beat this one today) TNN Bass: Tournament of Champions (Prequel to TNN Outdoors 96) Mark Davis: The Fishing Master Jimmy Houston's Bass Tournament USA Sony Playstation (original) Black Bass and Blue Marlin (Two games in one: Remakes of the orignal NES games on one disc) Reel Fishing Reel Fishing II Action Bass Fisherman's Bait: A Bass Challenge Big Bass Fishing Saltwater Sportfishing Big Bass World Championship Bass Landing EA Championship Bass Ninetendo 64 Bassmasters 2000 Basshunter 64 Sega Dreamcast (I own the Dreamcast fishing controller, it works with all three games I own) Reel Fishing: Wild Sega Bass Fishing Sega Marine Fishing Playstation 2 Reel Fishing III Mark Davis: Pro Bass challenge Rapala Pro Fishing Fisherman's Bass Club River King: A wonderful Journey Xbox (orignal) Pro Fishing Challenge Portable systems Gameboy (orignal and color) Legend of the River King Bass Masters Classic Black Bass: Lure fishing Gameboy Advance American Bass ESPN Great Outdoors Games: Bass 2002 Nintendo DS Super Black Bass Fishing PSP Reel Fishing: The Great Outdoors Rapala Trophies PC Games TNN Bass Tournament 96 (old DOS game) Trophy Bass Trophy Bass 4 In Fisherman Deep Sea Fishing Phew! Sad to say, there are still plenty of games I do not own, in-spite of my efforts. I gave up on trying to collect PC games as that is impossible- there are too many of them and very few of them will run under windows XP or Vista. As far as console games go- to my knowledge I am not missing any US released game from the NES up to the Ninetendo 64. I am missing a whole bunch from the PS2 and a few from the original Xbox. I also own a Wii and an Xbox 360- but haven't got any fishing games for them yet; I'm trying to finish up collecting the older games I'm missing first. Feel free to reply with a list of what fishing games you own, or have played and enjoyed!
  10. I haven't had any expereince with this lens, but I have a friend who has the 28-300 VR Tamron lens who swears by it. Both of course are way out my price range sadly, so I'm stuck with a 10 year old Tamron 28-200 instead
  11. It's not too hard to find an XS with lens for $499; wait for sales either online or at your local electronic/camera store. The XS is essentially what replaced the Rebel XTi, and the two cameras are nearly IDENTICAL other then the newer XS takes HDSC and the XTi takes Compact Flash. The XTi has a few features that the XS lacks as well. There are still a number of places that still have Rebel XTi's in stock new, and you can get them around the $450 price range easily. I've had my XTi for a year now and love it. The 30/40/50D series is canon's entry level pro series. They are a little more durable, but the controls are a lot more advanced then the rebel series. They are also likewise, a lot heavier.
  12. I've had good luck with my Canon Rebel XT and XTi. You can get a used XT for around $300 WITH LENS if you know where to look, IE online classified and places like National Camera Exchange. Same can be said for a Nikon D40. Both are older digital SLRs but you can get some remarkable shots with either, and they are perfect for the beginner. And there are just some of us who can't afford a Canon 5D Mark II with 3 L series lenses or a Nikon D700 Canon or Nikon are both very good brands if you ever think about seriously getting into photography. Both offer a larger selection of lenses then Sony, Olympus, etc do for their SLRs; as they can both use film lenses; which for someone with a budget, finding a used film lens for my Canon for under $100 is allways a nice little gem then having to spend $500 on one that is new. What I would do is this: go to your local camera store, and ask them to let you play with both Nikon and Canon DSLRs; either the Dxx or Canon Rebel series. Both of these are great cameras, and are easy to use. Find out which one both fits your budget and feels best to YOU by doing this. Everyone can say that one camera is better then another; but it also comes down to your own preferences on how easy you feel the camera is to use, or how comfortable the controls are.
  13. Also, for a good all around lens that is a great walk-around and not a dedicated long telephoto- try looking into some of the "super zooms" that Sigma and Tamaron make. Tamaron makes a 18-200 non IS lens which goes as wide as your kit lens but gives you a lot more reach on the telephoto zoom. It is also a lot smaller and lighter then the Sigma or Canon super-telephoto lenses. On the little bit higher end they make an 18-270 IS zoom lens, though this is new and I don't know much about it, other then it is still in the same compact style. Tamron makes one more, a 28-300 with Image stabization lens, but that one retails for about $600; so is slightly out of your budget. The 18-200 non IS lens is currently going for $250-300 online new (at places like B&H). If I had the money I would gladly turn in my 10 year old 28-200 for it.
  14. Also your pictures with the lens are impressive, Sanka. I have the same body and the same lens, but I have never been able to pull off macro shots like this. I'm still convinced it was a Canon L series macro lens with "sigma" scribbled on top, LOL Very nice job.
  15. I also have the sigma 70-300mm macro lens as well, its a solidly built lens. It doesn't feel as "cheap" as the non USM entry level canon 75-300mm either, and costs about the same. New it is around $175-250 if you buy online; otherwise if you get lucky you can find it for about $90-100 used at places like National Camera Exchange; though their selection of Canon EF mount used lenses is allways variable and often very minimal. The macro feature of the Sigma lens is hit or miss. If you are looking for something in the same range that has faster focusing I would look at the canon 75-300 or 100-300mm USM lens. The IS versions of these lenses are very nice but they will cost you double the cost of what the non IS USM lens goes for. The non IS USM 75-300 goes for around $250-270 new online. I've been tempted to trade my Sigma in for the USM lens but there are pros and cons to each telephoto lens. It all depends on what you are trying to do, but either lens makes a great choice for an entry level photographer or one who is stuck on a VERY limited budget- like me.
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