DaubsNU1

Yep, me as well @A-Jay...every day. I cannot tell you the last time I watched fishing on television...maybe 20 years ago? Did not even know this was a thing still. Stopped watching the outdoor channel years ago...too many commercials for 16-18 minutes of actual hunting and fishing on screen.

Get both in your hands and see which feels better, has better balance, ergonomics. Send the other rod back. Or keep them both : )

I have never fished tournaments. Buddies fished many walleye tournaments, but they lived on the other side of the state...too long of a drive to join them. And I don't really care to chase "eyes" as they call them. Lots of kayak tournaments around these parts...but I had a boat. Ruled me out. My old boat did not have a live-well, so that ruled me out of many bass tournaments. Now that I have a boat with a live-well...still don't fish tournaments. I supervise a team of eleven, and get to deal with people all week long. When I fish, I often times fish alone, or with my Dad and Brother. When I'm on the water it is time to disconnect, relax, enjoy God's glory, and just be.

Scammers...Ugh! Thanks @Glenn!!

To date I have purchased four homes. None on a lake, so I cannot help you there. My 83 year old Dad is a retired carpenter...he used to build houses from the ground up. He later concentrated on finish trim (kitchens, bathrooms, remodels, etc.). He is also great with plumbing, electrical, and auto maintenance (that is a whole other thread). Had the honor and privilege of having Dad along when looking at all my houses before purchase. He's been doing this long enough to know the good from the bad...sometimes even when we pulled in to the driveway. One house...he wouldn't even let me and the wife out of the car. "Just back out, lets drive away right now..." HA! @Swamp Girl & @WaskaCrank12 have great advice above. I will add the following: Bring a good flashlight, and shine that thing in and under places you would normally not look. Check out the attic looking for adequate insulation, bats, mice, racoons, any droppings that might indicate holes and entrance points. Look in cold-air return ducts, pay close attention to the furnace / HVAC, basement, crawl space, laundry room and dryer vents. Bring a black light(!). Current house smelled really nice when we looked, and purchased. A week in to ownership wife got the carpets cleaned...and things started to smell bad. It was almost as if the sellers had been trying to mask something...wife broke out the black light, and could see animal urine pretty much everywhere(!). We pulled all carpet, pad, and each and every staple...enzyme killed the floor, then Kilz-ed it, new carpet, and new paint. Ugh. Get it inspected! Good home inspection company, and you might even get a structural engineer to have a peek. Our house had some small cracks in foundation. Engineer had a look and everything checked out good. Check windows carefully. We had issues with some defective Pella windows that rotted from the inside out. I would personally check and make sure every window in the house worked, and was not rotting, or had damage. Windows are expensive. Good windows are priceless. My Dad still has original windows in his house from 1971...they are wonderful. Make sure you aren't in a flood plain, and your insurance will be able to cover the house. My wife found the "perfect little old farm house..." about a mile from the Platte River here in Nebraska. It was said to be outside the "100 year flood" area (whatever that meant). The house needed lots of work, and in the end, we decided to pass on that property. It was a good thing...just three years later the "100+ year flood" happened. Nuff said. Check the power outlets. Some older houses don't have the three prong outlets, and could have faulty wiring. Bring an outlet tester and test as many as you can. Check the breaker box. Sometimes renovations / additions are not done correctly, and can lead to issues down the road. Get the water checked. Our current house has it's own well. Our real-estate agent demanded a water test in the purchase agreement...test came out great, but something I would not have thought of. Get the septic system inspected (if you have one). Bring a friend, or a relative. There were many times I had on rose-colored glasses when looking at a house / property. Having Dad there really helped me see things I would have missed. Good luck with your search!!

My buddy who worked for Cabela's at the HQ in Sidney, Nebraska used to be in charge of the Bargain Cave. He also ran the sidewalk sales. I got some smoking deals back in the day. Sad they no longer do either.

I remember when Nebraska law was changed to require seat-belts. I was just getting my license and started wearing my seat belt every time I was in the vehicle. Have been in two accidents where I am 100% sure the seat belt saved lives! Sadly it's just been recently that I have worn my PFD and used kill-switch on boats. I can thank the good peeps of this site for opening my eyes! When the big motor is on, so is the PFD and the kill switch.

I have caught seven or eight Musky in my lifetime, all on bass lures. Rattle trap, spinner bait, jerk-bait, and one lure that shocked me... About 30 years ago I was fishing a 500+ acre lake in northeast Missouri...it had been stocked with Musky. I was fishing some flooded timber in my belly boat. Pitched a pumpkin green jig with craw trailer next to a tree in 20' of water. Watched my new braided fishing line carefully. Lure reached bottom and stopped....then I saw the line slowly move to the side..."hello Mr. Bass...." I set the hook and immediately cursed. It felt like I had set the hook right in to a log. Then the log moved(!) It was a good fight, with the big toothy predator spinning me around in that little belly boat. I managed to kick to shore and somehow got the jig out and the fish released. There was no way I was putting my fingers in that mouth. Good fun!

I remember doing Cabela's orders that way!

So this arrived in the mail yesterday, I haven't seen one of these in years. Interesting to leaf through.... Old buddy of mine used to work for cabela's, and talked about how they laid out those catalogs. Interesting to see that Bass Pro puts the Ranger boats on page 215? Lots of emphasis early in the catalog on forward facing sonar and forward facing sonar lures. ....and 20 minutes later....catalog going in the recycle bin. Far easier to search online.

When you pack up the boat and do a "fishing trip" out of your local area, do you head north, or south? (or east / west?) I have been south a handful of times Lake Fork, and Table Rock. Seem to head north much more -- Canada, South Dakota, North Dakota.

@NorthernBasser, was talking with my wife about your situation. She's a nurse practitioner, used to work heart and lung transplant at the NE Med Center...now she's at the VA. She seen a lot of rough cases. Hang in there buddy! We are both pulling for you!

I always have rods rigged up with the following when my boat launches. They seem to catch 80%+ of the fish when I'm on the water: Spinnerbait T-rigged curly tail worm Senko Square-bill Drop shot Rod locker holds 10...the other five rods are changed out based on my feelings for that day, or the lake I'm fishing.

Normal fall involves getting the duck blind ready, running the dog, winterizing the janky 25 year old above ground pool (and praying it doesn't collapse), swapping the mower deck for the snow blower on the John Deere, and moving the boat from garage down to the shop. I love the fall -- football, hunting, cooler weather, fishing, being outdoors. I had grand plans of keeping the boat up at the house, and working on my project truck this winter....but temps quickly dipped in to the teens...hard no. So the boat is down and the shop is winterized. It's been single digits for a few weeks here in Nebraska. Picture below from last winter...had to snow blow lanes in the grass...little dog's tiny little legs couldn't handle the snow. We have had only a few dustings of snow this winter. Bummer. I've been putting old equipment, hunting clothing, and random stuff on eBay this winter...made a little money...but burned it up with a Kuiu winter sale : ) Tough time of the year for me is after hunting seasons and football seasons are finished. Mid February in to early April are tough. I don't ice fish. Once the weather warms up, and the ice goes away...it's game on!!

Dagnabit @NorthernBasser. That sucks!! Know that we care, and you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers!!

All my reels are Shimano, except for one Cabela's branded reel that came in a package deal with the rod.

It's kind of like selecting a motor in your truck, computer monitor, television for your living room, CPU in a computer build, rifle caliber, etc., etc., etc. "There is no substitute for cubic-inches" "Overkill is underrated"

First trolling motor was a hand-held...then went to cable steer for 20+ years. Loved the ability to quickly turn, power-on, and power off. Would have stayed with cable steer...but my brother got an Ulterra. I did NOT like it at first. But it grew on me. Power deploy and stow has worked great for 1-1/2 years now (knock-on-wood). I use the remote most of the time...but the foot-pedal does come in handy. It takes getting used to, but overall I am extremely happy with this unit. For the way I fish, it's wonderful! Cable steer would be option #2 for me. Good luck!! I will add that spot-lock, cruise control, and auto-pilot have really been game-changers for the way I fish. Ulterra is networked to the Humminbirds...I can motor over a brush pile...mark on my fish finder...drop the Ulterra and say, "navigate to mark"....it takes me there, and spot locks right over the top. Or locks me a certain distance from the mark. And keeps me there, even in a strong wind. Wife claims this is "cheating." But honey, I don't even have livescope yet : )

I think we are missing one large data point... Old fish die.

It's been so long since we were there...hard to remember. I know we spent a whole day hiking Zion, then an entire day at Bryce.

@Rockhopper that sounds like a great plan!!

Like @padlin, I certainly have my favorites. I long ago broke the spinning rod that landed my personal best LMB back in the 1990's. Favorite rod is an old Cabela's branded C44x spiral guide casting rod, 6 foot long, medium action. Paired with a old Shimano Curado reel. Light, balanced, and I just love it.

Bryce and Zion are WONDERFUL!! Wife and I visited about 10 years ago, in February. No bus rides in to Zion at that time...we just drove in. And pretty much had the park all to ourselves. Yak-Traks or ice cleats were a must. If you can swing it, highly recommend Moab and Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Beautiful!

I have a Scheels, Cabela's and BPS in town, and they all carry Sitka gear. I did order a few items directly from Sitka, and they are exchanging a heavyweight hoodie. Hope the new size fits. I really like Kuiu merino wool base layer top, and zip-off merino bottoms, and the Guide DCS soft-shell -- they served me well chasing Mule Deer. And now keeping me warm and dry in the duck blind. Kuiu has a new waterfowl lineup. I've ordered some solid mid layers...will see how things flesh out. Last weekend temps on the river were single digits. Base layer of Merino wool, a poly long sleeve, the Kuiu Peleton 240 zip hoodie, then an old Marmot fleece. Shell was a 20+ year old Cabela's System's Parka Gore-Tex (without the thinsulate liner). Sitka Gradient pants and good wool socks. I stayed warm and dry...we did have heaters...hunted dawn until dusk. I like the versatility of layering to match the weather. Will have to check out the First Lite lineup. Appreciate the words of wisdom @fishballer06!

I'm old school and had a buddy who worked for Cabela's back in the day. Have a crap-ton of Cabela's branded clothing, gloves, boots, and gear. I have had some Kuiu big-game gear for a while...and like it very much. Been eyeing some new stuff for a while...and have been trying on Sitka gear for about a month now. Their stuff is really high quality, looks good, but I just cannot seem to find what I'm looking for. Brother and his son have the heavyweight hoodie and Hudson jacket, some base layer merino wool, and wader pants (Gradient). I really like the Gradient wader pant, they are warm and fit well. But their hoodies, base layers, jackets and coats don't fit me well. A large is too small...and I swim in the XL. What has been your experience with Sitka?