@LrgmouthShad, I will stop fishing when they lower me 6 feet down in a pine box. You heard it here first 

What if I put a fishing rod and reel and some bass in that pine box?

This is like Tom Brady fake retiring.  Again.

 

I can 100% say I am done fishing this season though.  Not every BR member is created equal here.  I am a man of my word.  My next outing will be in April.  I am pretty sure @A-Jay is done too.  He communicated that earlier.

It’s duly noted that we must be better men (and women) of our word. I actually say that with some sincerity. In the mean time thanks for the laugh.

You can only cry wolf so many times before people stop believing you.  Because then the big bad wolf shows up and you are on your own.

 

Of course, guys like @T-Billy just slays the wolf instead and makes a fur hat.  But for the rest of us, its best to just stick to our word.

Hey man, not disagreeing with you a bit. I thought to myself earlier this year that I can do better to do exactly what I say. 
 

If today is the day I get corrected by someone on the internet for fishing when I said I wouldn’t fish, no problem with it and no hard feelings

I will not be physically on the water anywhere until April at the earliest, although I may not be done fishing. I'll probably do a brief shore excursion here and there, as conditions and my schedule permit. Not always for bass, though. 

39 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

What if I put a fishing rod and reel and some bass in that pine box?

I’d give em a whirl! 
 

8 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

I will not be physically on the water anywhere until April at the earliest, although I may not be done fishing. I'll probably do a brief shore excursion here and there, as conditions and my schedule permit. Not always for bass, though. 

salmon/steelhead? 

22 minutes ago, gimruis said:

You can only cry wolf so many times before people stop believing you.  Because then the big bad wolf shows up and you are on your own.

 

Of course, guys like @T-Billy just slays the wolf instead and makes a fur hat.  But for the rest of us, its best to just stick to our word.

 

Well, when the boy cried wolf, the townspeople came running. When I said I was done fishing, I didn't inconvenience any townsfolk. As far as being on my own, I pretty much am when it comes to actual fishing, but @AlabamaSpothunter, @T-Billy, @PhishLI, @thediscochef, and others have coached.

 

I can't imagine any of them saying, "Crick, you are too bass addicted to advise further. If you only loved bassin' a little less, I might coach you a little more, but...."

38 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

salmon/steelhead? 

 

Yeah, if I can get away from the crowds, which isn't easy.

Went out to local pond, wind honking at 25-30 mph, big drop in water temp the night before, figured a skunk for sure is coming. Lo and behold got 10 fish on my new fav Senko color #901, watermelon white laminate. 4” size is killer on small ponds, wacky rigged with my fav hook: VMC Weedless Neko 1/0 size. Most were dinks but this one was about a 2 lber. 
 

Definitely not ready to hang it up yet for the season; not with the 75 degree weather coming in next few days around here. I sense a kayak outing in my future….

 

Can't help but fish in the rain when there's no risk of lightning. Three more walking bait bass before I had to go watch the Rangers lay the beat down on those cheating Astros. 

Missed another good one on the pompadour but I've steadily seen more results with it. Soon enough I'll maybe catch a biggun on it. All the walking bait success has restored much of the confidence lost on Friday. My buddy decided he wanted better momentum going into his birthday trip to Lake Fork, so we're going to a nuclear power plant lake that closes half the year on 12/1. It's known for not having much size, but is known for catch rates and naive fish. Hoping for a good trip and an equal number of limbs when I get back 😅😅

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

 @AlabamaSpothunter, @T-Billy, @PhishLI, @thediscochef

I'm a loudmouthed beginner in the same sentence as three excellent fisherpersons, thank you

I have this level of imposter syndrome about it:

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Well, when the boy cried wolf, the townspeople came running. When I said I was done fishing, I didn't inconvenience any townsfolk. As far as being on my own, I pretty much am when it comes to actual fishing, but @AlabamaSpothunter, @T-Billy, @PhishLI, @thediscochef, and others have coached.

 

I can't imagine any of them saying, "Crick, you are too bass addicted to advise further. If you only loved bassin' a little less, I might coach you a little more, but...."

I have complete confidence in your ability to make the right judgement when it's time, and while our words our always our best intentions, each day I get older seemingly, the more I realize tomorrow or the ability to fish it is most certainly not promised.     When we stop pushing ourselves, our abilities, and our curiosities, are we still really even living at that point?

 

After the recent ER visit it recharged that mantra, if you can go fish, and if you love to fish, THEN GO FISHING!   Results may come, but one day we'll all have to say that's the end of our season forever.....until then fish like Katie, let the joy and addiction take you for a ride.   

 

Sure seem to be getting awfully philosophical at middle age lol....then again a Kidney Stone will make you seek that higher power faster than chugging a handle of Jimmy Beam 🤣

4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

@LrgmouthShad, I will stop fishing when they lower me 6 feet down in a pine box. You heard it here first 

You'll stop fishing when they ban fry cookers 🤣

5 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

then again a Kidney Stone will make you seek that higher power faster than chugging a handle of Jimmy Beam 🤣

I don't know about Jim making ya seek the Lord, but Mr. Beam will sure make you lie to him.

 

Oh Lord, PLEASE make these dry heaves go away!!! I promise, I'll never drink again. Oh No... no... NO........ Not the room spins!!! Oh Lord, HELP ME!!!!! I swear, I'll NEVER drink again!!!

You ain't never partied if you haven't had that Come to Jesus moment at the Porcelain Throne 😆🤢

Roger that!!! Almost 13yrs clean and sober now, but there was a time.........

 

22 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

The septic systems of lakeside homes leak, degrading water quality. If they want a suburban lawn, the fertilizers and herbicides are washed into the water. 

 

It's my belief the "damage" from a properly built septic system to a nearby lake is overstated.   The "stuff" contains nutrients that actually help feed part of the food chain.  Too much soap into the septic system (or routed straight into the lake) is a problem.  The good news is modern laundry soap doesn't have as much harmful stuff as it used to have.   The other good news is there's no way new construction would get passed by the building inspector if the washing machine drain was separate from the septic system....going straight into the water.   

 

Nitro based fertilizers cause algae bloom.   This, and the problems caused by herbicides are usually caused by farming activity upstream, instead of lakeside houses. Sewage spills from dairy and hog farms upstream are a bigger problem here than "most" problems caused by lakeside residents.   

 

There's always exceptions though.   

@Woody B yeah, it might be a good idea to look for suburban lawns and opportunities for agricultural runoff when on the water. Or at least be aware of where it is

1 hour ago, The Baron said:

and that was it for my $25 Jackhammer

25 bucks for a chattberbait?  Is this thing made of gold?

2 hours ago, Woody B said:

Nitro based fertilizers cause algae bloom.   This, and the problems caused by herbicides are usually caused by farming activity upstream, instead of lakeside houses. Sewage spills from dairy and hog farms upstream are a bigger problem here than "most" problems caused by lakeside residents.   

 

This has generally been the case.  However, here in MN there is now a buffer strip law that was implemented about 10 years ago during the previous governor and we are now seeing the full effects of it.  Every waterway, ditch, canal, stream, etc must have a natural grass buffer strip along the edge.  Row crops and farms cannot operate right up to the edge anymore.  It has greatly improved water quality here and added hundreds of miles of wildlife habitat as well.

 

It was initially very opposed by the agriculture lobby though.  Took a lot of legislation and lawsuits to make it happen.  The agriculture industry is very powerful and anything that affects their ability to farm or plant crops on as much land as possible is seen as detrimental to their bottom line, even if the environmental benefits are there.

   How wide is the buffer? This is interesting because if I was a private landowner making my living by row-crops, I would not want a large area of income denied me on my own land by the federal government. A 10' buffer is one thing but a 100' buffer would be government overreach. I am certainly not against the environmental protections that the waterways require, but private land used to earn a living should not be over-regulated. The buffer width is probably set by state governments and is different state to state.

     I have a wetlands area bordering a wet-weather creek. The government paid me to fence off the area to prevent grazing and erosion of the wetlands. It was a one time payment for labor and materials and a five year scouts honor contract. I am still maintaining the area for wildlife twenty years later. I wonder if the landowners are being compensated for loss of income, or if the borders are minimal.

This is correct.  Its not a federal program, its a state one.

 

I had to look it up to find the exact numbers.  Its 50 feet on streams, lakes, rivers, and canals.  Its 16.5 feet on ditches.  So if you have land on both sides one of these, then the total is 100 feet.  The law was written in 2015, implemented in 2017, and enforced in 2018.  Its been on the books for 8 years with active enforcement by county for 5 years now.

 

The land owners or crop farmers were given some time to correct the issue, since undertaking something like that would be next to impossible in a short period of time.

 

I highly doubt other states have implemented this on a mandatory basis.  I know that Iowa is a bigger agriculture state than MN and the very thought of it there would send the farmers to town with pitchforks.  Iowa's water supply is heavily polluted with nitrogen from agricultural runoff and nitrogen is very expensive to remove from a water supply.  There is a balance required between allowing farmers to do business with minimal negative results to the environment.

 

There are a lot of rural, agriculture/farm workers on my Father's side of the family.  I've heard several of them say things about this that I won't repeat here.  Some of them think they are "stewards of the land."  It is my opinion that a more correct term would be "sewers of the land."  Some of this may be generational-related.  The younger generation of farmers are more environmentally-oriented than the old school way of doing it.  The older way of doing it was "when the price goes up, you plant more.  When it goes down, you plant more."  lol

 

This has gotten way off track though.  Its about posting bass photos, not water quality or agriculture practices.  My apologies for sending it off the rails.

 

Todays word: riparian…….

4 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Todays word: riparian…….

Nerd