vernon

Us too. I’ve been saying it for a few years now but if this year is like last year that might just tear the sheet for good. Crowded is one thing but dangerous is another. We use to fish LOZ two weeks out of every year but haven’t been now since 2014 or ‘15 and have no plans to ever go back. I love Table Rock but I’m too old to be playing Dodge Boat and whatever else shows up out there. I guess that’s how bygone days become bygone days but at least memories are for however long I last. I wonder what the percentage of folks out there now is that have no idea what it used to be like. And they think it’s good now.......

Ahhhh. Not for a "real" man! 💪

I really wish those things came with little labels and arrows stating what each thing on the screen actually was. Would take a lot of the dumb out of us dummies......🤨

I have a kegerator downstairs that is perfect for full barrels or pony kegs but they've been impossible to get since the scamdemic. Of course they have - why would they be different? I really miss those ice cold draught's in big frozen mugs though.🍻

You guys can have the IPA's or LMNOP's or whatever else y'all call 'em. When I decide to take a walk on the wild side Coors Original Banquet is about as exotic as I get. And sometimes even in a BOTTLE! I know, call me crazy but...... When circumstances call for something stronger than that it's time to just switch to bourbon!

Now you've really got my attention!🍻🎉

I'm not sure exactly why but that fishing off the back deck deal is one of my favorite things about Spotlock. Being able to leave the front end and roam around without worrying about drifting away or running into something is just so liberating! It's like fishing off a "highly mobile" dock without the hassle of cables, posts or roof. Of course it doesn't take much to keep me entertained these days.....🥳 Glad you're getting out there some.

Your point is well taken - however to date I have been unable to identify a suitable vendor (ie Coors) that offers 16 oz. serving containers in a 30 pack setting. And those little 12 oz. Sippy Cups simply are no longer acceptable in a real life, practical application. However, once a 30 pack version of a 16 oz. (or greater) offering is available I will be totally on board. Assuming of course that some sort of wheel equipped carton is included to aid in transportation! But I like the way you think!😉

I strongly encourage you to consider fifteen packs instead as well as 16 oz. cans or bottles whenever possible. Makes for much easier math and provides a far greater margin of error. It's an approach/policy that has served me well and I ain't new at this stuff! ☺️

It's been a long time ago now but I still remember fishing grass beds in the James River arm with my dad in the 70's and early 80's. Used to have great success with Bagley's Killer B crankbaits in the fall. Baby Bass was a favorite color as was Tennessee Shad. Piney, Schoolhouse, Woolly and Buzzard were our best spots in those days. Especially Buzzard. Electric Blue Texas rigged Larew salt impregnated worms (used to buy 'em hot outta the molds direct from Gene while staying at his place at Shadrack) and Charlie Campbell's CC spinnerbaits worked too but those crankbaits ticking the tops of the grass beds for largemouth and the "occasional" Kentucky are what I'll always remember best. Good ol' days for sure.......☺️

At 7:00 this morning it was -20 on my Davis weather station and that was fifteen minutes after our power went off for a little over two hours. Got down to 62 upstairs, 57 downstairs and 27 in the garage. Proud to be sitting on a king's ransom of natural gas and oil but freezing to death due to windmills and solar farms that are frozen and snow covered in the middle of Kansas. This is 2021 isn't it? How am I supposed to charge my electric car?🤦‍♂️

And pretty much every other year......🤦‍♂️

I fished the All Star's almost exclusively for quite a while ( I think there were a few Lake King's mixed in if I remember right - used to get those at Frank Fensom's place in Raytown) and really liked them. I particularly remember a Zell Rowland topwater model that I thought was a great rod for Spooks. Miss those days.....😐

Happy to report that it appears my niece's roommate is going to be OK. Her symptoms from the reaction to the vaccine began to improve after a little over 24 hours and she is much better this morning. Still a little scary to say the least. Not sure if she sought medical attention but I hope she did so that this thing can be documented and considered for the future benefit of others. That being said, yesterday my brother went to get his teeth cleaned and the dental tech (a friend of ours) told him that another staff member at a different office had been vaccinated on Friday and had developed a bright red rash over most of her body similar to a bad sunburn. The rash was quite uncomfortable - extreme itch and blistering also similar to a bad sunburn. Again I don't know if she sought medical treatment but I hope she did. I certainly would have. That was yesterday late morning and I haven't heard any more since. And Champ I'm sorry but I disagree. The Constitution is not a malleable document nor is it a "living" document as so many in DC want it to be. One exception will inevitably lead to more exceptions until we have no Constitution at all. Unfortunately I believe that's exactly where we're headed.

My niece is currently technically a student although she's working in real world applications and putting patients under but she said that as of this weekend they were being told that they would not be required to take the vaccine. That being said, she's a realist and fully expects to it to become mandatory once others higher up on the priority list are vaccinated. I can't imagine many people actually quitting a job over it especially when job options are so limited already. I'm just not a big fan of "mandatory" anything. I still contend that that it's not the government's job to protect my health, that's my job. It's the government's job to protect my rights. And there ain't no pandemic exception in the Constitution.

While my current stance on this topic has been pretty clearly established I have also stated that I am not interested in persuading anyone one way or another and that's the truth. Everyone has to decide what is in their own best interest based on information that is available to them. That being said I have recently been made aware of something that I felt obligated to share. I mentioned that my niece was a nurse at St. Luke's (six and a half years) and she is now in her third and final year as an intern to become a CRNA (nurse anesthetist) at KU Medical Center. As such she travels to hospitals in other locations a month at a time to administer anesthesia in real life situations. She was home this weekend and was getting ready to leave to head back last night when she got a call from the husband of her travel roommate (another intern) informing her that the roommate would not be going back as expected as she was very sick. It seems that the roommate had "recovered" from Covid a little over three weeks ago and had been just fine since. It is my understanding that she exhibited the typical mild symptoms with the Covid. This is a thirty something young woman in otherwise perfect health. On Saturday she had been administered her first dose of the Covid vaccine and by Sunday had become seriously ill. She had a fever of 101, severe body aches and headache and in her husbands words was "the sickest she's ever been." I don't know anything beyond that but wanted to share it here as honest information is the only way we can educate ourselves and make smart decisions. It is also my opinion that in the current climate reports of this nature will likely be suppressed. Again, just an honest opinion. And while I'm sure many will disagree I don't view myself as a conspiracy theorist and no I don't believe that the Pope was arrested yesterday on child sex trafficking charges and that the Vatican was ground zero for vote switching in the election. As I stated I have a current personal stance on this deal but I'm not so hard headed as to not be open to new and or contrary opinion and will continue to seek as much factual information as I can and suggest all others do the same. If and when I hear more I'll be sure to report back.

I would agree with and endorse everything you said but would only add that even the CDC has stated that if one is under the age of 65 and does not display multiple comorbidities that the chances of them dying from Covid are also equal to that of driving a car. However, they didn't specify anything about driving to a fishing spot!🙄 And I hope that all of us live to be a healthy 100 years old no matter what!

Or at Holly Hunter's age for that matter!

My niece is the nurse who works at KU but she's on loan to a hospital in Manhattan for January so I can't really get an update. My sister in law who works at St. Luke's has primarily been working from home since she contracted Covid. I haven't spoken to my cousin who also works at KU so I shall defer to you. Nonetheless, my point remains that no one can accept at face value what the corporate or main stream media tells them to be factual and a person absolutely must do their due diligence if they expect to be informed in any meaningful manner. The level of propaganda dispensed in this country these days is exceeded in disgrace only by the outright fabrications and lies. And the internet might be even worse if that's even possible. To anyone that depends on corporate owned media for "facts" and information I'm sorry but I can't relate or have an objective conversation with you. The days of Walter Cronkite and the evening news are and have been long gone for quite some time.

No docs in the family only nurses. However, many of the doctors that they work for and with have told them that they are not getting vaccine as they don't believe it is necessary and also that they don't yet trust it to be proven safe. The simple math doesn't add up to me. I have a 99.5% (or better) chance of fully recovering from Covid (and did) and the vaccine is purportedly 95% effective while surrounded by many unknowns. Further I am beyond skeptical of anything that the government tells me is safe and effective and even more skeptical of anything being pushed by Big Pharma. Although the report has pretty much been buried even the CDC stated recently that of all the reported Covid deaths less than six percent of the deceased had fewer than an average of 2.6 pre-existing contributing comorbidities. Everybody is going to believe what they're going to believe and everybody has to do what they believe is best for them personally and I'm not looking to change anyone's mind about any of it. However, I consider myself to be an independent thinker and I don't believe much of anything that anybody tells me on face value. As an old retired analyst I depend on and trust my own research and conclusions and no vaccine is where I'm at on this one. And I say good for you regarding all you are doing to support the effort to help people. The world needs more of you.

I've mentioned in a prior post that I and all five members of my immediate family had Covid in late October. Like a cold for all of us and I'm 68 with a thirty year history of respiratory issues. We also have five frontline healthcare workers (nurses) in our immediate and extended family. None of them are getting the vaccine as they don't see the need nor do they trust it. Perhaps more telling is that quite a few of the physicians that they work with/for are also not going to get vaccinated for the same reasons. The KC Star keeps reporting horror stories of overwhelmed hospitals and even of patients and bodies stacked in hallways in Kansas City. Two of my nurse relatives work at KU and one at St. Lukes in KC and they say that nothing could be further from the truth. I hope that every single person that wants the vaccine is able to get it in a safe and timely manner. I, however, ain't one of them.

I really didn't think the Finatic was all that expensive even at $38.99 for 300 yds. Especially when I was respooling Invizx once or twice a week when Ned fishing. Just couldn't keep the twists out and got tired of dragging it behind the boat three times a day in an effort to do so. And if the 40% off deal is still in effect its even more reasonable. I dunno - I'm a braid hater from way back but I like this stuff and it's super low maintenance which lazy old guys like me really appreciate!

Leaders drive me absolutely crazy. I know pretty much every good fisherman uses them (which might explain why I ain't one) but I just hate 'em. 99.9 percent of the time whatever line I'm using gets tied directly to the bait. The only exception is fluke/slugo type lures where I'll sometimes use a swivel cause of line twist but I hate those even worse and will usually just deal with the line twist as it occurs as opposed to breaking the line and adding a swivel. Knots and swivels going thru line guides are light fingernails on a chalkboard to me.😖

I have mentioned here in the past how much I hate braid although I do like to experiment with different stuff. After RPS endorsed the Finatic early last year I decided to try some and I actually really like it - at least for spinning applications. I've yet to have it wrap around a guide, knot itself or suffer an impaled hook. For me it casts further and easier than even Invisx and is super sensitive. Also the ten pound stuff is amazingly small diameter and the green and blue color is kinda unique. While it's not the easiest to see neither is fluro so that's pretty much a push. Another aspect I used to hate about braid is getting a deep hangup as most braid would pull the dang boat underwater before it would break off. The ten pound is stout enough to pull free more often than not but when hopelessly fouled it can be broke off without snapping a rod or gashing a finger. I haven't tried it on a bait caster yet but intend to this spring. They've had two 40% off specials in the last couple of months (one of which just ended yesterday) which makes the price more than reasonable. All in I paid $54.79 for two 300 yd. spools of the 10#. The stuff also does not fade or at least it didn't all of last year and seems to last forever. I spooled four spinners last April and see no need to refresh any of them in 2021. As for cold weather applications you need to find another field tester cause I ain't goin' out there no more in 30 - 35 degree weather!

Oh yeah - that sounds easy enough.😧 You lost me at "acquire some paint and flake to match"!🤦‍♂️