Woody B

Back when I was racing I converted a bunch of Holley Carbs to burn methanol. I quit racing in '99 but still get a call every now and then inquiring about a carb for methanol. Every year there's fewer and fewer engines with carburetors. Repairing them will soon be a lost art.

I believe humility is a good trait to have....however, when it comes to fishing I'm a 10. Like Mick said, if I don't catch a BUNCH of BIG fish it's all the fishes fault. Seriously for a minute, I don't rate myself or others. I'll guarantee that no one has more fun fishing that I do. That's why if I have to rate myself I'm a 10.

I'm a mechanic with Popeye forearms. I've had tennis elbow in both elbows (at different times). Get a strap like Glenn mentioned. Put it on, not super tight, just kinda snug and leave it on. I slept with mine on. If it is tennis elbow the strap will provide pretty much instant relief. In all cases it took me a couple months wearing the strap to get over it. This was while working every day....using my arms a bunch. When I had it I ate Ibuprofen like it was chicklets. It's been years since I had it. A while back my Dr recommend Voltaren for my shoulder. It's a topical Arthritis medication, but it's a good anti inflammatory. I apply some to my shoulder 3 times a day and I'm pretty much pain free. (torn labrum)

There's all kinds of noises on the lake I fish most often. Depending on what part of the lake I'm on I'm within 10 to 25 miles from a big airport so there's always jets overhead. Some boaters play loud music. I don't like these sounds but I enjoy the sounds of nature. Obviously I enjoy the sound of a bass smashing a top water lure. Like others I talk to the animals around the lake. IE if I hear a morning dove I'll say "Good morning Dove". Mrs B laughs at me. I also talk to any pets that live around the lake and come to look at me. One morning a small dog was standing on a dock barking at me. I said "Hello dog". A Latino lady comes down on the dock laughing and says "The dog doesn't speak English" I said "tell it I said hello dog". She said something (in Spanish I guess) to the dog and we had a good laugh. I've seen her, and the dog several times since then. She always says something to the dog in Spanish then tells me "The dog still doesn't speak English." I need to learn how to say "Hello Dog" in Spanish.

I carry fishing, and everywhere else. I'm an Eagle Scout. I believe in being prepared. I carry a couple knives and a flashlight all the time too.

I rarely watch any fishing videos, but the most of the ones I've seen have ridiculous sound effects. If you need to give a fish some line it's easy to loosen the drag. I've never scaled my drags but I keep them fairly loose. I have a habit of thumbing the reel during a hookset. I can also thumb the reel if I need to "hoss" a fish. It's been said many times here, and other places. More big fish are lost due to drags too tights, than drags that are too loose.

A knowledgeable friend of mine says a relatively health bass can be out of the water for at least 10 minutes. He also says the (mostly big) bass we have to revive when we release them have to be revived because they're exhausted. It's his belief (and mine) that protecting their slime coat is more important than an extra minute or 2 out of the water. I need to get a silicone mat like A-jay uses. If I need time with a bass or need to put it down I lower them into my livewell. I don't use my livewell to "keep" fish but I keep it filled in case I need to put one down. On a different note, another knowledgeable friend of mine told me if I had a bass that was injured/bleeding badly or whatever and I wasn't sure it would survive to put it in my livewell. His belief is if an injured bass makes it 30 minutes in the livewell it will survive. I don't want to feed the turtles. If I believe a bass or other fish isn't going to make it I give them to the people fishing at the landing.

I've never caught a carp on an artificial lure. Decades ago a friend of mine (who was fishing with me) caught a 21 pound carp on a crankbait. It was snagged in the tail, so it was double strong. He's now an avid carp fisherman.

I went for 3 hours this morning Mrs B is doing good but was by herself so I didn't want to leave her for long. I caught 16 spots between 13" to 15" and one 13" Largemouth. Tim talked earlier about not having a pattern stick for long. To me the 2 main parts of a pattern are location and technique. I've been on the same technique for a couple weeks, but the location keeps changing. Technique, once I find bass watch them ignore all of my lures on sonar. Run a buzz bait over their heads, then catch them on whatever I throw. Not one single bass hit a buzz bait. Per Pat I removed the trailer hook to see if that was stopping them. Still no hits. I even tried a Devils Horse. It worked to "wake them up" but they wouldn't hit it either. I went back to a buzz bait since it's a quicker easier wake up than a devils horse. I caught them on a DT6, OG4, Texas Rig and Bladed jig. After I figured out they'd hit......anything after the buzz bait I settled on a bladed jig. It was faster than a t-rig and I didn't have to deal with treble hooks. I also had a Bowfin break, or bite me off, right at the boat. It fought like a Spot. When I got it to the boat I was fumbling to get my net instead of lipping it. It turned away and my line went limp. It looked like it have been cut with a knife. I don't know if Bowfin teeth can do that, or if there was already a nick in my line. It had been 3 or 4 bass since I retied. Yesterday they were on flats 4 to 8 feet deep. There was no activity today on the flats. Yesterday was (really) windy with some rain. Today it's dead calm with bluebird skies. Also, Duke Energy has the hydro units shut down 3 lakes up the river for maintenance. I suspect this is affecting inflow, as well as increasing the demand for power. The Catawba river lake levels are usually pretty constant. The lake is a foot lower today compared to yesterday. It's 1 1/2 feet lower than "normal". The 4 to 8 feet deep flats are shallower. I found the bass on ledges and points near these flats. I don't know whether them moving overnight was due to weather, lake level or both. Pictured is a 15" Spot and the lone Largemouth of the day. Water temp is down to 78. Haircut police, notice my new haircut.

I went this morning and caught 9 before the wind pretty much blew me off the lake. All spots between 13" and 15". The weather was OK for an hour or so then the wind got up. I don't know what the wind speeds were but the lake was REALLY white capping. I don't use the remote for my trolling motor, but after the wind got up I put my remote around my neck and left my life jacket on. I've got plenty of trolling motor to hold against the wind but it was impossible to make accurate cast. I got out in the middle of the channel, let my boat drift and was going 9 mph per gps just drifting. The first and last bass caught are pictured. A note for the haircut police. Mrs B couldn't cut my hair due to her recent health problems. I paid for a hair cut this afternoon. The haircut police will have to hope I catch some bass tomorrow to see my haircut. Since I had to pay for a haircut I'm expecting to be reimbursed for the doughnuts I sent as a bribe for a delay in prosecution.

That's the truth. Mistakes will be made in any profession. I'm an automotive technician (and a dang good one) Vehicles aren't nearly as complicated as the human body, but I still make a mistake occasionally. Since her visits I've heard multiple stories about the Urgent Care she went to first mixing up prescriptions and all other kinds of stuff. Thanks everyone for the thoughts, prayers, well wishes and comments.

I'm very thankful everything turned out OK. The Cardiologist said she has "minimal heart damage" which is amazing to me for as long as this went on. Shoulder pain is nothing new to us. Myself, our son in law, and one grandson have shoulder problems, but it's our right shoulders. Last Tuesday(10 days ago) I had an appointment for an eye exam. Mrs B had (left) shoulder pain, and an ear ache. There's an urgent care next to my eye Dr's office. I dropped her off there while I had my eye exam. They said she had a strained shoulder and fluid on her ear. They also said her blood pressure was elevated. They "said" they were going to prescribe an anti-inflammatory for her shoulder, some ear drops and some blood pressure medication. When we got to the pharmacy the only prescription called in was the anti inflammatory. We called the urgent care back. They said they had forgotten about the other meds. We decided not to fill the other scripts and not to use that urgent care again. She got an appointment with her regular doctor but it was for the 20th. All of the other local urgent cares were full. Our daughter talked her into going to a local ER. They said she had a shoulder strain, and elevated blood pressure. Didn't see a problem with her ear. They prescribed a muscle relaxer and blood pressure medication. Her shoulder pain was similar to mine (except in her left shoulder) I have a labrum tear. When mine bothers me it's mostly at night, or when I'm sitting around doing nothing. Hers was the same. If she was up doing stuff her shoulder was fine. We figured if it was heart problems or a blockage it would be worse when she was doing stuff, exerting herself. Pay attention to your body. Her blood pressure has never been high until last week. The stent appeared to have helped her blood pressure quite a bit. They have prescribed 10mg Lisinopril(a fairly small dose) but will track her blood pressure and adjust as needed.

I fish strictly by a calendar. (not really but others do) Around here at least 1/2 the people on the crowded lake throw buzz baits from April until the end of August. I stop throwing them after March, and start back in September. Regarding a buzz bait/trailer combo not running straight. Depending on the cover I'm fishing I'll keep a couple rigged up that don't run straight to run into, or under cover. I was running buzz baits under docks and boat houses decades before I had ever heard of skipping.

Congratulations!!!! Your kid and any future kids are only young once. You'll have plenty of time to fish in the future.

Had a scare with Mrs B. After over a week of left shoulder pain, and being misdiagnosed by 2 medical facilities she had a visit with her regular Doctor Wednesday. Her Doctor said she didn't have the shoulder strain the other 2 places diagnosed. They drew blood to test enzymes and told her to be by the phone. I left work to come home, as I was walking in the door her Doctor was on the phone telling her to have someone take her to the ER. (She had driven herself to her Dr appointment) At the ER they originally scheduled a stress test. After a some more blood work and a visit form a Cardiologist they decided to skip the stress test and go right to a heart cath. The don't do heart caths and our nearest hospital. Wednesday night around 10 they transferred her to another hospital ~40 miles away. They did bloodwork every hour overnight, and administered some meds. Yesterday morning around 9 they done the heart cath, and inserted a stent while doing it. She had a 95% blockage. I came home yesterday evening to feed our dogs and take a shower. Our daughter was there with her then. When I was leaving home to go back to the hospital they came in and discharged her. I picked her up at our daughters house and had her home last night around 9. It amazes me the medical industry can take someone from heart attack to back home in 36 hours. It also amazes me that an urgent care, and a (different) local emergency room can confuse a heart attack with 95% blockage with a shoulder strain. I'm sure many of you included everyone from Bass Resource in your prayers every night, just like myself and Mrs B do. Thanks.

It wasn't my intention but I picked up a little over 1 mph and made my boat right a BUNCH better by adding a group 27 lead acid battery to the back. (Tracker Classic XL) It actually picked up more than 1 mph. My boat came from the dealer with a group 24 cranking battery and a single group 27 for the trolling motor. (It also came with a 6 gallon fuel tank) I switched to a 12 gallon fuel tank before I had finished the engine break in. After breaking in the engine I recorded 38.9 MPH on GPS (Navionics app) I don't run around wide open, so didn't air it out any more for a while. After I added an additional graph, Active Target and a heavier, 24 volt trolling motor to the front, and switched to lighter lighter lithium batteries in the rear my best speed was 37.6 mph. It was a good mph slower if the fuel tank wasn't full. It also rode rough in choppy water. Also, due to the design of the boat, as well as me fishing alone most of the time the boat was heavy on the port side. A friend suggested it would help the ride if I added some weight to the rear of the boat, and balanced it side to side better. I moved my two 50ah lithium trolling motor batteries to the port side. (~28 pound from the starboard side to port) then added the group 27 lead acid dual purpose battery to the starboard rear. The boat is balanced better and rides like a dream. Without the added weight in the rear I couldn't trim up much without it blowing out. It would basically plow the bow through chop. With the added 51 pounds on the rear and better balance I can trim up and go over the chop instead of through it. Much to my surprise I recorded gps speed of 40.1 mph. I cruise at 30 mph, like always but it's a comfortable, dry ride now instead of bouncing around getting water in my face. If you move your batteries forward be ready to add some kind of weight back to the rear if it rides rough. Added: I already had large gauge dedicated wiring for my electronics. Adding a separate cranking battery had no effect on my screens. I had no problem with clarity on my graphs before. I believe when people add a dedicated electronics battery and get better clarity they're doing so because they're replace faulty wiring the same time the add the dedicated battery.

Don't belittle yourself like that. You catch more bass on a Whopper Plopper than many of us (including myself) catch on all of our lures combined. I know where the top secret Lake Menderchuck is. I'm not allowed. People who need FFS/Active Target/Live Scope aren't allowed there. FFS pings at ~1100kHz. The bass in Menderchuck are tuned in to that frequency. When they hear it they immediately call the game warden. (The bass in Menderchuck have cell phones)

I enjoy fall when the crowds finally start to thin out. My little boat gets rocked by other boats waves, especially wake boat waves. When the lake is really crowded I won't fish off shore structure due to boat traffic. The combination of wake boats, jet skis, pontoons and 80 mph bass boats all over the place makes me wary of spot locking off shore.

What size are the 13's, what size are the 14's? If the circumference is within 5% or less I wouldn't worry about using the 13 for a spare. Also, maybe goodyear trailer tires are better than they used to be. I had nothing but trouble with them on my race car trailers.

Howdy from Grover NC.

Plenty of people catch plenty of bass on all kinds of line. It might make a difference in super clear water. I use mono most of the time. I've got braid on one reel. I believe confidence is a big factor in fishing, as well as other areas of life. In most cases I suspect confidence in the line is more important that the actual line used. What's interesting to me is the mono I use is .012" to .014 diameter. The braid I use is .013". I can see the braid on sonar but I can't see the mono.

Bad things happen when a stranger cuts your hair. Ray Stevens has a song about it. I'm considering 1. Throwing myself at the mercy of the court. 2. Bribing the Judge 3. Bribing the hair cut Police.

Dolly and Sammy, as well as the hoomans in the "B" household hopes your Pup gets well soon.

I got busy yesterday afternoon so I'm posting a report now for yesterday and today. I caught 30 total. 13 yesterday, 17 today. None were big but not tiny ones. I also caught a 3 pound Cat. I'll post it in the other species thread. I don't want to get in trouble with the photo police. I'm already in trouble with the hair police. My barber (Mrs B ) has a pinched nerve in her shoulder so cutting my hair has been postponed. Pictured are the first from yesterday, and the last from today. The largemouth looks bigger than it is. It was 17 inches. Most of the bass I caught were fattening up really good. No worn tails like Pat has seen further North in the Carolinas. Most of yesterdays were caught on points, on either a bladed jig or a T-rig. Todays were either caught up on flats or in almost no water right at the bank. Most were on cranks (mostly OG4) a few on a t-rig. I learned something last week that's still proving true. When I see fish on sonar that don't appear to be active I'm running a buzz bait over them a few times. I didn't catch any on a buzz bait this weekend, but I caught a bunch that ignored my lure until after I ran the buzz bait over them. The largemouth pictured (the last one I caught) didn't offer at the buzz bait, but hit the OG4 as soon as it hit the water. It was sunny yesterday, cloudy and raining today. Water temp is down to 81 degrees.

Y'all wore Roebucks? JC Penny plain pockets for me when I was a kid.