Kirtley Howe

And my old time favorite The Hawaiian Wiggler.

So an old girl caught an old girl?<G> Way to go lady. A really nice fish for your area, Keep it up and you will have a 6 or 7 pounder by the end of the season.

I am sure that a truly skilled angler would avert his/her eyes if they watched my casting mechanics. But I am pretty accurate and can get all the distance I need. I remember a quote by the famous golfer Lee Travino..."My swing is horrible. Maybe the worst of any pro golfer. But you know what? I seem to be able to get the job done." That pretty much sums up my casting. Sometimes the results count for more than the style.

Your ability to find and catch these fish amazes me. Great job. Lately I have been struggling to catch more than one or two in a 4 to 6 hour outing. The river has been had very low water level for the past two months, and the water is stained and still quite warm (76 degrees this last Sunday). The fish seem to have stopped feeding. Even the guys with boats are having a difficult time, and for us shore fishermen it has been miserable. Many of my favorite spots have been so shallow that they are impossible to fish. We had some rain lately but not enough locally to make much difference. However, I did notice this morning that the river has come up a bit....maybe 6 inches or so....and it has a lot of debris in it, so I guess it must have rained pretty hard somewhere upstream from us. Also, the air temperature at night has started dropping, so maybe those two things will get the fish motivated. I sure hope so, as I am tired of trying so hard and not catching much if anything.

I have been looking at this reel and on paper it seems to be pretty impressive, Does anyone have any real world experience with it? I would love to hear your opinions.

Very well. I have had zero problems with it. The only thing I have noticed that could be considered a detriment is that he outside of the case scratches up easily. That has no effect on performance, but the reel looks "beat up" pretty quickly. I personally don't care, but I know some people are bothered by that.

My guess would be that there were corrosion and/or loose connections. Glad it did not cause major damage.

Well, it has been a tough year in a lot of ways. But....I am still here, still married to a great lady, I have a home, I eat regularly, I have heat when I need it and air conditioning when I need it, and I still get out to fish somewhat often. So, I prefer to enjoy my good fortune and try not to complain too much when I have some problems or discomfort. By the standards of a lot of the world, I am rich beyond measure and blessed beyond all expectations. Life is good.

If I removed all the crab grass in my yard, I would not have a yard. I would just have dirt and rocks. The soil where I live (on a hill in the woods) is about 1" of poor acidic topsoil and then hardpan clay or bedrock. To grow anything but weeds and crab grass I would have to import tons of good topsoil. I do not have the budget or interest to do that. Besides, the weeds...mostly dandelion and such....are great for the bees and other pollinators. And I actually line the looks of dandelions.

I just use a set of toenail clippers I bought for $1.99. The work fine for mono, floro or braid. I have been using them for a couple of years and have not had to replace them yet.

Where? I looked at Amazon, and the only Dobyns Maverick reel I see is $85.03.

Good luck and I hope it goes well, and you have a quick recovery.

You are correct. My bad. All I know is it had more than enough power and got bad gas milage. It was a very powerful and smooth motor. That car ran like stink in a straight line but was pretty much a bathtub on wheels in corners. It was unbelievable comfortable to ride in.

I disagree.. I had a 1957 Rambler American that went 196000 miles with nothing but maintenance work (brakes, clutch, oil, shocks, etc.). Had a 99 cubic inch six with 3 on the tree. Rusted frame finally killed it. 1962 Chevy Wagon---186000 miles with nothing but maintenance. V8 (327?) auto. Again, frame rust killed it. 1966 Chevy Impala Convertible. 327, hurst 4 speed, Bought used with 125,000 on it, and drove it to 175,000 and sold it. It was still on the road and driven daily 3 years later with over 200000 miles (in Florida). 1968 Buick Riviera. Bought brand new (well, actually a dealer demo with 200 miles on it when I bought it). 455 cu, 400 hp, 3 speed auto with overdrive, and every possible bell and whistle available at that time. I keep that till it had 173,000 miles on it. It was still in almost showroom condition (again, in Florida) when I got rid of it. The problem was it got 9 miles to the gallon in town, and 14mpg on the highway, and ran on nothing but leaded high test or unleaded high test with "instead of lead" additive. I loved that car, and should have kept it, but it cost me more in gas than I could afford at the time. Other examples....my father had a 58 chevy Biscayne Wagon that went 218,000 miles. A 68 Chevy Wagon that went 175000 or so. A 76 Chevy Wagon that got 180,000. All it took was regular maintenance to keep all those on the road that long.

Tell 'em you got it in a bar fight, and that they should see the other guy.

I missed the early season this year. Two hernia surgeries and a large kidney stone laid me up. Took a while to heal and those things just drained my energy. I didn't really feel good until early July. Hang it there, it gets better.

Years ago, I had an aluminum Jon boat. I wish I still had it. I modified it by putting in a floor of marine grade plywood. I used Styrofoam under the plywood to fill any gaps and to add floatation. I covered the plywood with self-adhesive vinyl tile in a light yellow (pattered) color. Super easy to put down, and it held up great. Very easy to clean and adding the plywood floor and Styrofoam made the boat much quieter. I had that boat for 8 years or so and only had to replace two tiles during that time. If the Lowes boat has a flat surface...not one of those textured or "pebbled" surfaces, using the self-stick tiles could be and option. Or you can use a vinyl sheet material but that is somewhat harder to install and requires careful cutting to get a perfect fit. With the tiles, if you mess one up you can just try again with another tile. With either option, be sure the surface is perfectly clean to get the best adhesion of the product. The sheet material is more forgiving of imperfections, as you are using a thicker adhesive compared to the tiles which have a thin layer of glue on the back....And before someone asks, yes, the addition of the plywood did add noticeably to the weight of the Jon boat, but it did not seem to make much difference in the freeboard of the boat when in the water. I did not much care about the extra weight as at that time I had it stored in a shed right next to the river and could just slide it out to the water. Sorry....I just realized I kind of hijacked the thread, but maybe this info will be of use.

^This^! I love crankbaits. They may not always be the MOST successful lures to use, but they almost always are successful. You can use them to cover almost any depth or water condition. You can work them fast, slow, steady, reel and pause........just about any type of retrieve. There are so many types that you can find a crankbait for any situation.

The cutoff line was at 70. Ben finished in 75 place so he did not make it. The remaining spots will be filled with the top 9 finishers in the opens (or at least they are invited to join the Elites), and BASS may extend special exemptions to past champions or Angler of the Year winners under the "Legends" rule. I have no idea how any other spots may be filled. Like you, by my math, BASS has only filled 79 spots out of slightly more than 100 spots, so unless they invite others that are of "special interest", or allow a LOT of "Legends" exemptions the field will come up short.

I need to learn to type....he finished 75th, not 70th.

Actually, he did. His finishes put him just over the line to requalify for next year. My bad. He actually did NOT make the cut. I misread his finishing place. He placed 70th, ( I for some reason thought he had finished 50th) which left him below the cut line. He has hinted that he could try the Opens again, but he has not committed to that yet. I am not even sure if he has any real reason (other than vanity) to even bother trying. I guess time will tell. I apologize for giving out false information about his statis.

Actually, he did. His finishes put him just over the line to requalify for next year. He has hinted, but not directly said, that he is going to fish the Elites again next year. He has however, flatly stated that he thinks that the new BASS policy about forward facing sonar is "stupid" (his words). He did for the first time say that he thinks a point will come when the advancement in electronics will be "too much" and at that point things will need to be banned. His personal point for banning electronic devices? When they incorporate AI. So, after all the shouting, whining, and complaining from both sides he actually AGREES with Randy. He just has a higher "banning point" than Randy does. I find it hilarious, and also don't really care.

Anything written by Homer Circle. and like everyone else here, I love reading Katies' writing.

For comparison.....A 4lb smallmouth in Tennessee is about 4-6 years old. A 4lb smallmouth in New York is 12-14 years old. A a 4lb smallmouth in Maine is 15-18 years old. These are only averages of course, but you get the idea.....It is similar for Largemouth also.

Great point. Thanks Glenn.