TnRiver46

That’s because you are smart! Haha

I believe they call that a “damp squigg.” Also what my boss calls checking empty traps

I rarely run my boat wide open and wide open is usually 27 mph going upstream........ haha! I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you can bust open a gear case just floating through shoals and forgetting to trim up.......

@Way2slow, just curious, why are those merc 135 so darn powerful? This ole boy that comes on our camping/fishing trip has one on a big heavy boat and the thing will fly. He leaves people with 200 hp in the dust. I asked him about and he said “I don’t know, I think the guy I bought it from set it up for speed”

Oh........ my......... goodness!!!! I have a spare bedroom for any fellow smallmouth junkies that need to run away from that! 25’ waves????? I would be running

I’ve seen some docks use them, I think it works on occasion but not for too long unless you keep moving it around. There are other solutions that work far better depending on situation. The best? 12 gauge and goose pastrami (waterfowl is open all across the US as of right now). I’ve also seen trained dogs chase them away on a regular basis. We’ve had pretty good luck with pyrotechnics, they sell little plastic toy guns and rounds called bangers and screamers that scare the heck out of them and can be quite fun. You have to be diligent though. My buddy that works for Uncle Sam does big round ups in June when the birds are molting and can’t fly. They just run around and grab hundreds at large dams and other govt facilities. The best thing I have seen for ponds is to let the vegetation (like willows) grow up around the edges. Geese won’t sit on a pond with trees/bushes impeding their runway for takeoff and landing. Behavior modification approaches to wildlife management are typically not the best solution but they have their place. There’s a company in Knoxville that manufacturers fake owls that people hang up everywhere. These things are beyond useless, but guess what. They sell like hotcakes. I swear 90% of our customers purchased one and tried it (Failure) before they ever called us. They use them for anything (Like mothballs) yet I don’t think it has ever helped or worked one single time that I have personally witnessed. Everyone will spend a small amount on anything, whether it actually works or not. A lot of wildlife problems can be solved very simply: got a problem with a squirrel in your attic? Get rid of the squirrel. It’s funny because that’s usually the last thing anyone will think of. They usually start squirting peppermint oil into the attic and walls, then moth balls, then a super sonic electronic sound machine to scare them away, then a fake owl......... then they call me. And when I say I’m going to trap the squirrel and patch the hole it completely blows their mind......

Good work a-jay! I slept on my moms couch and forgot my overnight bag in my girlfriends car.......... so the best I can do today is go for a walk in flip flops........ haha. Hopefully it’s warm out there.....

You mean you didn’t have a battery powered scale in your pocket while swimming? Nice fish!!!

@Bluebasser86, total absolution! Hahaha

Congrats!!! Nice work

Ordering the blanks is something you (and I) should do. They are cheap and work great, I bought a bunch of homemade ones off a guy for $2/ apiece years ago and they were the best ones I ever had. Just plain Jane and effective. I can’t stand those cotton codell blades but they do work. I’ve had some that wouldn’t vibrate and the line always grabs the hooks. They do catch fish tho

Feel free to post GPS coordinates of anywhere y’all have left a MB 110 hanging high up in a tree....... preferably within $24.99 of my driveway

We are glad you can still tell that story! I couldn’t drive that heavy boat in the rain on the curvy hills around here!

Some guy got charged with wreckless endangerment in Gatlinburg recently for shooting a bear 6 times. Also ironically at a motel 6 haha. I don’t know the exact details but I feel like when it comes to bears, you should be allowed to use your own judgement. The bear just ran away

Hey whoa now........ when you actually remember things like that, the weatherman hype can’t convince everyone it’s the worst thing ever every single year!!!!! We had 2 feet of snow in East TN in late March 1993 and crazy flooding in 1994. Yet, everyone soon forgets and every year we have a 500 year flood..... haha

There’s a river that flows out of Virginia into Tennessee that has stocked trout and there are rumors of monster smallmouth (and largemouth) in it.......... heard tale of smallmouth at 8 or better and I think there was a documented largemouth not far shy of 15 a few years back

Oh yeah my bad I forgot you left New York. If you have open water year round I strongly suggest bass fishing, once I learned it was possible in winter it didn’t take long for that to become my preferred season. I find it way easier to catch big bass for whatever reason, and they are usually more predictable. My first winter catching bass was with spoons and silver buddies, although now I catch them with about anything, a 2.5 inch gulp minnow in an 1/8 oz jig head is definitely a favorite. Throw it out and kind of feather it back as it pendulums under the boat. Threadfin Shad are a lot of times half dead and twitching as they sink to the bottom when water temps get below 50, the bass suspend and gorge on them here’s an explanation from a real expert https://youtu.be/KmMUvW2GZ_Q

I like to stretch it. Tie it to a tree and walk away then pull it very tight. It will take it back to limp at least for a bit

I used to fish for trout all winter until I learned to catch bass in cold water. If you are limited to only trout, the stocked ones bite way better in the cold than the wild ones

No but I was guessing not much over 4 lbs as snakey as it was (it hit a buzzbait in rapids!) I think the one my buddy had that same day pictured above was a good bit heavier. The fish in my avatar was also very close to 23” but again no weight. I would guess 5