flechero

quality glasses are incredible... wish i figured that our 20 years earlier! I must of gone through 100 pairs of $10 Bill Dance and strike king glasses before I bought some good orvis glasses with glass lenses. Wow what a difference good glass makes!!! (although they quit making those in glass now they are a high tech acrylic I think.) I wear amber year round on the water- it's a better contrast for me and doesn't wash out the color. I also see further/better underwater with amber. I understand there are some great "non-glass" options out there now but I'm still wearing a 10 year old pair of glass lenses. lol

I understand your complaints... We had a lake house for years... I lived there for a few of them and have seen the good and bad. I'm also a dock fisherman- but either lucky or careful, as i haven't damaged anything more than my ego by snagging a few boards here and there. We sustained much more damage from ski boats and jet skis throwing wake into our boathouse and boats in it than we ever got from an occasional hook in the lift sling or wrap around a steering cable. And we were in a shallow cove. It's a bit like living on a golf course (did that too) you buy the extra glass breakage insurance because only about 1 in 10 people will ring the doorbell and offer to pay for the window. But you still enjoy living on the course even though it cost a little more. Sound like you guys might be the perfect family to live across the street from the water.

Some of this is load and weight dependent... I used to only put 5-6 gallons of fuel in for a weekend (smaller lake) and I could pull it back to neutral from 60 mph and not get a drop in the boat... add 30 gallons of fuel and full livewells- a little water comes over if you don't give it that little bump of throttle as you drop out of plane. You can feel it, just pay attention to the moment your nose starts to drop back down... in a few trips you'll probably not think of it again... until some new guy asks you the very same question.

Wear shoes and don't worry about the splinters... go fish in the boat and look for the screws with a drop light after dark in the garage or driveway!! Or only replace that small area you ripped up and use a thin metal threshold or transition to hold the edge down... then really do it right this coming winter.

Congrats!! Great fish!

Lots of us have trouble finding out what our calling is... more still struggle with a career choice. Big difference. I hope you are only struggling with the career! Start with education- no college degree rules out a ton of stuff. So do you have a degree? If so, in what? Some things require voc or specialty schooling/training- there are options for that as well... one thing you probably can't do is just pick a career and get hired making any decent money and enjoying what you do. You'll have to develop some enthusiasm for something to get hired. Few people will hire someone who's not willing to work his way up. It's hard to articulate a high worth when you are just looking for something you can "put up with." Good at relationship building, enjoy flexibility, smart, willing to work hard... I might have suggested real estate. The "crap you are selling" is secondary to the relationships and service you provide the people. I bet most of us started off doing something completely different than we are doing now and different that we may have wanted to do initially. I would have laughed if you told me I'd end up in real estate... and I don't love it- I love the people. And because of that, have done well. 99% of it is your attitude (open mindedness) and your willingness to learn. Unless your folks are filthy rich, you are probably going to have to make it happen on your own... Get motivated and get after it!

glad you found it... that hairline crack may get bigger when in the lake... the fill test exerts the opposite pressure on the hull- so it's possible the crack is bigger when floating vs filling. Either way, you plan to have a professional welder run a bead along that seam/crack is the right one.

check in advance... I've seen some where you can just be trimmed up and some have denied entry with the outboard on the boat.

Same here, I just used a board with an old couch cushion to pad it and spread the load a little. Have also met a buddy at the ramp and unloaded/beached the boat while we did some repairs. As long as you do the work in the parking area or otherwise don't impede the ramp, you should be fine.

I used to carry a 2-pc. rod in my bag... when it was slow I would fish a little... if the fish were biting I would let a group or two play through! You should ask for a cart to go from pond to pond... if you have been picking up trash, they may just appreciate it an give you a free pass to fish all over.

I used to fly a lot on business... in the good ol days, they would keep upping the offer until someone gave up a seat.. $2500-$3000 plus nice meal and hotel vouchers wasn't uncommon for a hub route. I took a few, when I could but usually I had to be back. What other industry can you sell what you don't have? Double booking is bad practice... unless you truly buy out the seat of the person bumped. It would be cheaper for them to sell 1-2 seats short to pad against this lunacy. The stock took a $700 million hit today... yes, I got a kick out of that and don't think it could happen to a more fitting airline. These days, I fly as little as possible. And that's the problem... it's not a choice... the issue is that you can't buy any ticket without this craptastic fine print. If it was an option, NO ONE would opt for it. Did anyone act appropriately in this fiasco, heck no... does that excuse the airline's policy- heck no.

This could the good Lord blessing you and setting you up for something better so look at your options carefully before jumping back into it. Total sidebar- but as a former HR guy, I always wonder what the specific words used for an on the spot firing are... the vast majority of emotional firings are ripe for wrongful termination.

Big fish, good pic angle... Update, I heard from a friend that TPWD did not accept it into sharelunker because it was already spawned out. So it was released back into Belton Lake. I imagine it would have been another 1.5-2 lbs if she was full. Ya think?

I think that the high water makes much of the previous bank and accessibility, inaccessible... at least around here. The parks close at about 10' + water and the rest of the lake is either unimproved corps land/bluffs/brush/etc or private. If just a few feet high, I could see it but it takes more than that for our water to get into the good living brush. I guess if it were easy to figure out, we'd all be on big fish all the time.

I'm sure we'd all love a brand new 4 stroke (insert brand here) but short of a nice bonus or buying a scratch lottery ticket that hits, many have to buy used. Simple economics. If I could afford the new or very lightly used I would not buy an old motor. Some are peaches but you don't know which ones usually.

you should have re-fed it to her! lol

Although I rarely troll- I learned and invested time in it years ago... done right, it's incredibly effective! THose who bag on it, either don't understand it or don't know how to do it. It's a lot more interactive than blindly chucking a stinking rattle trap. You need to know your terrain, targets and depths but also have to manage turning radius and line angles as you navigate to keep bait in and on target areas. I used to troll one particular lake that had a series of planted plies in the 30' range- they were so pressured that it was near impossible to catch on jig or plastic but they never saw much else... caught over a dozen fish exceeding 8 lbs (as well as smaller fish) by trolling... when still fishing the same, I have only caught smaller fish on those piles. one example of many. It's not best or right for all occasions but even as a change of pace on a slow day, it can be tremendously effective. I don't get bored catching large bass- heck I don't think anyone here would pass up a big fish caught trolling if offered the chance. Now, given the choice, I'd much rather pitch shallow brush or punch grass mats! But trolling beats the pants off not catching.

We have a similar effect in flood years- we have no grass to speak of and when the water gets more than about 8' high the [bigger] fish concentrate heavily in the flooded green brush and tree tops... Although not 10lb + fish, we catch MANY more 4-6 lb bass in waters famous for millions of "bullets." Different but similar- you have grass but maybe the draw to fresh hunting grounds and new food sources is the same. And it's usually cool water in heavy , early season rains so the bigger fish aren't stressed as easily. I assume lizards are the draw here, because the softbait production which is normally best with craws, smallie beavers etc., shuts down and lizards get red hot when pitched into these green bushes. The other possibility is the new conditions took the bass out of there normally guarded state and made them more susceptible to eating "new things."

Russ, Thanks for posting- that was a fun trip and I have great memories!! My son just watched it and said "hey dad, that's you! How did you get in that guy's video??" I guess if he doesn't know you, I can't possibly know you either. ...lol

always have 1 or 2 buoys where you replace the line with old braid or some mono is you fish water with those depths... although it's hard to mark those suspended fish that deep because the schools move... When I see something like that it usually ends up being a pronounced structure feature below them... in which case, marking the spot is still helpful, especially if there is any wind to speak of. And get in the habit of throwing the buoy out upwind of what you are trying to mark... it always floats downwind and usually bows a bit as well.

Great story... just remember how cool it was to be on the receiving end of that stuff... it's even better to be on the giving end of it! As you get older and have opportunities to bless others, take them... every one you can! You will be richer for it. Also, I love the catfish on the swimbait! You seem to be wise beyond your years, Tell your parents thank you for raising you to know and appreciate goodness.

You aren't filling it up very much (4"-10" in the transom area probably) it's not leaking above the water line... figure 8lbs/gal... if your trailer's max carrying capacity is within 500-800lbs of your empty boat, your trailer is underrated. Plus you are doing this in your driveway, not running down the highway.

If I were in your shoes I would have called the buddy over before he came on his own... when I see a primo shot in my boat- I call whoever I'm fishing with up front to take it. Heck, if I just miss a fish I call whoever is with me to take a shot. These days I truly get more enjoyment from turning someone else onto a good fish. In my younger days - not so much. Now the answer to the question you actually asked- yes it is poor etiquette to jump in on a spot... friend or stranger, unless you are invited.

If that fails- then put in the plug and fill the hull with a garden hose on the trailer and watch to see where water leaks out...

a 13.97 was caught at Belton this weekend in a tourney... I have no affiliation with the angler or tourney- just saw the pic and story online and wanted to share since we have some Belton area members.