So. Classic 2004 Rules

Moe sent me a list of rules for April's Okeechobee event, and we finally got
them up on the site. They're at http://moebassguide.com/rules.html.

I'll post fair warning now... the ODF will be afloat (Adrift? Awash?) on Big
O for this event. It may not look like much, with more patches than paint,
and it's hard to tell from it shape which end is bow and which is stern, but
as a few of you might recall, it lurched and smoked its way to victory in
the first ROFB Mid-TN Classic. Somehow; Bob Rickard was able to pause from
his bailing duties long enough to snatch a winning stringer from Percy
Priest Lake and took big fish honors to boot.

The next two years, the trusty ODF suffered a few slight engine problems
that reduced its range and speed. (Bob's gotta be wondering how much it
could have been reduced, since we never left sight of the ramp the first
year.) Ol' Smokey seems to have worked out most of its kinks now. I still
have to stretch a loop of baling twine over the shifter lever to keep it
from popping out of forward as I plow down the lake, but I've got most of
the other problems licked.

In this group, we sometimes use nautical, technical expressions like "knots"
and "pitch." Not with Ol' Smokey. When you talk about knots and pitch in
this context of Ol' Smokey, you gotta think "pine." This year I've started
fueling up with a higher grade of pine knots that burn cleaner and leave a
nice, tangy aftertaste in the haze. I'll let you in on the secret.... yellow
pine roots... dripping with pitch! I have a hunch this should be effective
on pre-dawn Florida mosquitoes, too. And talk about range! Most boats are
limited to the size of their gas tanks. Not me, boy.... If I run through my
supply of pine knots, I can just break off chunks of wood from trees
overhanging the lake and make it back home.

Now, Okeechobee may pose a fuel source problem, since the banks are guarded
by wide bands of snake and gator-infested swamps. I may have to just convert
to a kerosene/turpentine fuel mix for this trip and hope for the best.

Since Moe has opened the bidding to fish with him, I guess it would be
proper for me to open the bidding for who will NOT fish on the ODF with me
this year. Fritz.... Sean.... do I hear $50?

--
Joe Haubenreich
www.secretweaponlures.com
First real spinnerbait innovation in decades