BigAngus752

Hey @Scherbacj read @Zcokerreally well! He doesn't see "winter", but he sees a difference in how the fish act seasonally. His "winter" fish behavior is completely different than my winter fish behavior in central-Illinois and mine is completely different than @A-Jay's winter fish behavior in the where-the-heck-is-that north. The important thing is that all of our fish (and yours) behave differently because of season and water temp, just like @WRB said. What you do in July probably won't work in January, but it's the figuring it out that is the most fun. I envy you. You've got a lot more opportunity than I do this time of year, but at least I'm not @A-Jay up there helping Santa take care of the reindeer until the water thaws next August.

I've been supplementing my protein for more than 35 years. Long before there was powdered whey protein. The soy protein from the late 80's/early 90's was like drinking wet sand. Here are some important things to be aware of regarding protein supplementation. Whey protein is pretty far up there on the glycemic scale. Mixed in water and on an empty stomach it reaches the "high glycemic" mark and can spike your blood sugar. Mixing it with milk will mitigate that so you're fine but just FYI. Whey protein is a "fast" protein and is absorbed by your body very quickly. That's useful right after exercise. Before bed you want a "slow" protein (casein, egg, soy). Unless you are a highly trained athlete, your body can only use about 20 grams of "fast" protein at one time. If you take 40 grams of whey with milk on an empty stomach you are wasting a lot of it unless you are highly athletic and/or just did a considerable amount of exercise. All whey is not the same. Whey concentrate is cheaper and is not as bio-available to your body. Whey isolate is more expensive and is more bio-available. This math is just for example purposes and is not meant to be literal. If you ingest 10 grams of whey concentrate your body will only be able to use 8 grams of it. If you ingest 10 grams of whey isolate your body will be able to use 9 grams of it. Again, not meant to be taken literally, just given as an illustration as there are a huge number of variables involved. Congrats on your commitment to better health! I'm 55 years old and I still push myself well past what my front-brain says is my limit several days a week (I prefer to listen to my caveman brain). I'm not the strongest guy in the gym anymore, and I don't know if it's going to help me live longer. I do it because I love it. This was two years ago when I got down to 7% body fat before vacation. I'm back up to 10-11% now and I've put on a little bit of muscle. I feel much better and I'm a lot stronger! Staying below 10% long term requires some dietary adjustments that can make you feel pretty poorly and robs some strength. I'm not surprised at all that you are feeling better already! Good nutrition can make wholesale changes to your life. Even if you don't go to the gym.

MAN DOWN!!! Hang on...I have another. Code 4. Stand down.

That's funny, I never got the rods I ordered during this sale last year. I ordered two. They never made them, refused to substitute anything, and refused to refund my money. I had to submit a complaint to my credit card company and then they refunded my money. That was AUGUST of this year. Be thankful.

This is my nightcap tonite. I was a rye guy before I was a bourbon guy. I'm blessed to have a plethora of outstanding ryes right now ("Jefe, what is a plethora?") but I'm on a mission to find a Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye. I've tried it twice in bars and love it. This one is very good one in the meantime.

Well, your post caused me to start Googling. Beavers are highly protected furbearers in Illinois. No hunting and only trapping with permit. According to AI Google, however, you are pretty much free to blast them as you (a landowner) see fit...so...happy hunting! A shotgun requires close quarters. Beavers can get pretty chunky so I'd stick with a center-fire rifle rather than try a rimfire. Can you use something "quiet" in your state? A suppressed .300 Blackout would be just right. But I like @Scott F 's response. That's what we do here. Tons of help available to relocate them when they invade our space here.

Last year we paid a pro to paint our cedar-sided house. We couldn't afford to do the same for our 1800 sq ft garage, mostly because it needed a significant amount of cedar/carpentry repairs and I just can't pay thousands for what I can do myself...so...for two months I did the carpentry and my wife and I painted. Some of the lap cedar couldn't be salvaged so I replaced sections with board and batten. The walk-in door wasn't properly flashed and sealed originally so I had to replace sheathing, insulation, and the door as well as new board and batten on that side of the garage. My wife was a super-woman. I worked on it every evening after work and ten hour days on weekends. She was right there the entire time painting. I kept her on the ground and I did all the carpentry and the painting from the 32ft ladder.

All of those are good ones. Our favorites out of those are EC C924 and Knob creek 12. We are never without a Knob 12 in the cupboard. It's smooth, caramel-ly, and very consistent from bottle to bottle.

I just pulled them out for the winter. My two group 27 TM batteries are Diehards from a local auto store and the manufacture dates are 4/21 and 5/21. I absolutely abuse these. I fish two electric-only lakes and I drain these to 20% or lower at least 4 times a month. More when I can get out. They replaced two Interstate batteries that lasted 14 months before they stopped taking a charge. My cranking battery is the original cranking battery. It's an Interstate and my boat is a 2016 so it's a 15 or 16 manufacture date. I keep my batteries on the charger 24-7 when not fishing. From March to Thanksgiving they are in the boat (stored indoors) and on a Dual Pro Professional. From Thanksgiving to March they are in a heated garage and on individual Shumacher smart chargers (with maintenance mode). I check water levels twice a year.

There have been several times that I've read descriptions of the palate and finish on a bottle that costs $150 and was sure I wanted it, but then found a bar that would sell me a pour and was thankful that I didn't buy it. I wish I could take a rod on the water for a day before paying for it. I've got a couple hanging on the wall that could have been money better spent elsewhere.

We made a pact to not buy any more bourbon this weekend since we spent so much on our trip to Kentucky last month, but when you go to a bar/store where you can buy a pour and try it before you buy it...well...here we are. These are both fantastic. Caused us to break our oaths.

That's exactly what is going to happen Monday. This dog is also clairvoyant!!!

A few years ago I called Duckett Fishing and ended up talking with a guy in the rod shop. They had discontinued my favorite line of rods and I told him I was trying to find a MH rod with a lot of backbone but a very parabolic tip and moderate action that could hurl a lure a mile and could keep a fish pinned with treble hooks. He said, "Wow, you practically just quoted Jacob when he told us what he wanted". I figured that was a clue so I bought one Jacob Wheeler rod. I now own 3. I use them for medium and deep crankbaits, medium and large spinnerbaits, and vibrating jigs. If this description sounds like what you are looking for you can always find the Jacob Wheelers on sale sometime from now until Xmas. I have two MH/Moderate Fast and 1 HF. Edit: I just looked them up and saw that Duckett has discontinued them and now sells Jacob Wheeler Select rods for $249. Maybe you can find one of the original Wheelers still in stock somewhere. Should be $149 or less. I suggest the MH/Moderate Fast in 7'3".

My closest lake is electric only. Fortunately they allow gas engines on the boat as long as they aren't used. My point to this topic, however, is that one of the guys that lives on this lake has a good-size jon boat with an all electric outboard in 6 or 7hp. I swear you could ski behind it. This guy flies down the lake leaving a full wake behind him. I've talked to him and he loves it. Unfortunately I won't see him again until spring or I'd get the make/model for you.

East Central Illinois here. This is usually the time of year that I'm getting my largest numbers by far. The warm weather has slowed that. I caught about 20 today but the water temps are still about 6 degrees higher than usual for November 15. I'm hoping the incoming cold will bump up the action for a week or so before the fall feed is done for the year.

I understand your point, but it's a hard row to hoe finding a professional athlete (or comedian, or politician) that isn't a train wreck in their personal life. I won't cast the first stone. And I have the same suspicions you do. I suspect Mike CAN clap this guy in round 1....but I'm afraid he'll just dance with him for money instead.

The wife and I are looking forward to watching Iron Mike drop this fool. It will make me feel better about my own age too! LOL

Nice! That sounds like a good day (and a bad headache for me the next day).

Congratulations! That's an epic fish. The southerners won't understand this milestone in Illinois. You've found great water and you've certainly put the work in. Well-deserved PB! Go for seven!

Really love the Weller 12. It's always so consistent year after year. Always delicious.

That's a good looking bass! Love those colors.

Asked my wife where she wanted to go for her birthday and she picked Frankfurt, KY and Bardstown, KY. We've been there before so we knew of places we could shop and not pay for overpriced bottles. This was the result. Should last us until the next trip, LOL.

Ned gets a 1. Frog or toad in lily pads gets a 9. Everything else I throw falls somewhere in between.