Ham

I’m that Mad at em, but I don’t hate myself enough to be out in the stuff we had the last couple of days.

Really awful walk in to work from the parking lot. Miserably cold and watching for glare ice.

So, this isn’t a dating advice thread? 😜 my wife is a recovering Christmas Nazi. She does a beautiful tree though.

it really is difficult. I'm rapid;y getting too old for it and if they are covered in ice. I don't think its possible. Watch the weather

see, this would have all been handy for me to know ahead of time, but I caught a few anyway.

so what did you catch at Spur Pond?

there certainly should not have been any need for a spillway release, but they do what they want when they want I suppose.

it is an interesting ethical question. "should I fish for an endangered species?" Practically speaking, me catching one fish with the intention to quickly and carefully photograph and release will have NO impact on the species. Researchers kill a lot more of them learning about them than I would ever run into. I would probably fish for darters in those areas and be THRILLED to catch one. I wouldn't brag about it online though. The other practical aspect of it is they are probably pretty hard to run across and therefore hard to actually catch. I struggle with a lot of fairly common species. In the back of my mind, I also think about the fact that round gobies are coming and in the waters they can reach, they are going to wipe out all the native darters. It won't be in my lifetime, but its coming. Catch the natives while you can.

Shoot me a PM when you are ready to drive a little. Dave has a great bowfin spot. I’ve caught bowfin on fly in a few locations.

Do Tell! How many species are you normally able to catch? What are some of the more unusual fish that you’ve been able to get?

You’re gonna have good water (projected) and good day for browns. Suit up

I'd worry about my dog too much to let them retrieve in Florida. There are other really Big Lizards down there too.

dang. I missed out on a lot growing up.

I think I am done mounting fish. I caught a 6.5 lb native LMB when I was 9. My folks had it mounted for me for my 10 th birthday. FWIW, I have never seen a repo that looks as good as a properly done skin mount. The skin mounts don't last very long though. I'm seen truly awful skin mounts of fish and pretty bad repos. Maybe I just haven't seen the really good repos in person.

I will not throw a frog on anything except Braid. I think 65 lb braid is likely overkill. I am unsung 65 lb braid right now, but only because WalMart was closing some PowerPro out. I think I paid 8 bucks. 30 lb would most likely be plenty. I use 30 lb braid for flukes (with a 15 lb fluro leader) and Chatterbaits with no issues yet. gosh, I love frog fishing.

So the smart move would have been to let this sleeping dog lie, but I just had to have one more kick at the can. the plan was Perry County and Logan County. I’ve been wanting to try the spillway below Lake Nimrod and below the L/D at Morrilton. I had a warm day and they were releasing water at Nimrod. off I go. I arrived at Nimrod and the place was devoid of human life. This is not a Good sign. The locals would know if it were right. as it turns out it was also devoid of fish willing to bite. I tried three locations. Soaked night crawlers, tried fly, and Swimbaits. Not a whiff. Tried for hours. All the micros I saw were only in the mood to run. No interest in bait at all. I stopped and tried a creek. Nothing. I drove to Harris break and dropped worms by pickings on boat dock and fished around a boat ramp and the rip rap along the dam. Nothing. I also tried below Harris Brake. They appeared to be draining it down to winter pool And I tried the outflow area. Nope. Perry County was a fail, but there will be payback coming. on to Conway County. I started at the boat ramp. And in just a little bit was rewarded with a little Largemouth. I tried flyrod first with a Billethead Clouser, but I had to throw the little swimbait to get bit. he wasn’t much, but I was Dang Glad to have him. Conway County completed. I got another bass there, but that was all. Then on to the dam and power station. they were letting a little water through the dam and generating a little bit also. I tried at the power station first. I had a beautiful back Eddy and current seams, but nah. Scrambling down the rocks was extra sucky yesterday because there was water condensation on the rocks. I remain completely appalled by the trash people purposely leave on their fishing spots. Hard for me to tote my gear and their trash out too, but you can Dang well believe that if I carried stuff down the rocks that I am carrying it out also. I moved over to the riverside and finally found a few fish at a point facing downstream. A Little current was moving across it. I put my baits down near the bottom hoping for a Sauger. No soap on the sauger, but I picked up a few White Bass and a Baby Striper. tough day, but it got better at the end. I put my eyes on Some new places and learned for sure that cold water and most micros is a bad mix. more counties will be fished in 2023, but I am done with this quest for a few months.

I finally got out and got on a crackle back bite last night. It Sure was fun (and frustrating). I was using Rick's old 3 weight and I still don't have the touch to land even 1/2 the fish I had hooked. @netboy what is a reasonable expectation for % of fish hooked to make it to hand?

Say it again Louder for the guys in the back. North Fork is a lot more hazardous.

Chiefs play a pretty tough schedule. They have a Good thing going and have had for a while now. Remember to enjoy the good times, because harder times pay a visit from time to time.

Yes Sir. Many of us have switched to Millenium seats. Lots of options out there though. I might suggest that you think hard about using the version with a coated cable support system instead of straps. I love the seat material. comfortable, stays cool, and lighter than traditional. They don't give them away though. You probably can find some on sale right now.

Man, I can’t imagine how hard it is to keep grinding on your recovery. Lots of maximal effort to see slow gains, but remember that you will walk again, you will fish again, and you are still there for your family. It could very easily have been so much worse. God Bless You! Happy Thanksgiving!

All good things come to an end I guess.

Jeez, I hope you didn’t kill him over a bounced check.

They sell jackets of varying length and frequently I don’t wade deeper than mid thigh, but I will occasionally go right up the upper limits

If you wear your jacket on the outside of your waders, it really slows entry of water into your waders as well.