Kirtley Howe

I will never fish like that. I guess that it is a good thing I am not a pro.

To quote the immortal Bill Dance: Wet lines catch more fish. Which I take to mean you can't catch fish if your line is not in the water...so go fishing whenever you can.

On the plus side, the hooks were obviously sharp, and they didn't bend out. So,,,,hooks good, split rings not so good.

Had about an hour to fish yesterday, so I hit the river (Susquehanna River near Owego NY). Tied on an Ozark Trail (Walmart Brand) medium depth crankbait in an orange/bluegill pattern. 7" medium heavy fast rod, Johnny Morris reel with 14lb. Excell mono. First cast got a 1 1/2 lb smallie. About 10 casts later, I got a nice 3 1/2 lb smallie. Then things just stopped. Nothing else until just before I was getting ready to leave, when I hooked into something BIG. Played the fish for a couple of minutes, and finally got it up where I could see it. It was a musky, about 40" long, hooked with both treble hooks,, one it its' upper lip, and one in the corner of the mouth. Of course, just when I thought the fight was over, the fish took off again. I tightened down the drag some to turn the fish....dumb move on my part....all of a sudden, the line went slack. I was sure that the fish had cut the line or thrown the lure. Reeled in the line, and the lure was still there......but it no longer had any hooks attached. Both the front and rear split rings had straightened out and pulled off the lure. The anchor points for the rings and hooks were still fine, but the split rings and hooks were gone. Lesson learned....the Ozark trail lures definitely work and would most likely be fine if I only caught bass, but the hardware just isn't up to the task when trying to turn a 40" musky with a tight drag and 14 lb test line. I will be upgrading the hardware on the Ozark Trail lures I have. I am glad I only have a few.

I knew I was getting old when I started referring To Willy Nelson and Keith Richards as "those young musicians".

I am not now, nor have I ever been a millionaire. I am, however, rich beyond my wildest dreams. I have a wife who loves me, and that I love dearly. I have a house to live in. I have heat in the winter, and air conditioning in the summer. I have clean drinking water available just by turning a handle. I have hot water whenever I want it. I never go hungry and have many choices as to what I want to eat. I have a vehicle to go wherever and whenever I want. I have some health problems, but I can still walk on my own and am not in debilitating pain. I have family that love me, and that I love. I am not in daily fear of being injured or killed by war or violent crime. My mind, for most part, still works well. So...I am both blessed and lucky to be THIS rich. Sometimes we forget that even the poorest person in this country is amazingly rich compared to many people in other countries. Count your blessings. I will now step down off the soapbox....

I am good until I reach 10. Then I have to take my shoes off to keep counting.

BTW, my fishing buddy bought an Ozark Trail baitcasting reel. It is pure crap. One of those $20.00 Temu reels would be a better reel than the Ozark Trail bait caster.

I was given a Walmart gift card. After buying the usual assortment of hooks, line and lures, I had about $20.00 left on the card. Just for fun I decided to buy an Ozark Trail spinning reel (about $15.00) to keep on a cheap rod in the truck for spur of the moment fishing stops. I was not expecting much for that kind of money. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the reel. When I first got it, I loaded it up with 8lb test mono. While filling the reel, I noticed that it was very smooth reeling. It is a bit (about 1/3 ounce) heavier than a similar sized Pfluger President reel I have, but still not as heavy as a lot of cheap reels. I don't find the weight to be a problem. I have now been using the reel for about a month. So far, the reel has been flawless. In fact, I like it so much I have moved it over to my "regular" spinning set-ups. The drag is very smooth and is consistent in function. The reel is still as smooth reeling as when I took it out of the package. Time will tell if it stays this good after an extended amount of use, but so far so good. If you are looking for a decent cheap reel, you may want to check one out. Now I have to buy another one for my "truck" rod. d**n bait monkey.....

Just remember----don't eat yellow snow.

I put a "Thanks" on your post because it made my day. It is great to know that good people (a lot of whom are on this forum) still exist in this messed up world of ours. Good job.

As I have posted in other threads, I grew up living less than 30 miles from the original Dicks' store in Binghamton, NY. As a kid I used to love going there and buying my fishing gear. They had a great selection and very good prices. No days, not so much. The original store is now closed. The new mega Dicks' store in Binghamton has a very limited selection of fishing tackle. The next closest store (in Ithaca NY) has NO fishing tackle or supplies. Now days I shop Walmart for basic stuff, or go to Auburn NY to Bass Pro. That store will match any regional brick and mortar stores' price, but exclude on-line offers and only if the other store is in our region...so, no match on Acadamy, Fleet Farm, Tackle Warehouse, etc. I also try to hit local mom & pop stores, but there are not many around my area, and the selection they have is pretty limited. My only other choice is to go to Elmira NY where there is a Sportsmans Warehouse store...but unless they are having a big sale, their prices are not very good, and it is up to the managers discretion if they price match or not. Depending on the manager on duty I can sometimes get a price match, but sometimes not.

Thanks for posting the article. I am glad to know that my brain still works, even my the memory is not totally accurate.

I seem to remember that sometime in the past, BASS had a boating skill course that the pros' could compete on. The one with the best skills would win...I can't remember if it was in conjunction with the tournaments or was a separate event. I also don't remember if they got cash prizes and/or points toward angler of the year....anyone else remember this, and if so, more details than I can remember?

You are not old. You are aged like a fine wine.

I strongly suggest you get that taken care of sooner than later. The longer you wait the worse it can get. Because I had to delay getting mine fixed due to the kidney stone, mine had gotten larger, and the surgery was more drastic. Instead of a 4 inch cut in my groin, it was a 9 inch incision, and the one in my belly required having mesh installed instead of just tucking things back together.

Got the hernia surgery(s) done on April 28th. I was very sore for a few days, but after that it was just mildly uncomfortable. I took it very easy as I didn't want to risk damage to the repairs. I am healing nicely, and I plan on my first fishing outing this coming Thursday. The biggest problem I am having is I still get tired pretty quickly. Apparently healing up from surgery takes more out of me at age 75 than it did when I was younger. Who'd of thought it?

The opposite of an amateur noun.

Don't let that discourage you. Some of my best fishing has been during immediate post-frontal conditions. But the key is "immediate".....as in within a couple of hours of the front passing. My worst fishing usually happens about 12-24 hours after a major front. I think the fish are made active by the change in weather/pressure, but then shut down for the most part after the front has passed. A couple of days of consistent weather will make them "wake up" again. Several fronts of quick succession can work either way....either the fish are very active, or they are very difficult to catch. Just my observations and as always, your results may vary. Just remember that the best time to go fishing is when you can.

As the old saying goes, "God works in mysterious ways". Glad you are doing well. As you mentioned, the nausea is really bad....and throwing up violently when you have a couple of hernias is a truly unique experience. I don't recemmoned it.

And here we go again.... Hernia surgery is now postponed indefinitely. Why you may ask? Thursday evening I was eating dinner when I felt a sudden pain in my lower back. Five minutes later I was projectile vomiting my dinner into the toilet. Within twenty minutes I was standing up holding onto the edge of a kitchen counter in a cold sweat, and barely able to be coherent. Lovelywife Melody called an ambulance. After a 30 minute ambulance ride from hell, I was in the emergency room. Long story short......they installed a stent in my kidney, put in a catheter, shoot me full of antibiotics and put me in a room. Seems I have a large kidney stone, and a major kidney infection. Stayed in the hospital until last (Monday) night. I am now home taking antibiotics to clean up the infection, and then on April 12th I go back to get a larger stent put in the kidney (to allow the stone to pass), and they are also going to use a lazer to break the stone down some. When all that is done, I will reschedule my hernia surgery. Looks like the start of my fishing season is pushed back even farther....

Wish we had gas prices like that around here. The "budget" stations are charging 3.39-3.49 for E-10 gas. Premium gas stations are anywhere from 3.69-4.39 for E-10. Non ethanol (where you can find it) is 4.59 to 5.49 depending on where you buy it. Stations that have a dedicated non ethanol pump are always higher priced than stations that offer it as a selection on a multi fuel pump.

The handiest thing I have found for keeping a ledger is to carry a little digital recorder. I note the fish I catch, what I catch them on, weather and water conditions, what didn't work, etc. Then when I get home I put the info I want to keep into a ledger. I used to keep everything in my computer, but I ended up losing a lot of info when my computer died and the info was unrecoverable. Call me old fashion, but I have never had a paper ledger "crash".

I haven't named my boat yet, but have a name in mind. What do you think of Howes' Boat?

Good for you! We are anxiously awaiting pictures of the fish you will catch.