vernon

Actually I'd say it's number two. Pharma is number one. Count the number of commercials on TV some evening that are for a new life altering drug or vaccine that will cure some new never before heard of illness that they recently invented. And many include the phrase, "And you just might lose a little weight." Yeah right - that's usually the problem in the first place - we're all so darn fat it's ridiculous. Then listen to the list of "possible side effects" that always include exactly what the drug is supposed to treat or cure. The biggest problem is never the affliction - it's the treatment and "cure". One of my favorite quotes is, "Doctors and drugs are only there to amuse the patient while nature heals."

A couple more left? You're a lucky man!

It's not nice to fool Mother Nature..........🧟‍♂️

How 'bout now? I had to pay for an extra night (the rain gods can be fooled but aren't stupid) even though we left for home yesterday morning! Ingrates..........🤦‍♂️

Well THAT was a little less than enthusiastic. The lack of gratitude and sarcasm just might come back to haunt you. Just maybe 🤔.

Let’s see now - around three inches of rain so far with at least another inch and and half to two inches on the way in the next 24 - 48 hours.⛈️ And still no sign of a Go Fund Me page?🤔 Not even a, “Gee thanks Vernon”?🤷🏽‍♂️ Or as Mahomes would say, “Preciate choo”?🕺

Totally agree with this. Bought up a bunch of his stuff soon after he passed but would certainly like to backfill some specific needs. His weedless heads are the best I've ever used and I don't think that there's too many that I haven't tried. His crappie jig head is so good and for so many purposes. And unless you wrap the line of one of his jig heads around a nail on a dock (did that yesterday) they're virtually impossible to lose due to a hangup. Miss that guy.

So I guess I can cross you off the list of prospective donors?

Fished for just a couple of hours Sunday and caught six short smallies, four on a Ned and two on a Keitech all in fifteen to twenty foot of water. Swimming the Keitech and the Ned on the bottom. Lost one pretty good fish on the Ned and Kathy had something pretty good size on a Keitech that broke off that was off of a point in thirty to thirty five foot. Was out for awhile this afternoon but didn’t really work at it all that hard. Threw the Ned and Keitech again and had one short smallmouth right up on the bank on the Ned and missed two other light biters all together. Fortunately it was a dang nice day for a boat ride. Lots of shad in the back of the coves and creeks from Indian Point to Schooner but it didn’t much matter for us. I absolutely HATE fishing this lake in September but Kathy loves it so I always just make sure to bring plenty of beer and bourbon! And golf balls.

Somebody gonna have to start a Go Fund Me page to cover the green fees if you wanna get greedy! As with most operations of this nature sufficient funding is critical to mission execution! I ain’t cheap but i can be bought………

I must be losing my touch - had to get a little creative this time. Originally had a tee time at Payne’s Valley for today which will surely be cart path only and a muddy mess. Rescheduled at the last minute and played yesterday instead hence tricking the rain gods at their own game! I guess when all the great ones lose a little off their fastball they have to learn how to pitch!

Did I not say I'd do my best? You're welcome!

As usual I should've called Wrench......

And from the “Oh by the way” department Batteries Plus was actually able to revive my battery (it will be known as Lazarus from this day forward) and it passed a load test and was at ninety percent capacity which I guess ain’t bad for a battery that’s a little over three years old. More importantly I think we might have discovered the cause of the problem as well. I was talking to a former Evinrude mechanic and he said that in my boat the only thing outside of the motor that could cause the parasitic draw that messed up the battery in the first place is the automatic bilge. Well we disconnected the auto bilge and the battery is now performing flawlessly as are all of the electronics and accessories. The auto bilge deal actually makes sense as since the first day I owned the boat I have constantly had to reset the breaker on the bilge switch. Maybe not every time I use it but probably twenty five to thirty percent of the time. I’ve brought it up to the boys at Cabela’s (now Bass Pro) three or four times and they keep saying there’s nothing wrong with it. Well they’re gonna get another opportunity to take a look next week!

Well I'm here and for what it's worth it poured off and on all the way down here (on my freshly shampooed boat carpet) and things were looking pretty promising last night but then "poof" the rain god's tracking system must have gone on the fritz and it all went east. I'm pretty sure I can conjure up something before the weeks over though! 🧌

Just found out this morning that my three year old X2 is dead dead. Won't take a charge off of manual charger or the built in Quad Pro although all was good about a month ago. Was getting new tires and brakes put on the trailer and the boat was at a friends house awaiting parts but plugged in the entire time. Took it back to Batteries Plus and they said tuff luck. Since the state of charge had dropped below 8.5 volts the warranty had been voided. I said, "So if it were above 8.5 you'd say they was nothing wrong with it but since it's below 8.5 it's out of warranty so in reality there really isn't a warranty?" Guy says, "Yeah I see what you're saying there but yeah." $537 for a replacement X2. Think I'm gonna go to Walmart. The 48 month warranty was a big selling point when I bought this battery in 2020 but what's the point if they won't honor it? Guy put it on some super charger and said "That sometimes brings them back to life.' Yeah I'll bet. And if so for how long? Supposed to call within the hour but I ain't got my hopes up. Best part is we're supposed to leave for the lake in the morning.

Wow. Reminds me of "the good ol' days."! And the older I get the better they used to be.......🤔

Well that's just great. NOW I'm jinxed!🧟‍♀️ Probably go out to the garage and the dang thing will have fallen off. Like I don't already have enough problems what with this black cloud following me everywhere I go......

I seldom if ever disagree with Bill but my Ultrex has been flawless and I have one of the very first units produced. I know he also had issues with the stow and deploy feature being difficult but I still can deploy and stow mine from a seated position on the front deck with no problem. Maybe I just got lucky but I love mine. I know a few other guys that went Garmin or Force and all are on at least their second unit if not third or fourth. Again it might be more a matter of luck - especially with the way most things are being built and produced these days.

Pretty much matches what we’ve experienced. Yesterday fished from 2:00 to 7:00 and had nine total with three keepers one of which was a really nice Kentucky that shook out of my brothers hand at the side of the boat as he waited for me get my phone. Really wanted a photo to post so Bobby could see a Spot from the dam area! All others were largemouth and all came out of little coves in Big Indian. Caught fish on Ned, Keitech, a little red and white Roadrunner and one of Bo’s bladed jigs. Threw spinnerbait quite a bit without a sniff. The afternoon pretty much sums up our week (didn’t fish Monday - played golf which also sucked) other than the first couple of days we caught primarily smallmouths but not a single one yesterday. Probably gonna run up the James a ways today just for some variety. Would have tried that already but all the storms popping up from here to everywhere scared us off.

Don’t know if this helps any but at 7:00 last night it was 916.9.

The report I saw said the boat was valued at 100K but still........ The worst part is having to answer Bubba when he asks "So whatcha in for?"

Hey Bill - was wondering how your carpet cleaning job is holding up? I've thought about trying the Barbasol method for years now but have never got it out of the thinking stage. I've usually just sprayed the carpet with a vinegar/water mixture (learned my lesson about using any kind of soap a long, long time ago) and then used the power washer followed by a thorough brushing with a wire bristled brush. Looks great when I'm done but by about the third trip out it's all matted down again and I'm back on my knees with the wire brush. Just wondered if the Barbasol method held up any better. Kinda doubt it but was gonna try and do mine today before we head y'all's way in the morning. On a side note I gotta say I'm in shock that most of the rain is supposed to be done BEFORE we get there. Certainly not the weather pattern we've grown accustomed to over the many years.......

And grass! I miss cranks, spinnerbaits and buzzers over the tops of the weeds in fall. That was some fun fishing.

WOW! Nice fish Alex. I miss fishing with my dad something awful. Get him out there every chance you get.