Sam

X2

I just finished putting my hard baits in alphabetical order in my storage cabinet. I use this method as a "warehouse" for my hard baits so when I go out fishing I can easily decide which ones I want to put into a clean tackle box. Took me two days to get the tackle in their respective tackle boxes from last year's fishing and another half hour this afternoon to put the tackle boxes in alphabetical order back in the cabinet. Now, for my plastics.....a disaster so I will not attack them right now although I did organize my Senkos over the weekend and looked into the crawfish tub and closed the lid.

Thanks, but no thanks. Will just keep on trucking along. Sam

I had to go to Windows 10 when I replaced my hard drive. Got used to it but it is not like Windows 7 which I really liked.

Guys, if you are like me, you like to get into a car and turn the ignition switch and the car starts. If the car fails to start you either try your own mechanics or call AAA to brig the car to the dealer or a local gas station for repair services. Same for computers and me. I have my own Dell tower and my wife has a Dell laptop. All is good with my computer as I have a computer guru on retainer and he keeps me rolling along when I screw up the machine. But for my wife, it is another story. When she got her laptop computer I signed her up for the Best Buy Nerds program, which does a great job helping her with her laptop. But last night the Christmas Witch visited her computer in the form of Microsoft and stated that it was downloading an update and there was no way to stop it. So although she was banging on the keys, the download continued until it was completed. Bye bye Internet Explorer and hello Microsoft Edge. I told her next time to unplug the machine or turn it off to stop the download. But that's for next time. So this morning she tries to get onto her emails for her women's club (she is the committee chair for their fundraising activities) to send out an email and she can't get onto her Yahoo account. She puts in her name and the Microsoft Edge Yahoo program says it has sent a verification code to her Yahoo email account. Yes, the Yahoo email account that she tried to get in and can't. And you thought the largemouth bass was stupid. So we called the Best Buy Nerds and the lady in Panama City ran into the same problem we ran into: to get into the Yahoo email account you need to go to the Yahoo email account to get the password to enter into the Yahoo email account to open it. Makes sense if you read that sentence a few times. When the lady failed to get in, she knocked us up to the "expert Nerd" and Richard finally broke into the email account, got the password, put it in the Yahoo box and we got our Yahoo email account back with all the contacts and emails still there. Her blood pressure dropped from over 200 to her regular level and she returned to her sweet self. The Christmas Witch was gone. I called my computer guy and told him about what had happened as some of his clients may have run into the same situation. He told me that Microsoft is a disaster with poor customer service and they do what they want to do, screw you. So she now has Microsoft Edge on her computer. Just thought I would share what happened this morning in case it happens to you. You will receive a notice on your screen that the change from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge is coming and there is nothing you can do to stop it. What say you computer guys out there? Are we now having Microsoft control our computers as they wish? Just curious. Thanks and Happy New Year!

Soap

Great news!!!

I spoke with a pro about your exact question and here is what he told me: Baits - Pros use new models that have not been placed in the market and they also modify their baits and do not tell us what they did. Rods and Reels - They use what they are comfortable with and have confidence. Price is not a factor. Pros get their rods and reels free or at a discount. Line - Most are now using braid, fluorocarbon or copoly lines. They will avoid the question about their lines unless they need to say they used "such and such brand" line to keep sponsors happy. Not Really - If you listen to the pros very carefully when they are on the stage at the Bassmaster Classic, the pros will hawk their sponsors products but they do not say they caught any fish with their sponsors products. Ike is a master at this and you go away thinking he used a specific rod, reel, line and bait. He may have thrown this combo a few times but in reality, he did not catch his fish with the setup. Rod Colors - Check out the pros' rod colors to get an idea if they are using what they say they are using. Starting with orange and white rods you can note the rod's markings to try to determine what rod they are using. Remember, the advertising and testimonials are designed to catch us, not the fish. Right now the hot item is the Lowrance Active Target and the Garmin LiveScope. Only problem I have with this is that about 6 years ago at a Classic I saw the Raymarine technology that also showed the fish very clearly and in bright colors. But since Lowrance sponsors most of the pros in one way or the other, the Lowrance Active Target sonar units are getting the love. Always remember what my economics professor at LSU told us: Follow the Money!!!! X2

Sending positive thoughts. Let us know how you do.

As Catt penned above, plus the fact that you need to be more cognizant of the water temperature and not the air temperature as many guys and gals do. You also need to check the water temperature where you have flowing water into your main body of water as that water will have more oxygen and be either colder or warmer than the surrounding water.

According to the dictionary, a tributary is "a stream feeding a larger stream or a lake." No specific size of the "tributary" is mentioned so it can be anything from a small stream that only produces water after a rain to a large river. If you note your map, you have many "points and coves" that probably have water flowing into them after a rainstorm. Those would be your tributaries. Also, many lakes are stream fed by underground water or springs. These will be tributaries and if you can locate them you will probably find the bass hanging around. And if you can find any tributaries remember that although no water is flowing from them the bass will still stay around the area. Just to let you know, I visited Iowa State and went face to face with a pig while standing straight up. Biggest hog I had ever seen. And he was nice, too.

Good luck. Glad you have the docs watching them.

Yes.

I purchased two large metal storage cabinets for my garage to store my baits. I then purchased 20 plastic bins from JoAnne's Fabrics to put on the first storage cabinet's metal shelves for my plastics and use my tackle boxes in the other one for moving/treble hook baits. The cabinet doors are kept shut by magnets and the baits are secured from any vermin or reptiles that enter my garage.

A small alligator?

Since I am ADD, fishing slow drives me up a wall. But "dead sticking" in cold water seems to work. I told this story before and I will share it with you again: About 20 years ago an Historic James River and Chickahominy river fishing guide, Jim Kerr, and I became good friends. We fished the Historic James River, the Chickahominy River and Chickahominy Lake. One cold March day we were in the back of Johnson Creek by the old wooden bridge used by duck hunters to get to and from their blind, when Jim lit up a cigarette, casted his Zoom finesse worm towards the bridge, and he just sat there, not moving. Nothing. Just sitting there with his finger on the line coming off his baitcaster. I was throwing a Zoom trick worm on a spinning rig and casting and casting and casting as Jim just sat there smoking his cigarettes. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "just wait." Sure enough, all of a sudden he set the hook hard over his head and he was in a battle with a two-pounder, as I kept casting, and casting, and casting until I got the net. This was the first time I had actually seen "dead sticking" although I had heard of it prior to this adventure. Jim explained that by letting the finesse worm just sit there a bass was sure to see it and due to its curiosity it would pick it up. And he was right! Jim died from lung cancer due to his smoking two packs a day but I learned a lot from him, especially dead sticking. So do I dead stick today? Yes, but not as long it would take to smoke a cancer stick. Maybe two minutes at the most. Remember, I am ADD and can't sit still very long. But it works so give it a try.

Glad you returned. How is the traffic in Maryland????????

Each July I visit my dermatologist, Dr. Julie Tran, and strip down to nothing for my annual skin cancer check. She checks everything!!!! Had three small basal cell carcinoma removed from my left arm this past July and I never noticed them. They had just started to form and she spotted them. Froze them off and they are gone. Dr. Tran has frozen off a number of these basal cells from my ears, forehead, and scalp over the past five years. I had no idea they were there. I dress to fish like it is January weather all year, be it in the Ranger or pond fishing, with long sleeve shirts, long pants, a baseball cap, and sun glasses. Dr. Tran continues to be on my case to use sun screen that contains zinc oxide and I will admit that I am lax about replacing the first covering as the day goes on. Here is a link to zinc oxide sunscreens: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/anti-aging/g26541068/best-zinc-oxide-sunscreen/ Guys and gals, no one can make you cover up when you go fishing or make you wear sunscreen. It is your choice. What is upsetting is that skin cancer is a silent killer, and your family doctor may not notice any basal cells like a true dermatologist is trained to do. So please see a dermatologist, take off your clothes, and get checked. It will save your life.

Lady complains to husband that she wished her breasts were bigger. "Well," said the husband, "just take a few sheets of toilet paper and rub them between your breasts at least once a day and they will get bigger." So the wife started doing what the husband suggested and after three months she said, "My breasts don't look bigger. I think you were totally wrong." "No way," replied the husband. You have been rubbing those toilet paper sheets on your behind for the past 20 years and look how big it has gotten." And then the fight began..... Your entries are welcomed. Happy New Years first smile of the year.

LSU - We will. We will. ? Ok guys and gals, let's face it. Ohio State was given their ticket to the playoffs because 1) they are a good football team; and 2) money. With Ohio State and Notre Dame on the menu, TV ratings would be much higher than if we had a Cincinnati or Texas A&M in the mix, although both teams had the credentials to make the playoffs. I think A&M's performance against LSU hurt their chances as if it was not for the A&M pick six, the score of the game would have been 13-7. Had LSU had Max Johnson or Miles Brennan at QB I believe LSU would have scored more points. May not have won the game, but it would have been closer than 13 points. Ohio State has something to prove and last night they took a giant step in proving they are worthy of the playoffs. Now to see if Bamasux can keep the championship trophy in the SEC.

Austin, please repost in the geographical section of this Forum that includes Texas and I am sure some of the guys will give you some tips. Good luck and Happy New Year.

https://www.kerrlakeguide.com/water-temp/ https://www.kerrlakeguide.com/water-level/ Check the water level of Kerr. 300 is normal pool and as you know, 303 and up means the water is "in the bushes and this is where you want it. If the water temperature is in the low 60's, the bass are heading for their beds. Eastland's bushes, Nutbush's creeks, and lots of other places to fish depending on the water clarity and temperature. Also, it can be cold at the end of April so look up the air temperature, too. Where will you be launching your boat?

Yes, I remember this ad. It was a fantastic ad for a kid who just started fishing but had no money. And yes, I remember the 60's and 70's. I still listen to the Sirius radio 60's channel.

As Roland Martin pontificates, "you only need two colors: white and chartreuse for spinnerbaits." So I added the white/chartreuse mix to what Roland said. Seems to work as long as you can bounce the spinnerbait off of something in the water.