Lund Explorer

That's Crazy Talk! No wonder I don't let my wife near this forum. ;D

In the old days, I used to keep fairly detailed records of my efforts, and then tried to tie in each days report into sections based on specific lakes, and by the seasons. Most of it was to keep track of tournament results, so I never counted dinks, just keepers and big bass. I also didn't bother too much with many of the weather factors. I would breakdown the records by the three seasons (none for winter), and then breakdown each season a little further. Spring for instance was for water temps, and pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn. Quite honestly, I could never see the use of a detailed weather record when my fishing days were dictated by weekends when I didn't have to work, and tournament directors who had the final say in what lake/river we were fishing. I've sort of let my fishing logs fall by the wayside the last couple of years once the desire to fish tournaments left me. Thanks to Goose though, I'm going to take up the effort again. It should be interesting to see if I can hit a few goals once I've figured out what they should be.

In the old days, I used to keep fairly detailed records of my efforts, and then tried to tie in each days report into sections based on specific lakes, and by the seasons. Most of it was to keep track of tournament results, so I never counted dinks, just keepers and big bass. I also didn't bother too much with many of the weather factors. I would breakdown the records by the three seasons (none for winter), and then breakdown each season a little further. Spring for instance was for water temps, and pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn. Quite honestly, I could never see the use of a detailed weather record when my fishing days were dictated by weekends when I didn't have to work, and tournament directors who had the final say in what lake/river we were fishing. I've sort of let my fishing logs fall by the wayside the last couple of years once the desire to fish tournaments left me. Thanks to Goose though, I'm going to take up the effort again. It should be interesting to see if I can hit a few goals once I've figured out what they should be.

In the old days, I used to keep fairly detailed records of my efforts, and then tried to tie in each days report into sections based on specific lakes, and by the seasons. Most of it was to keep track of tournament results, so I never counted dinks, just keepers and big bass. I also didn't bother too much with many of the weather factors. I would breakdown the records by the three seasons (none for winter), and then breakdown each season a little further. Spring for instance was for water temps, and pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn. Quite honestly, I could never see the use of a detailed weather record when my fishing days were dictated by weekends when I didn't have to work, and tournament directors who had the final say in what lake/river we were fishing. I've sort of let my fishing logs fall by the wayside the last couple of years once the desire to fish tournaments left me. Thanks to Goose though, I'm going to take up the effort again. It should be interesting to see if I can hit a few goals once I've figured out what they should be.

Glad to hear that a good venting helped you clear the air. I've always been a big fan of scream therapy! Had I been in your shoes though, I would have probably used the effort expended here, to write a "nasty-gram" to the doctor in question. I wouldn't have gotten the same quick response from the doctor that you got from the BR family, but I would know deep down that the specific person got the message. Just saying.....

I must be a terrible person, because I hate spiral cut ham. So much so, that I will start to sing the old commercial song; "My bologna has a first name, it's O.S.C.A.R." as soon as the wife hauls one into the house. As far as turkey goes, I just got done with that bird four weeks ago. We have two Christmas parties here at the house. One on the day before with the entire family, where finger food is the order of the day. When the kids all go to the in-laws, they can have their traditional meals. Christmas day is reserved for the two of us and our Mothers. It has become a tradition that I always cook up a little non-traditional dinner that day. This year we started with several shrimp and cold crab dishes, and finish off with a smallish sized 5lb prime rib. Once I got done making "to go packages" for the moms in our lifes, there wasn't much in the way of leftovers.

Kelley got close to how we use a rubber band. Move it onto the rod handle. Take a medium thin rubber band, spin it a couple of times around the rod handle where it sits directly above the spool on the reel. After casting out, close the bail on the reel, pull out a little slack line and place the loop under the rubber band, then re-open the bail. When the fish hits, you should see a little bit of loading on the rod tip prior to the loop of line comes free. If you want extra help seeing the bite, tie a small string of brightly colored yarn onto the line just past the rod tip. It is easier to watch the yarn leaving the rod if you don't want to stare at the rod all day. BTW, the line from the spool to the loop should be tight.

Did you save the numbers where you sunk the tree?

Add a little of JJ's tonic, and the garlic should override any other seasonings! ;D

Thanks for the flashback Robert!

I got my present six weeks ago, and spent last night with my hands full! What more could I want than a great-grand-daughter!

Hey Mike, the map showed up in the mail today. Thank you sir!

Somebody sure got their chestnuts buckeyes roasting on an open fire!!! ;D And those five games they have to sit out should be against other Div. 1-A teams instead of the creampuffs they load up on at the start of each year.

About as close to a tradition that I even want to remember came about when our oldest son was born on December 24th! Within a few years, he realized that he was getting the short end of the stick so to speak, because everybody got presents on his birthday. So unlike the rest of his siblings, he headed out to the store on Christmas Eve to buy whatever he chose for a birthday present (price was controlled). None of the other kids got this treatment, ever. When he got older, he saved up a bunch of his own money and added it to what I was willing to spend. Wow, you should have seen his brothers and sisters howl when he came home with something three times bigger than anything they had gotten. ;D

Wally World pobably didn't have any guides this year because the DNR didn't print any of them out! In their quest to save money, the 2009 and 2010 seasons were supposed to run under the 2009 guide. A client of mine who owns a bait shop was showing me the State's letter to license agents back when it first came about. If I remember correctly it talked about how dealers could "purchase" additional guides, and how they were supposed to encourage people to visit the DNR website to print off a copy of the rules. Kind of expensive if all you have is an inkjet printer, and those darn colored trout maps are terrible.

Wally World pobably didn't have any guides this year because the DNR didn't print any of them out! In their quest to save money, the 2009 and 2010 seasons were supposed to run under the 2009 guide. A client of mine who owns a bait shop was showing me the State's letter to license agents back when it first came about. If I remember correctly it talked about how dealers could "purchase" additional guides, and how they were supposed to encourage people to visit the DNR website to print off a copy of the rules. Kind of expensive if all you have is an inkjet printer, and those darn colored trout maps are terrible.

Wally World pobably didn't have any guides this year because the DNR didn't print any of them out! In their quest to save money, the 2009 and 2010 seasons were supposed to run under the 2009 guide. A client of mine who owns a bait shop was showing me the State's letter to license agents back when it first came about. If I remember correctly it talked about how dealers could "purchase" additional guides, and how they were supposed to encourage people to visit the DNR website to print off a copy of the rules. Kind of expensive if all you have is an inkjet printer, and those darn colored trout maps are terrible.

In answering your question soopd, I'll go back to the days when "I had hair, and it was dark". Long before most boats had fishfinders, GPS, sidescan, downscan electronics, the best way to scout a lake started at home with a paper map. I still think that it is a very important part on any lake research today. As a case study in how I go about learning a lake, let's look at the upcoming roadtrip to KY Lake. I haven't been on that lake since 1969, and I can honestly say I don't remember much about the trip other than it was on an Easter weekend, it rained, and we caught a whole bunch of crappie. As I want to have some success on this trip, I plan to take the following steps. First, I've been reading almost anything I can find about the lake, including the thread on here from the prior trip two years ago. Secondly, as soon as I get my hands on a quality map, I will set aside time each day or so to study it. With the knowledge I've picked up from my reading, I should be able to get a good idea of different places I'll want to check out once I arrive at the lake. I will make a list of these possible matching spots (gravel bars for instance) so that depending on how I do on one, I will already have other places like it to search out or avoid. The third phase of learning a lake will happen once I'm on the water. Using my electronics, I will be able to take a closer look at the spots I've considered. I may start out fishing a specific spot, or I may just go for a boat ride looking at many spots in a general area. Regardless of which I do, I will mark waypoints into my GPS on spots that I either caught fish on or that looked promising, so I can return to them later. If you don't have a GPS unit, you can usually get fairly close using the old fashioned practice of triangulating points on shore. Even while I'm in the boat, I'll have my paper map with me. I find it easier to reference that than it is to scroll my GPS map randomly. How would all of this help you and the lake you are trying to learn? You've already said that you do well on some days, and get the goose egg on others.... Welcome to the club! But imagine if you took the steps I've discussed and used them as well. On days where you're in the catching side of the game would be a good time to search out new spots that come close to matching the ones you are having success on. Think of a creek channel coming close to a shoreline. If one such place works, look for other creeks bends that do the same. This is also a good time to try out new lures that you're trying to learn. Then on days when you're only fishing and not catching, it won't hurt to spend even more of the day looking at different types of water, structure, or cover. Think about it, you aren't catching anything, but it's still better than work.... Take a boat ride! Move from main lake points to secondary ones. Get off the shoreline cover and look at deeper spots. Muddy water? Go look for clear water, or vice versa. Fish this new water with confidence baits! In either scenario, having that lake map will help you find new places to explore. Keep notes, or like I use to do, get two maps and scratch notes on one of them. There's many threads on here that talk about fishing logs, there's even a link to one you can use. Start using them religiously. Keep them up to date, and refer back to them often. Finally, the more you study one lake, you'll find that many of the same things you learned about the first lake will hold true on the next. I always look at this aspect of the sport as a giant who-done-it. And your goal should be to say that "It was soopd, with a flippin stick, in the cove."! Try this approach and you'll find that the time that you get to spend with the sport of fishing will grow immensely.

In answering your question soopd, I'll go back to the days when "I had hair, and it was dark". Long before most boats had fishfinders, GPS, sidescan, downscan electronics, the best way to scout a lake started at home with a paper map. I still think that it is a very important part on any lake research today. As a case study in how I go about learning a lake, let's look at the upcoming roadtrip to KY Lake. I haven't been on that lake since 1969, and I can honestly say I don't remember much about the trip other than it was on an Easter weekend, it rained, and we caught a whole bunch of crappie. As I want to have some success on this trip, I plan to take the following steps. First, I've been reading almost anything I can find about the lake, including the thread on here from the prior trip two years ago. Secondly, as soon as I get my hands on a quality map, I will set aside time each day or so to study it. With the knowledge I've picked up from my reading, I should be able to get a good idea of different places I'll want to check out once I arrive at the lake. I will make a list of these possible matching spots (gravel bars for instance) so that depending on how I do on one, I will already have other places like it to search out or avoid. The third phase of learning a lake will happen once I'm on the water. Using my electronics, I will be able to take a closer look at the spots I've considered. I may start out fishing a specific spot, or I may just go for a boat ride looking at many spots in a general area. Regardless of which I do, I will mark waypoints into my GPS on spots that I either caught fish on or that looked promising, so I can return to them later. If you don't have a GPS unit, you can usually get fairly close using the old fashioned practice of triangulating points on shore. Even while I'm in the boat, I'll have my paper map with me. I find it easier to reference that than it is to scroll my GPS map randomly. How would all of this help you and the lake you are trying to learn? You've already said that you do well on some days, and get the goose egg on others.... Welcome to the club! But imagine if you took the steps I've discussed and used them as well. On days where you're in the catching side of the game would be a good time to search out new spots that come close to matching the ones you are having success on. Think of a creek channel coming close to a shoreline. If one such place works, look for other creeks bends that do the same. This is also a good time to try out new lures that you're trying to learn. Then on days when you're only fishing and not catching, it won't hurt to spend even more of the day looking at different types of water, structure, or cover. Think about it, you aren't catching anything, but it's still better than work.... Take a boat ride! Move from main lake points to secondary ones. Get off the shoreline cover and look at deeper spots. Muddy water? Go look for clear water, or vice versa. Fish this new water with confidence baits! In either scenario, having that lake map will help you find new places to explore. Keep notes, or like I use to do, get two maps and scratch notes on one of them. There's many threads on here that talk about fishing logs, there's even a link to one you can use. Start using them religiously. Keep them up to date, and refer back to them often. Finally, the more you study one lake, you'll find that many of the same things you learned about the first lake will hold true on the next. I always look at this aspect of the sport as a giant who-done-it. And your goal should be to say that "It was soopd, with a flippin stick, in the cove."! Try this approach and you'll find that the time that you get to spend with the sport of fishing will grow immensely.

In answering your question soopd, I'll go back to the days when "I had hair, and it was dark". Long before most boats had fishfinders, GPS, sidescan, downscan electronics, the best way to scout a lake started at home with a paper map. I still think that it is a very important part on any lake research today. As a case study in how I go about learning a lake, let's look at the upcoming roadtrip to KY Lake. I haven't been on that lake since 1969, and I can honestly say I don't remember much about the trip other than it was on an Easter weekend, it rained, and we caught a whole bunch of crappie. As I want to have some success on this trip, I plan to take the following steps. First, I've been reading almost anything I can find about the lake, including the thread on here from the prior trip two years ago. Secondly, as soon as I get my hands on a quality map, I will set aside time each day or so to study it. With the knowledge I've picked up from my reading, I should be able to get a good idea of different places I'll want to check out once I arrive at the lake. I will make a list of these possible matching spots (gravel bars for instance) so that depending on how I do on one, I will already have other places like it to search out or avoid. The third phase of learning a lake will happen once I'm on the water. Using my electronics, I will be able to take a closer look at the spots I've considered. I may start out fishing a specific spot, or I may just go for a boat ride looking at many spots in a general area. Regardless of which I do, I will mark waypoints into my GPS on spots that I either caught fish on or that looked promising, so I can return to them later. If you don't have a GPS unit, you can usually get fairly close using the old fashioned practice of triangulating points on shore. Even while I'm in the boat, I'll have my paper map with me. I find it easier to reference that than it is to scroll my GPS map randomly. How would all of this help you and the lake you are trying to learn? You've already said that you do well on some days, and get the goose egg on others.... Welcome to the club! But imagine if you took the steps I've discussed and used them as well. On days where you're in the catching side of the game would be a good time to search out new spots that come close to matching the ones you are having success on. Think of a creek channel coming close to a shoreline. If one such place works, look for other creeks bends that do the same. This is also a good time to try out new lures that you're trying to learn. Then on days when you're only fishing and not catching, it won't hurt to spend even more of the day looking at different types of water, structure, or cover. Think about it, you aren't catching anything, but it's still better than work.... Take a boat ride! Move from main lake points to secondary ones. Get off the shoreline cover and look at deeper spots. Muddy water? Go look for clear water, or vice versa. Fish this new water with confidence baits! In either scenario, having that lake map will help you find new places to explore. Keep notes, or like I use to do, get two maps and scratch notes on one of them. There's many threads on here that talk about fishing logs, there's even a link to one you can use. Start using them religiously. Keep them up to date, and refer back to them often. Finally, the more you study one lake, you'll find that many of the same things you learned about the first lake will hold true on the next. I always look at this aspect of the sport as a giant who-done-it. And your goal should be to say that "It was soopd, with a flippin stick, in the cove."! Try this approach and you'll find that the time that you get to spend with the sport of fishing will grow immensely.

Amen to that Rondef. As almost any veteran can tell you, being away from home is hard enough, but Christmas seems to be the worst. Whether you are in a war zone, or in some lonely post/base throughout the world or this country, these folks have put their normal family life on hold. Here's to hoping that these young folks will know that many of us that are enjoying the comforts of home and family this year, still recognize what they are giving up for all of us.

I'm currently wearing a pair of boots that look a lot like Alpster's. Easy to put on and take off without having to deal with the laces. I've also got two pair of these boots. One pair has been sitting in the closet, in the original box, for the last five years. http://www.wolverine.com/US/en-US/Product.mvc.aspx/G-W-C-H/7513M/0/Work/Categories/Heavy-Industrial/Mens/Wolverine-Traditional-8-inch-Boot It paid dividends to have a couple of Wolverine/Hush Puppy factories right here in town, and that my Dad was the plant manager for both of them while I was growing up. It still pays when you do the tax returns for the current manager!

Merry Christmas to you as well Big O, and all the other members here. May the New Year bless all of you with happiness and a few bragging sized hawgs!

Merry Christmas to you as well Big O, and all the other members here. May the New Year bless all of you with happiness and a few bragging sized hawgs!

Merry Christmas to you as well Big O, and all the other members here. May the New Year bless all of you with happiness and a few bragging sized hawgs!