Why do you Blog...

Blogging...

After being asked by more than a few folks, what in the heck is a blog, and why do you do it, I came up with this little blurb to keep it simple for starters. :-) Go see if you think the same way as I do about blogs and blogging or to encourage yourself to blog. ;-)

Why do you Blog?

My Two Essentials...

Are you like a lot of folks out there these days that take their cell phone with them, everywhere, all the time? These things seem to be the top choice of things a person always has with them now days. I don't own or use a cell even but I do carry certain things with me daily, everywhere, anywhere, always. ;-)

Two cool tools...
There are many fine things to carry with you when you step into the woods these days, to be sure. I also have my share of pretty neat gadgets and some fairly cool gizmo's too but when it's all said and done, there are two things I am NEVER without. Doesn't matter if I'm hittin' the boonies or just fishin' Shirley's Bay or Dow's Lake for that matter, these two indispensable items are my constant companions...A knife and fire...
In this case it's an old S.A.K. and a mini-Bic that I'm carryin' but I have used many other knives and tons of lighters over the decades. As a matter of fact, years ago, back in the day, I wouldn't be caught dead without my trusty Zippo! :-)

I'm not trying to sell you anything here, it's just that these two little things are pretty easy for anyone to get and they won't set you back too many bucks either. The Swiss Army Knife (S.A.K.) has come in so handy, so many times that it's paid for itself tenfold at least. I've used every single tool on there and more than once too. Cutting chores abound off the beaten path so any decent knife can make your visit there, better. Even if you only used it to cut and sharpen a few willow sticks for wieners or marsh-mellows with your children, over a little camp fire.

If perhaps you are not someone who has some kind of jack-knife or whatever in your pockets, you just might want to consider packin' both of these cool little tools around with you too. They take up no room and both could easily save your life or even someone else, depending on the circumstances you find yourself in, during the coming times. ;-)

Oh ya, and remember, even though they are all wonderful, you can't light a fire with a cell phone or an ipod or a GPS unit, for that matter. :-)

Cheers!

Rockin' with College Bassin'...

College Bass Fishing!

Here's a link to a Cool piece written By David Boraks, over on DavidsonNews dot net that gives the world a fine insight as to what's happening lately in many colleges across the land....

Virginia Tech leads Bass tourney | DavidsonNews.net

Man, I wish this kind of Super Sic Stuff was available back a few decades ago, when I was wanting to be a Bassin' Pro! How much does this Fishin' stuff Rock, I ask you? :-) Just shows us again, how good the young folks have it to-day, eh! :-)

If Your child Loves fishing, have you considered starting him or her on this particular course in life? With Universities jumpin' on the Bassin' band wagon lately, your kids could fit right in there. I'll tell ya, National fame and fortune can most certainly be had through Pro Bass Fishing these days, no doubt about it. Just ask Kevin Van Dam with his more than 3 Million smackers bankrolled from those cool Bassin' Tourneys. :-) So you see, the younger you start and encourage your offspring, the better chance they'll have at turning their Love for Fishing, into an actual, for real, career.

Remember also, that You are the absolute Best Promoter slash Coach slash Bud that they have, in whatever they do anyways. So, why not let yourself think then, that they could be rubbing shoulders one day perhaps, with the likes of G-Man, or Ike, KVD, Clunn, Jimmy Houston, Skeet Reece and all those other Awesome Bassin' hero's of ours, if they really wanted to? :-)

Go read up on some of these fine young American College boys who'd rather play with Bass, than foot balls, golf balls, basket balls etc etc. and be televised with their buds and Bass. :-) My hat is off to ALL of the participants in these excellent Bass Tournaments.

Go get 'em boys! :-)

Lar

Coolest Card Ever...

From My Best Friends...
This card came in the mail the other day to celebrate my birthday and put a Very large smile on my face. I have to say it is the Coolest Birthday Card I've ever received. It's so nice when folks you know, think enough of you to send a lovely hand picked card to share Birth-Day wishes over the miles... Thank you Bruce & Elaine for keeping me in your thoughts and sharing your kindness with me, again.

The sunny weather this morning prompted me to get out for a little bike ride again. It's just amazing what a bit of touring around on a bicycle can do for you. It makes you more aware of how "healthy" you may or may not be and gets you better than you were before you started, always. :-)

I thought the sheer starkness of the empty and vacant canal with it's old, time worn gears, looked pretty cool beside my trusty two wheeled adventure machine... ;'}

Neat wheels

Coasting down the hill at Hartwell's and along the canal, brought me to the very lowered shores of Dow's famous lake. This is a little of what this shallow, fragile lake, looks like with millions of gallons of water, pulled out of it in the fall. It sure exposes a lot of hidden hidey holes, that you don't see in the summer, eh?

Fall Draw Down on Dow's Lake

Although I couldn't get anything to hit this tempting morsel to-day, I was indeed struck by it's beauty, just a settin' there, on my hand-grip, all comfy like, like that. :-)
Cool Color Combo...
Next time maybe...

later...

Four Twittery things...

For all you Twitter lovers out there, I wrote this little blurb back in June but I think it's due for another run. Here's four powerful T's that can change the way you work. Check them out.

LarryB's Blog...: Four Twittery things...

Fly Fishing Attire: By The Outdooress...

More beauty in the Outdoors...

Looks like this is kind of a part of a series on Outdoor Ladies that I've been digging out of the web. All together on my four different blogs, a nice number of Outdoor gals have already graced my posts. You see, I've always had a very high regard for Women who really enjoy doing Outdoorsy things. This then, seems to be a good platform to extend that Respect for those girls out there who touch fish and smell campfire smoke and such.

Best Friends...

Is it just me, or is there something Very attractive about a woman sportin' a fishin' rod and hangin' around in her Comfy's with a beautiful dog? :-)

I just recently discovered Rebecca or as shes known on Twitter as @Outdooress, by following a few of my friends on Twitter. I can't say enough about Twitter by the way, it's Awesome!

This lovely young woman loves to Fly Fish and is really no stranger to a gun either. OoooRa! Shoot 'em up! :-) This lady's skills on a key board or a notepad and pen I'm sure, are right up there as well, as you'll see for yourself. This girl knows how to get all of us Outdoorsy types, feeling just exactly what it is she's writing about, and liking it. :-)

Rebecca is also pretty good at tossin' some fine fishin' humor, in her posts to boot. :-) Just ask her about the treble hook in the baby's forehead story. LOL!

Anywho, go give her excellent outdoor page a look see. You'll love it, I'm sure.

Runways On The River By The Outdooress...

Oh ya, and don't forget to check her out on Twitter too!@Outdooress Which of course, she most certainly is... :-)

Tell her I sent ya and if you have a blog or website, You just may possibly earn a blurb in here too. ;-) After all, I have been known for wanting to spread the many facets of the Outdoor World to others, All of my life. ;-)

Sharing is good. This Internet thingy has suddenly, with all of it's marvelous apps, enabled all of us like-mined, true blooded folks who Dig the Woods & Waters, to Unite! Man, my dreams are all coming true... :-)

Pass it on.

Sincerely,

LarryB

Toronto singer Taylor Mitchell dies in Cape Breton...

Heavy Hearted writing...

Well folks, my day started off really sad this morning, after reading this story which I'd heard about on Tuesday after finally Google-ing it. I was so moved by all of this that I wrote about Taylor on my other blogs too, because I want more people to read about this amazing young woman who could have been anyone's daughter, sister, or friend. Then I sent a note to Twitter as well, for the same reasons.

If you get a chance, go and visit Taylor's Facebook page too. There's lots in there to show what a cool and talented girl she was. I'm man enough to say right here, that I cried for this young lady as I read some of her stuff and where she was going with her life. :-(

Destined to be a super role model, now only an aching memory for many of us. Thank God this sweet and gifted lady, left some of her great music for us all to enjoy...

This is a nice shot from her picture section on Facebook, taken by James Dean and borrowed here to share with you to-day.



Here's a link to the very sad story from Canada dot com...

Tragedy strikes Cape Breton...

Although you were taken from us far to early, God has you now Taylor. You are in real good hands...

R.I.P. Taylor Mitchell, we all miss you...

Another Biking tour...

Some fall biking...

To try and keep myself in at least some kind of shape, I took my old Adventure-Cycle slash Life extender unit, out for a spin the other day. It always takes me about five or six minutes with the wind in my face, and my bod leaned over in stroke mode, legs pumping, before my little brain says, like, Why aren't you biking every day, bonehead? :-) This just feels SO GOOD!

Anyway, first stop, leaf city...



Next up, a little wheelin' through a little rougher stretch of "deer trail" in here dodging Kama-kazi Squirrels and flocks of squawking Starlings to steer towards, finally, the river...



...where I spotted this little cutie pie. Got to work with him for a few moments too. :-)




... and then this neat little "Fall-Bloomer" type of cool, tall bush, which I have No clue as to what it may be, appeared right there too. It looked real Pretty though! :-)



And then, a quiet little semi-secluded, future fishin' spot, reveals itself to my wondering eyes. Hmmmm. Inflowing creek emptying in the Ottawa. Hmmmm.


...a little further on, and then, nothing... the end of the line.


I'll tell ya, it sure felt Super to get my little ol' self outside again crankin' those sprockets once more for a few healthy, and very fresh hours. Also it's great to see a few of the neat things that are always goin' on out here, all around us, too.

I hope most of You are doing Your part in keeping healthy in body and mind as well. It ain't easy all the time, but most certainly well worth it! Get Outdoors! :-)



later,

Birthday Weekend fun...

Fishing the Ottawa River...

As a kind of Birthday present for me this year, I was fortunate enough to spend some time on the Ottawa River this past week-end with my good friends Jack and Art. We caught quite a few fish and really had a great ol' time. :-)

Now, although I've been sworn to secrecy as to just where we were actually fishing, I Can say that we were a few miles downstream from the Petrie Island area. :-)

To start things off, my Trout fishing buddy Art, added to his species count with this decent sized wet kitty that fell all over his spinner rig.

Cool Kitty

This is the average size of most of the Walleyes we caught.

Got Walleye?

Of course, the Captain of this awesome Lund fishing boat, Walleye Jack, caught this sweet, fat hog, to show us all, just how it's done. :-) Congrats on such a fine Walleye there Jackman!

Jack's Walleye...

This big ol' river is really a great place for catching a variety of fish. Check out this big eyed boy that you don't see in too many places.
A Mooneye Cool or what, eh? :-) Here's a link to a neat website where Rolf, from Alberta, tells us all we need to know about this very neat, Trout-like fish.Rolf's Flies

We moved around some in the wind and the current and before we knew it, we had tapped into the Sauger population too. Once more, my man Jack shows us that he knows what he's doing out there, eh?
Sauger Boss...

Here's a shot of Jack's fishin' buddy Guy, with a nice catch that he and Joe put together on Sunday. Sweet!
EeeeHa!

All in all, the fishing was real good and spending time on the water with a few friends is pretty hard to beat as well. There's no life like it! :-)

Thanx again Walleye Jack, for making me part of your Outdoorsy adventures! :-)

The fillets I took home with me were some delicious and well appreciated my friends.

I truly did have a Happy Birthday! :-) LarryB

Free ads for you...

Here's a link to my little Free Classified Ads page over at Adpost dot com. Go check it out and see if there is something there that You are interested in, you never know. :-)
Free Ads for you too... If you like the way this page is set-up, why not get going on your own Adpost adpage too. It's really, really easy to do and it's free too, don't forget. ;-)

Thanx for visiting to-day!

lb

Things to share...

Fall is here...

Quiet mode again to-day...



Here's a neat little app that I just found the other day and I thought it would liven up this page a little. It's Fun, try it. :-)



Talk about a fisherman that believes in the old saying, "if there's a will, there's a way"! :-) I Love guys like this! Creative people do well in life, no matter what they do...

Inventive Fisherman or what?

And this my virtual friend, is a very powerful cleaning tool for your computer which I've been using for about three years now. It's an awesome piece of software that takes up nearly No room on your drive. :-) It's really safe and easy too. Go get it to-day...

Crap Cleaner...

Hope you enjoy these little things to-day. :-) lb

Peace Pilgrim...

A Very Re-Energizing read...

Meet the Road to Freedom, Walker...

If by chance to-day You feel that You need a little inspiration in Your life, then don't wait a single moment longer my friend! Go and read about this most wonderful and awe inspiring woman, one could ever hope to meet on the road, right here to-day...

Reading this marvelous write-up, got me Googling all kinds of "living without money" websites and there's tons of 'em out there! Eureka! Is this something that has been right up my alley for years, or What? Living on the fringe. Our daily adventures. How to be free! Peace Rules! Truth prevails, etc. etc. etc.

Yup, go check out this real story of a real woman, who did such an amazing job of spreading the Truth, wherever she went. The Peace Pilgrim has most certainly left us all, Much to chew on...

Peace Pilgrim Biography by Marta Daniels

P.S. I just posted this blurb on my other blog too, over at About Peace Pilgrim... because this absolutely wonderful woman, is just SO worth reading about. :-)

Thanx go out to-day to all of You, for dropping into my little blog here on the web! I LOVE getting visitors! :-) lb

How To Remove A Fish Hook, Painlessly

Kenny's Great Outdoors...

I don't know if you've ever got a fish hook into yourself or a friend before, but it's no fun, I can tell you. However, instead of calling 911, check this out.

Just watched this little vid over at fellow Blogger Kenny's cool blog. Looks like a good way to get a hook out of your parts... :-) Check it out.

Kenny's Great Outdoors: How To Remove A Fish Hook, Painlessly

Tour around this man's blog if you like Outdoorsy stuff in general, you will be pleased with his work. lb

......

Does anyone else use MyBlogLog yet? I do and I like it! Check it out here if you've never heard of it. It's a pretty cool tool. :-)

From the Front Deck to the Felt

Clunn and Lee, similar thinkers...

Now that it's October, I wanna share this excellent piece by Matt Pangrac about a very well known Bass Fishing Legend and just how this amazing fisherman thinks. Rick Clunn has always been known as the thinking man's Basser! Mr. Consistancy, as many of his fans call him, has been at this Pro Bassin' game for a long time and has set a few records in his path. Rick has certainly earned his keep all the way up with a strong mind-set. What he says, you can bank on. :-)



Presented here for your pleasure to-day, in this fine article, from Basszone, Mr. October, reveals his mental similarity to one of my other Hero's, Bruce Lee, the world famous Jeet Kune Do founder. Read also, what Rick has to say about the upcoming, Fish & Chips event in Norman, Oklahoma this October. Woa! Gambling and Fishing in the same place! Awesome! Check it out...

From the Front Deck to the Felt...

Thanx 4 dropping by to-day! :-) lb

Rapala Rules!

YoooHooo, it's Youtube time...
Just saw this an hour ago and wanted to share it with y'all...

It's what I think is a pretty Cool commercial Vid of my all time Fishin' Hero Al Lindner and a few of his friends and family, using Rapala's new Minnow Rap! If You dig my man Al, or even if you just like fishing, You will love watching my guy's excitement over these new plugs. He's almost laughing at one point, he feels So Good! :-) Plus, the underwater footage of these new cranks is just Awesome too. :-)



Almost makes ya wanna grab a Minnow Rap or three, eh? ;-)

later,

Happy Basser Boy... :-)

... So I was doin' a little fishin' down on the dock @ Dow's Lake to-day, and I had tried three different lures already, when two kids and a dad, happened along. They set up about 30 feet from me and had soon made their first cast. I looked away for a few seconds to check my lure coming through the water, and when I looked back, the ultra-lite spinning rod that little buddy was using, was bent like a horseshoe! A good flash of white and green near the surface, as it thrashed about, told me it was a Big Mouth.

Of course, I had to dig out my little Pentax and record that action so by the time I pulled it out of my handle-bar bag, they were just about ready to land this nice fish. All this time little buddy was holdin' onto that little pole like it was Gold, and he didn't panic and start turnin' the reel handle a million times, like a lot of newbies do. Pretty soon Dad reached down with his thumb extended, aiming for that big fat lower lip and without a hitch, hoisted this beauty up and out of the water, for his son to get photographed with...

Sean Gibb's Bass...

Nice First Bass or what?

So anyway, this proud little fishin' fella's name is Sean Gibb and this picture is a memory he won't soon forget, I'm sure. :-) I was glad that I was there to-day and to have a share in his first Bass, and a real nice keeper Bass at that. Which was released immediately after this shot was taken, by the way. :-)

I even think Sean's shy little sister and their cool dad, will remember how it all happened down @ the Secret little Lake in the middle of Ottawa to-day too. Fishing is a real memory maker... :-)

Get Fishin'

lb

Picasa Web Albums...

Picasa By Google

I've mentioned this before on the web but it's most certainly worth talkin' about again, in here. If you've got digital photo's on your hard drive and you have a blog on Blogger.com, Picasaweb will keep track of all the pics you put on your blog(s) from your hard drive or thumb-drive or whatever. Signing up is totally easy with Picasa. Downloading and uploading are also easy and fast too. Oh ya, Picasa is totally FREE to boot! :-)

There's an added bonus for hookin' up with Picasweb too. It seems that Google has NO trouble finding well tagged pictures from Picasa just after I get them on Picasa's servers! That's impressive in my books! :-)

Anyway, here's the link to slip over to my album section @ Picasaweb. If I can do it, You can do it too! :-)

Picasa Web Albums of LarryB

Hope you like the tour and get on there yourself...

lb

Fishing with Tiki-Sticks...

Tech Tips...

Check out my Bass fishing friend Pete Larmand's excellent write-up, on how to catch fish on a Tiki-Stick...

Fishing with Tiki-Sticks

These lures catch fish, there ain't no doubt about it! :-)

later,

Lipless Rattle-baits..

Rattling Lip-less Cranks

How to Rattle fish...

Although mostly used by the Bass fishin' crowd, lip-less crank-baits, like these bad boys, are killer on any game-fish that chases minnows. They can be fished effectively from the top of the water column, to the bottom of it. These rattle-baits, can also be fished very fast or very slow, or anywhere in between. Now to this ol' fishin' dude, that pretty well adds up to a versatile family of artificial fishing lures. ;-)

Face details or what?
Like, can you dig all the fine details on the face of this rattle-bait? Man, talk about lookin' life-like, eh?

Big-Eyed Rattler...
O.K. so like now, is That an eyeball or is That an eyeball? :-) Fish beat on these things, trust me. They used to say, the eyes have it, but in this case, this lure has A lot going for it, not just it's awesome eyes...

...and finally, the lure that started the whole rattling, lipless crank-bait craze. Presenting, the Bill Lewis, Rattle Trap, or just the "Trap", the name used by the Bass Tourney pros, seen here as a floater (top) and sinker model below. The Floater is Fantastic for real shallow water... :-)

Rattle Traps...

So there you have it! Get a few different sizes and colors of these lipless cranks and Rattle yourself up some fish this year too! :-)

later,

Yesterday's tour...

Pics from yesterday...

So here's a few pics I took yesterday while down along the shore of the Ottawa River. It was a little too breezy and cool, as you can see, to work on my tan at all and I had to cast side-arm even, just to get under the wind in order to get any distance at all.
Windy Water

Also the water was still quite high and cold too and, I only caught two small Northern Pike on the Beetle Spin, for all my efforts. :-) See second photo below.

My old SAK That's Swiss Army Knife, if you didn't already know. :-)

Standard Spinning Styff * Note the ever-deadly, Beetle Spin here...

Ottawa River shoreline...

Blue Eyed Grass

That's all for to-day folks,

L8r