Sk8man

Good luck with it Clark.

Just a tip based on a recent experience where my kitchen floor needed to be replaced ($9,000 plus $2500 for mold removal folks). When you install the water line make damned sure that the fittings are tight and don't leak in back of the fridge. Luckily my homeowners covered it and they won a case in court to recover the money from where we bought the refrigerator and who installed it. Basically it had a very slow water leak over months that got under our kitchen floor and behind some sheet rock wall in back of the refrigerator. It was all because the little nut on the fitting on the back of the refrigerator needed to be tightened another quarter turn when they installed it. I didn't want the ice machine in the first place but my wife seemed to think it essential.

You missed my point. I am referring to folks like those still screwing around on the beaches down south, those that are still partying and hanging out together. By the way I've been prepared for this for the last fifteen years - just didn't know what the origin of the problem would be but I am prepared for everything including a societal breakdown of norms and laws and was well trained for it in the past. In short, it was no Kuhmbaya speech.

This is the one I am looking for:

Yeah kinda like human nature....I never fully appreciated my parents advice until I was 5,000 miles from home in the military at 18 yrs old

Unlike disasters such as 911 which hit more directly on New Yorkers this pandemic covers all of America (potentially) and is world wide in distribution and the impact widespread so the motivation to be better prepared afterward may be more pronounced (hopefully). We have been "asleep at the switch" for some time now and even in terms of national security. many the things being ramped up now (supply lines, essential items, and the inclusion of other options for manufacturing during emergency conditions may help us in the future so despite the serious and negative nature of this situation it may help us in the future. There can be "upsides" to negative situations as well. The economy has shown that it can be resilient over time but there are always casualties during downturns and its like natural selection of the fittest and sometimes has eliminated unnecessary "fat" from systems streamlining them too. We have to be flexible and adapt both mentally and physically at the personal level during these trying times. A key to it is asking ourselves "How can I become part of the solution and NOT part of the problem"

In good condition

you guys are too much....especially when together

This situation is bad but folks need to get a grip on things. It could be much worse than this despite the current perceptions. If the electric grid ever goes down or is taken down by one of our numerous enemies the current "desperation" would pale in comparison. If China calls in our debt to them and we refuse to pay.....it goes on and on. We need to do what we can to limit this spread of the virus in any way we can and yes it involves being "inconvenienced" and economic downsides for us but do a little research on things here at home during the Second World War (rationing of food and goods, no cars being manufactured, medicines being unavailable etc.) The fact is that we have become a very complacent, pampered, and unprepared society and this should be a "wake up call" to us about our vulnerabilities and national security concerns (e.g. medications manufactured in China). We also need to get our manufacturing capability of critical goods and steel production back in this country and get rid of this purely profit mentality. Spring Break beach parties and folks crammed into air terminals are not helping the current situation either. It is going to involve personal sacrifice in the upcoming weeks possibly including fishing interruptions and many other things we are not used to but it is what it is. We are in survival mode right now and it is necessary to adopt the necessary mental set relating to that. The economic factors are what they are and somehow we have to deal with it in a rational manner in survival mode and do what we have to do to make a go of it at the personal level. It is also a time to fully appreciate this great country of ours and reflect on how we ourselves can be good citizens and help others which is the "American way".

Frogger......careful man....I won't be able to get my head out the door to fish

A number of manufacturers make the duo lok type snaps and they label the sizes slightly differently (e.g. the numbers) Depending on where you get them I would look to see that the # test is appropriate (if labeled) and that they aren't the flimsier wire.. I have mentioned above the Spro #8 barrel swivel between the main line and fluoro leader. That is what I use for many things as it fits through the eyes of rods OK The #10 is smaller and fine for light mono but the eyelet is very small so it is clumsy at best and impossible at worst to tie knots with heavier lines.

Frogger has it right as he is another of us "old school dinosaurs" but in a younger body. A couple additional thoughts to consider: Snaps and swivels are not all the same, and they give different results as well. Note the snap swivels in your package pic for example. They are basically coast lock type snap swivels with a very slight "V" at the front of the snap. Other swivels can also have a much more pronounced V at the snap. That particular thing influences the action of the lure (especially stick baits) by tightening or restricting the back and forth "wobble" of the lure. At very fast speeds it may also allow solid body sticks to turn on their side. If you go the snap route a Duo Lock snap with a very rounded snap face is a better choice as it allows the lure to wobble back and forth without as much constriction. A Spro #8 barrel swivel (55 lb test but very small and will go through most rod eyes) can be added as Frogger mentioned and it helps keep line twist to a minimum and sometimes may head off debris from forming on the lure itself. Another aspect to the tying straight of the leader to the lure is the use of a loop at the knot so that the stickbait (especially) can freely move back and forth and which can give it a different action than tying and cinching up the knot tight. These things mentioned may seem minor byt they can sometimes make a large difference in results. A lot of time jointed stick baits will run fine with swivel snaps but solid body ones seem more affected by both speed and the use of a snap. While on the subject of swivels it is a good idea to always use SOLID ring swivels NOT the split ring type as the line knot can nest in the separation area and with a large heavy fish potentially cut the line. Hope this helps in your quest P.S. Duo lock type snaps have various manufacturers and some use softer wire than others and are not as strong and can open up easier leading to potential lure loss. The hard wire ones are best and try to use the smallest but strongest that you can get away with for the lure used.

I believe that perhaps we may be misunderstanding each other. I agree with your last post but I did not interpret the article the same way you did.I saw what he was saying as a caution regarding snap judgment to isolate based on unclear development of situations based on emotional reaction rather than data based decisions. It was an appeal to reason over emotion, high anxiety or panic reactions without clear data to base it on and I agree with that. The current trajectory of this situation does demand that we closely monitor, isolate where possible, and use common sense about being in crowd situations etc. The school closings are more complex than that and it isn't just some "sappy" emotional connection to feeding children it is a very real set of complicated circumstances requiring good judgement at the locus of the school. For example it may be very premature for a school in the hills of Montana to close up at this point when there isn't a clear and present threat at this point in the particular area.

I thought for once I was in agreement with you at least regarding prepping. Your response to that letter makes little sense, but hospitals and medical personnel will be severely overwhelmed as they were already dealing with high levels of flu etc. The closing of schools is a highly complicated multi-dimensional problem because of the need for supervision at home, and for many especially in poor urban or rural areas the children's meals are provided in the schools. Not everyone in our society is able to afford, purchase or stock up on necessities of life or perhaps feed their children at home. The specific creation of shortages of appropriate masks for medical personnel through hoarding or in some cases stealing from supplies severely adds to the problem. People react to stress in very different ways and some not with reason or calmness looking at data or facts. A lot of this is a high anxiety or panic reaction to things on top of a valid problem that in all probability will get worse before getting better.Viruses, epidemics, and pandemics have acted that way in the past and this situation is probably no different. I think that was the main thrust of that letter not someone begging about holding events. This situation however should be a "wake up call" to the US in particular, in terms of allowing the Chinese to manufacture the majority of our medications just - from a national security standpoint alone. It also points up the need to personally prepare to the degree possible for these sorts of situations ahead of time because other things even more pervasive can occur such as a shutting down of the electric grid for example. Being prepared as much as possible is a personal and community responsibility and it shouldn't have taken this situation to have initiated it. Unfortunately we as a society are pretty much reactionary rather than proactive and it has been just a matter of time before it came home to bite us in the butt. Hopefully when this situation attenuates folks will have a little fire under their butts to prevent the panic response next time. .....but I doubt it....something called "human nature" I guess. This current situation does point up the federal government's incompetence, and lack of preparedness for a large scale emergency situation, (also witness the previous hurricanes too). Bureaucrasies are the last vestiges of society to change so don't look for solutions anytime soon. Ultimately it is up to us to prepare, help others, cooperate, and not be part of the problem, and do what we can to minimize adverse effects in our immediate area of control. I have been expecting something like this for the past ten years and have prepared along the way for it. I didn't have to empty any store shelves, store up on water and necessities because I already have done so gradually in anticipation and expectation of just such an event (or worse). Hopefully it will be a learning event for most people and folks will realize that preparedness of (various types) significantly reduces anxiety and panic.

Thanks for posting. The lamprey situation is pretty grim though.

Wonderful summary Thanks for posting it