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Well it's here....wish the very best to all of you and may your day be blessed. Heading for my second cup while the house is quiet.

Slow day but caught a couple nice ones! Too bad the largemouth was all sickly looking.

Hi, Thanks for asking. Typically I prefer people ask for permission, but I'm pretty easy-going. You asked, permission granted. There....easy!

my 9 year old grandson , I do believe I have him addicted. 37 degree here in Indiana this morning, he goes out and catches a 2 lb bass

Remember to set your scales back 10 pounds tonight before you go to bed. Hootie

Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless all of you and your families.

Suggest hitting the gym for a good while before trying to fish with 40 ton rods. Maybe A-Jay can provide some workout pointers...

salted down the bird so it’s ready for the fryer. mama is doing the yams and dressing. much to be thankful for indeed. HAPPY THANKSGIVING TBR BUDS!

Happy TG to you, too! My house quiet, but I'm only on my first cuppa joe...

4o tons? how will that balance with my 6 oz reel?...

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving today! Today is a day to reflect on all the things you have going for you. And remember, even when you think you have it rough, someone else always has it rougher. Be thankful for what you have.

Agreed. I've always looked at it as maybe the fish thinks it stunned/wounded whatever it just attempted to eat on the surface. Now it's falling through the water column and is easy pickings. I always have a senko ready when I'm throwing top water baits. I might be wrong on my logic but I do know it works and they rarely hit the surface bait again.

New PB ?

My grandson Evan ? Told him yesterday, even if you don’t get one metal it was ok, because this was just the first meet of the year. Told him just to go out and have fun! And HE SURE DID!!!! 1st on Floor 1st on Pommel 2nd on Rings 1st on Vault 2nd on Parallel Bars 1st on High Bars 1st Place Overall!!!! And 1st Place team!!!

You're killing me!! I wish one of you guys lived near me, I'd pay ya for a Drumstick!!..I gotta wait till 5:00!!! I've been yelled at since noon, and pushed out of the kitchen 3 times already. Mike

Don't Whizz into the wind. Don't tug on Superman's cape. Don't pull the mask off the Ol' Lone Ranger and Don't mess around with Glenn . . . . A-Jay

Happy Thanksgiving to all and remember to loosen the belt buckle.

The day of too much. Too much turkey, too much stuffing, too much mashed potatoes, and way too many buttered rolls. Too much cherry pie and ice cream. I absolutely love this day. Hootie

A ski boat manufacturer bought them along with Yarcraft. The name escapes me. Back to topic. Johnny can do what Johnny wants with Johnny's money. We as consumers don't have to buy from Johnny if we don't want to. Stratos and Triton have always taken a back seat to Ranger. There are other choices. Piggybacking on what @Fishing Rhino said, maybe overall sales are on the decline. Can you blame people for not purchasing bass boats? A 17ft-18ft glass boat rigged well will set someone back $40k and prices pushing $100k on the high end. It's insane. Young fishermen with young families simply can't afford it. Boats are not cars. They are not a necessity, only a want. I purchased a new boat in 2004 and sold it in 2013 for half of what I paid for it. That same model boat today is $10k more than it was new. There certainly isn't $10k of upgrades or technology added to the boat. I'm willing to bet the current hull design is similar or identical to the 2004 hull. @flyfisher Other companies have followed in Johnny's footsteps with "Nationally advertised pricing" on their entry level models. I guess if it works for Johnny, it's worth a try. I don't care for the business model. I don't like to buy what someone wants to sell me. I like to buy what I like.

Try it for yourself. After a bass misses your topwater, throw it back and see if it hits the bait again. If it doesn't, throw a senko to the spot and see what happens. Guys talk about it because it works. Why? Who can say for sure. It just does.

Yep, the underwater prop puts out pressure waves the bass detects with it's lateral line nerves. The pressure waves travel a long distance underwater, bass being a curious predator swims towards the lure and finds a minnow swimming slowly, easy meal. Did you know that underwater prop lures pre date surface prop lures? The Dowagjaic minnow was a "spy bait" that dates back in the early 1900's. Tom

Booyah Pad Crasher

I always have a rod with a worm tied on near by when I throw a top water. I don’t know why it works, but the success rate is very high

The fish ain't bad either.

Search "Gary Loomis talks about rod breakage" Kistler rods article. 40 tons is often bantered around but means nothing. 1ton = 2,000 lbs, 40 tons = 80,000 lbs. Graphite fibers are rated in millions of lbs/sq in or PSI or between 33 to 48 million psi. Tom

Back when I was a kid the menfolk went goose hunting in & grandma baked em & pot roasted em. My joy now is all the kids & grandkids home ?

https://gph.is/1aSst36

Got some border patrol smallies this evening

Met with a guide buddy in upstate NY while on vacation to search for some chunky bronzebacks. First half day session was Monday. Snowing , windy and 28 degrees was what we dealt with most of the morning. Caught a nice one within 5 minutes on a jig which sometimes could mean a slow day for me. Continued jigging through out the morning with partially numb fingers and toes but caught a decent amount in the 3-5lb class. Biggest 5 was a little over 25. Second session was on Tuesday at a different lake. Weather was warmer but wind gusts were 40 + with 4ft breakers in some areas. Was told I would probably be soaked all day prior to launching. Luckily I stayed pretty dry considering the conditions. Took a few minutes to get my sea legs but then got used to it. They were on a weird bite , lost many that slammed the bait then was gone soon as you swing on them. Ended up with a good amount of fish having to deal with the wind and not finding any big groups of them. Always a blast fishing up here and plan to get back next year sometime. Part 2 from the second day

Enjoy the day

I don't see the big surprise! Stratos & Champion have been toast long before Johnny Boy I've said for years bass fishing is going the way of duck hunting & pricing themselves out of certain markets.

LOL ~ Thanks for that. But for the record - It's more like a peanut head . . That Huk hat I'm wearing is a 'Youth' size. A-Jay

All these stories on flag football...that would be fun. I tried cleaning up the back yard all at once after a storm last Saturday hit here pretty good. Left a tree over the fence. Oh....boy....this body...even though I'm not in bad shape really protested on Wednesday ..... today maybe a little slow too. Gosh...the ol brain sometimes just doesn't give me a clue to be careful. Sheesh....thought they were supposed to work together!!

That's just crazy talk... Do you really think multiple fish will hit the same bait more than once? They talk you know.

I don't think I caught a single fish on the drop shot this time up. I've got 8 lb sunline flouro spooled up and using a 3/16 oz weight. I caught some some small fish on my 16' honey hole on the Carolina rigged fluke plus a few on a 6XD/blue, chartreuse, orange. Caught a few fish on a Zoom Mag II watermelon red magic that I bit a couple inches off. 250KVD 2.5 chartreuse perch fooled some fish. Many of these were with a north wind blowing and trolling motor coming out of the water. Had some more crankbait fish on a 250 MD 6th sense plus an old H20 goldish shad colored crankbait that dove maybe 8'. I didn't chase them hard with the many weather changes and the company I had isn't a die hard!

I made the mistake of smoking a turkey a few years ago and now my early morning thanksgiving fishing trip has been nixed. Oh well, it is still fun to cook the bird and hang out with family

Caught these guys in my home town.

I personally use a 7'4" st croix avid x h/f rod with a curado I 7.5.1 reel. I know rod power ratings are subjective but medium heavy is too light of option for my liking.

he said schlock

your deffinatly in my thoughts. just moved my mother in with me this week. I am glad that you get the chance to take care of your dad. my wife lost both her parents to that awful disease. we to got that privalage to care for them. hang in there my friend. we are by your side in our thoughts and prayers

Water temps 39.4 degrees F and warmer hold good levels of dissolved oxygen after the lake turns over. Water colder 39.4 degrees starts to contain very high levels of DO becoming lighter in density floating up towards the surface, bass avoid DO levels exceeding 13 ml/G the very cold water contains then freezes at 32 degrees. Deep water is warmer water in the cold water period and the spring water becomes the warm water fishes life zone. Water clarity is secondary to survival and bass have excellent low light vision and senses that allow them to hunt and feed in total darkness. The 68 ROF 5 or 12 fished very slowly in 20' of water, just fast enough to get the oversize tail moving should work. Black blue jig with a blue soft plastic craw trailer will also work. Tom

some people couldnt be more misinformed with comments like "for beginners" "tomato stakes" "loaner rods" "catfish rods" "saltwater rods" "no sensitivity etc etc etc...they may not be what you prefer, thats fine, use what you like. but ugly stiks are d**n good all around rods. good for multiple species, multiple lures, multiple techniques, and so on. they may not be designed for one specific technique, but they excel at many of them. thats the plain truth, whether many want to agree or not. they make excellent drop shot rods. the price point is fair as well, and i do get the feeling that some base quality solely on price. and as far as sensitivity, rods dont have senses and feelings, sensitivity is all in your own hands

Cold weather Smallies ~ Gotta Love It ! Snow one day, Wind & Waves the next and a frozen face on both. You know you'll have the water mostly to yourself. You gotta want it though - clearly you do and you did. Nice work. You know I'm jealous . . . . Congrats A-Jay

after arriving in Alabama I received a phone call, saying come back home my mother was very ill. the docs told me they did not think she was going to survive this. thankfully she fooled them again and is home and now agreed to live with us. I am very thankful this thanksgiving that I still have her ,and get the privilege to take care of her. wishing you guys a thankful thanksgiving this year.so thankful of many of your friendships. fun, tips, and topics this past year. have a great spring in 2018!! many thanks to you all .

Lived in Oregon 60 years...do not like there mentality to warm water fish (enuf said) Moved to East Tennessee to live with kids and grandkids and good Lord willing will never leave. Everything soooooo close.....can be a little warm for a month or so....buy oh my what a sacrifice we make sometimes. Good luck

Anyone know the best place for humminbird helix g2n Black Friday sales? Also best place to buy a lot of p-line on a cheaper price?

It was a good weekend for big "other" fish. Monday I had 3 trout over 4 pounds, including a 6.31 and 6.76 pound rainbow off the same spot on the same bait. I'm still not convinced it wasn't the same fish, just not sure how to account for the half a pound it would have had to gain the 5 minutes between catches. Tuesday I was after wipers and they showed up big time. I caught several, had a giant straighten a 4X strong #4 treble on my jigging spoon, and broke my lake PB twice, first with an 8.22, then a crazy fat 9.04. A "little" 6.5 The 8.22 that was almost digesting my jigging rap shad. and the 9.04 that was about as tall as it was long and super thick.

You might just win his heart if you are willing to clean the dog doo doo I've spent a lot of years traveling south during early spring. My vote goes to any body of water on the Tennessee River system.

A few wildlife photos from the last few years: A big bull moose we saw on one of our camping trips in the Colorado mountains this year. Photo of a least chipmunk taken on the same trip : One from our 3 week safari in Africa in 2014 - I'll post a few more from time to time. We went to Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This is a leopard that was watching over the remains of an impala to keep the scavengers away.