Scott F

My biggest memory of those big old tackle boxes was when my dad had one sitting open on the floor of the boat when he brought a good sized pike over the side of the boat. It came unhooked and landed in the middle of the box and went nuts. Lures were flying everywhere, the pike became decorated with plugs. My dad was furious. It was really a mess!

I retired a few years earlier than expected due to a ruptured disc too. It was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I’m living the best life I could have hoped for. Not a day goes by that I don’t appreciate not having to get up early, fight traffic, having to make my customers and a boss happy, or be on call 24/7. I’m not wealthy by any means, but I have everything I need, no debt and no worries.

I was born in 55’ and graduated from high school in 73. In the late 80’s, my wife got into the desktop publishing business using early Mac computers. She was technically challenged so I became her IT guy. I’ve kept up with all things Apple ever since. My job used PCs which rounded my knowledge of computers. These days, I’d say I’m computer literate but when it comes to social media like Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, TikTok or the like, I’m useless. I’ve always used computers as tools to help me do things I need to do. I never learned how to use social media because I never saw any benefit to me.

In the Chicago suburbs, there is a chain called Mr Sub. Great subs at half the price of Firehouse or Jersey Mikes.

Braid will slip on a bare spool regardless of the knot. I ALWAYS use some kind of mono backing even if it’s only a small amount unless the spool has holes in it I can tie to or, has a rubber base that will keep the line from slipping.

Fireline is made from the same material as other “Superlines” but instead of being woven like braided line, the fibers are fused together. No stretch, like braided lines. I always liked Fireline but have gotten away from it lately. New, out of the box, it is relatively stiff, but softens up within a few hours. Two other things about it is that the black line will lose its color turning gray which has no affect on the way it fishes. It also gets a bit frayed but again does not affect its strength. Works just fine on both spinning and baitcaster reels.

I bought a left handed baitcaster by accident. It took no time at all to get used to it. I already cast holding spinning rods in my right hand and turning the handle with my left. This is the same thing. It didn’t feel unnatural at all.

I’ve used St. Croix’s warranty a couple of times. Because I take a fishing trip to north central Wisconsin every year, both times, I took my broken rod to the factory store where they replaced it on the spot. I also had a two piece, St. Croix Premier rod that was over 20 years old that I took in. They gave me a new model for half price of a new Premier.

Menderchuck is just across the road from Lake Nunya. As in Nun ya business where I’m fishing.

Many years ago, I was on a fishing trip in Ontario that wasn’t going well. We weren’t far from International Falls so we went to Rainy Lake. I knew the owner of Rainy Lake Houseboats so we stopped into say hello. The owner wasn’t around, So while we were there, we hired a guide to take us walleye fishing. I’m not much of a walleye angler but I got a good education that day. After we got done with the guided trip and paid our guide, we were standing near the docks as a boat came in. In the boat was none other than Al Lindner. As we were standing there, amazed at who we were seeing, someone in the boat says “ Hiya Scott!” My first thought was who in Al Lindner’s boat knows me? It was Billy Dougherty, owner of Rainy Lake Houseboats. He was guiding Al that day and were doing filming for an In-Fisherman show. Al and Billy got out and we had a nice conversation about the day’s fishing. Al graciously posed for pictures and was asking ME about walleye fishing! Because I’d just spent the day with a professional guide I was able to talk like I new something about walleyes. Al couldn’t have been nicer or more down to earth. The same guy he was on TV. The biggest surprise was that as much as he knows about walleye fishing, he would still ask others about their observations.

In so many cases, people say that they didn’t choose their career, it chose them. When you are young, you don’t have enough experience to know what you are going to love doing. I found my career by accident. I needed a job and got hired as a service tech. I had no idea that I would be good at it or even considered it before I got hired. Keep your options and your eyes open to the possibilities. If you are good with your hands, there are a lot of jobs in tech fields that don’t require a degree, provide steady employment, good income and won’t require huge loans. As far as don’t turn your hobby into a job. I agree. Take fishing for example. You may love the outdoors and fishing but having to take people fishing every day and watch them fish while you operate the boat isn’t the same. Many jobs come with high amounts of stress. Mine did. Having a hobby to do away from your job is a great stress reliever.

YouTube has a bunch of videos on pulling fence posts. I’ll bet you find something there you can use to get it done.

If you find where they spawn VERY early in the year, and the season is open, you probably have the best chance of getting them in shallow water near the bank. On most lakes throughout the year, you’ll find them on weedy flats in 10-15 feet of water, but they could be deeper or shallower, depending on where they find forage.

The Borax cocktail is our number 1 way of wiping out ants.

Illinois has very bad laws concerning public access and defines a navigable river differently than the US Supreme Court. I’m not sure which stream you are currently trying to float, but there is a big fight going on right now on the DuPage. Nobody was giving anybody any problems with floating or wading until a tubing company started using the river and the patrons began using the river and it’s privately owned bottom as a garbage dump and public urinal. The property owners got fed up and put up cameras to catch trespassers and report them. Other rivers like the Vermilion, have a long history of riverfront owners stringing barbed wire across the river to stop people from using the river. They have also confronted “trespassers” with guns and flatten tires on cars parked where they shouldn’t be. There isn’t a lot a hope that things will ever change.

A lot of times, I’ve watched bass swim in from a distance to investigate what made the splash. If you drop a bait right on the fish, he might spook or might not. If loud splashes wreck your confidence, learn to cast so the lures land softly. It’s a good skill to have.

If there are no dams to block migration, they will move to the larger rivers to their usual wintering areas. A friend of mine has good luck at the convergence of the smaller river and the larger one.

Try a number 2 or 3 Mepps Spinner.

Are you in a hurry to get a new unit? Are you planning to use it over the winter? The best time to purchase a depth finder is in the spring when the new models come out and the old units are discounted heavily. Hard to say what will be happening next spring if supply shortages will have any effect on what goes on sale.

Modern depth finders are very sensitive to voltage drops. If the battery voltage drops below a certain point, they won’t operate. The main motor may still just start fine, but a weak battery won’t turn on the depth finder. Charge the battery up to full and try again. The battery might need to be changed if it doesn’t charge up fully.

I’m 65 got my third shot of Pfizer a couple weeks ago exactly 6 months after my second the first day I was eligible. No side effects except for a sore shoulder that evening.

Hit the rivers. the Fox, Kankakee, DuPage, or the Des Plaines all have good populations of smallmouth and lots of places with shoreline access. The lakefront in Chicago also has good smallies. The state record was caught there not long ago.

The main difference between a $400 and an $800 unit is the size of the screen. Nearly all the other features are the same. Can’t say what’s going to happen this upcoming year, but if you can hold off, this year’s models are generally discounted when the new models show up in the spring.

Used boats are in short supply. If it were me, I’d take it to a boat dealer and have them sell it for me on consignment. Even dealers can’t get many to sell. I sold mine like that this spring. The dealer got top dollar and even after paying the commission, I pocketed more than I’d have gotten for it if I’d sold it myself and I didn’t have to do more than drive it over to the dealer.

At $100 there really isn’t anything that anybody could call the best. That’s the low end for waders. You are limited to rubber or canvas with the boots attached. These are the least comfortable waders you can buy. At $130 or so, you can get breathable, stocking foot waders but you’ll have to spend another $60 or more on boots. For something just to get in the water with, anything in the under $100 price point will do. If you plan on being in the water fishing, wading and moving around, you need to budget about twice that to get something that fits well, protects your ankles and is comfortable.