Tennessee Boy

I’m a strong believer that to understand life and more importantly fishing, you must understand the concept of randomness. Here are a couple of books on the subject that I recommend. The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in Markets by Nassim Nickolas Taleb Full Disclosure: I’m a math loving nerd.

I would first try to use my fence post puller to pull it up. Most people don’t have one. You can buy one or just find a farmer and ask if you can borrow his. The one I have is similar to this one that cost $45. They are made to pull T-post but mine has a chain that you can wrap around other post. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/t-fence-post-puller?cm_vc=-1000

Bass fishing success requires a combination of the ability to find fish and the ability to catch the fish you've found. When you come up short finding that great spot you have to make up for it by catching the few that you have found. Anyone who has ever fished tournaments has spent some time junk fishing. At some point you have to stop looking and start catching. I would say that the MLF Cup events and the old B.A.S.S. Megabucks tournaments were basically "Junk Fishing" tournaments. The MLF Cup events limit the angler's time they can spend looking for fish. The Megabucks tournaments made them fish in a certain location. A few anglers excelled at this. Larry Nixon is one that comes to mind. Of course, Larry excelled at a lot of things.

Whoever is responsible for this must hate California. https://www.gasbuddy.com/home?search=Gallatin%2C TN&fuel=1&maxAge=0&method=all

You're paying $5 / gal for diesel? It's $3.49 here.

I think Raymarine makes some fish finders that have the capability to share sonar over bluetooth to a phone or tablet. I'm pretty sure those units will not work with the MEGA transducer in your trolling motor.

It can obviously be done anytime but it’s what you do in a tournament when you get back to the ramp 15 minutes before weight in. You throw whatever you’ve got tied on at any targets that are present.

I've always felt like I can accept more wear on my trailer tires than on my truck. The only thing I ask of my trailer tires is to remain inflated and don't slide when I go around a curve. I don't have trailer breaks so hydroplaning during breaking is not a concern. Plus, I typically don't go fishing when it raining heavily anyway. You said they are starting to show signs of wear. Doesn't sound like a blowout is imminent. I would not replace them.

I love listening to a hound dog with a good southern accent. ?

I don’t have any experience with those stoves but I think these two products will allow you to do what you want. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GS77D49 and https://www.amazon.com/GASPRO-Propane-Connects-Portable-Appliance/dp/B08P7KJZ9P I’m not 100% sure. The connectors look right but that doesn’t always mean it will work. You could buy them and see if it works or check with a hearth and patio type store. They would be familiar with all the connectors involves.

Very sorry for your loss.

It’s important to be plugged into the community. You can’t get more plugged into bass fishing than being a member on this forum. If a new trend comes along, I know I will hear about it on BR first. I enjoy hearing the different prospectives that are expressed here. I feel like I know how many of you think and when you say something that surprises me I take notice. It’s amazing how many different ways there are to enjoy this sport. For many it’s about finding and using the best equipment. Others are into tournaments. Many seem to enjoy collecting lures. Some are into the history of the sport. Others enjoy pimping out their boats. The list goes on. It’s fun to learn how folks in different parts of the country view the sport. Many of you seem to think like I do. Others think very differently. Some of you think like I did when I was younger. I enjoy taking it all in. It helps me question my own thinking on things and makes me a better angler. Thanks!

Not exactly unknown and not small but Pickwick can be fantastic in February for large smallmouth. If you need to get out of the wind, you can usually just choose your launch location wisely and stay in one of the creeks. There are plenty of places to find shelter from the wind unless it’s blowing 50 MPH which is very rare.

That’s a good question. I placed third in a tournament in early February once fishing the bank with a t-rigged worm. The boat was in 15ft of water but they were hitting in 2-5 ft. Don’t think that you have to fish deep. If it’s been warm, they might start moving up in mid to late February.

As you go up stream, rivers become creeks. Creeks become branches. Branches become ditches. I hope we can all agree that a little water in a ditch does not make it public property. Where a stream stops being navigable and becomes private property is a judgment. Saying your okay as long as you don’t touch the bottom is a joke. I can’t think of any stream around here that is not on the list of navigable streams that you could navigate in a kayak without touching the bottom. Here is one example. The bridge in the photo is where the Corps of Engineers says this creek becomes a navigable stream. I’ve fished this creek. There is no way you could go a quarter mile in a kayak without running into shallow water or a lay down. I can’t speak for other parts of the country but around here the definition of navigable water clearly favors the boater over the landowner. I think the laws are fair. That doesn’t solve the problem of landowners and boaters that do not know or follow the law.

I lived in North Alabama years ago and fished Guntersville year round. I agree with @OldManLure. I’m not sure there’s a big difference but I prefer February. In March conditions can change quickly and the wind can be an issue. I’ve had some good days on Guntersville in February.

I got my booster Wednesday night at church. I’m technically not eligible but they have a lot of vaccine that will expire soon so they will give it to anyone.

I’m not expert when it comes to ants but I have learned one thing. If you can buy it at the grocery store, it won’t kill ants. I bought some stuff online a few years ago that cost $30 for a small tube. The ants loved that stuff and it would kill them all in about 48 hours.

I can think of countless cases of disputes that made national news where one guy with a gun end’s up in jail and another guy ends up dead. In almost every case, either person could have prevented it from happening by simply not escalating the confrontation to the next level. It’s extremely unlikely that someone is going to just shoot you for being on their land. They will say something. Then you have the option to say your sorry and leave or you can say something back. It always starts with words that turns into an argument, that turns into anger, that turns into threats, that ends in violence. There’s no shortage of places to fish. Just apologize and find another place. When you get home you can complain about it on this forum. I’ve never found a fishing spot worth dying for.

Air also moves but that doesn’t mean it should be okay to fly a drone 3 feet away from someone’s bedroom window. How much airspace you own above your land is another legal area that’s being discussed a lot recently due to the popularity of drones. Those laws are very similar to the water navigation issues being discussed here.

I believe that federal law states that the Corp of Engineers can declare that a stream is navigable. Our local Corps district has a list on their web site. I assume they have similar list for other districts. Tennessee state law says that if a stream is not on the Corps’ list, it’s status must be determined by a jury. Like other’s have stated, what the law says and what the land owner believes are not always the same. My local lake is a Corps of Engineers lake and the Corps owns all of the land around the lake. Land owners have to get dock permits and even need permits to mow down to the water. Still, some of them think they own the bank and the water 50 feet out. Here is the Corps of Engineers list for the Nashville District. https://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Navigable-Waters-List/

@TnRiver46 My wife and I have talked about hiking up Mount Le Conte when we get younger. Unfortunately, we're not getting any younger.

THANKS CATT. THAT VIDEO IS FANTASTIC!!! Okay.... I need to come clean on something. I want to SCREAM exactly what he is saying on probably 80% of the threads that are posted on this forum but I don't because I don't want to be "THAT GUY". When I got my first boat I went down the rabbit hole of trying to learn everything, trying to fish every technique, with every lure, in every color. Had to have the perfect line with the perfect rod, and the perfect reel. I'm now a very firm believer that the following quote, often attributed to Einstein, is the key to fishing. "Everything Should Be Made as Simple as Possible, But Not Simpler." TRYING TO FIND OUT JUST HOW SIMPLE FISHING CAN BE MADE IS ONE OF MY GREATEST AMBITIONS IN LIFE!

I use 1/4" round colored stickers for line identification. Stick one on the spool of line and then put the same color on the reel when you spool it up. They are very cheap, peel off easily and come in more colors than you need. Only down side is they will fade in sunlight and don't last forever so you have to replace them occasionally.

Hang in there. Fishing changes with the seasons. Their location, their activity level, their diet, all can change with the seasons. You need to change also. It could be as simple as the speed that you are relieving the lure or you may be missing the more subtle bite. Enjoy the cooler weather and keep fishing.