TOXIC

A lot of the “major” brands are owned by the same big company, with a little research you can find out which manufacturers have their own lense labs. When I was in the market, Oakley sent their frames in to their own lab.

While I agree, a kill switch is mainly to protect others, let’s not forget most boats will go into a hard turn with no one at the helm and there are a lot of injuries when it circles back and chops the operator.

Touchy subject with me. When I was guiding there was no time the big motor was started without my kill switch either hooked to my vest or my wrist, or a belt loop. I was a little nonchalant about hooking it up when I was out prefishing or fun fishing by myself. Then I had a dream…..In my dream, it was a crisp clear morning at sun up and I was running full throttle down the lake I guided on (I even knew the part of the lake I was on) and the water was like glass. Out of nowhere I hit a sizable wake and the boat lurched violently from side to side. So violently, it threw me out of the boat. I respect the water but I do not fear the water so when I surfaced, I was laughing. Then I looked as my boat was continuing down lake at full throttle without me in it. The sense of dread that came over me as I tried to think what the boat was going to hit, was intense, so intense, it made it impossible for me to ever run my boat without the kill switch attached. Many videos I see with guys showing 70+ mph runs with no pfd’s and assumably no kill switch, make me crazy.

Winter Weather Advisory Winter Weather Advisory issued January 18 at 12:46PM EST until January 19 at 7:00PM EST by NWS Baltimore MD/Washington DC * WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations between 2 and 4 inches. Not a bad weather event but it stretches south down 95 which is our travel route to Florida and has more snow/ice down that way. Hopefully it will get cleaned up by the 31st when we leave.

While I don’t disagree working in downtown DC for a big portion of my career, I’m not planning on taking any vacations to East Garfield Park in Chicago or South Central in LA. I’m not willing to risk life and limb for a fish. I know it gets blown out of proportion sometimes but the guys that told me are credible. It would be irresponsible not to pay attention to cartel activity around the lakes.

Couple of us are planning to take a buddy to Mexico as a retirement gift and we had a buddy just return from Lake Picachos. Excuse the spelling errors. Evidently there’s 2 lodges right next to each other. Ron Speeds and Anglers Inn. As for the other lakes, my buddy went with a fishing industry executive and they were told about increased cartel activity on one of the lakes and the nearby town where anglers were bused out and brought to the lake they were on. One American industry executive had a vacation house in one of the towns and it was taken over by cartel members. We are wading through all the possible lakes and still have a couple years to make decisions. Ron Speeds lodge was closed for the season when they went about a month ago but they share a kitchen with the other lodge so they stayed in the Speed camp as the only guests and ate their meals at the other lodge.

In my younger days, I ran with a rougher crowd and many times found ourselves in “testy” confrontations. Nothing to do with fishing….I had one buddy who was smaller in stature and always seemed to be a lead instigator. Many of our encounters were at nightclubs and bars and we usually ended up outside and squared off. Sometimes we walked away none the worse for wear and other times we crawled away to lick our wounds. One night back at my buddies apartment after a premo butt whipping, I noticed he pulled a handgun out of an ankle holster. I had never seen that and I asked how long he had carried and he told me he has always. So I asked him all the times we got our hind ends handed to us why he never used it to stop the punishment. His reply was….We were never in a situation where we risked losing our lives and he had a strict rule that if he pulled it, he was going to use it. Made an impact on me. Thankfully I grew out of that stage with relatively few scars but a lot of life lessons.

Maybe that snow will reduce the vehicle break-ins in the parking lot. 😖

I’ve been really invested in the Ned bait. I’ve always been a finesse guy and heavily into Senkos(duh), dropshots, etc. I have caught some personal bests on Ned’s and have a contact for custom Ned heads. With Yamamoto’s new bait offerings, there’s a lot of new Ned baits. I am going to spend the year weeding through all of them and hopefully finding some new favorites.

I have found that since I retired and can fish whenever I want and I am not limited to weekends and holidays, I tend to pick my days with a little more emphasis on comfort. Before, we would head out in any weather or temperature. My fishing partner is still working and he’s a little miffed at me for not wanting to go when it’s sub 20 degrees. Now if we are on a trip like St Clair in May when you can get snow, winds, etc., I will gut it out no matter the weather. I was all in on combat fishing when I only had the weekends….now, not so much.

Starting to grit my teeth. The 10 inches we have on the ground has been managed and isn’t an issue. Cold snaps getting down to the 10 degree range are a pain but that’s why I had a cord of wood delivered. We don’t need it for heat but it’s nice on the cold nights in the great room watching tv. What has me nervous is the next “system” which is too far out to predict but getting very close to my 01/30 departure with a 20ft Ranger in tow, heading south to Headwaters and returning the 8th of February. Southern ice storms are no fun. Drove through one going to lake Lanier one trip and it was miserable. So was the fishing.

Other than comparing to online sales, you’re going to get a fair evaluation here. Members here are not out to mislead. Lots of pics on the Flea Market page will get you fair offers or advice on value. Sorry for your loss.

Miles on trailers are all based on maintenance. As long as you keep them maintained, miles don’t really matter. If it gets a clean bill of health, I wouldn’t hesitate to pull it cross country. Keep a spare hub assembly in the truck and a good set of tires with a good spare and you’re good to go. I tow a lot. From Virginia to Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, and an average of a minimum 50 miles one way to every area I fish locally, I trust my trailer but I also maintain my trailer. Annual hub maintenance, tires every 5 years and more.

Have it towed to a trailer shop and completely gone over, tires, bearings, wiring, etc. It’s something you are going to have to do anyway. Flatbed or shipping is going to be somewhat expensive. What year is the trailer?

Great….now I’m humming “Garden Party”.

We got around 10” and I’ve already shoveled the driveway but getting ready to head out and attack my biggest “pet peeve”. While I appreciate we are on a school bus route and get our street plowed quickly, I live in the back of a culdesac where all of the plowed snow ends up. I don’t mind shoveling out the end of the driveway but they literally bury my mailbox with the heaviest snow boulders and sometimes even knock down my fence. I guess I’ll quit my bitchin and go grab the shovel.

Thanks a lot, now I’ve got that tune spinning in my head. 😂

I have both as you can see in the picture. I have moved my padded seat to the front because when we installed my Ghost trolling motor and took my Fortrex off, the foot pedal is much farther back in the recessed tray and I only have one hole for the pedestal seat and not 2 like the newer boats. I liked the leaning seat but now I can straddle the padded seat and it helps me with the foot peddle placement. I also now have the remote for the ghost but I’m still on the fence with it. It reacts a little too slow for me.

Those dates put me in a glitter sled on Headwaters. 😂

It’s a personal choice. Having been a guide, I have had all types of anglers on my boat. Those who use low dollar rods/reels and those who use ultra expensive. Personally for me, let me repeat, personally for me, I have a performance based standard that once it’s met, I feel like I am not getting anything of performance value from my gear. I am a utilitarian. Others have different considerations both higher and lower than mine. Nobody’s right or wrong. I could afford anything I want but that doesn’t override my sense of personal value. It has to be noted that my performance standard requires a higher level of performance than a lot of anglers.

I responded to the message. Mine is the Springfield one. It was offered through Ranger at one time. Out of production now. on edit, it looks like you can still get them through Springfield.

Although we go to the “hot” side of lake Anna in the winter, it looks like my first bass of 2025 is going to come from Florida at the end of the month into the first week of February. I ain’t complaining either. 😂

I’m a native Nebraskan and no stranger to ice and snow. I pulled into my office parking lot one winter with the front bumper of my 1976 Ford LTD PUSHING SNOW. The security guard told me to go home, the office was closed. 😂 That being said, neither my truck or the boat are going anywhere.

8 inches per the weathercasters and the barbecue. 😂 Another 2 to 3 tonight into tomorrow.

The more the merrier.😂. I lucked out and got a week at the horse farm apartment 5 miles from the ramp. We normally stay at the facility on Blue Cypress but it’s a long drive and the boat parking is tough.