Kirtley Howe

I have seen Heart 3 times in concert. They were great. No fancy light show no special effects. The just came out and cut loose. Unbelievable.....

I am surprised no one mentioned 4 non-blonds. I know they are no longer together, but man were they good. Also...where are the Heart fans. Ann Wilson is THE best female vocalist in rock. And Nancy can shred a guitar with the best of them.

Nice fish. As to fishing the area when it is full of weeds.....have you tried chucking a Johnsons' Silver Minnow spoon? They seem to be a "forgotten" bait, but they can be a killer in a weed filled area.

You are more than welcome. Glad I could help.

I have found that especially immediately after a heavy rain with high winds the fishing can be absolutely amazing. But the window does not last long...maybe 1-2 hours, and after that the fish get lockjaw for a day or two. Your results may vary.

There is some shore fishing possible at Treman Marine Park at the South end of the lake, but it is limited, and can become difficult on weekends or holidays due to boat traffic. At Taughannock State Park on the east shore of Cayuga, about 7 miles north of Ithaca there is considerable shoreline fishing access. At the north end of Cayuga Lake there is the Cayuga Lake State Park that has shoreline fishing, Of course, all of those parks have entry fees, but they are not prohibitively expensive. Also on the east side of Cayuga Lake, about 3/4 of the way up the lake from Ithaca, there is Deans Cove which also has shoreline fishing access, and the last time I was up there it was free but that may have changed. On the west side of Cayuga Lake, a few miles north of Ithaca there is Myers Park. There is some available shore access there. Farther north on the west side is Long Point State Park. That has a reasonable amount of shoreline access fishing. I hope that helps. Oh, almost forgot about Stewert Park just off Rt. 13 in Ithaca....that park is free, and there is shoreline access there. It can be hit or miss as far as results but may be worth a try. You can also access Fall Creek for fishing (assuming the creek has enough water in it when you are there) by taking the Stewart Park exit off Rt. 13 North and looping right around to Rt. 13 South. In about 1/8th of a mile you will see the sign for the Ithaca Municipal Golf Course. Take that street and when you come to the "T" go to the right. That will put you right along the creek. There are several spots you can fish. If you follow the street to the end, you will see a parking area right on the shoreline. Be aware that if you fish south of the Iron Bridge, you are only allowed one rod and one hook point (no treble hooks), and it is artificial baits only. The creek north of the Iron bridge you can use live bait or artificials and multiple hooks and treble hooks are allowed. You can check all of these out on Google Earth to get a pretty good idea of what is there. Good luck. Sorry, but I don't know anything about Owasco Lake except that is considered to be a good lake to fish....but what is available for shoreline access I have no idea.

I usually start with silent cranks. If I am getting little or no action from the fish, I switch to rattling cranks. If I am fishing very muddy water, I start with the rattling cranks.

If you are serious about giving them away, I would love to have them.

My personal best largemouth in NY state is a 6lb 10oz caught on a generic soft plastic 5" paddle tail in red/orange flake rigged on an unweighted wide gap worm hook, from a golf course pond in August at 2:30pm on a bright sunny day. My best NY Smallmouth was caught on a white/chartreuse 1/2 oz spinnerbait caught in July in Cayuga Lake at around 4pm on a cloudy day with a light but steady wind. That fish was 6lb 8oz. In the early 1970s, when I lived in Florida, I caught a number of big Largemouth (I am guessing 9+ lbs or bigger) but back then I never even thought of weighting them. If I remember correctly, my best came in March or April.

Yeah, Golf. I tried it when I was in my 20s. I hacked around for a few months and got very frustrated by my lack of progress. So I hired a coach. After 3 months of 3 times a week he suggested I should take lessons. I asked him what he meant, as I was paying HIM for lessons. He said I misunderstood....he meant I should take lessons in some OTHER sport. According to him, he could fix my errors, but I never made the same error twice. He accused me of inventing new screw-ups that he had never seen before. So, I quit golf.

For me, what confidence does is keep me more involved with what I am doing. Being confident increases my concentration and keeps me motivated even when fishing is tough. Could be just me, but that is how it is in my case.

I would guess that you would not even notice the change. Besides, it would only cost a couple of bucks to replace the tip, and if you don't like the results you are not out much money and can save the rod as a back-up.

I have good luck using "Wet Ones" wipes. The come in a large plastic tube and are larger than most other wipes. The do a good job of getting rid of the smell.

Yeah....I tried that when I lived in Florida. In the hot weather the adhesive on the tape melted and turned the whole spool of line into a giant slimy sticky mess. I have not done that since.

No, I didn't catch it. But you can check it out on YouTube. I tried to link the video but could not get it to work. Anyway, the video is by Wolfblood Fishing and was posted a day ago. This fish is a true Unicorn for this area. The catch begins at around 9min 30 sec in the video.

Fat finger typing. 101 proof if I remember correctly. BTW, another really nice one is the Ezra Brooks Distillers Collection Kentucky Bourbon 101 proof.

Don't forget a Tiny Torpedo for topwater.

I think I may be a bit unusual. My favorite distillery is Jack Danials. For mixing (water only) I like Gentlemen Jack 120proof. For mixing with Coke, I like the Black Lable. For drinking on the rocks, I like Jack Danials Green Lable 80 proof. I find the Green Lable to be exceptionally smooth either straight up or on the rocks. The Gentlemen Jack and the Black Lable are very smooth but have a bit of a bite due to the proof level. I don't drink to get high, and don't really care for the alcohol bite, but they hold up better when mixed with anything. That is just my taste of course. And I certainly would not turn down either if offered.

I feel your pain. We had straight days of rain here. The Susquehanna is about 2 feet above flood stage, flowing like crazy, and super muddy. I can't even get near any of my usual fishing spots, and the areas I can get near are so full of debris that they are unfishable. It is going to be a while before the river in this area is fishable, and that is assuming we don't get more rain in the near future. Even the local ponds I have access to are unfishable right now.

Never seen a bass blow up on a snake. I have seen a small Musky bit one in half. The Musky did not come back and eat either piece of the snake.

OK, but we really want to know what you use on YOUR purses.......

I have been using the rod for a year now. It is used as my deep crankbait rod and jig rod, and as a frog rod sometimes. I have been happy with the rod, especially considering the price I paid.

I use them and similar spinners regularly when fishing the Susquehanna. They work especially well when the fish are not committing to hitting other lures.

Katie....you are indeed lucky. But I think you have made your own luck. Your forethought, planning, and talent make the luck. It is not just chance. And your talents as an angler seals the deal. I am happy for you and envious at the same time. You have been and will continue to be an inspiration for many of us.

I seldom donate MY fishing tackle, but I am always on the lookout for cheap but usable stuff at yard sales and flea markets. When I find some, I clean it up, service it and when I have several decent outfits, I donate them to a local place (The Racker Center) that works with kids and adults that have special needs (both physical and mental). Over the years I have prob. donated over 100 set ups. It has cost me very little money, and it makes me feel good. Selfish I suppose that I do it because it makes me feel good, but still, it helps out the kids and that is great. I also volunteer to take some of the kids fishing a couple of times a year. Again, I do that more for myself than for them.....I wish I had had someone to do that for me when I was a kid. I also carry a couple of cheap but usable outfits with me most of the time when I am fishing so that if I see a kid who wants to fish or who is trying to fish with a really crappy set up I can just give them a usable one and maybe give them some tips on how to use it. It would be great if more anglers did this. The fact your brother started a non-profit to do this is absolutely fantastic. I hope he can continue to do it and bring some joy to kids. Good on him for it.