Kirtley Howe

bubble gum pink.....especially for spawning bass. and on drop shots in stained water. No idea why it works. I am not even sure what color the bass think it is. I started using the color because it was easy for ME to see.

Miracles can happen. We are praying for you.

I use the original Rapala lures a lot. You can work them on the surface, crank them in like a crankbait, or add a bit of weight (suspend dots, lead wire on the hooks, or a split shot on the line) and use them as a jerkbait. But, a Rapala Husky Jerk works better for any underwater use.

I use White, Chartreuse, or Black/Blue for my spinnerbaits.

Don't forget that our new president has stated that he wants to put a 30% tariff on anything coming from China. Most Lithium batteries and/battery cells are currently coming from China. I read that as a 30% increase in price on any Lithium battery that is not 100% made in the USA.

My father was bald except for a fringe around his head. His barber said he was going to charge him extra because he had to spend so much time finding the hair to cut.

1980 is the model. Vexes did not even exist in 1980.

I would say that 80% of my fish come on crankbaits of one kind or another. Not because they are the "best" bait to use, but because they are what I use the most. I enjoy throwing a crank bait more than just about anything else.

Doug Hannon "The Snake" lure. I have a lot of respect for the man, but that lure was more "snake oil" than anything else.

I don't have a fish finder. I have a depth finder that may occasionally show what may or may not be a fish. It still works fine and is at least 15 years old. For the way I fish, it is all I need. I WANT a much newer and fancier one, but I don't NEED one, nor can I justify the cost.

IN the late 60s, early 70s when I lived in Florida and would take a 14f motorized rowboat out in the bay near the St. Pete-Tampa causeway to catch Tarpon I lost several things overboard. I was fishing with what was basically bass fishing gear except heavier line. Anyway, hooking into a Tarpon that weighted 40 plus pounds was exciting to say the least. It often led to being dragged around the bay while trying to control the fish (an exercise in futility for the most part) while trying not to swamp the boat. While doing that, I lost...hat, sunglasses, shoes, 2 different rods and reels, sunscreen, bottles of water, one anchor, a large and expensive landing net, and several marker buoys. I am sure there are several other things I don't remember. Surprisingly, I have never lost anything over the side while freshwater fishing, but I am sure it is just a matter of time.

I would not accept that in a $50.00 rod, much less a $500.00 rod. I'd contact them and have them make it right. They have a good reputation, and I am pretty sure they would not want to have this out there as an example of their quality.

I certainly understand your feelings. But on the positive side, you sisters' husband is home, and your father is still with you. In many ways, you are blessed.

I am envisioning the flame thrower guitar that was used in Mad Max Furiosa movie......

I used to love Luzern (sp?) coffee with chicory, but I can't find it anymore in my area. I can't find ANY coffee with chicory around here. Guess I am going to have to order some online. I had forgotten how much I used to like it.

I will refrain from any speculation until all the facts and info are available.

I could send you my address and you can send them to me. See, problem solved!

I am definitely past my peak as far as fishing goes. But you know what? That doesn't change a thing for me. I still love going fishing. Even if I don't catch 'em like I used to, I still enjoy every minute of it. My only regret is that my stamina is decreasing every year. Getting old(er) is not for the weak.

And of course, you use only Mustard hooks, right?

I have caught smallmouth bass in less than 4 ft of open water when there was ice all along the shoreline. I have friends who ice fish who have caught smallmouth bass in shallow (6-8') water while fishing for perch and walleye. I am not sure it is ever too cold to catch smallmouth bass unless the water is frozen solid. It is sometimes too cold for ME to catch smallmouth bass simply because I HATE being cold.

I grew up in a very small town in central southern New York state. When I say a small town, I mean REALLY small...population of 950 at that time. My father hated fishing, and never went fishing himself, but he did drive me to some fishing holes and showed me the basics. After a few trips, he said I was on my own, I walked or biked all over the place, fishing the local creeks and a few ponds I could get access to. Fishing became a total passion for me. My life consisted of school, homework, chores and fishing. Every spare moment I had was spent fishing. I would wade 15 miles of creek on the weekends. On weekday during warm weather, I fished from when my chores and homework were done until 9 or 10 pm. My mother used to joke that I would grow webbed feet because I spent so much time in the water. I caught carp, creek chubs, suckers and pickerel....and then I started catching bass. From then on bass were my main target. I remember that for my 9th birthday, my parents got me a left had open faced spinning reel (no such thing as interchangeable handles back then), and that opened up a whole new world for me. I could actually target a cast! After that, I never looked back. I have great memories of those days.

I had not thought about getting stiff from sitting in a canoe in cold weather, but yeah....I can understand that. Must be tough to get out of the canoe at the end of the day sometimes. With my physical limitations, I would need a crane or at least a Hoyer lift to get out of it. Heck, after a day of fishing now I need liberal applications of Voltaren and Lidacane patches to be able to move without significant pain and stiffness. But it is still worth it, and I have no intention of stopping fishing until I just cannot move. Sometimes it may hurt my body, but it soothes my mind and soul.

Being a shore angler has some advantages. I can fish until the shoreline gets ice covered and dangerous to walk on. And even if I should fall in, I can walk out of the water pretty easily, and my nice warm truck is now never far away (see my old post about falling into cold water when salmon fishing as to why the truck MUST be nearby). When the water drops into the 40F range, I am very cautious about being in a boat or canoe. Falling out of one of those into cold water, and not being right next to shore is a pretty scary (for me) idea.

I had my best day of fishing this season (so far) today. As most of you know, I missed the first third of the season due to health issues and surgeries, so my season has been shorter than normal. But today was great. I was fishing from shore as I don't have a boat right now. I live in Owego NY, and was fishing the Susquehanna River. We have had several days of unseasonably warm weather. Temperatures have been in the high seventies, somewhat windy, mix of clouds and sun. Water temps are in the mid to high 50s. Water level is very low due to lack of rain for the past month. Went out at about 12:30 pm and fished until 4:30 pm. I started at a creek mouth on the main river. This area has a shallow soft bottom flat of 2-3ft. with a channel that reaches about 5-6 ft that cuts through it. I had no luck at all in this area no matter what technique or lures I used. I left after about 45 min. I moved on to an area where there was a shallow rocky flat adjoining a deep (considering the overall lack of water) channel of 8-9ft that ran right along shore. No luck there, and I got chased off by several other inconsiderate angles who kept casting over my line and being generally obnoxious. I was only there about 30 minutes. I went to an area where there was a large rocky bottom flat with some scattered wood laydowns and a few boulders. There was some minimal submerged weed growth in a few areas. The water depth was from 3ft to about 5ft, with a few pockets that maybe hit 6 1/2 feet. In the next 2 1/2 hours, I caught 29 smallmouth bass, and one 19" Walleye. Most of the fish came on a 4" original floating Rapala minnow (silver with a black back) that i would cast out and just twitch on the surface, with 15-20 second pauses between each twitch. I missed several fish because the fish would blow up and knock the lure completely out of the water. When they did make good contact, the hit was massive. The fish were very acrobatic, and tons of fun to play on the light spinning tackle I was using. I had a 7' light action rod with a 2000 size reel with 6 lb extra limp Trilene line. I caught 3 bass on Bass Pro Choppo lure in the 110 size which I cast on a MHMF baitcasting rod with a Johnny Morris reel loaded with 14lb test Excell mono, and 2 more on a shallow running generic square bill in a sexy shade pattern, and one more on a chatterbait in Citrus green with a matching minnow style trailer. The bass were mostly in the 1 1/2 lb to 2 lb range, with the smallest being 1 lb even, and the largest and last one of the day at 3 lb 7 oz. Tomorrow the high temperature for the day is going to be in the mid 40s and the low will be about 29. Sunday will be slightly warmer, but is supposed to be very windy. However, the middle of next week is supposed to warm back up to the mid 60 to 70 range, with some possible showers, so I guess my season is not done yet. I am hoping for a repeat of what happened today, but will be satisfied if I catch a "few" when I get back out. BTW, happy Halloween!

I get the big red F....I just scroll down until I see a search box. I type in "Forums" and that take me to where I can see the Menu Box. From there I can access everything on the site.