MacGyver

Florida licenses differently, too.  They've got separate licenses for freshwater and saltwater.  Assuming you're only making a week trip down there, a seven day is completely reasonable for either - $19 - I think.

The booze cruises out of Destin are a good recipie for an awful afternoon.  That said, there are usually at least one or two on every boat that provide pretty good chum...   You're likely to catch anything fishing from shore, really.  In one recent afternoon (maybe two hours while all the kids were resting) I caught probably 15 ladyfish, which are incredibly ariel fish and fun to catch, a small bull shark, and a nice jack.   If you're fishing the bottom with fresh bait, you might hook into rays or flounder.   Really, you can catch about anything out there.   As to equipment, sealed bearings, saltwater rated if you can get it, and be strict about your maintenance when you come in.  Bass Pro down in Destin has some great equipment if you're into the big box thing.  If you want something more local, then I would suggest Yellowfin out on 30A.

Grayton Beach State Park has a great coastal trail, and had good access to Western Lake.  You can rent a canoe at the Ranger Station if you want.  We've pulled some monster red fish out of that lake.

You know, when I'm in that part of the Gulf, I like nothing more than taking lightweight tackle, wading out to about waist deep, hooking up a X-Rap or something similar and wearing it out on inshore fish.  The chartered booze cruises don't hold a candle to the fun you can have just wading in.  Just make sure you really wash your rig down afterwards.   Likewise, there are some pretty good coastal lakes in and around Destin.  Assuming you're not afraid of the black water, don't be afraid of hitting those with your regular bass tackle.  We've pulled some great fish out of there.  Just watch for gators and snakes (and pigs and the occasional bear).   This time of year, waves are more likely in the Gulf, but we still get those "lake flat" days.  Get out there and have some fun!

I hope they let you back in!   How is it that in 2013 that I feel like there's more truth than joke there? 

They've done a great job managing the Caney. People are catching some nice brown trout these days. TVA's pretty good at letting folks know when they're going to generate, but the water comes up fast when they do. It deserves a healthy respect.

There's some good fishing on the Harpeth. I like to run the narrows because after floating for 8 miles, you take out less than 200 meters from where you put in. Spring is good on the Harpeth. You start having to hunt for water once summer gets here.

I finally put my ultralight spinning rig together over the holidays. My mom gave me a much nicer reel than I would have ever bought myself. You better believe I'm bringing it when we go.

I'll give you as much forward notice as I can.  Hope to get Neil in on it, too.  Maybe he can teach us something.

Warm weather is just around the corner.  I'm planning on it some Friday in March.

He should at lest have to call George W. Bush and sing the "I'm very sorry" song or something.

Keep it out of your mouth and you'll be fine.

That is pretty!

The current talk is allowing Feinstein's bill to come to a vote on the floor so that red state democrats can vote against it and say they helped defeat an AWB.  Then, with that out of the way, they'll introduce a bill with universal background checks, federal trafficking provisions and a magazine capacity limit.   They're going into the "negotiation" with the preconceived idea gun owners are going to give up something.

I hope they sent John Yoo some flowers or a card or something.

With our victories over the past 20 years in both state legislatures and the judicial system, the gun grabbers know that this is their last, best chance to do anything.  If they can't get it done now, they probably won't get another chance.   This may in fact be their final stand.  While on one hand that seems like reason to celebrate, be careful.  People who feel like they've got nothing to lose are some of the most dangerous adversaries out there.

North Korea, Iran, they're all the same...   Yeah, it was Iran.  I clearly need to revisit the coffee pot this morning.

There's some speculation that the "stealth jet" they unveiled yesterday is actually a GI-Joe toy from the 80's

Remind me to toast Edmund Randolph the next time I get a chance.  Turns out that whole bicameral legislature is pretty important.

So, I guess the fine folks up at Purdue have gotten tired of competing to see who can get their grill ready to cook the fastest. Determined not to let their boredom get the better of them, they've designed a device that can serve a ping pong ball at Mach 1.2 with roughly the same energy as a .32ACP round. Goes to show that there really isn't anything more dangerous than a bored engineer. http://www.gizmag.com/how-to-build-a-supersonic-ping-pong-gun/26082/

I heard this fool on NPR this morning.  Of course the first words out of the host's mouth after airing the story were, "did we just hear someone incriminate themselves live on air?"   Seriously, people...    Why do we keep sending these fools up there?

Feel good story of the week!

Looks like Wayne was right. We really do need more good guys with guns: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/man-shot-near-martin-luther-king-jr-high-school-in-detroit

You need to tack together a Faraday cage to store it.   Pretty straightforward to accomplish.  You could repurpose some old ammo cans in a pinch - just remember the rubber seal will invalidate the protection - you will need to remove it and bridge the gap with some foil or something.

With all the bad stuff going on, we could all use a pep talk: http://youtu.be/l-gQLqv9f4o ...unless your dream is stupid. Then you need a better dream.