gim

You forgot ice fishing.
 

 

Some of the memories you described were me too when I was younger.  My brother and I would use pillow cases for our candy and we FILLED them.
 
My boy is nearly 6 so he'll be going later (either me or my wife takes him, and the other attends to kids visiting our house).  I'll try to post a photo later or tomorrow if I remember.
 
One of the houses down the street puts up about 40 of those big blow up characters.  It has attracted a lot of visitors the past couple weeks.
 

I'm probably one of those people.  The average daily serving of vegetables recommended is like 3-4 servings.  I'm lucky if I get to half that.  And there's certain veggies I just don't care for.
 
I prefer mine raw.  I always wash them.  Steaming or cooking them turns them soft and mushy and that's kind of what turns me off.  I feel like I'm eating gerber baby food.
 
Vegetable juice like V8 or something similar can help, as can taking a daily multi-vitamin.  I have a small garden every summer and eat a lot of cucumbers and cherry tomatoes but a guy can only eat so many of them.  Also, a lot of people don't realize that a potato is a vegetable.  Obviously consuming french fries is an unhealthy form of potato though.

I like white and/or chartreuse in that water clarity too.
 
I can't believe you were fishing in this sultry humidity @Pogues2300.  Its nasty out there today!  That's probably why you only saw one other person out there lol

Here are the links for the features that each bow mount has.  You'll have to decide which is most important to you.
Minnkota
https://minnkota.johnsonoutdoors.com/us/learn/featured
 
Garmin
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/610414
 
Motorguide
https://shop.motorguide.com/products/motors/freshwater.html
 
Lowrance
https://www.lowrance.com/ghost-trolling-motor/
 
 
 
 

I wasn't at home on Wed, I was in Brookings, SD for work.  My wife said we got 1.25 inches.
 
Where I was in Brookings, we received 4.5 inches in about 90 minutes.  Pure black out and downpour.  Prior to arrival of that rain, it was nasty outside.  Disgustingly humid.
 
Sounds like you had a good trip minus the issues at the rinky dink hotels lol

50% hook up rate while frog fishing is pretty average.  If you're landing 10 of those 20 blow ups, consider that a success.
 
2 out of 20 is a result of inferior gear of which suggestions above should certainly help.

Beats the snot out of a rock bass.
 

I would recommend lakemaster if you have a humminbird unit. Humminbird owns lakemaster so they are quite compatible with each other.
 
As for manually adjusting the map to the changing depths of Lake Powell, I can’t help you there.
 
There are usually software updates every so often. Maybe they address the changing depths on Powell with those.

Yes, Wisconsin has a year round bass season.  Its mandatory C & R until the harvestable portion opens up in May.
 
You can also fish the pools along the border if you have either state license.  Just bear in mind that MN has import restrictions on live bait and you cannot enter with live bait that originates from WI.

Best holiday on the calendar.  Plenty of good food, football, and no buying gifts or holiday music, which is coming in earnest the day after...BARF
 
 

Unfortunately I can't help specifically in Wisconsin, but here in MN my guess is that the water temps and presentations are similar.
 
I have been catching largemouth up shallow around weeds and docks, mostly on moving lures.  This pattern has held since mid August.  I am going largemouth fishing tomorrow locally.
 
I haven't been smallmouth fishing since spring but I am planning to go on Wed.  I have some intel that tubes, ned rigs, and crank baits are working in about 12 feet of water.  Some people have resorted to using sucker minnows for them, but that crowd is mostly walleye anglers accidentally running into smallmouth and then claiming they are targeting brown bass. 
 
@WIGuide can maybe help but I haven't seen him post in a while.

It could be sleep apnea.  Its a diagnosed, treatable condition and is often genetic.  You might consider having a sleep study done.  It causes breathing issues like snoring during the night and your brain doesn't get enough oxygen, which can lead to other health issues.  Plus it could be why you don't have enough energy during the day.

My fishing partner about half the time is my 4-legged friend.  She is always excited to go.  She is very calm once we get out there, and quite often just sleeps the majority of the time.  I cannot bring her with all the time though, as she gets over heated quickly.
 
My Father fishes with me sometimes too.  He is 72 now, turning 73 in July.  He is in good shape for someone that is 72.  I think he likes going in my boat because he doesn't have to do much other than sit/stand there and fish.  He doesn't run the motor, bow mount, graphs, and he doesn't have to drive his truck either.  Most of the time I basically pick him up at his house, we fish for hours, and I drop him back off when we're done.
 
I also have a few close friends who will occasionally go with.  Sometimes I can't get anyone to go with so I just go solo (if I cannot take the dog).  I don't mind fishing solo sometimes.

Don’t think a swivel mount is going to work. You’d be looking backwards at it from the front deck while fishing. That would get old quick.
 
I’d probably just mount the hook 5 on the front deck and the Garmin at the console. Eventually you could replace the hook 5 with a better unit up front. I would want the gps/side scan at the console to see where I was going. I’ve never found side scan to work very well on my bow mount since it’s always turning. I find it more useful at the console.

This is accurate.  It usually doesn't take more than 10 minutes to figure out if there is a good buzzer bite.
If I'm not mistaken, the current state record largemouth out of Lake Auburn was taken on a buzz bait in October.  I remember reading that the angler was on a really good buzz bait bite and it was essentially only a matter of time before he piled into a horse.

Catfish are nest guarders, just like bass.  So when something comes near it, they will defend, similar as a bass.
 
Some people noodle them in this manner (not this guy).  They reach into dark, cavernous holes along the banks of rivers and the catfish will latch onto their hand or arm.  Then they heave that thing into a canoe or jon boat.  Sometimes the hole is empty, sometimes it has a catfish.  Sometimes there is something else in there like a water moccasin, snapping turtle, or worse, an alligator.
 
 

That is a wise idea.  Might be worth taking a tape measure with and just doing it yourself if you end up going there too.

In terms of deeper structure, its established weed lines (for largemouth).  There is usually a well-established weed line here in lakes here by July.  It ranges anywhere from about 8 to 15 feet deep, depending on the depth of the lake itself and the water clarity.  My preferred method for targeting these fish in the heat of summer is a neko rig/wacky rig.  I stick a nail weight into the end of the stick bait and drop it to the edge.  The largemouth often school up in these areas, so when I catch one, I often catch more.  The trick is finding that school.  Sometimes they even hit it on the fall.
 
I fish a lot of shallow water cover too, especially for largies, but the OP asked for deeper structure, so I will refrain from getting into the shallow stuff I fish most.

I've got a 21 inch largemouth from 2006 that I had a skin mount of because it died in the heat of August when I hooked it.  I tried reviving that fish for 15 minutes and then decided to get a mount of it since at the time it was a PB.  I still have it and its now starting to fade in color and the fins are deteriorating.
 
I also have a tiger muskie graphite replace from 2020 that will last much longer I'm sure.  The replicas cost more but they last a lot longer too without any signs of "aging."

I'm probably 60% casting and 40% spinning.  I prefer a BC simply for the power, control, and accuracy but there are definitely situations and presentations that are better suited for a spinning setup, and you've found one of those.
 
Limiting yourself to only one all the time is like limiting the number of tools in a toolbox.  Certain tools just work better for certain projects.

I like Halloween, even as an adult.  I liked it as a kid too.  My brother and I made a HAUL on candy for years.  We used pillow cases and filled them.  Plastic pails you see kids carrying nowadays weren't big enough lol.  I don't really eat any candy now though.
 
I went to Madison, WI a couple years for Halloween when I was in college.  It was a blast.  Just walking up and down State Street and seeing everyone in unique costumes was entertaining.
 
I still carve a pumpkin into a jack o lantern every year for the front doorstep.  Just did it the other day.  Mine is the bigger one, the one on the left is my wife's.  My boy is almost 4 and he wanted to paint a pumpkin brown and then turn it into a T Rex instead.  My dog is a "rufferee."

Wow, that sucks.  Sport shows keep me going in the winter.  There's the Boat Show, Northwest Sports Show, Deer & Turkey Classic, and the Muskie Expo.  I don't always go to every one each year, but usually at least one or two of them.

We weighed in our crappies early at 10am to avoid the zoo at 2pm. Probably caught about 45 crappies in about 4.5 hours. My Father was the current clubhouse leader after we weighed in. He got called up on stage for an interview with Bill Sherck!
 
 

I used to get it almost every spring too.  The primary culprit here is poison oak.  I know what it looks like but I still got it, and my body reacts to it big time.  A tapered dose of prednisone is the only solution. Usually it was because I decided to look for a golf ball I hit into the woods.  I never even go in there anymore to look for them.  Getting poison oak isn't worth finding a Titleist.
 
I had some on the inside of my duck hunting waders years ago.  Every October, I'd get it on my legs and I couldn't figure out why.  Then it occurred to me why I was only getting it at the same time of year, every year, right after duck season opened.
 
I burned those waders and peed on the ashes.