DaubsNU1

Turkey is a difficult one to get right. Best I've tried is wrapped in bacon, and smoked. Wife loves the bacon cheddar deer brats from the processor. I keep the loins and steaks from my deer...sometimes marinade them in Italian dressing (full fat), Worcestershire sauce...but the most important is to not over cook. Once they hit 145 on the grille, they are off and nicely medium rare. Goose and Duck is the same...marinade, then grille to 145. Pheasant and quail need little doctoring in my kitchen. Yummy. Dad's rule was always, "if you shoot it, you eat it."

Another vote for the Slug-Go!

Thanks for the update @Mobasser! Stay the course! Good luck! I've caught a lot of 2-3 lb bass...and can only remember one tipping the scale larger than that... In the early 1990's living in northeast Missouri, fishing a small two acre pond that was owned by the University where I worked. Pretty secluded...if you didn't know it was there, you would never find it. The dam was overgrown with willows and trees, and there was only a few places you could stand and cast a line in to the water. I was throwing a rainbow trout colored Slug-Go...and BAM! Great fish! Thankfully I had my cheap, spring-type fish scale in the tackle box...this fish weighed right at 8 lbs. (I later checked the scale on a 10lb weight...it was pretty close). The fish went right back in the water, and I have been trying to catch one bigger ever since!

Like @Captain Phil, I built a home made rod rack. Works well.

Hang in there gents! Stay safe! I'm getting worried...it's been unusually mild here in Eastern Nebraska this winter...only used the snow blower once this winter. Missouri got hammered a few times...and the Dakotas have seen some weather as well. That just means bad weather is approaching...ugh!

Wow, impressive selections above @A-Jay & @MN Fisher I'm still fishing the my ~30 year old Citica & Curado’s, paired to Cabela's branded rods from same era. I have four bait casters and six spinning rods. Room to take 6 rods in my boat. Not much, but enough for me : )

All my reels are close to 30 years old -- Shimano. I clean and oil every spring. Never even thought about replacing bearings...they work just fine.

I had to replace a few guides on my old Cabela's branded rods...found out they were Fuji. All of my rods were purchased in the 1990's....and are still going strong. The bait-casters have been running braid for almost 30 years...no issues. I would have no problem building rods with Fuji guides.

Did a family trip to a lake in South Dakota...natural lake, pretty big my my standards. Drove around the lake to the dock...plan was for me and my 6 year old daughter to motor across the lake, back to the cabin. This boat, 14' with 20HP Merc. Daughter had her lifejacket on, and was standing between my legs as I ran the tiller. I did not have my lifejacket on. The wind was picking up, pushing us towards the cabin side of the lake...things started to get hairy. I remember contemplating putting my lifejacket on...but decided to hold on to my kiddo...it was getting that bad. I figured if the boat did capsize, I could keep her afloat and hold on as the wind pushed us towards the cabin. Of course, daughter was giggling and saying how much fun she was having. 30 minute white-knuckle ride that I will never forget! Daughter is 23 now...we talked about that ride a few months back...she still remembers how fun it was. I remember it well...not so fondly.

Years ago BassPro made a spinnerbait with some fancy wire that was super bendy, unbreakable...I still have a few left. Does anyone make similar these days?

My parents, uncle/aunt, and grandparents shared a "cabin" on a river...had a lake on the property where I fished a lot growing up. Cabin had electricity, well water, no AC, and finally got in-door plumbing in the late 1970's. Loved it as a kid! After us kids got through high school, my parents cashed out...It was always work going to the cabin...was only 30 minutes away, but something was always needing fixed, occasional flooding from river.

I've come to realize that I thrive in a structured environment / life. Being a tournament pro does not appeal to me. Neither does guiding (fishing or hunting). Years ago good friends of mine worked at Cabela's corporate HQ in Sidney, NE...hunting and fishing was work for them. Took some of the fun out of it. I did meet a walleye tournament pro once, through my Cabela's friends. That guy was a jerk.

Switched over to braid+leader on all my spinning rods last summer. 10lb bright yellow power pro with 8lb or 10lb fluorocarbon leader. Works great with weightless senkos, NED rigs, t-rigged plastics, jig+grub, etc.

My wife thinks I'm completely crazy! HA!

Man, I feel for you! Hang in there. Talking / letting it out seems to help. Get a good therapist / counselor. Things I have found that help: Stopped watching news / TV: lots of drama in the world, even on network TV. It's all designed to keep me watching...so I will see the adds...and want more stuff. About all I watch is sports on TV, not much else. Even then, i tend to DVR/time-delay, and FF through the commercials. Being grateful for what I have: I've got good health, good wife, good family, good kids, good job, lots to be thankful for Pray often: I thank God every morning and every evening (see above) Slow down social media: or get off all together. I can feel myself getting jealous just scrolling through the feed. That's when i put it away for the day. Eat right: went gluten free with wife about 5 years ago (she had to for medical reasons). I never realized how bad I felt until I got off the wheat/bread/carbs. Wow. And I have recently stopped eating processed foods, vegetable oils...and feel EVEN BETTER than before. Hard to explain...worth a try. Cut way down on alcohol: I've never been a big drinker...so cutting back was not a big deal. Cut out caffeine: Stopped with soda/pop back in high school...and have never drank coffee. Again, felt better. Being responsible for me: this one is hard...often find myself thinking, "...I can see where they are going wrong..." and "I can help fix them..." It's not about fixing others...it's about concentrating on fixing me, being responsible for me. Other's happiness is not my responsibility. Gotta take care of myself first. Of course, I take care of my wife, kids, family...but ultimately they are responsible for themselves. When I'm feeling down, I youtube Cast Away...Tom Hanks sitting by the fire... youtube.com/watch?v=PKLVAeI7MU8

My 14' v-hull didn't have storage...so I improvised. When I renovated last year, didn't want to tear out the benches and flotation...so built framing over the benches...and kept the side rod storage. It is not the best, but it works for me. Holds 6 rods.

Really started bass fishing in 1991...picked up Cabela's rod and paired with Shimano Curado reel. I'm still fishing this set up today : )

Most of the lakes I bank-fish in Nebraska are sandpits. I take the following: 6'6" spinning rod, 10lb braid to 8lb FL leader -- rigged with green pumpkin NED 7' baitcaster, 30lb braid -- texas rigged worm, or jig-n-craw 6'6" spinning rod, 10lb braid to 10lb FL leader with square-bill, rattle-trap, or Senko

Switched all my spinning rods over to braid + leader last year. Bright yellow 10lb braid, 8-10lb floro leaders. All my bait-casters have straight braid.

I haven't used them since the 1990's... Buddy found some reached back in the 1990's, comparing human sense of smell vs. dog vs. LMBass.... A human can essentially smell a drop of vinegar in a 2 liter bottle of water...a dog can detect a drop in a 50 gallon drum...and a largemouth bass.... (amazed me if actually true) ...a drop of vinegar in an Olympic sized swimming pool(!) So we paid careful attention to scent, what we were touching with our hands, all that stuff...and we discovered why my wife always out-fished us...women's makeup contains lots of fish-oils. ** Note to self: I should probably get me some Megastrike **

Strange thing is this...my wife brought home a Shiba puppy about two weeks before my Lab came home...her dog has been sleeping through the night for a long, long time... In his kennel at 9:30 PM...not a word...let him out of the kennel at 7 AM, and he will pee for a long, long time...never needs out during the night. Lab is out every 2-3 hours...and whines a lot when in his kennel. He's a "talker" for sure...

Third lab from same breeder...He's a good boy! Growing...Mom was 80lbs, Dad 95... Going to be a bruiser!!

Hat is #1, sunblock is #2. Bald, and had one skin cancer removed from my head already...another spot getting biopsy as we speak. Eye-protection / sunglasses #3 for sure.

Wife is a nurse practitioner...and works six 12 hour days...then if off for 8 days. When she is working, the alarm goes off at 4:15 AM...I'm usually awake by then any way. We are generally in bed by 9:15-30 daily. When she's not working, I am still usually awake by 5:00 AM. Got a yellow lap puppy January 9th...he's been getting up 2-3 times a night to pee. Will be nice when I can get a full night's sleep again : )

Some great advice here...I'm going to just put this out there, as someone who has been married, and divorced...and gone through all the ugliness associated. My advice: get the boat before you are married. New, used, doesn't matter...get what you want, and get the title in your name alone. Reasons #1: When you are married, you really can't just go out and buy things you want without consulting your spouse. Money can cause lots of arguments in marriages...trust me on this one. Reason #2: if your marriage does not work out, and you get divorced...in most states you get to keep the things you brought in to the marriage. If the boat was purchased before you were married...it's yours and yours alone. Anything you purchase after getting married, is joint-property...and must be split equally. Meaning you would have to sell your boat and split the $$, or compensate your ex for her 1/2 of the boat.