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fishing catching is still in full swing right now. we put a smacking on them again today. got to meet quillback. we were fishing deep again, but talked to a boat that was a-rig fishing, and they did really well fairly shallow. we actually did a video today that was informational on how to find and fish these deeper fish. have had many ask that i do one. we will see how it all looks and comes out after chane get it put together and loaded onto you tube. if you are not out fishing right now, you are really missing out on some great fun, deep or shallow. bo

Even for those who like their steaks rare a key to big flavor in a steak is using high temperature to sear the sides and seal in the juices (beef fat)....this is called caramelization. What occurs is the Millard Reaction, a process where amino acids and various sugars are converted to big flavor at high temps. Many big time steak and chop houses broil at up to 700 degrees to ramp this process up.....a little melted butter on top doesn't hurt either

That's my report. Plain and simple. Met up with kjackson at Prairie Creek marina at 9am. Went to a spot where the striper bite was strong and bait was supposed to have been plentiful. But that ship had sailed. Almost no bait whatsoever and hardly a mark on the graph. A lot of boat traffic churning the area as well. So we abandoned the primary mission for massive stripers and went elsewhere. Found some around 50ft deep and snacking on shad. When I saw that, I didn't even drop a spoon. Without live bait, it wasn't worth it. That proved to be true elsewhere also when we found stripers. Trolled one of my favorite spots and found lots of fish marks on the graph. Fish were deep hugging bottom and our baits wouldn't get a bite. Switched to deeper diving baits and ticking bottom, still not bites. Tried jigging spoons and still nothing. Went to a waypoint where I marked the best numbers of fish and jigged spoons for at least half hour. Finally a fish in the boat. Well by fish, it had gills. It was a 6"-8" spotted bass. Got him on a $35 Diawa graphite rod. No expensive gear needed for me to feel a bite. That little rod works very well for spoons. Tried our hand at bass fishing. No bites, hardly any fish on the graph. Gave that up and went to another favorite area. Almost immediately found fish. Big arches, deep too. Based on size, I felt it was stripers. Dropped spoons on them for 45mins or more. Not a bite. Tried trolling the area, no bite. Finally ran towards shoreline and the graph started lighting up like fire flies. Massive school of hybrids. SURELY we can get both rods loaded up. Sadly, only one rod loaded up (mine). A nice hybrid was scooped into the boat. Turned around and trolled area again and the fish had moved. I've noticed whites & hybrids are always on the move. Never in the same place sitting still. Constant movement. Dropped some spoons on them and finally, another hybrid. Me again. Poor kjackson still no fish. I felt really bad for him. Super guy, deserved a good day catching fish that I know are there. I think he was doubting mine and F&F's descriptions of locations. But he saw the graph today. No doubt that fish are in the areas we visited. How to get them to bite in cold front conditions with bait being plentiful is another story. If anyone has a sure fire method on how to get cold front fish to bite when they are very much target locked on a very specific bait type, let me know. I'm all ears. At the end of the day, I got to spend a day with a great guy, had fun, somewhat managed to stay warm, and the new boat fished wonderfully.

I know it's self serving, but my wife has a business called Mrs. B's handmade soaps. She has a cracked hand and foot repair salve that works wonders ,http://mrsbsoap.com/products/cracked-foot-hand-repair-salve as well as what she calls hard lotion bars. It's a small bar in a tin, you pop it out, rub it on your hands, pop it back in the tin. Works wonders on dry skin. Her lip balms are really great as well. I know it's a commercial, but I'm proud of her. She really has spent hours working out the science behind her products and they work well. http://mrsbsoap.comor look for mrs's b's soap products on country outfitter.com

I'll just stick to the jigs I tie myself. They haven't let me down at all.

Good luck!

Yep, Bo, it as a pleasure to meet you and chat with you guys for a bit. I had a good numbers day on the spotted bass, 23 total, all spots, except one 12" smallie - but only 3 may have been keeper sized. All except one came on the Ned, fished 15-30 feet deep off bluffs and chunk rock banks. Fishing it slow and maintaining bottom contact. Here's Bo and his crew dealing with a triple header - would have been a quadruple, except his dog lost one at the boat. Watched them for about 5 minutes and they were catching them. .

This is unconfirmed, but I heard there are highly skilled/trained frogmen who work under the dark of night recovering pre-Rap Warts lost by fishermen who lack a suitable lure retriever. Each night they scour the nooks and crannies of Table Rock, taking their bounty back to headquarters, which is covertly tucked away beneath the floor of the lake (this is also where the black helicopters are kept). The Warts are then repainted and sold on eBay for exorbitant prices, and the proceeds are forwarded to the United Nations and various terrorist outfits (ISIS, the Taliban, etc.) for the not-so-distant day when they overthrow the federal government and we all start wearing towels on our heads and bathing only once a month.

It took me countless hours casting in my backyard before I was any good on a river. One thing that helped me were watching casting videos online. Orvis has a good series of videos of various casting techniques.

They won't charge you 2 hours for a water pump service. Flat rate is 0.8hr on 2-3 cyl. Nissans. 500.00 P&L for everything mentioned is about right. They have to allow for a few broken thermo housing bolts in the estimate, it's inevitable on a Nissan. It may not need a thermostat replacement though....you won't know until water pressure is up to snuff. What's the deal with the choke solenoid ? They don't typically go bad. Who diagnosed that issue ?

I'm itching to go but with the holiday activities I guess Ill stay home. Today is my wife's last day to ever work after 45 years of teaching. We plan on taking the popup to Bennett in the spring and we are both looking forward to that. You all have a Merry Christmas! Looking forward to some camping and fishing next year.

De-railed on the second post. Classic.

Personally I'd buy a used 798 humminbird. It's a good entry to side imaging.