vernon

About ten or twelve years ago my brother and I were cleaning some whites and crappie on the dock at the Kimberling Inn when a bass boat with two guys about my same age pulled into their slip. As it turns out they were there for a tournament that weekend. Anyways, one of them saw me and jumped out of the boat and comes charging over literally yelling, "Hey you! Those better be white bass!" Well I ain't tiny and my brother is a man's man and I was still in pretty good shape at the time so I puffed up about a big as I could and replied, "No, they're great big fat largemouth and they're all full of eggs. What exactly are you gonna do about it?" He backed up and down pretty quick and just said, "Well, nothin' but that's just wrong." and walked away. Over the weekend we saw him a couple times after that and he never seemed to have anything more to say about it. People need to mind their own dang business and not worry so much about everybody else's.

Comparatively speaking I guess overall we haven’t done all that bad. It’s just been disappointing in relation to expectations as we thought it was gonna be really good. In other high water years we had a blast on spinnerbaits and top water but not a sniff so far this year. Friday night we had three with no keepers in about an hour and a half, Saturday it was eleven fish with two keepers and Sunday we caught fifteen with two keepers. Both weekend days we didn’t get out until around 230 cause of the wind so it was around five hours each day. Most were Ned fish with a few on Keitech. Only a few were caught shallow as we moved deep pretty quickly after zeroing in the bushes starting out. About once an hour we’d make a few throws up close just to see but then moved back out as we weren’t seeing any baitfish in the trees so figured there probably weren’t any bass either. Most bass I‘ve known over the years didn’t hang out in trees just cause they liked trees. Yesterday we played golf which was OK except for the wind although we suck at that too! Looks pretty placid out there so far today so we’ll see what happens although the first thirty minutes will be backyards and picnic tables with spinnerbaits for sure. Gonna keep giving them a chance to redeem themselves!

Our minds could certainly use some “opening” apparently. We stunk it up. Amazingly nice day though especially considering that we’re here and the least boat traffic I’ve seen on this lake in quite a few years. Felt like being on Bull Shoals compared to what we’ve come to expect. Dunno where everybody was but we enjoyed the peace and quiet. Except for the silence of the fish……🎣

Do you recall what some of the highest levels were of the last fifteen years or so? I know we were there for all of them and remember being able to easily touch the Kimberling bridge from the boat a couple of times but the years are a blur. Really wish I’d have kept a journal all these years.

Yeah but it's been long enough ago that the statute of limitations has run out on holding me responsible for that one! I gotta say though I'm beginning to scare me.....🧟‍♂️

I know I joke around all the time about this weather stuff but I seriously hope everything and more importantly everybody is OK down there and there's not any serious damage as a result. That's an awful lot of water.

Hey! I'm right here! I gotta confess that I tried a different technique this year and it kinda worked I guess. I booked this week and next week back to back with no intentions of actually coming down the first week. Figured not even I could screw up two full weeks in a row. Well, you see the result. Forty days and forty nights type stuff this week and now 90's next week. Not sure if I picked the right week though as my old posterior don't much like heat that much better than cold anymore. More of a Goldilocks kinda guy now. Regardless, headed y'all's way in about 24 hours if the lake doesn't come to us first.

Good for you guys!

Well you can bet the week after that is certain to have some "pop"............

NOT Blue Springs Marine. They charged me almost fifteen hundred bucks to perform the five year standard maintenance which according to everyone I've talked to should have been around $500 to MAYBE $600. It sucks that Cabela's can't/won't do it anymore (thanks Johnny) since that's where I bought the boat and is literally ten minutes away. I had checked with Branson West Marine a year ago last fall and they had quoted five to six hundred bucks and if I had to do it over again that's where I would take it. Well either that or over to Wrench at LOZ. Neither are close by any means but Blue Springs is the absolute worst and I'm not aware of anyplace closer that still works on Evinrudes. Too bad cause my 2016 G2 is by far the best motor I've ever owned and that's going back to 1975 so it's not a small sample size. Good luck and please let me know where you end up and how it goes.

Did you enjoy our little spring shower Saturday night? Just gettin' warmed up.....

Hmm. I dunno. Have been able to a few times in the past but it's been awhile.

Imagine if they had kayak and bow fishing tournaments at the same time......... I'd buy a ticket to that standoff.😎

I also used Invisx pretty much exclusively on spinning reels for quite a few years but also got tired of the loops and curls not to mention the expense and was looking for an alternative. Yo-Zuri hybrid seemed like a decent choice for a while and I also tried the Maxima that Mr. Babler loves but did not get along with it at all. At the recommendation of RPS I tried a braid called Finatic and liked it enough to convert all my spinning tackle and I'm a guy that's been a braid hater since the original Spiderwire. In my opinion it handles and performs better than any braid that I've ever used and doesn't lose its color. This will be the third year for the same line on at least three reels and it looks just like the day I put it on. It's never dug into the spool or come flying off in globs like some braids or most mono or fluro nor has it ever wrapped around a guide. It has also never gotten frayed or that fuzzy look that every other braid I've tried does. I have never used a leader in my life and needing to would be a dealbreaker for me but this stuff ties directly to the lure with no problem. I really like it for Ned fishing and tiny crappie jigs. I have even spooled it on a couple of bait casters for jig and other bottom bumping stuff and it works great. If I have a complaint about the stuff at all it would be that it's kinda hard to see but certainly no harder than Invisx that's for sure. It comes in a blue/black or green/black color and I really haven't found one to be better than the other. It ain't cheap but if it lasts three or more seasons I'm saving a ton of money compared what I was spending on Invisx and having to respool every couple of days. I use the 10 lb. version which is .006 diameter. I'm sure RPS could fill in the blanks as to whatever details I failed to mention.

When I first got the boat I played around with the foot throttle quite a bit and really wanted to learn to like it but just never did. The cool thing about the Evinrude setup though is it just takes the push of a button to switch back and forth between foot and hand throttle so it's not a one or the other kinda deal.

My G2 has a proprietary to Evinrude built in "Hot Foot" which is almost identical to the accelerator pedal in a car/truck. I find it much more comfortable and easy to use than a traditional Hot Foot which I hate. That being said I NEVER use it as I also prefer the hand throttle and in my opinion it isn't even close. Like Wrench said, on longer runs I set it where I want it, put both hands on the wheel and just drive.

Would y'all stop whining about the temperatures and the rain and the lake levels? What REALLY matters is there's still 56 days left to enjoy it all before the days start getting SHORTER! I live for spring....... AND just wait until the 6th of May when ol' Vernon will REALLY give you something to cry about for a week or so.

Aww c'mon! You can't be serious? What all the INTENSE competition? I just dread the commercials cause it breaks the suspense! Oh wait. The whole thing IS a commercial. And, yeah, the school lecture deal is embarrassing. Charlie should stick with giving health and nutrition advice.......🤦‍♂️

That sucks. I haven't gotten that bad but I've gone from being a really, really good putter most of my life to somewhere between mediocre and poor on any given day and it's tuff to take. I don't really have the yips - it just seems like nothing has gone in since I turned 65. Burn edges and lip 'em out all day long until nobody is more surprised than me when one actually goes in. I used to use the same putter for ten or fifteen years at a time and never even look at another one to where now I've probably used a dozen different ones in the last four years and just ordered another new one yesterday. I still love it way too much to even consider quitting and I figure my back/body is gonna give out soon enough to where quitting won't be an option so I wanna get in all I can while I can. Crappy golf is still better than no golf - for me at least. Heck, I don't catch fish anymore either but I ain't quit that!

Danged if it don't. AND they steal golf clubs too!!! In fact, it's even easier cause the bag rack area, carts and parking lot have people constantly milling about taking clubs off putting clubs on loading the trunk of the car and most don't nobody know who's is what except the guy that owns 'em. If he ain't nearby and watching then away you go! 2 - 3K worth of stuff all packaged up in a handy carry bag! The discerning thief can do quite well in no time at all.

Yeah I know a little something about getting stuff took in that area.......

I had my other eye done (cataract) a week ago last Thursday and am happy to report that this time the outcome was MUCH better. Although my vision was expectedly blurry the rest of the day after the procedure I could still tell that something was different than the first surgery and in a good way. Woke up the next morning and could see perfectly. In fact, considerably better than I could with the right eye that had been done over a year ago prior. At my followup appointment the doc said that both eyes tested 20/25 but that's crap. My right eye might have been 20/25 but the left was MUCH better no matter what the machine said. Four days later I was at my brother's house and didn't leave to come home until after dark and I was dang glad that only lived a block away as I couldn't see ANYTHING. It was like driving through a forrest fire of smoke it was so hazy and blurry and the halos were awful and I figured that signaled the end of my night driving. However we went out for dinner this past Saturday evening (he drove of course) and it was markedly improved. In fact, I'm sure I could have drove without any trouble at all. The halo's were still an annoying nuisance but other than that it wasn't bad at all. I'm still not at my previous best of 20/10 and 20/15 but it's still pretty danged good and reading glasses are gone for forever which ain't a bad tradeoff. Overall pretty satisfied although it took awhile to get here!

Thanks Bill. Not too sure what I'm gonna do. That sounds like way more effort than I'm willing to put into it these days. I read all your guys posts about the Livescope's and the Bird's and the Active Target and the Force and the Ghost and it flat makes my head hurt. I was always the guy that had to have the newest of the new and the best of the best and didn't really care much what it cost. If I could afford it I bought it. Now though I think this stuff just might have passed me by and it just ain't the same. To be honest I just don't enjoy it anywhere near as much as I used to. It's too crowded, the lake traffic is getting downright dangerous and for me at least the fishing has just gotten too danged difficult. I used to chase 'em all day everyday that I could and never wanted to leave to come home. Now it seems I go from annoyed, to frustrated to flat pissed off and some days I just don't even want to go out there at all cause I know what it's gonna be like. Can you say grumpy old man?👴 Anyways, I'm lucky to have a great boat that's still like new, electronics that are still way beyond my comprehension and an Ultrex that while it might not like lithium batteries is still the best thing I've ever put on a boat. I'll probably just run the Cabela's AGM's till they die and then give it some more thought but will likely just go with whatever AGM's I can squeeze into the "fixed income" budget. Being retired has to be the next best thing to being born but the pay can be a little shaky! Thanks again.

I hate to ask but what are the Pro Guide lithium troller's going for? I'm entering year six on my Cabela's AGM's so I'm sure I'm getting close to having to replace them. 36 volt Ultrex. I bought a new golf cart last year that's lithium powered and the difference and benefits are beyond obvious. So was the price however. I don't fish nearly as much as I play golf so I'm not sure if I can justify the difference in going lithium for the boat but would certainly prefer to. And Bill your toys make me way more than jealous. If only I had that unlimited stash of cash you spoke of previously!🤔

You're doing great! Gonna help the back which helps everything else. What's a sample of a typical daily menu?