kjackson

Sportsman's Outfitter in Belton has a Smokercraft you might be interested in. Also, LaCanne's Marine in southern Minnesota has a couple of boats worth looking at. And White's has a nice Ranger aluminum that is well outside my budget, not that I'm after a boat that big or tricked out.

Just got back from looking at our place, and the lake is lower than I've seen it, but then we've only owned the place for four years, so that isn't saying much. I was surprised to see Truman iced over, though. The only open water I did see was running from the Truman dam. Lotsa birds taking advantage of the shad buffet.

Cole Camp Creek is all white...

Waaaay back when I had a two-man raft--which was really a single person craft-- I painted Gluvit on the bottom to help on gravel launches and floating rivers. It lasted a long time... It's a messy/sticky product, but it was the thing guys in drift boats always used on the bottoms of their boats.

In order to avoid work or doing anything useful, I did a quick search on Craigslist to see if there have been major changes since yesterday. I hit the Des Moines list and then moved into Wisconsin... there are a few deep-vee hulls and while I didn't see any 1775 Impacts, I did see a few used (like two or three) boats of similar size that weren't Lunds. I looked at Appleton, Green Bay and LaCrosse. I've owned three Lunds and love the way they are designed. However, in recent years, there has been a LOT of trouble with the transoms. A friend had to have his redone under warranty, and he lo

Very cool. Some of that stuff I recognize--the Perrine boxes if they're not Wheatley's, and I still have and use some of the lead wire on those small spools. I've been the lucky recipient of fly-fishing gifts from folks who knew I was addicted. I have several old flies in packages that I need to do something with besides leave in their cellophane jail cells. One guy gave me his fly-tying kit that he had been given when he was in hospital recovering from wounds in WWII. While the feathers were pretty much toast, I did get a Thompson A and a lot of hooks packaged with government labels

You might try searchtempest.com. I've used it to look at specific brands of boats. You indicate the distance you are willing to travel and then check each of the cities it lists in its results. I've been on the same quest-- I want a walleye boat, but a smaller one than you're after. What I'm finding now is that they are not many of 'em available. Part of that is seasonal, and part of it is the boom in folks buying boats because of the pandemic. Marine companies are doing a land-office business. Good luck.

-13 in Clinton. I'm tired of this winter. We have to go to the cabin to check on things soon, but I'm wondering if we can do the hill on the entry road even with 4x4.

This image is a wee bit shaky--too much caffeine I guess-- but you get the general idea. I've tried a number of the usual patterns, like Wooly Worm and various hackle patterns, but none of them look that impressive. Dunno, y'know. I'm after inspiration.

Looking for suggestions. I have a bunch--several hundred at least-- #4 offset sprout hooks. Think offset bass hooks and you'll get the idea. They are the old high-quality Fenwick hooks which are superb if you're fishing with really small plastics. However, I'd rather use them for flies and am looking for suggestions. The problem I have with them is that the shank between the bend and the eye is fairly short, so it's difficult to tie a decent wing. I've played with a couple of things back in cutthroat country, but they weren't stellar. Now that I'm not fishing for trout, help would be

Yeah, some of us work slowly... in this case, I just sold the reels mentioned. It looks like the that EXO is going to be adopted.

An update-- The Citrix and one of the Quantum Energy reels is gone. Others still up for grabs. I'll be adding a few more items soon.

Today, February 1, Johnny Morris announced a new bass team tournament trail for amateurs--no pros allowed. It is a family-oriented event. The trail has half a dozen tourneys scattered around the country and culminates in a championship event on Table Rock. It is the Bass Pro Shops' US Open (you can get a link on the BPS site after 11 am today). The highlights: all entry fees will go to habitat and conservation and the championship team will win $1 million in cash. Total payout for the trail events will be $4.3 million. The top 40 teams in each event will win spots in the championshi

Thanks; I appreciate that. Now to get busy.

Sold.