Kirtley Howe

Did that star Joan Collins/James Arness...or Peter Graves maybe? It has been years since I saw that. May have to watch it again just for laughs.

Got out yesterday for a few hours. It was the 3rd day after a large cold front moving through, with heavy rain. Yesterday was beautiful...air temperature was 74-85 degrees. Water was at average level, but heavily stained from the previous rain. Winds were light and variable and it was partly cloudy/sunny. Started off with chatterbaits. Had 3 in a row cut off by Tiger Musky right as I was getting them near shore without landing any of them. None of them were particularly large,,,about 18-22 inches I would guess. That was expensive with nothing to show for it. Switched to a ned rig. Caught 2 bluegill and a creek chub. No joy there. Tried a wacky worm, both weightless and weighted. Caught one small (9 ") smallmouth. Switched up to crankbaits. Started with a squarebill in SexyShad color. Caught one small pike (14 "), and had a few other taps, but no hookups. Switched to a Silver and Black Big O. No takers. Threw a generic deep diver (12 Ft+) and caught a decent Smallmouth of about 1 3/4 lbs, and snagged a carp in the side....thought I had a new personal best bass on for a minute <G>. Nothing else happening with that even though I tried several other sizes, styles, and colors. Tried a Carolina rig with a 10" grape "Old Monster" worm. One fish...turned out to be a small catfish. Tried a jerkbait...lots of taps, but no hookups or even a fully committed strike; Bluegill again probably. As evening came on, I tried topwaters. Devil Horse, Chug Bug, Zara Spook, and Berkley Choppo. Several follows and a blowup or two, but again, they would not really commit to striking the lures. Finished up with a Jitterbug at heavy dusk. Caught my best fish of the day...a 2 1/4 lbs Largemouth. Stayed another 1/2 hour but everything shut down. So...fishing from 4:30 pm to 9:30pm, I caught 9 fish total, but only 3 bass, and lost close to $20.00 in lures. Had fun, the weather was great, but it sure was an expensive day for what meager results I had. Oh, well, better days are ahead.

I recently read a quote that was attributed to a Native American that went something like this: If the insects die, the Earth will die. If the rivers and lakes die, the Earth will die. If Man dies, the Earth will thrive. I thought it was pretty accurate.

I love AGM batteries. I think they are the best bang for the buck. They last a long time, are pretty much maintenance free, hold a charge very well and for a long time when not in use (storage) and you don't need a special charger to charge them as most any modern battery charger has an AGM setting. And they cannot spill no matter how rough the water is or what position the battery is mounted in. The down side to AGM batteries are that they weight just as much as a wet cell (lead acid) battery, they are somewhat more expensive than a standard wet cell battery (though not a whole lot more expensive), and they have one characteristic that can be a bit of a problem...the work great right up until they fail completely...no warning, no loss of power, and no increase in charge time or ability to hold a charge, right up to the failure point. If that failure point comes when you are out on the water, that can ruin your day. For that reason, my starting battery is NOT an AGM. Regular wet cell batteries usually give you lots of warning that they are failing...lower output, and longer charging times are the most obvious.

If they really wanted to outlaw fishing and/or fishing tournaments, all they have to do is raise the price of fishing licenses to some outrageous amount, and radically increase the fines for fishing without a license. Neither of those would require any new legislation. But it won't happen. as the state makes too much money from selling licenses and the sales tax on sales of fishing tackle, boats, and fishing equipment and assorted fees charged for sponsored tournaments. Not to mention the tourist dollars.....

My opinion...fishing open water around weed beds us a good old Red and White spoon. IN the weeds use a Johnson Silver Minnow weedless spoon. Just be sure to carefully sharpen the hook on the Silver Minnow. Straight from the package the hook is really dull. That said, just about small to medium sized bass lure will catch pickerel. They are voracious and have a nasty temper and will attack anything that swims if they think they can eat it. Though not common, I have had them hit Musky sized lures so sometimes a large lure will work.

Don't stoop to their level. Let them be the jackass. There are other banks, and other days. Unless you are a pro fisherman and your livelihood is at stake, it is just not worth the hassle or risk.

That is terrible. You should be ashamed of yourself for hogging all those crankbaits. Feel free to ship a box or two to me to relieve your guilt. <G>

I will never drink anything I "have to get used to". Either I like it the first time I try it, or I won't try it again.

There is that old joke...An old man goes to the doctor and says "Doc, my left leg really hurts." Doctor says "Well at your age you have to expect that sort of thing." Old man says "Yeah? My right leg is just as old as my left leg, but the right leg doesn't hurt, so how about you do something about the problem..." I think you need to find a new doctor...one who listens to you.

I think a drop down to 12.3 volts or less after a couple of minutes of running is an indicator that the batteries are shot. A drop from 12.6-13 volts after a couple of minutes, but the battery "recovering" on its' own after a few minutes when you quit running the trolling motor would make me think the problem is not the batteries, but more likely a bad connection somewhere that is acting like a vampire and drawing voltage away from the trolling motor/batteries. Just for kicks, have you tried disconnecting the batteries from everything else and letting them sit for a few days? A good battery should still have very close to a full charge after only a few days. If the voltage/amps drop much after a couple of days, then your batteries are definitely starting to die. Good luck.

Testing a battery with a multimeter won't tell you much. A battery can have a "surface charge" that shows 12.6 to 13 volts, and still be just about worthless. A multimeter cannot measure the batteries ability to hold a charge or supply amps. You need to load test them individually. As casts by fly mentioned you can do a poor mans load test using your trolling motor, but the only definitive test is to have them individually checked with a load meter.

Have insurance on the boat and equipment? If not, maybe your car insurance will cover them if you have the right coverage. Total bummer though.

Ok...now do it as a Haiku. <G>

Outback Steakhouse......our more or less local one is very good. Never had a bad meal there. But.....the quality of food/service seems to vary a great deal between locations. Last time we hit one while traveling, it was terrible. Texas Roadhouse....good steaks, ok service, but usually way to noisy for my taste...and unless you go at 4pm you have to wait an hour just to get in the door. IHOP used to be a great place for a cheap breakfast. I don't know what happened, but the quality has dropped a lot (how can you screw up eggs and pancakes when that is supposed to be your specialty?) and the prices have gone up a lot. For breakfast, the best deal going is Denny's. Of course I would always try a local place first rather than any chain restaurant if the choice is available, but sometimes when on the road, you have to bite the bullet and go with the devil you know.

Sky Bar. And one I wish they would bring back is the ORIGINAL Three Musketeers bar. Not the one you can buy now, but the original one with three layers of stuff inside.

Apparently I have a great deal of patina.

Surely you jest....Yeah, Yeah, I know, don't call you Shirley.

Bill Dance summed it up years ago......"Wet lines catch more fish".

867-5309/Jenny sung by Tommy Tutone.....

So Skunkmaster-K, your real name is Jenny?

Making a "citizen's arrest" can be risky. You never know how the other party is going to react, and they may react with violence. Also, not all states have provisions in the law for Citizen's Arrest so you could get yourself in a lot of trouble. My advice is to take the pictures, contact the authorities, and leave it to them. Also, posting an opinion piece in a local paper, or comment in the "readers comment" section can draw a lot of attention to the problem, and possibly increase enforcement of the rules. Be safe out there.

Actually, I really think it was maybe a bit selfish. I am pretty sure I had more fun than the kids did. Watching them reminded me that fishing is supposed to be fun, and maybe I have been taking it a bit too seriously lately.

Perhaps I should say Best Day Of NOT fishing this year. I went fishing at 9am Sat. morning. When I arrived at the river there were a bunch of kids (about 9 to 15 years old), and one adult at the spot I planned on fishing. I watched them for a few minutes and realized that they were a group from The Racker Center, which is a local organization that works with mentally and physically disadvantaged persons, mostly under the age of 21, but they accept older clients if the need is there. Anyway, I realized that the supervising adult, while trying hard, knew next to nothing about fishing. I also realized that the tackle the kids had was pretty awful. I asked the supervisor how long they planned to be there and he said at least another 2 hours. I was only 15 minutes from home, so home I went. I grabbed up a bunch of my old rods and reels (some spincast, some spinning). They were all older and at most moderately priced when new, but they were all in decent shape, as I keep them ready for when my nephews come by. Back to the river I went. By the time I arrived, the kids were just about in tears or angry from frustration and the supervisor was losing his mind. He and I distributed the rods and reels among the kids, and I spent the next hour and a half instructing the kids on how to use them. Nothing fancy, just your basic "get the line in the water" bobber and bait fishing. When the kids got the hang of it, they had a blast catching bluegill, sunnies, rock bass, and even a couple of small bass. The supervisor kept the kids hydrated, tied on hoods and sinkers as needed, baited hooks for them, and unhooked fish that were caught. All the fish were released, and the kids thought that was great as they didn't want to hurt the fish. The kids took turns using the different rods and reels until they found a set up that worked best for them. After a couple hours, the organizations bus came to pick them up. The kids were very tired but very happy. Every one of them gave me a hug before they got on the bus. I donated the rods and reels to the organization and offered my services to help the kids fish again in the future. It was without a doubt the best day "fishing" I have had this year.

I have definitely been skunked...more times than I care to admit. But it is still a shock to me when a professional angler gets skunked in a place like the St. Lawrence River. I know it can happen, but it still amazes me.