Kirtley Howe

For sure.

Since it is going to be -4 F here, with winds up to 20 mph, and up to 7 inches of snow over the next few days, I think I will pass on fishing. Oh....only very thin ice on the river and local ponds, so ice fishing is pretty much out of the question.

I went to my doctor today for a check up. She said I was drinking too much coffee, and it was bad for my health. I told her if I drank any less, it would be bad for HER health. She thinks I have a bad attitude.

Tackle Warehouse sells a "Bob's Machine Shop pedestal hole cover" for $29.99. Made from aluminum, o-ring seal so it is just about water tight.

Chemung river. Many farm ponds. Catatonk Creek (runs from Candor to Owego). East and West Branch of Owego Creek. Cayuga Lake. Otsego Lake. Seneca Lake. Fall Creek (tributary to Cayuga Lake). Salmon River near Pulaski NY. Just about any body of water that has fish in it. And my sister and her husband have a cottage (actually owned by his family) on Sacandaga Lake, and I have fished that several times.

Did your shoulder get a bit sore from shooting 40 rounds? I really like my rifle, but after about 20 rounds I begin to like it a lot less. It is amazingly accurate for a saddle gun, and the stopping power is really good.

I have seen pros use power poles with great regularity when fishing, especially around a large piece of cover or structure, and when sight fishing for bedding bass.

My father had a saying...."If you are going to own a gun, you should be accurate with it."

Just a couple of observations. 1) I have been on Cayuga Lake when MLF was having a tournament there, and also when other organizations have had them. Almost all of the pros were very courteous and pleasant. None of them crowed me in any way, and the only time one got close to me he asked if he could fish around me. I had no problem with that. The only problem I had at all was that at the end of the fishing day many of the pros blasted back to the launch site at the same time. Since Cayuga is a narrow (less the 3 miles at the widest point, and a lot less in many areas) the combined wake was pretty bad for those of us who were in small boats. 2)In general, the larger the recreational boat the more entitled the owners seem to feel. I have never had much problem with people who own 25 foot or smaller boats, but the ones larger than that have practically run me over when I was anchored and fishing and have cut me off at the launch ramp. 3) The worst problem I have had when bank fishing was while fishing Fall Creek (a tributary to Cayuga Lake). This is a fairly small creek. The local rowing club uses it for their practice. I have no problem with that. I DO have a problem when the rowers and their chase boat (motorboat) Insist on stopping at the exact spot I am fishing, and the motorboat would idle around in circles right on top of that spot. At first, I thought it was because I had just been unlucky enough to park myself at their normal turn around spot. No problem I thought....I will just move a hundred feet downstream. Guess what happened? The next time they came toward me, their turn around spot "just happened" to be exactly where I was NOW fishing. I politely asked the person in the chase boat if it was really necessary for them to do the turn around right where I was fishing, especially since I had already moved once to give them plenty of room. The response I got is unprintable here. I kept my temper, and tried to be the bigger person, and left. I see no point in getting dragged down to that level, and I don't need that kind of stress in my life. There will always be another day and another spot.

I watch the pros, and listen to what they say,,,,but I am more interested in the tackle they actually use. If I see Ott Defoe us a specific rod and reel combo fishing a technique I use or am considering using I may well go check out that combo at the store. Will I buy it? Maybe, maybe not. But it does give me a starting point on the type of set up I am looking for. Another example that came up recently for me was when a pro was talking about the advantage of a very high speed (8.1:1) casting reel for certain presentations. I went and checked out the reel he was recommending and quickly decided it was way out of my price range for a reel I would only use occasionally for a certain presentation. So I went on-line and bough one of those 35 dollar Chinese knock offs. I was surprised by two things. The first was that the $35 reel was actually very nice...smooth, well made, and fit my hand well when I palmed it. The second was how seldom I actually used it over the course of a year. I don't regret buying the reel....but I sure would have been upset if I had spent the $200 for the one the pro recommended. Did the pro influence my buying decision? You bet. But maybe not in the way his sponser had hoped

Common By catches....Walleye, Musky, Tiger Musky, Pike, Rock Bass, Sunfish and Bluegill, occasional Crappie, Creek Chubs (up to 14"), Carp, Bullhead, Catfish, Horn Dace (ever heard of them?), Bowfin, very seldom a Sheepshead.

Fishing the Susquehanna River near Owego NY today. Air temperature was 40-50 degrees, mix of clouds and sun, not much wind. Water temperature was 36 degrees. Caught 3 smallmouth on tubes, between 1 1/2 lbs and 3 lbs 2 oz. Pretty slow day, but still successful, and a great way to finish out the year. Happy New Year to all.

Since this is out of character for him (you said you always got along pretty well), I would try asking him what is going on in his life. assuming you are close enough to talk to him about personal matters. Could be problems at home (divorce, illness in family, problems with the kids, money problems). Any of those things could result in the behavior you mentioned. Could be he could use someone to talk to.

Hollow wall toggle bolts. Drill holes in the racks of appropriate size for the bolts. Place rack where you want it, and mark hole placement on boat. Drill a hole in the boat hull big enough to get the toggle through. Coat bottom of the rack with marine goop. Insert bolt through the rack, and screw toggles part way onto bolts. Coat toggles with marine goop and insert in holes in hull. Push rack down to seat it on hull. Lift up on screw head and tighten toggle against the hull. As the toggle tightens against the hull, it will pull the bolt down tight. Put a light coating of marine goop on the bolt head. Let sit for 24 hours. When the marine goop sets, you will be able to mount just about anything you want on the track. The rack will most likely fail before the mounting does. Toggle bolts are available in a variety of sizes and lengths at any hardware store and are very inexpensive. I have never done this on a Kayak (never owned one) but have mounted many things on boats where I did not have access to the back using this technique. If done right, the mount is waterproof.

I rake no more tackle with me than I can carry if I was bank fishing. Rods and reels however are whole 'nother matter. I always take way more rods and reels than I really need.

There are too many variables on any given day to make a blanket statement. The big advantage of being in a boat is the ability to cover much more water than a bank fisherman. On the other hand, a bank fisherman can fish waters a boat cannot get to, and a bank fisherman will often fish an area much more completely than a boat fisherman would. As a general rule though, I would think the advantage goes to the boat fisherman.

You can easily drown in three feet or less of water. Likely? No----but if the rules state you must be wearing a life jacket while in a boat, then the fish and game guy was just doing his job.

That is about when I heard it. An oldie, but a goody.

A priest, a minister, and a rabbi were fishing from a small boat. After an hour or so, they ran out of bait. The rabbi said they should row back to shore and buy some more bait. The priest objected, and said he would take care of it. He stepped out of the boat and walked to shore, got some bait from the bait shop, and walked back to the boat. The rabbi was speechless. They continued fishing for another couple of hours, and again ran out of bait. This time the minister said he would take care of it. He got out of the boat, walked to shore, bought more bait, and walked back to the boat. Again, the rabbi was speechless. After another hour or so, they ran out of bait a third time. This time the rabbi insisted that he would take care of it. He stood up, stepped out of the boat, and promptly sank like a stone. The priest and the minister grabbed him and pulled him out of the water. When the rabbi had recovered, he again insisted he would get the bait, and again stepped out of the boat....only to sink again. The priest and the minister pulled him out, and got him back into the boat. The rabbi was laying in the bottom of the boat, out cold, but breathing. The priest turned to the minister and said "Now do you think we should tell him where the rocks are?"

Over the years, I have been a member of 2 different Credit Unions. I have had debit cards with each of them. In all cases they have quickly notified me of any dubious charges, and any that were actually bogus were immediately refunded. To my knowledge most credit unions these days do the same. Check with your bank or credit union to see how they handle things.

Nice. Hope someday to fish there.

Just for kicks, I looked up the (unofficial) record for riding the Dragon in a motorcycle. Best recorded time I could find was 11 min and a couple of seconds. Done on a Honda Goldwing, by a professional bike racer. That must have been a butt clencher of a ride.

I did the Dragon in 2019 on a 1978 Yamaha xs750s. Rode it twice each way. My best time was 22 minutes. Not bad for an old coot on an old scoot.

Welcome.

15 foot Boston Whaler Super Sport with a 60 horse 4 stroke motor. The boat was given to me, and included the Great White trolling motor. Weight of boat fully loaded would be about 3200 lbs max.