Don Harris

12 years cancer free for me!

I know this is an old post, but I had prostate cancer at the age of 45. I had a radical prostatectomy and made a full recovery. Guys get those exams done!

The Elk River near Winchester, Tennessee.

Yeah, I'm learning how to fish the river. But, I've fallen in love with it. Pickwick is a special place to me. I live about 40 minutes away, in Tennessee.

Pickwick is where I do most of my fishing.

I've never used a tube before. I saw the post about hooks and thought I would piggyback on that and ask about colors. What is everyone's preferred color of tube? I realize that is subjective based on water color, time of year, etc... Let's say for Tennessee River green water in the fall what would be the preferred color?

Wood Stork at Gatorland outside of Orlando.

Yup. And a really sloppy mud bottom. I sunk 2 feet deep.

My new favorite bait is a Picasso Titanium spinnerbait. They are steep at $15. Got one hung on some brush in my pond and went in after it. LOL!

Grundy Lakes State Park, Tracy City, Tennessee.

The Duck River at Old Stone Fort State Park in Manchester, Tennessee.

A photo k of a couple fly fishing the Elk River in Tennessee. I don't know why it is blurry. I resized it to a smaller size and higher quality. Oh well. You get the idea.

Bought 2 last night.

Here's another from that trip.

That one in the photo was standing about 20 yards from me sitting at the base of a big oak tree. I had my tripod all sprawled over me and if he'd wanted me he had me. There's not many things as majestic as that valley when bulls are bugling everywhere.

My 3-legged Golden Doodle and our old man cat.

Bull Elk bugling at Cataloochee in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I see this at Pickwick Lake all of the time! Your original post describes me to a T. I am learning to slow down a lot. I have started dragging a Carolina rig very slowly and have caught quite a few fish doing it.

??

I did a little research and I think episodes he talked about it were "Three Successful Words", "Hey Listen To This" and "Look, Listen and Learn". That is AI supplied research. I haven't watched them but it may be worth finding.

I remember a Bill Dance show from years ago that talked about how good spots have a hierarchy of fish around them. The better fish (more mature, more aggressive) move in and take over the better spots. When those fish leave or get caught, lower fish move in to take that spot, keeping a rotating door of fish on the best spots. I don't have a clue if that is true. I just remember it was Bill Dance that said it.

Good to know!

The State of Tennessee drained my local lake at Big Hill Pond State Park to create a Bill Dance Signature lake. The first photo is one I took a few years ago. The second was yesterday. It's almost dystopian. I was shocked to see the lake look like that.

There are also those of us who simply can't spend more than $59 on a rod. It's not a matter of what else we spend it on, it's bills or a fishing rod or reel. I'm not criticizing in any way. It just blows my mind that anybody can spend $250 on a fishing rod. I'm happy with what I have. I catch fish with them.