fishinwrench

It's good to hear from ya, John 😊 It's been a long time....TOO LONG ! Let's hook up when the Whites start running 👍

Shortly after ice-out and right before the WIND became an everyday thing I went out to see if I could locate some shallow Crappie on the fly. In case you don't already know this......the first fish to move shallow are always the bigger ones. Only caught 8, but every bite was a nice slab. Tonight was the night to fry those buggers up. Yum ! I wanna get out and catch another mess or two, but this ridiculous wind needs to ease up ! Flyfishing out of a boat IN HEAVY WIND is not my idea of a good time.

I'm pretty sure the last day he fished was with me & the MFU crew, up here chasing White bass. He was a genuine trooper. 🤗

Excellence! 😊 HBD !

It goes over the shift shaft, and simply rests on a detent pressed into the shaft. It's common for it to pull off & drop into the unknown when you remove the lower unit. 🙄 If it's not on there the detent in the shift shaft can get jammed into the reverse lock linkage.....and prevent it from shifting back into neutral.

Shift pin

Here is a pic of the shift shaft.....with the powerhead removed.

Doesn't matter for removal......but it's easier to reinstall when in Fwd.

Behind & below the carb. It flips (snaps) up and pulls out, disconnecting the shift shaft. There's also a stainless 40.00 washer below the reverse-lock cam that will fall off if you don't know what you're doing. If that washer isn't put back in its proper place during re-installation it can lock in forward gear and cause you to crash into something.......So know what you're doing before proceeding!

It's kinda funny......The last time I was on it the number of empty red mesh Stream Team litter bags made up 80% of the visible trash.

The dam only backs up 8-12' of water. Removing it would only alter the river level elevation for less than 3 miles upstream.

Truthfully it isn't responsible at all to get wasted, whether you're at home or not. What if somebody falls down the stairs or gets badly injured slicing a tomato? There has to be SOMEONE to step up and help. I was mildly buzzed the night that the tornado hit us......but had I been on the verge of passing out on the couch we would have all been killed. It was a huge eye-opener for me. People that get wasted every few days, and live to 40 or more, are really lucky. That's all there is to it.

There is that. Tonight all the lake area bars are celebrating the annual St.Pattys Day Lake Area Pub Crawl 🙄 Heavily supported by our Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. By all means participate by driving from bar-to bar-to bar-to bar, and have a drink or two at each one. 🤙 What a grand idea ! There must be too much room in the courtrooms and hospitals.

Whoever decided that Rivers were a good place to party needs their butt kicked up between their shoulder blades. 😠 And outfitters that allow it should have their business license revoked. It is inevitable that at least a couple in every group are gonna get totally wasted.....and then it's somebody else's job to babysit them and keep them from drowning. When my kids & their friends started partying and planning float trips I gathered them up and we had a long talk. There are places to party......and there are places NOT to party ! The river (any river) rates right up there at #1 of the absolute stupidest places to get drunk/high. Especially for youngsters who truly have little experience maintaining their senses.

There were gusts of heavy wind coming straight down out of the sky here. I don't think I've ever witnessed that before 🤔 Blowing up huge clouds of dust, sticks, and gravel. And the wakes coming off the lake were pretty scary, I darn sure wouldn't have wanted to be out there trying to get anywhere. Thankfully no damage to anything that can't be fixed easily 👍

I worry that some day in the future they'll find out that creating & stocking hybrid stripers was a "mistake".......and it will be too late to reverse it.

When I was a boy scout the MDC partnered with our troop, and they had us planting Bradford pear trees all over our town. 😅 Hauled them in on flatbed trucks, and provided shovels, rakes, and gloves.

Taxpayer dollars paid for it. I'm sure the guys operating the loaders and dump trucks got paid.

Yeah.....But it will still cost you plenty (more than a trespassing fine) because a lawyer representing you is required.

Hell yes ! 👍😀

My daughters, and all of their friends, are WAY MORE responsible and forward seeking than I or any of my aquaintances were when we were their age. No denying that ! 👍

It doesn't require "lab work" to notice what some landowners will allow to be thrown into a creekbed. Especially as they age, are lacking anyone to help them, and they assume that nobody can see it. Personally I've reported an abandoned tractor & bobcat that was leaking hydraulic fluid, oil, and fuel, causing an oil-slick that was easily noticable just shy of 2 miles downstream of his property line. DNR busted him and revoked his ability to sell gravel. BTW, dredging a creek for gravel and SELLING IT is legally considered "commerce".

Allowing land owners to privately own sections of streams..... would be a terrible decision for any state to stand behind. That stream leaves the property eventually. So by doing so the state would carry the burden of investigating, issuing warrants, and potentially holding that landowner liable for any future water quality issues downstream. Keeping streams open to the public, and standing behind that as a state law, helps ensure that landowner practices don't cross the environmental line.

At the MDC access here near my place they subcontract the upkeep, which always confuses me because MDC has crews, employed by them, that mow, weedeat, ect. Nevertheless this crew of 2-3 guys show up bi-weekly and spend all day tidying up the place. The same crew does the grass upkeep, leaf blowing, and parking lot sweeping at the local DG, the post office, and at the bank. They do a fine job 👍 They even cleaned up a pile of dead stinking carp that some idiot bowfishers dumped. A separate local septic service tends to the outhouses.....they pump them and power wash them periodically. You never see MDC do anything, but drive thru occasionally.

Yeah anyplace open to the public is going to get trashed. It's almost worth risking a trespassing charge just to not have to wade through empty Fireball shooters, dirty diapers, and discarded appliances.