Kirtley Howe

You just made me shoot coffee out my nose!

At 74 years old, my reaction time and concentration are still excellent. I credit the fact that I have been riding motorcycles since 1968 (and yes, I still ride, but on a Trike now as my left leg is messed up from a car wreck years ago). I have always led an active lifestyle which has kept me in decent shape for my age. My stamina isn't what it used to be due to a bout of cancer a few years back, and of course just plain age taking its' toll. But I consider myself blessed that I can still get out there and fish at all. But as mentioned above, there are places I used to love to fish that I just can't hack getting into and out of anymore. Yeah..I know that valley too.

Just because you are taking a break from fishing doesn't mean you have to take a break from the site. But, your choice, do what is best for you and come back soon.

Well, you can certainly pull a big bass boat with a Nissan Rouge, or Rave 4, or similar vehicles. The big problem is when you try to stop. The boat most likely outweighs the tow vehicle, so it is really easy for the tail to wag the dog, so to speak. Plus the brakes on those vehicles are not really up to the job of stopping all that weight. For me that is also a big nope.

Glad you made it back. The fishing, aside from being good for your mental health is also good physical therapy. Keep at it and things will only get better. Stay safe out there.

I have tried a few of their lures. Like most other brands, some work well, some don't. The biggest problem I see is that the quality of the lures can be inconsistent. But that is true to some extent with just about any brand. As far as I know, Rapala is the only manufacturer that tank tests every lure to ensure consistency, and I am not sure they still do that. The nice things about the OT lures is if they don't work right, you can take them back to Walmart and either get a refund or exchange them, and if you snag up and lose them (which as a bank fisherman that river fishes most of the time, I do a LOT) you are not out much money. Just my observations and thoughts.

And don't forget..you will sometimes get contradictory information. That is because no one technique works all the time or for everyone. And sometimes doing the "wrong" thing is most successful. No "rules" are set in stone, except for ones about behavior. Be respectful of others. Be respectful of the regulations in your area. Don't litter or otherwise damage the environment. Don't trespass. Be kind to others. And most importantly, have fun!

I don't regularly record my fishing these days. But when I am trying new things, moving around a lot, or fishing more than one type water in a day, I like to record it so I can recall everything I tried and what or where did or did not work. If I tried to remember all that I would for sure forget important stuff and would not learn as much. Can you imagine trying to remember every lure you threw, the weather conditions, your location, time of day at that location, which type of presentation you used at each of those locations, etc for a 6 or 8 hour day? Not too hard to do if you are fishing one stretch of river with only a few presentations. But when covering several bodies of water and doing a lot of experimentation (which I really enjoy doing) it would be impossible for me. The old brain goo ain't what it used to be....

Ezra Brooks Distillers Collection Kentucky Straight Burbon Whiskey 101 proof, about $45 per 750ml bottle is my favorite. But the "basic" Ezra Brooks at 99 proof is cheap at $25 per 750ml and is very good for the price. There is also the Ezra Brooks Distillers Collection Single Barrel Bourbon which is 107 proof that usually goes for around $35 per bottle, but I have been having a very hard time finding that in the past year or so. Also, I earlier mentioned Silas Howe bourbon...that was a typo. I meant to type Silas JONES bourbon. It is inexpensive at about $18 per bottle but is really good for the price. It is only 80 proof and it has a bit of ethanol taste when first poured. Let is sit for a few minutes and that goes away and it is smooth and pleasant, though not very complex in flavor. Enjoy.

Good observation. I had not thought about it that way....but I have never had a wet cell battery die like that. Guess I am just lucky.

It goes both ways.....Happy Spouse, Happy House <G>

My two favorite inexpensive whiskeys are Ezra Brooks and Silas Howe. Yes, there are definitely "better" whiskeys out there but in my opinion these are great for the price. If you are having more than one drink either neat, on the rocks or with a splash of water, than I would suggest that the first one should be the best whiskey you can afford....but the second one only needs to be a decent whiskey as your taste bud will be somewhat dulled and you most likely won't really appreciate a superior whiskey at that point. For myself, one drink per sitting is the rule. If you mix your whiskey with coke, then you may as well just buy cheap whiskey to begin with, as the coke will cover up any deficiencies in the whiskey anyway. As always, your results may differ.....

You have nothing to lose by putting a new tip on the broken rod and giving it a try. A good new tip can be purchased for less than $10.00. I agree that it being a moderate action would tend to keep the action from being destroyed by the rod being shorter. Who knows, you may really like it for some applications.

No, my memory is only average at best. But a small digital voice recorder never forgets. I sometimes voice record my day so I know what I tried and what did and did not work. I used to keep a paper journal, but found that impractical when shore fishing...plus it gets really messed up when you handle pike or musky. As far as the verity...between the Susquehanna River, several small streams (creeks? cricks?) and some ponds all within close proximity to where I live, I can fish several different bodies of water in a single day, which ups the variety of fish over fishing just one type of water.

I can only speak from my own experience, and will definitely bow to more knowledgeable persons. I suppose it is possible that I overcharged mine, but I have a smart charger with an AGM setting that has always worked well for me. Maybe I just got a bad one.....but it lasted me 5 years and then just died. It showed full charge, and started the motor fine several times. Then it was just dead, and would not take a charge period. For what it is worth, it was a DEKA brand.

Didn't say they died quickly. 4-7 years can be expected life for them with proper care. What I said was they die SUDDENLY. They work great until they don't work at all.

I got my "Joans" mixed up. It was Joan Weldon, not Joan Collins. My bad.

I remembered Whitmore and Fess Parker. I forgot that Nimoy had a bit part. Did you know that Peter Graves and James Arness were brothers?

And what is terrible is that he probably didn't even realize he was falling asleep. I have come close to that when I used to be on the road for work. The problem is that on a lot of roads there is NO place a large truck can pull over safely, and it can be a long way between exits. and your brain will tell you "I can make it to the next rest stop" when you d**n sure should NOT be driving.

I used to use 8 or 10 lb Andes mono when I was King Salmon fishing in the Salmon River in New York State. Very soft and very decent quality line. But....it had more stretch than any other mono I have ever used. Normally I would consider that a drawback, but when catching King Salmon in fast water with light tackle, the extra stretch was actually a benefit. Hookset were not a problem as King Salmon will pretty much hook themselves due to their immediate and very fast/powerful run. I don't like it for Bass Fishing though.

Did that star Joan Collins/James Arness...or Peter Graves maybe? It has been years since I saw that. May have to watch it again just for laughs.

Got out yesterday for a few hours. It was the 3rd day after a large cold front moving through, with heavy rain. Yesterday was beautiful...air temperature was 74-85 degrees. Water was at average level, but heavily stained from the previous rain. Winds were light and variable and it was partly cloudy/sunny. Started off with chatterbaits. Had 3 in a row cut off by Tiger Musky right as I was getting them near shore without landing any of them. None of them were particularly large,,,about 18-22 inches I would guess. That was expensive with nothing to show for it. Switched to a ned rig. Caught 2 bluegill and a creek chub. No joy there. Tried a wacky worm, both weightless and weighted. Caught one small (9 ") smallmouth. Switched up to crankbaits. Started with a squarebill in SexyShad color. Caught one small pike (14 "), and had a few other taps, but no hookups. Switched to a Silver and Black Big O. No takers. Threw a generic deep diver (12 Ft+) and caught a decent Smallmouth of about 1 3/4 lbs, and snagged a carp in the side....thought I had a new personal best bass on for a minute <G>. Nothing else happening with that even though I tried several other sizes, styles, and colors. Tried a Carolina rig with a 10" grape "Old Monster" worm. One fish...turned out to be a small catfish. Tried a jerkbait...lots of taps, but no hookups or even a fully committed strike; Bluegill again probably. As evening came on, I tried topwaters. Devil Horse, Chug Bug, Zara Spook, and Berkley Choppo. Several follows and a blowup or two, but again, they would not really commit to striking the lures. Finished up with a Jitterbug at heavy dusk. Caught my best fish of the day...a 2 1/4 lbs Largemouth. Stayed another 1/2 hour but everything shut down. So...fishing from 4:30 pm to 9:30pm, I caught 9 fish total, but only 3 bass, and lost close to $20.00 in lures. Had fun, the weather was great, but it sure was an expensive day for what meager results I had. Oh, well, better days are ahead.

I recently read a quote that was attributed to a Native American that went something like this: If the insects die, the Earth will die. If the rivers and lakes die, the Earth will die. If Man dies, the Earth will thrive. I thought it was pretty accurate.

I love AGM batteries. I think they are the best bang for the buck. They last a long time, are pretty much maintenance free, hold a charge very well and for a long time when not in use (storage) and you don't need a special charger to charge them as most any modern battery charger has an AGM setting. And they cannot spill no matter how rough the water is or what position the battery is mounted in. The down side to AGM batteries are that they weight just as much as a wet cell (lead acid) battery, they are somewhat more expensive than a standard wet cell battery (though not a whole lot more expensive), and they have one characteristic that can be a bit of a problem...the work great right up until they fail completely...no warning, no loss of power, and no increase in charge time or ability to hold a charge, right up to the failure point. If that failure point comes when you are out on the water, that can ruin your day. For that reason, my starting battery is NOT an AGM. Regular wet cell batteries usually give you lots of warning that they are failing...lower output, and longer charging times are the most obvious.

If they really wanted to outlaw fishing and/or fishing tournaments, all they have to do is raise the price of fishing licenses to some outrageous amount, and radically increase the fines for fishing without a license. Neither of those would require any new legislation. But it won't happen. as the state makes too much money from selling licenses and the sales tax on sales of fishing tackle, boats, and fishing equipment and assorted fees charged for sponsored tournaments. Not to mention the tourist dollars.....