BigAngus752

The "fall feed" has barely started and old girl is already looking tired. Last year my best week was second week of November. She's not going to make it. Luckily, I have 20 of her identical siblings still in the packages hanging in the garage.

Great write up and pics, but the only thing I heard was, "I have two boats. What's wrong with you that you have one boat?" And this makes perfect sense to me. Getting on FB Marketplace right now.

It would be a horrible life to be "rich and famous". To be spoon-fed every experience and every piece of information. Every single person in your life is a fake trying to ingratiate themselves to you or manipulate you. It's no wonder they are so out of touch with the rest of us. I bet that if all of them were told about their "fishing trip" now, some would be hugely disappointed and some would feel that they deserved such royal treatment. I'm sure some hate constantly being duped and others are content to be oblivious.

You found a chicken that poops olives????? That's my kind of chicken.

I just took another look and I see it too. Hadn't noticed that. That's funny

I hate to brag, but....

Funny you mention this because today I was on the water and as I got up on plane I had that "what's not right" feeling and realized I hadn't snapped my kill cord to my PFD. I've gotten into such a habit that it felt exactly like I didn't have my seat belt on in the truck. "Something's missing". It's the first time I've noticed that snapping on the kill switch cord is a habit now. Considering how many bad habits I have, this habit is a blessing.

You catch fish because you find fish. You can't catch fish that aren't there. If the bite is tough I will go where I believe the fish are (based on season, weather, wind, sun, etc) and I will work the water column top to bottom and presentations from fast to slow. This may take five minutes or an hour depending on the previously listed circumstances. There are also times/days that I know what they should be biting, so I can throw one thing and then confidently move on.

A great defense is the best offense, right? LOL Great write up and I'm incredibly jealous of your views out there. What a great day.

I have used heated (and cooled) vests in relation to something I did for work years ago. I did not care for them one bit. I don't have a problem with my core getting cold. It's my extremities that get cold. Having a heated vest on made my extremities feel even colder because my core was artificially warmer. Cooling vests are worse. Watched a buddy go hypothermic and collapse while working outdoors in July in Huntsville, Alabama. Core body temp dropped waaayyy too far. Cooling vests are just torture devices. Being on blood thinners I would think that layering with quality outdoor clothing, protecting your hands and feet, and moving around anytime you get the chance would be the best bet IMHO. But you won't know if you like a vest until you try it.

I'll be able to tell if I catch this one again later this fall because of her fancy tattoo.

55-48 is usually my sweet spot on 2 lakes.

Nailed it. It's the only time of year that I leave fish. I can go back and forth between the same 2 coves for 6 or 7 hours and catch bass non-stop with just two rods on deck. I finally leave when I'm worn out. Of course, we aren't anywhere close to "fall fishing" here yet. Water temps are a little above 70. Fall fishing doesn't start until the water is close to 50.

You are thinking about the tire differences in reference to mechanical breakdown, which is a good idea and, as many have said, a short distance at low speeds you'd certainly be ok. However, you are asking about a hundred miles. Does that mean on an interstate or at 55+ MPH? If that's the case, you go from "ok" to "a danger to yourself and others". I have pulled quite a few things of sizes ranging from tiny to I-shouldn't-be-towing-this. I feel you are under the impression that the light weight of your boat and trailer combination is safer than a heavier combo in this situation and, if so, you could not be more wrong. A heavy load/trailer is going to give you a significant amount of "input" to your tow vehicle and, thus, probably warn you in advance of an impending emergency. Your light boat/trailer combo with mis-sized tires will NOT give you warning. A change of road surface or road pitch (left to right) at highway speed and your light boat and trailer will be directly next to you and facing the incorrect direction. If you are talking about limping your boat home a few miles at 35mph I've got no problem with that. If you are talking about 55mph or higher please do not take this chance.

This is what you want to see on your front porch when you get home from work.

Same. Regardless of browser.

I would suggest you thoroughly search your area for "driving distance" to a factory-authorized Yamaha service center. In my area I have several Mercury service centers to choose from but a Yamaha place is non-existent.

Huge fan of Knob Creek 12. You should be able to find it (with a lot of searching) for $75 or so. It's epic. We have one bottle of Knob 12 and two bottles of a 11yr 3mos bottle of Knob Creek Select called "Thrilla N Vanilla". We wish we had bought more than 2. If you like the Knob I can tell you that the Larceny B523 has a similar flavor profile but it's got more ethanol "bite". But of course it hasn't been aged as long. Watering things down with an ice cube can really smooth some bourbons.

Neat or one ice cube is all you need to pull flavors from this one

Tonight I'm going with the "B" batch of Larceny from this year. B523 is full of cinnamon and caramel. Highly recommend!

They are definitely escape artists!

I have identified the appropriate colors for the lakes that I fish. Each lake has it's "preferred" colors. I only change them: 1. Very early spring (the red cranks come out and the vibrating jigs have paddletail trailers and no skirts) 2. Extremely muddy/stained conditions (darker/louder/Fogy's with the bubble blade) 3. Very sunny (that's when chrome is the deal)

Nice! That looks like a good start.

I'm finally giving in and going to the dark side. Please tell me your favorite brand/model of Alabama rig. I'm look for 3 and 5 wire versions (Illinois allows it on some lakes but I'll have to do 2 hooks and a dummy on other lakes). These? https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/True_Bass_Diamond_Baits_3-Wire_Bladed_Alabama_Rigs/descpage-TBDWE.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/True_Bass_Diamond_Baits_5-Wire_Bladed_Alabama_Rigs/descpage-TBDA.html What brand/model do you like for jig heads? Suggestion for dummy heads that hold the swimbait well? Do you use hollow swimbaits? I've got several set-ups already that will easily throw this rig. Thanks in advance.