N Florida Mike

It happens.I once waded out 150 feet in the lake in 25-30 degree weather to retrieve a cane pole a catfish pulled off the dock.Water was 5 feet deep and felt warm.Got out to walk home and Im sure thats the coldest I ever felt in my life. Glad you took the safe route.

I always enjoy having an audience when fishing but sometimes it backfires and keeps you humble Just the other day I was casting and made a poor cast and got hung in a bush .Tried to pull it loose and the line broke.Said " dad gummit " and then noticed a guy watching.I guess he thought A fish did it.Felt like a novice.

For me its learning new methods.I have a familiar way to catch fish( Soft plastics).I am good at it.But not so much with other methods.I am also pretty good at live bait fishing.So for years Ive caught plenty of fish this way.Its hard for me to try and fish new ways for me when I know Id catch more with my familiar methods. But I have a couple friends who are helping me get introduced to other methods.And I am helping them ( hopefully) with soft plastics.

I try not to take it personally.I really dont think its about me.But I have mouths to feed, bills to pay and just have to draw the line somewhere with all this extra time they want.I dont think they want me to leave, they just want compliance.Ive already complied with other things that slow me down but I cant seem to go along with this one.And then they act amazed that I see it this way.And put pressure on us to sell more.( but less time to sell because of all the micro management. Aaarggh.sigh.

I have tried telling them but they are immoveable.If you disagree at all with anything, you are " whining ".There is no one in management who will hear me. And the funny thing is, after trying something for awhile they sometimes go back to what I suggested but they dont remember or care that I originally suggested it!!. When this has happenned before, I just try to stay away from the office( and managers) as much as poss.I try to do an excellent job in the field so hopefully they leave me alone.Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

i bet Itll catch some alligator snapping turtles, gators, and birds of prey. too.!!!

Cool video.Wish I could do a quality one like that.Good job.

I actually love the job.And we do high quality work, have a very good reputation, its close to where I live.I especially enjoy meeting with the potential customers.Im never asked to do anything dishonest.Its the best paying job Ive ever had. But its becoming one new burden to bear after another.I reckon it could be worse.

Good point.I have tried doing that but they schedule it for a certain day and it always seems to be on a day when my regular sales calls are far away from there.They want me to meet the contractor at the site when the work is being done, then go back AGAIN the next day to make sure the job was done right. I understand the need and if theyd pay me for the time it woudnt bother me.But with this system I go out there 3 times and get paid the same as I used to for going out once. They used to employ a manager for the quality checks.After the last one left, they want us to do for free what they paid the manager to do.Im not sure if its legal or not to require this Im not gonna go postal or anything like that.I just want fair pay for the time involved.Thats all.

Thanks everyone.Been mad all day.And the ironic thing is that I sold everything I quoted today. The worst thing is that they want me to follow up after the sale.This isnt a phone call.They want us to go back out to the job site( which sometimes can be 30 miles away) TWICE after the sale to see how the contracter did the work.We dont get paid an extra penny to do this. We used to do this service in-house.Now i do the bid and the contracter does the work.I think if they mess up they should have to deal with it, not me.And even if I go out and find a problem, the contracter has to go back anyway. The company I work for even withheld some of my pay because They said I didnt take a picture of the jobsite.Are you kidding me?.I have 2 kids A wife and elderly mother to support and theyre worried about a picture.Its all just incredible to me.

Gonna vent a little.Hope yall can understand- this forum is like facebook to me. Anyway,Ive worked at the same place since 1993.I have never been written up for discipline for any reason.I have one minor accident, when the owner pulled in behind me when I was backing up.I have consistently promoted the company esp. With the customers.It has overall been a good place to work and has generally met our needs.I have been there 10 years longer than the next employee.I get plenty of positive feedback from the customers.etc. The problem is, I feel mistreated by the management( of which I used to be one).Now I do bids on the services we do.Love the job. But I am 100% commision.Thats fine.But they are continuing to add micro management( forms for forms, meetings, follow up for follow ups.My time is being eaten up for things that guys on the clock could do. So I stood up and complained because I feel it violates a principal.I spend so much time with all these additional things that it cuts into my sales time and personal time.So now im told that some of my biggest revenue will be given to the other guys ( who are brand new ) .So I pled my case to no avail. Im sitting there thinking about that and the big boss comes in and rudely tells me to get my feet off her new table.And my feet werent even on her table!! I have been the top producer in sales for 4 years every month but 2 .But I an treated like a red haired stepchild.I love work and am very thankful to have a job.I try and pray every day for patience.But this kind of thing is really bothering me Any thoughts?

Prayers for you and yours.Your Grandpa sounds like my dad.

Or the " nitro nutria"

I fish my home lake the most.I almost never fish the same area more than once a day.This doesnt include my backyard.

I have caught the majority of bass in my life deadsticking.I would say at least 80 %.But I usually move it in 30 seconds if nothing bites. I used to fish a deep hole in the middle of the day in the summer this way.I would use a giant manns jelly worm with no wieght.I cast into the hole and would leave it sitting there as long as I could stand it.I once caught a fish( 6-7 pounder ) that picked it up after 15 minutes.I caught several bass around that size that way in the same hole.

Largemouth.

Probably my favorite episode?

I think they are considered trash fish because they have no food value.The first one I ever caught i took home and mama fried him up.It was all blood, skin and bones!.Caught one at the jetties once and these chinese people begged me for him.I tried to explain but they didnt speak english but by their gestures they wanted the fish.So I gave up and let them have it.Maybe they knew a special recipe.? But they are amazing fighters.I caught a 2 poundet once and thought it was 5 times that size.

I record Dance and mlf only.I like the college tournament too .and hank parkers show.

I love mlf.If you tape all the shows it begins to make sense after awhile.I wish they would do a short segment explaining how all the tournaments relate.Kind of like a sports tournament bracket.As far as the format, I love it.

Yeah that one is in my top 10 also.

The other day they showed the one where Earnest t Bass went to school.Definetely in my top 10. To me, the only sit com in modern times that actually makes me laugh is King of queens.The rest of them either I dont get or it just isnt funny.

Exactly!

Planning a trip in the fall with an old friend.The lake is about an hour away.The fun way and most direct route is through 10 miles or so of good ol florida piney woods. I used to fish this lake when I was in my 20s and early 30s.Ran into an old man who had 2 big bass on his wall and they were caught in the same lake. I had some memorable times there before.Camped out in my truck one night there after a girlfriend broke up with me.Showed up there another time to meet a friend.I was going to teach him about fishing and he was going to take me out sailing.When I got there he had almost drowned when he went swimming out in the middle of the lake and the sailboat took off on him. Fished a tournament there.Did not win. Had another girl cast out and hooked my hat and threw it out in the lake there. Fell out of the boat there. Got stuck bad in the sand there with my future wife. Got to the hard road one night going home and stopped to check the boat.License plate and bracket were gone. So Im looking forward to going back but Im not sure why.

Easier to dig a hole in the ground than in the mud.