11 hours ago, throttleplate said:

Back in the year 2000 i moved from las vegas to san francisco  because my gf at the time got a new top dollar job offer and i also had a job offer that paid big bucks as a mechanic

 

I brought along my glasstron carlson jet boat and we went to a resouvior to go boating and the rules were i had to run boat in a clockwise direction, not allowed to exceed 25 mph and no swimming.

 

The killer was i had to present to the officer at the entry shack a gas reciept showing i had purchased gas containing mtbe in its formula. I didnt have a receipt and i never got on the lake.

 

 

That's the way we do it here. Charge $24 to launch and park (from a little after sunrise until just before sunset - no night boating on most lakes here), corral everyone into a tiny bullring, and let the cat herding commence.

 

Funny that they wanted a receipt insuring that you had gas with MTBE in it, and then banned it a couple years later. Brilliant!

 

And gas prices here are currently between $4 and $5 per gallon. Staying close to home makes much better sense with all this nonsense taking place. Or moving somewhere else. . . .

New waters are a great way to hone and develop skills, awesome topic !!

 

I originally thought that if I could just figure out my home lake I should be able to go anywhere and figure out how to have some success... negative ghost rider !!!

 

Sure there are places that map out the same but they can be so very different, it really wasn’t until I started fishing tournaments more seriously that you find out real quick just how different they can be, some places you just would not believe a fish would be you would put 20 pounds in the box (exaggerating on my point but you get it) points and various other structural aspects I like to fish do not fish the same because of bottom content, maybe some cover or some sort of change in composition, I agree wholeheartedly that it forces you to do better with your decision making, it forces you to change speeds, colors, and work through various numbers of techniques.

 

All great exercises for the gray matter to absorb !!!

It’s good to move around try new stuff. We are guilty of fishing our memories 

I have few small lakes near me and some ponds as well.  I like to hit the lakes for a few weeks and then change it up and hit the ponds for a while.

Loading up my kayak and visiting new water is a big part of my yearly fishing plans.  I love the research, the planning and the anticipation.  And regardless of the catch, the experience is always memorable.  So far, I’ve visited 7 states to fish some of their rivers, usually driving 2-4 hours.  The longest drive has been 10 hrs to north Alabama.  Next year I plan to go north.  I want to visit some of the renowned smallmouth waters up there.  And I’ll add to my collection of temporary fishing licenses.